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Many of the most famous songwriters have either done just lyrics or just music. It's relatively common to excel only at one or the other. Personally, I write both but I tend to prefer only doing ...
You have answers about the differences between poems and lyrics. I will focus on the how. What techniques can you use to make this transition? I wrote a lot of song lyrics when I was in high sch...
The conventional term is "programmer writer" or, sometimes, "programming writer". It is generally used to describe someone whose training and focus is programming rather than technical writing, but...
This is a challenging specialization to capture in a job title, which is why my LinkedIn tagline says "speaker to programmers". But that doesn't work as a job title at any but the edgiest startups...
I really like the title "Developer Evangelist" or "Developer Advocate". The former implies that you're spreading knowledge about the company's software/SDK, but that you're also a Developer. The la...
If they have lines or specific actions, it's important to give them all names. Why? Because each one will be played by a different actor. Each actor needs to know where s/he is at any given time...
Have a "Cast of Characters" line up at the beginning showing all your characters with their names and include the creature(s) in some typical pose such as sitting on their owner's shoulder. You can...
Arguments can be made for both choices. I can only speak to what I've tried myself. I have a project I've been working on for some time that has diversity in cast. At no point do I explicitly stat...
Yes, you need to mention it. If race, ethnicity, culture are important (hint: they're always important, even if they don't change the story, they're part of who your character is, just like gender...
Assuming race is not relevant to the story, I think it is still worth considering that you mention it, or make it obvious from the description of the character. A story is more than just a sequenc...
An alternative is to change your definition of "secret". For example, I knew two professors that were sleeping together and exclusively (one was a friend of mine outside of work), but very few of o...
Scientific plausibility is maintained by not doing anything that breaks it. That is all there is to it. Details get bit more complex. Unless you somehow signal otherwise the default assumption any...
Good writing isn't good because of the specific words or style used. Good writing is good because it communicates an idea clearly, in a well-organized structure, and with a style that is pleasant t...
I think you may be thinking a little too hard about things as the writer. Instead look at things from your characters' perspectives. Unless you're writing an engineer or someone actually building X...
The most important thing I recommend is to hold to Sanderson's First Law of Magics: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands ...
Your question makes me think first and foremost of Asimov's robots. We know how they work, right? There are the Three Laws. And they have a positronic brain. Wait, what? What on earth is a "positr...
Going of the "Lay person" comment, there are a lot of topics today where people may understand the fundamental basics of the system, but not the actual working mechanics. I recall a scene from th...
In a series, I expect to find one of three approaches: a) One single plot that covers the entire series and which is divided into smaller parts in order to give each book some level of closure b)...
The concept of the 'Magic Wand' predates Harry Potter by at least a handful of millennia. Consider the 'Rod of Circe' in Homer's Odyssey which is used to magically transform Odysseus's men into pig...
The Oxford English Dictionary (subscription needed) says that "wand" has meant "A magic rod; the staff used in enchantments by a fairy or a magician" for more than 600 years: a1400–50 [The...
Harry Potter was not the first book series to have wand-wielding magicians, and it won't be the last. The best thing to do is just give your own world's wands an identity. My own world has wands/s...
What did you think the term was supposed to mean when you first came across it? You only found the term "[e]arlier this year" and you are writing a story in that genre. You are far more knowledge...
IDE-like tools exist for writers. Scrivener is a powerful general-purpose tool (also with questions here). Madcap Flare, aimed at technical writers, has good support for updating links, defining "s...
I've written two (and a third) novels in Scrivener. It lets me keep everything I used to accumulate in (actual) file folders and note cards a click away: research, old versions, web links, photos, ...
No, I think there are lots of good writing tools to choose from. Also, as I think editing is as much a part of the act of writing, I've included two editing tools. So, here are my favourite editi...
