Posts by Dale Hartley Emery
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...
No matter what else you do, make sure you do this: Clearly distinguish the sidekick's personality from the main character's. Different attitudes. Different "voice," such as diction or accent or se...
A common approach is to give the detail, but to disguise its significance. Mystery writers are masters of this. One trick is to insert the relevant detail in the middle of a long list. Readers ten...
When I'm writing, I simply mark the word for later review. How I mark it depends on my writing tool: highlight by changing the background or foreground color, insert a note or comment, wrap in [squ...
A few possibilities: Tag Nicene with an utterly distinctive physical feature. When Shadow observes that physical feature, readers will know that it is Nicene. Give Nicene some tag phrase, and hav...
In addition to the always wise advice to omit the boring parts... Summarize the boring parts in a short paragraph. Maybe simply refer to them in passing. Complicate the terms of the negotiation u...
One simple, effective way to solve it: Stop editing. It's fine.
The term is metadiscourse, or communication about the communication. Sometimes they help guide the reader through a complex line of reasoning. Sometimes they add emphasis or rhythm. Sometimes they'...
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...
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...
If you really don't care what you write, it's easy to come up with ideas. Lately this is all I need to get started: Character + setting + problem. This is from an old "seven-point plot outline" t...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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...
Feedback from my writer's group tells me that my recent stories leave promises unfulfilled and important questions unanswered. So I've become interested in how stories make promises and raise quest...
Some short story markets (e.g. Daily Science Fiction) request manuscripts in plain text. How do you indicate emphasis in a plain text manuscript?
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