J.G.‭

When I read people's manuscripts to provide feedback, I can easily identify areas worth improving. However, feedback isn't all that helpful if it makes the writer give up, so good news needs to be ...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I can see why it feels hard. Almost all these symbolism tropes refer to a specific existing symbolism, rather than ways to create something new. So what are your options? Apples have other symboli...

posted 7y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I'm a mathematician and physicist who's routinely annoyed when fiction gets mathematical and/or physical details wrong, even in works that are meant to be about geniuses in the field, such as Good ...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Since you mention Rowling, let's talk about criticism of Harry Potter. Harold Bloom complained about "clichés and dead metaphors". A S Byatt spoke of "intelligently patchworked derivative motifs"...

posted 8y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

One can plan plot in details, or one can design characters' traits and see what story can't help but develop from that. You might find either approach or something in between serves you, but it sou...

posted 8y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Based on my experience in other fields that do have postulates, I'd say the sign of them is that they're positions which enjoy a consensus, seem too fundamental to be provable as such, and are a ba...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Many will say what you're striving to do is impossible because you won't have seen enough tricks of the trade in use, but I'll do my best to suggest a way forward that doesn't boil down to, "read N...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The cause of your problem is difficult to diagnose on the information given, so I'll explore a few possibilities. You'll need to experiment to see what helps you. Do you have access to what you wr...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

This is a classic example of why writers need to be well-read: they can learn from how someone else solved a similar problem before. You're probably well-aware (if familiar with the plot of Treasur...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Showing instead of telling has several advantages, though which apply depend on the context. I'll list several off the top of my head, based on my experiences of what showing achieves: You can be...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

One thing I'm surprised no-one seems to have mentioned is the architect-gardener distinction. I get the impression your current writing style is that of the gardener, meaning you see what happens ...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The anti-adverb advice for English should be (and often is) stated as specific to -ly manner adverbs; Ben Blatt has found the more highly-regarded writers use just as many adverbs, but use fewer -l...

0 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

You might not really know what happens when you try each approach until you use both, say to tell the same short story twice. I'm currently working on the fourth book in a series, and the first on...

posted 8y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Instead of focusing on whether you should lengthen the story, try to work out whether that will happen naturally as a result of whatever improvements your redraft mandates. For example: Are there...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The main problem with trying to estimate something like this is that, even if two writers used the same very detailed plot summary to write a novel, they might produce works that aren't close to be...

posted 9y ago by J.G.‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭