Dale Hartley Emery
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The original profile on Stack Exchange can be found here: https://writers.stackexchange.com/u/272.
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See all 44 »Focus on the character's reactions in that moment, given his intention and state of mind as he enters that environment. Different characters would likely attend to different details, and would rea...
posted 8y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
See if you can add a twist. One time Harlan Ellison wrote: She looked like a million bucks. Realizing what a horrible cliche that was, he changed it: She looked like a million bucks, tax ...
posted 11y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
I like the flow just the way it is. I don't see any inconsistencies in these few paragraphs. And I think there is plenty here to intrigue readers. Several stylistic choices tripped me up as I read...
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
It depends who will use the word. If it's one character talking or thinking about another, it's a great word, and will help to characterize both characters in one swell foop. It will also trigger m...
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
There are few guides specifically for novels, but there are numerous books about story structure for screenwriters: The Anatomy of Story by John Truby. This is my favorite of the bunch. He descri...
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
The technique that has been most useful to me is to begin each section, paragraph, and sentence with information that readers already know, and move new information to or toward the end. I learned...
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Williams and Colomb. This book more than any other helped me write with power and confidence. Also clarity and a modicum of grace.
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
I have a hunch: The endings are not satisfying. When that's true, there's nothing for the second half of the novel to build toward. If that's true, then perhaps the problem is not structure per se...
posted 15y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
When different phrasings all have more or less the same meaning, I choose the phrasing that creates the tone or mood I want. For that, I listen to the rhythm, tempo, and sounds. Reading the passa...
posted 14y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
In addition to Lauren's list, here are a few things I do: Give each character a distinct background. Some possible elements to vary are geography, culture, ethnicity, education, age, friends, fa...
posted 13y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
I see two problems. First, if the person died, how did the story come to be set down in writing? This is a problem whether the story continues after the narrator's death or not. Some readers wil...
posted 13y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
If your change solves a problem that previously had no solution, there are likely people who have a stake in preserving the problem. If your change solves a problem better than some previous solut...
posted 13y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
Scan the documentation for the Ruby standard library, which includes numerous examples. I quickly scanned the some YAML parser classes, and the idea seems to be to simply describe how a method will...
posted 13y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
I would refine the advice thus: Translate the viewpoint character's experience into the language of the reader. That is, if the viewpoint character hears gibberish, you translate the experience of...
posted 13y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
Use the main character's own viewpoint as a guide. They will have a reaction to the name, and to being given the new name. They will make meaning of it. They will attach some significance to it. T...
posted 8y ago by Dale Hartley Emery · last activity 7y ago by System
