Activity for Mike.C.Ford‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
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Answer	—	A: Creating simple jokes Jokes are just humor where you provide both the set-up and the punch-line yourself. A stand-up comedian talking to a room full of people has to reel off jokes one after the other, as they have no input from others (unless they're responding to a heckle or doing audience participation). In regular re... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Convincing argument about something I don't agree with It's possible that you have 2 problems here. The first is that you're trying to find convincing arguments in support of someone who rules through fear, power and intimidation. Generally, these types of classic villain don't need a more convincing argument for people to follow them than "I will kill ... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: "Real people don't make good fictional characters". Really true? Personally I believe the reason not to use real people in fiction is very simple: the writer already knows them too well. When you write about a person that you know first-hand, it is very difficult to know what to tell the reader in order for them to understand the character. Anyone that you've kno... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How to invest readers in a story that (initially) has no clear direction? The main character of my novel (third person limited) is an outlaw, on the run from government agents and living from day to day trying to survive. In the first quarter of the story, she doesn't really have any sort of "end goal" that she is working towards outside of trying to remain free. She is j... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it wrong to use the same word multiple times within a few sentences? In situations like this, my instinct is always to completely rephrase the entire section (whether that's just a sentence, a paragraph or even more). If you want to emphasize that both the building and the doors to it were sleek, you could write something like: > The building loomed large in front o... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How Can I Make a Great Plot? There are so many different plots that can be written. The majority of them can be narrowed down to even more broad terms until every story is just a variation of around a dozen different types. There probably isn't a definitive answer for 'what makes a good plot', because I've read almost identical... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	How to write a character misinterpreting Four Candles as Fork Handles English is full of homophones that can cause confusion when speaking, but if the two similar sounding words are spelled differently they can be clarified as soon as they are written down. However, this causes an issue when attempting to deliberately write about someone hearing the incorrect words, be... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Just how Different are Male and Female Readers? If you would like to immediately disprove your friend about the fact that female readers prefer a protagonist that is an ordinary person, I'll refer you to the works of Jane Austen, which are favored by female readers, incredibly popular and about the landed gentry in the late 18th/early 19th century... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I contrast the thought processes of different characters in one scene? I should think that alternating paragraphs should be enough, as long as the tone/ voice that each character uses has been sufficiently different. It's not too dissimilar to two different people having an extended back and forth dialogue and not including the 'he said', 'she said' parts in order to p... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Making People Unsure which Characters will Survive It kind of sounds like you have a group of characters that you want to remove their plot armor. If the reader realizes that anyone can die, then they will be unsure who could be next, as any of the main characters could go. Many people have named George RR Martin as someone who overdoes deaths, howe... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I Avoid Being Frightened by the Horror Story I am Writing? Seeing an axe murderer at the end of a hallway is scary, but not seeing them and knowing they're somewhere nearby, maybe round the corner, or maybe behind you, is much scarier. This is because, as you said in the question, the fear of the unknown is something that the majority of people have in some ... (more)	—	about 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you write a political debate in a story? You don't have to write good arguments for two characters arguing opposite points in a debate, you need to write good characters. As someone writing a debate, it's likely that you will favor one side over the other, therefore bias to the debate will likely creep in, as it is difficult to write argum... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can a scene be written to be disorienting and not be too confusing to readers? This seems like a great idea, and possibly the best way to approach this would be to have the time of disorientation be relatively brief. I've not written dream sequences ever, so I don't have any suggestions beyond making it obvious that it's a dream sequence. Possibly making what is occurring stra... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How to demonstrate an evolution of magic without it seeming like it is improvised? I'm writing a fantasy novel, in which the story progresses over a number of years. Throughout the story, I want to display an evolution of the magic, much like technology evolves in our world. The speed of the magic evolution would begin slowly but would eventually progress very quickly, due to reas... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: YA novel with old protagonist? I actually think that this story would work better with someone who is 18-20. I haven't read any YA novels for a few years now, so I don't know at which point plots and themes might be deemed too complex for such an audience, but here is what I would do. Being early 30s with a wife and kids and a s... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What's the difference between a 1-, 2- or 3-dimensional character? The terms are bandied around quite often to describe fictional characters, generally in order to help describe how developed a character is in terms of personality and backstory. However, are there explicit cut-off points of when to describe such characters in this way? What makes a character go fro... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How to write a good prison scene I'm attempting to write one or two chapters with one of my main characters in a jail cell. It's important to the character development that he is isolated for an extended period of time, antagonized by others and also made to feel powerless. Therefore a jail cell seemed to be the perfect location for... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Picking a place to start (In media res) I don't think it's altogether a bad idea, it depends on how you implement it. One of the ways it can be achieved is to have the present day story and the past story running in parallel. This would mean that events would need to develop for the character in prison, whilst he remembers back to what ha... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is Jaime Lannister a "telling not showing" example? I actually asked a similar question to this in a different SE site, and I think that GRRM actually provides enough evidence to prove that he is an incredibly accomplished swordsman. However, you are correct, that he does the majority of building up Jaime's legendary skill with telling rather than sh... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: I'm unable to figure out the logical solution to a problem; how do I keep writing? Worldbuilding SE can help you with a specific solution to your logic problem, but in terms of writing I'll offer a general solution to how to solve such a problem. If you're not sure how to move the plot from point A to point C via point B, then don't focus primarily on the plot for the solution. Yo... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How Much Dialogue Is Too Much Dialogue I think it entirely depends upon the pacing you require from the scene. If you're writing it with the action in mind, I would have around a single line of dialogue for every action that takes place. However, if it's comedy, you can be more liberal with the conversation, and intersperse it with summ... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Methods for creating slang I would say simply pick a really specific way to change the language, and then change it that way consistently. Like with your example, it uses words that rhyme with the word they mean in English, in order to essentially create a new language. Pig Latin takes the first part of a word in English, pu... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	Should I use ideas for my story now, or in a sequel? I have built a world in which to write my fantasy book, and I'm currently writing my first book about it. I have it all planned out and am in the process of writing it. I have plans for a further book that develops naturally from this one, and will end with most things wrapped up quite nicely. I ori... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How to balance for readers who are not technologically literate My story features two software developers who discuss computer-based things in the first chapter. It's not a significant part of the story, but it helps to establish who the characters are and what they know. Being a software developer as my day job, I know how they should talk about things and inte... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Question	—	How do I demonstrate ideological differences between characters who are politically not too different? I'm currently writing a novel, in which two characters who are old friends are having an argument. I'm writing the argument to establish who the characters are and what their values are (the argument is in chapter 1), and also to demonstrate some distance and conflict between them. But, I'm struggl... (more)	—	over 9 years ago