@Shakeerah107
Last seen: Mon 17 May, 2021
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: Re: My Fantasy Series POV I am a young author writing a fantasy series. In my series I have six main characters. If you have read my most previous question, I explained that I have six main
Switching POV in a series is fine as long as you do it well. For example, in Charles Stross's Laundry Files series (which placed second in the voting for the 2019 Best Series Hugo award, so is clearly well received), the first 5 novels are all written from the POV of a single protoganist, Bob Howard, but after those we get a variety of POV characters, each of which has previously been a supporting character in earlier novels. It works well, and I don't see anyone complaining about it...
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: Re: Can the Hero's Journey be detrimental to the process of storywriting? When it comes to common writing advice, the Hero's Journey and Show, don't Tell, are the most common ones. The second one
The important thing is to remember that you are telling the story you are telling, not some abstract Hero's Journey. If you think that you have to put in, or leave out, something because otherwise it would not fit the Hero's Journey, leave out the Hero's Journey.
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: Re: Can there be too many obstacles in a character’s path? My current WIP involves a deliberate miscarriage of justice. I started out with three main characters: J - a young girl who is effected
Yes.
There are two main problems.
The first is that if you throw in too much, the reader will be unable to see the story as a complete thing and a work of art. How many is too many partly depends on the skill of the author in delineating the complications and how they relate to it, so beta readers may be necessary.
The second is that if you throw too many, the reader may start to say that this is implausible, or even impossible, to really happen. When the reader starts to think that you, as the author, are just hosing the character, the suspension of disbelief is broken.
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: First to third person mid text I hope this discussion is still relevant but I only just had the idea to ask. Ok so my story starts as a first-person narrator, however the narrator itself is
I hope this discussion is still relevant but I only just had the idea to ask.
Ok so my story starts as a first-person narrator, however the narrator itself is a literal character. now I know it might seem a little strange to completely change the viewpoint mid narrative. I have a way of doing it that would work, or at least I think it will, it works in my head. I'm only asking if this would break the laws of writing? will it be too much for the reader?
I hope that made sense,
Thanks.
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: Writing a fictional book with real places Hey I started to write my first book, and im a newbie in this whole field of book writing. I will write a thriller / stalker book which is of course
Hey I started to write my first book, and im a newbie in this whole field of book writing.
I will write a thriller / stalker book which is of course fictional, and i was thinking if i could use real places (schools, neighbourhoods, stores etc).
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: Re: My character is a child abductor; can he drive a brand-name car? I'm about to self-pub my first novel, a domestic thriller with a time-travel twist, and in the story, one of my main characters
My usual response to this kind of question is that you shouldnt worry about it, and let your publishers lawyers handle it. But you state you are self publishing, so here we go:
When a car manufacturer sells a car they can no longer control what the purchaser does with it. If they use it to commit a crime, that does not in any way reflect on the manufacturer. Therefore, suggesting that this may happen does not damage the reputation of the manufacturer, so they have no legitimate cause for illegal action.
Things may be different if your story suggests that the model of car was specifically more useful for this purpose than others and the manufacturer knew or should have known this, or if they were aware it would be used like this and did nothing to prevent it.
Of course there is nothing to prevent a company launching a baseless legal suit against you, but this seems unlikely. At least where I live you can get insurance against legal costs relatively cheaply, which is something it may be worth investing in. I would suggest this for all small business owners, and self publishing is no different.
(I'm not a lawyer, but have researched this subject to be confident that this is what most lawyers would say about it - but obviously this is not legal advice and you should probably confirm this with a specialist in your jurisdiction)
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: Re: Dealing with writer's block Although I'm not that convinced with this idea but I'd like to take your advise. Can it be a good idea to skip a chapter when having writer's block?
That's not a question that can be answered in the abstract.
Sometimes it's so exactly the right thing to do that you look back and realize that your writer's block was your boredom with a superfluous passage, and you never do write it.
Sometimes writer's block turns out to be reluctance to tackle a passage requiring technical skills that you haven't got yet, but the passage is necessary, and in that case, skipping will achieve nothing.
Sometimes you just need to let something jell a little more. I do this by skipping to another work and circling back. Skipping ahead might also work, but I'm too afraid that vital things in that scene might affect the future scenes too much.
An additional important point with letting it jell -- you may realize that something you had thought will not work. You may need to seriously change elements of the scene to get through it. That may invalidate what you write if you skip ahead.
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: Re: What are some good (free) writing communities? I'm new to writing, I just finished the first draft of the first novel I've written (yay!) and I'm looking for writing groups or communities that
If you're aiming for professional publication, I'd suggest that you look for writers groups that have a good history of turning out professional writers. E.g. communities I've been involved in have included hatrack.com writers forum (where Mary Robinette Kowal was a member at the time) and fmwriters.com (several members of which published novels with top-tier publishers while I was a member, e.g. Wen Spencer). There are plenty of others with a similar track record.
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: Re: Creating a unique spin on a nuclear apocalypse? Basically, my story follows a group of 6 people (and 1 mutant human) exploring a barren wasteland of what used to be the USA. The world they
Since you're familiar with the various post-apo universes (I will use Fallout in this example) consider the following:
WHAT IF
You have things you know about certain universe (the canon), and you're familiar with them. You want to be different. Let your imagination loose and spin your stories in the "what if" direction:
What if the Chosen One didn't stop the Enclave and now we have a real pre-war government surviving?
What if only the good ol' US of A is a nuclear hellhole, and most of the world is just fine, and people just really avoid it because it is, well, a hellhole?
What if Mr. House didn't spend 200 years stroking his ego in a fancy casino and actually used his genius and technology to actively take part in the events that transpired?
What if the people of Commonwealth succeeded in forming provisional government and are working with the Institute for a better tomorrow?
What if China wasn't really destroyed and are now en route to rip you another one?
And so forth. Be different from canon by going in different direction than it went!
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: Re: How do I write less like a screenplay? I've come to notice I have a very specific manner of writing. Specifically, I've noticed that while I'm writing a book, I tend to pace and set up things
Read more and watch fewer things in visual media. Try to pick works that are not very screenplay-like in style.
Writing pastiches may help. Take a very uncinematic writer and try to write a scene the way that writer would have written it.
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: Re: How to improve writing style and vocabulary? I'm working on my first book. I'm not that great in English and sometimes while writing, I feel that I'm not able to give my 100% in dialogues
Out of the two, I think vocabulary is easier to tackle.
I used Vocabulary.com to actively learn new words and their meaning. Although, the site itself is good. I would recommend to either write down the words and their short meaning in a notebook or an excel table. The words you write should either be the words you found useful, or words that you might have heard before, but not used them or didn't know their precise meaning.
Now the reason why I recommend Excel table is for it's sorting function. Having an alphabetically sorted list is a much nicer and easier to navigate way than it's alternative, simple notebook. There is also a possibility to search for the keywords, which I found amazing.
The other thing you should do is to simply read more.
The thing I would recommend is to have an audiobook playing while reading the book. My reasoning behind this is that when I'm faced with a difficult word I might just skim over it. Taking its meaning from the concept of the sentence.
However, if I hear the word as well as read it. The word itself sticks in my mind easier. Meaning I might use it more often, therefore extending my vocabulary by it.
Regarding the style, I think you can only read and write more.
I remember reading the first Jack Reacher book by Lee Child. I loved its short sentences shadowed by, what seemed to me as, calculated force. The writing fit the main character who's an ex-military cop, a gentle giant ready to burst in action.
In my opinion, the style you use will mimic the authors you read, and that's not the bad thing. I also think it's hard to blunder the style. If your characters are believable and story sound you won't have to worry about your style.
In the end, I would recommend a couple of books, which helped me write clearer and be more confident when writing.
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
The first book focuses on the process of writing, storytelling techniques and writing for yourself as well as the reader.
The second book is the collection of rules to follow when styling the text. How to format dialogues, use active voice and basic punctuation.
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: Korean sensitivity reading for a modern fantasy world I've been working on a YA/adult contemporary fantasy novel for a while and I had some questions about sensitivity reading. The world featured
I've been working on a YA/adult contemporary fantasy novel for a while and I had some questions about sensitivity reading.
The world featured in the novel is entirely new but it's inspired by ours. Namely, the heroine is coded as Arab (as I am, so I drew her experiences as a queer Arab woman from mine) and her love interest is from a nomadic people inspired by North-Eastern Asian cultures (specifically Korean, but through their travels they absorbed many components of other cultures as well). This people is mostly known for their white hair and their astronomy skills, as well as their vivid godly tales of star gods.
Here is where I have questions.
I have called this people "Dalmeoli" as a placeholder. I suspect that for someone who speaks Korean, it sounds awfully silly since it's just "moon" and 'hair' stuck together. But I can't really tell either and this is where I seek sensitivity reading. Does it sound accurate to you and if not, how could I make it better without being offensive to Korean culture? I was thinking of translating "moon nomads" instead, and I'm open to using the English phrase rather than butcher the Korean language.
The love interest's name is Sora. He is a man, but in Korean, Sora is a feminine name. I am aware of that, but since he is from the nomadic moon people, which absorbed bits of cultures during their travels, I thought it was okay if he was named that way since in Japanese it can be a male name. I am just afraid it would sound weird because his family name is Kim, like his mother's. Does that sound appropriate or is it shocking? Neither he or his mother are the type to bother about gender stuff but I'm mainly asking from a culturally sensitive standpoint. I want to avoid the implication that Asian cultures are a monolith, it's not my intention but if it's what my writing conveys i want to fix that.
To sum it up, my question is: where do I draw the line between artistic freedom, world building, and culturally sensitive representation?
Thank you for reading through this!
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: Re: Not wanting to "spoil" a story due to lack of skill I have a story that is dear to me and that I would very much want to write about. However, I don't have lots of experience in writing
Write it.
It may be as bad as you anticipate, but you can revise it. In fact, many writers do advise revision. Just not to the exclusion of doing new stuff. (And different stories.)
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: Re: How does one strengthen their sense of rhythm? Many pieces of writing are succinct, but they are not rhythmical, giving no pleasure to the ear of the reader. The reason for that is likely
Ray Bradbury recommended reading poetry. Every day.
It does help.
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: Re: How can I describe an incredible release of power, realistically In my writing, a goddess is removed from her position as a god and reduced to a human. (See my previous question) At the moment
@acid -kritana raises some good questions but those not withstanding, one suggestion I would make is that to show the destructive power, have the power destroy.
Show its destructive nature - how it destroys and burns and razes things to the ground but then, since the goddess, as you say is a caring and loving person, she "reins it in", her love battling the destructive nature of the power and controlling it, pulling it inwards in a kind of implosion at the end of which the power escapes into the aether. While at the same time her love heals the destruction in a final act of her intentional use of the power.
Hope this helps.
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: Re: How Would I Go About Self-Publishing My Novels by 2021? I've recently hired some professional proofreaders for all four of my novels this year, and my novels with respect to the Word document
I've got a book tucked away in a storage box somewhere, where many of my writing books are kept, which I read some years ago, which is dedicated to real-world self-publishing. If I find it, I'll post the title and ISBN here. The book itself was self-published by an author who was a successful self-publisher. I remember reading about typefaces and formatting and all that jazz, but also how to become your own marketer and set about getting your self-published books onto shelves. If I remember correctly, he did say it wasn't always feasible to get the books into the chain vendors like Waterstones, because they sourced their books predominately from particular suppliers.
Even so, my further advice would be to investigate Amazon, which offers a path for self-published works. kdp.amazon.com/en_US?ref_=kdpgp_p_uk_psg_kw_ad42. I do appreciate that you don't buy books online much, but most of your potential readers probably do, and Amazon and other online book stores would probably be the first place they look, even just to see reviews and read a couple of pages from your books.
The other thing you can do is pay for a professional website that showcases your available book(s), even if you can't purchase them yet, and go on a Udemy course about social media marketing to help you develop an online marketed presence. Like it or not, your survival as a self-published author these days is probably going to rely a lot on your online profile.
One final thought: You are going to find it difficult getting a self-published book onto shelves in the mainstream multi-store vendors unless you have a successful marketing campaign and some traction with sales already. The most ubiquitous way currently is through the internet, like it or loathe it.
I did see a short TV slot where a self-published author sold his book on the street during busy shopping periods - though you are going to saturate momentum without an online presence and selling mechanism.
I've been an aspiring author during the early days of e-commerce when Amazon wasn't the giant it is now, and I did a lot of reading and research into self-publishing, which seemed at the time to have constricted outlets, due to the stranglehold the big mainstream publishers had on the book industry at the time. It took a number of developments to end that - one of them was Stephen King self-publishing a novel online, offering each chapter for USD, while taking recommendations and plot updates from readers via email. It was so successful, he announced he was considering following the self-publishing route to maximize earnings and remove the shackles of the publishing houses. Whether he did that or not is another story. No pun intended.
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: Software or Softwares It seems to me that softwares is incorrect. I am of the opinion that software is partitive. I try to use some software or piece of software. Do you think it is incorrect
It seems to me that softwares is incorrect. I am of the opinion that software is partitive. I try to use some software or piece of software.
Do you think it is incorrect to say softwares?
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: Re: How do I write LGBTQ+ characters for a romance story, as a non-LGBTQ+ person, without using potentially offensive stereotypes So today, some of my friends challenged me to write a short story
I once wrote a short story as a challenge for a contest in high school, for an English Class.
It was about two people - Alex and Taylor.
The story followed the two around a trip to Paris. They visited several places, did romantic couple things, shared a few kisses, spent the night on a hotel, and ended up getting themselves on a rather mundane but fun adventure when they helped a beggar find his way back to his daughter's place, back in Italy.
Despite describing quite a few characteristics about them - hair/skin/eye color, a few mannerisms, a bit of the accent, the shape of the nose, presence of freckles and moles, underwear color, fitness of their body, height, weight, clothing, etc, I purposefully never gave them anything that could indicate gender.
I never mentioned things like breasts or pecs. Never used things like manly/womanly, didn't mentioned usually gendered clothing, like high-heels or bras. Didn't specify any gendered jewelry, didn't talk about their genitals, nothing. I made it on purpose so the reader couldn't, by any means, tell if any of them was male, female, or even trans. It was impossible to even tell if they were hetero, gay, or something else.
I let my reader imagine whatever they wanted for them. If they wanted a lesbian couple, that worked. If they saw Alex and Taylor as a hetero couple, that worked. If they saw the two as two gay males, that worked. If they wanted to see them as something else, that worked, too.
.
.
.
Some people still complained about stereotyping, and sometimes even for the lack thereoff.
Some complained the couple was too traditional. Others said I was "writing gays wrong". Some complained about how Taylor was too tomboyish for a girl because "she" liked D&D. Some complained about Alex's methodical obsession with flower morphology being "unlikely for a guy", just because they spewed trivia every now and then about flowers around them.
And yet, when I asked "how do you know Alex/Taylor is a boy/girl?", they couldn't answer.
Still they complained.
The lesson I got from it is that whatever you do, someone will not like something. A lot of people use the invitation for criticism as an opportunity to complain about stuff, even if it is so so minor.
Don't sweat it. Write a story about two interesting characters, and their genital bits will be just but a minor detail.
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: Will too many characters be overwhelming? So I have multiple stories running in the same universe, and I want a Arc that includes all the main people from each of the stories my worry is
So I have multiple stories running in the same universe, and I want a Arc that includes all the main people from each of the stories my worry is that this will become to confusing and may overload the reader.
This is a rough idea of how many characters I’ll have from each story
Story 1- 4 Main Characters, 3 Semi-main Characters & 2 Plot Characters
Story 2- 2 Main Characters, 2 Semi-main Characters & 3 Plot Characters
Story 3- 3 Main Characters, 2 Semi-Main Characters
Story 4- 2 Main Characters, 1 Semi-Main Characters
That means I’ll have:
11 Main Characters
8 Semi-Main Characters
5 Plot Characters
Which means I’ll have a total of 24 characters that the reader would have to remember
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: What does nk means in line spacing? I see in some journals that mention the line spacing in MS Word in terms of "nk". What does that mean and how can I set that in the Word? For example
I see in some journals that mention the line spacing in MS Word in terms of "nk".
What does that mean and how can I set that in the Word?
For example in this link, it states:
2 nk spaces should be added before references and 3 nk spaces should
be added after.
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: Re: My pen jams up every minute or so whenever I write, what could cause this? I've been having an issue for the past few months where I'm writing along merrily and then my pen stops up and
Also, "expensive" paper may not be the best paper to match your pen. You say you've tried with different paper but does the paper have different properties? For example, I like fountain pens. A paper that is very good for fountain pens tends to have a bit of a coating to slow down the rate that the ink gets absorbed into the paper. If you try using a ballpoint on that kind of paper, it may not write well because ballpoints want the paper to absorb the ink faster. So you may want to do a bit of research into the paper.
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: Is the phrase “You are requested†polite or rude? I along with my guide wrote a research publication, which had to be sent to a journal for the purpose of review. My professor wrote the
I along with my guide wrote a research publication, which had to be sent to a journal for the purpose of review. My professor wrote the cover letter of the paper as follows:
Dear Editor in Chief
You are requested to review the paper "Title of the paper"....
Thanks
This cover letter is from the authors of the research paper (me and my supervisor) to the Editor-in-chief of the journal, requesting that our paper be reviewed.
To me, this seems a very impolite way of beginning a cover letter addressed to an Editor-in-chief who is much higher in rank and position than us. On the other hand, we are mere authors of the paper. I believe that a phrase like "You are requested" is used by a top authority to those below it, or when both the writer and reader are at the same rank. Does the phrase "You are requested" seem impolite, when it is written to an authority much higher than you (i.e. by a mere author to an editor-in-chief of a journal), or is it fine?
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: Springer or CRC versus self-publishing I have an IT textbook that is about 120,000 words which was accepted for publishing at several very reputable publishers. My goal is to get the text out
I have an IT textbook that is about 120,000 words which was accepted for publishing at several very reputable publishers. My goal is to get the text out to as many people as possible. My secondary goal is to make some money but that is not all that likely as far as I have heard. The audience is university students, researchers, and professionals. It is a textbook but one of the publishers will not publish it as such but just a monograph. In the self-publishing world there are IngramSpark and Amazon that would be good routes to go. I am wondering what people think about which is preferable, self-publishing or traditional publishers. Traditional publishers will take the rights to the content and pay around 9 to 11 percent. Self-publishing is more like 60 to 70 percent. I would publish both paperback and digital.
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: Re: How to show characters learning something in a non-boring way? Okay so I want to write a fiction where a character is learning something, for example a language, such as Japanese. I want to
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is boring writing material if you're fascinated about it. I always had my doubts about subjects worth writing about and those not, but what finally quelled my fears was listening to Hamilton.
Who, in their right mind, would have thought that a rap/hip-hop musical about America's first treasury secretary will go on to have the impact that it did? That the writer (Lin-Manuel) would be hailed as a celebrity, and all age groups will learn the lyrics by heart? On paper, the idea sounds boring. But Lin-Manuel imbued it with character and infectious energy and you just can't get enough. And he was able to do it because he was in love, in love with his art, and the resultant musical was a labor of love. Nothing is too boring to write about if you are in love. That's the only rule for writing well - to fall in love.
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: Difference between Abstract, Introduction and Conclusion in a research paper I have found some similar questions here but they were about the difference between Abstract and Introduction without
I have found some similar questions here but they were about the difference between Abstract and Introduction without the Conclusion.
So, what difference between Abstract, Introduction from one side and Conclusion from another side?
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: How do I introduce dark themes? My story involves a superhuman organization that aims to overthrow the main government, through any means necessary. This involves murder and some rather gruesome
My story involves a superhuman organization that aims to overthrow the main government, through any means necessary. This involves murder and some rather gruesome deaths. Additionally, there might be accidents involving dangerous animals, magical artifacts, etc.
How do I transition dark themes into a story that isn't overly dark? My story has these dark themes, but not at the beginning and they only happen during serious and important moments. Otherwise, the characters go about their everyday business.
I'm four chapters in and nothing dark has happened. How can I transition the reader into themes of darkness or death, without completely turning them off and having them say "this isn't what I thought I was reading"?
I just want some advice for introducing dark themes to an otherwise normal story.
For example, Harry Potter gradually got darker and darker as the series went on. And even just the first book didn't have darker themes until Hagrid mentioned Voldemort for the first time.
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: I'm by no means an expert, so take this answer as opinion. But here's my take all the same. The way I view this is: what does the ending achieve? If in the case of Cinderella she marries
I'm by no means an expert, so take this answer as opinion. But here's my take all the same.
The way I view this is: what does the ending achieve?
If in the case of Cinderella she marries the prince, has the life she deserves (since she was the 'true heiress' of her father's land and titles), but she's a lesbian? This isn't a happy ending, but merely not a tragedy. Conversely, if Cinderella is a lesbian and simply gets out from under the oppressive step mother and step sisters? This could also be a happy ending, while not giving her the ticket to easy street.
So, I would argue that a 'happily ever after', or 'happy for now' is more a personal journey for the main character. If their journey is to escape poverty and the story ends with them getting a job that would support their lifestyle (meagrely or comfortably), would be a happy ending.
However, if the journey is to not starve and they wind up in prison, where they have a roof over their head and three square meals a day? They aren't starving, but calling it 'happy' is debatable at best.
From the reader's perspective, I would argue that the HEA/HFN ending is the one that makes them think the main character is going to be okay. Maybe not the lottery ticket they hoped for, but they can close the book secure in the knowledge the main character is either on the road to their promised land, or already in customs being screened before being allowed in.
As long as it's earned in the eyes of the reader and/or story. Whether from a narrative standpoint (they survived the war and deserve some peace like Frodo), from a character development standpoint (they grew past their defining character flaw that they've struggled with throughout the story), or from an optimistic 'I wish you the best' standpoint (like an underdog story where the reader wants them to become the champion of that otherwise pointless tournament).
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: Is it alright to add scenes that don’t move the plot forwards much but develop relationships/character? For example, let’s say the main plot is that the characters are on a quest to go
For example, let’s say the main plot is that the characters are on a quest to go find something. Can an author spend three scenes in a row detailing what happens on their journey there, even if the only way the plot is moving forwards is by the implication that they’re moving in that direction? What if they spend three nights (and three scenes) at the same pitstop, but the scenes greatly develop the relationship between two important characters?
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: A thesaurus that detects rhyming I have been looking for a word that rhymes with post with similar meaning to a school. But I go to thesaurus.com, sounding the words on my head for results
I have been looking for a word that rhymes with post with similar meaning to a school.
But I go to thesaurus.com, sounding the words on my head for results under "school" and none rhyme. I then tried "academy" and failed to find anything.
But then I switched "post" for some other word to match "school", and nothing.
When I compared the alternatives for both choices, I decided on "set" and "department".
So is there a service that allows you to select two words (and its part of speech, just as here post was a verb and school was a noun) and give you combinations of rhymes?
P.S. If not, it shouldn't be too hard to create either.
It's a program that retrieves your two words, inputs them into the thesaurus and tries to find a rhyme (requesting rhymezone.com) - and if it doesn't exist, then selects the first word from that list, re-iterates the program (but not for the new list, keeping it at n^2 complexity)...So, it should exist. Not very creative, I know.
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: Book on (character) voice Any book recommendations that teach you how to make sure each character sounds different in dialogue and is recognizable even without dialogue tags? Any book tips to
Any book recommendations that teach you how to make sure each character sounds different in dialogue and is recognizable even without dialogue tags?
Any book tips to learn more about character development?
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