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I look for popular names, but not the MOST popular names. For example, I just googled "most popular names in the UK" and found this at the top link. An excerpt: Boys Oliver - 6,259 Harry - 5,031 ...
It depends on what sort of story you want to write. If you want your character to stand out (superhero, famous outlaw, rebel leader, etc.) it's probably better to pick a name that stands out. If ...
It is normal to use a hyphen. I see it all the time. For puns/jokes. For academic writing where the purpose is to emphasize etymology (when the crux of the argument requires redefining or reem...
If you look at any group of people, some will have very common names, others well known but less common names, and a few will have unusual names. If your own characters also have a mix, you're fin...
I think you want an INSERT. From https://screenwriting.io/what-is-an-insert/ An insert is a shot — often a close-up — that focuses on a specific detail. If necessary, these shots can be writte...
It is harder to keep the reader engaged without one As you say a main character is someone for the reader to connect with. Ideally they will empathise with them and come to care about the characte...
I would go analytical on this one. Talk about the missed opportunities, the lack of conflict, what makes you not give a crap about the characters, or the issues being presented, or in fact the reso...
I wouldn't shy away from "tiptoe", if I have a non-human species that has been around longer than humans, I consider everything I write about them translation of their language to English. If they ...
I think what you're trying to ask is, how do I have a main character who isn't given a bunch of nice things by the author just to make them stand out. How do you have a chracter who isn't given "wi...
As usual, I have an example from Worm! In the Interlude for Arc 4 (main chapters are from the heroine's 1st-person POV, interludes each have a different character in tight-third), Rachel's dog Bru...
Do you wish to sell the book? Happy endings outsell unhappy endings about 10 to 1. This has actually been studied to some extent, and the difference comes down to word-of-mouth: Even if people say...
In 1984, Big Brother succeeds. Big Brother is a very successful bully. In the end, one even learns to love Big Brother. There is no validation and agreement in 1984. There is a terrible warning. ...
TL;DR: * Fear (or equivalent shock) followed by disgust -> horror * disgust alone -> disgust A significant effort in analyzing the concepts of horror, terror and sublime times back to the ...
As a component of "horror" it has a role to play - and it can be quite effective. On it's own? No. Seeing internal organs up close can as you say invoke a disgust/repulsion response. But context w...
In my opinion, a character needs some kind of impetus or crisis or catalyst or heartfelt realization to change their character. To me, that reflects reality. For a positive change of character, som...
Here's something important: if I am invested in a character, I would feel cheated if that character suddenly changes off-screen, and I am supposed to just accept that change as their new "character...
For most people this would be either annoying or far too simple to be interesting. Many people will know a little bit about substitution ciphers and leet speak. Those are quite often taught in sc...
Of the three acts, Act I, II, III, generally ACT II is the longest, ACT I the next longest, and ACT III the shortest. Roughly, you can divide Act II in half, Act IIa and IIb. And roughly, each w...
I suggest this long answer of mine (90 votes) on a similar topic; it will define some of the terms you are using. A "sentient" or self-aware being (machine or biological) will have an internal mod...
As @Amadeus points out, a robot programmed to interact with humans would know what range of colours "yellow" corresponds to, and would use "yellow" when interacting with humans. Interacting with ot...
One way this has been done is by using a human foil; perhaps somebody that doesn't trust the robot. The way this works is the robot presents as a caring human you could care about. But the robot w...
The marketing environment for books has become immensely more complicated and crowded than it was in the past. Partly due to the ongoing information explosion (which lets you and discuss this at al...
I don't think the problem is a "limited point of view", many good stories are told in first person; and many stories are told in third with a limited narrator: They only know the thoughts and feeli...
I don't think the soldier's presence on the battlefield should be contrived, but there is still reason for soldiers to be out there and in danger. The situation is kind of split. Primarily because...
The horse is not dead yet. Consider tanks. They are a century old technology, so they've been around for a while. Yet they did not kick foot soldiers from the battlefields. There are tasks that ta...
