Tom Au‭

You seem to be interested in creating a "parallel universe" for your story. That is, a world slightly different from the "real one." In your shoes, I wouldn't sweat the "worldbuilding" part. You w...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

For instance, in my high school novel, I have the main characters attend a football game, the Homecoming Dance, the basketball game, other dances, the Prom, etc. Then I have the characters react to...

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

It's understandable that your character doesn't know many things about the world when he leaves his village. That's where he came from after all. But he should know "a lot more" by the end of the ...

posted 10y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Use the first three years for Part I. Part II begins with the notation: Twenty years later... Then use "flashback" scenes in Part II to catch the odd event of note that might have taken place betw...

posted 10y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Perhaps the "classic" example is Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Early in her journey through the land of Oz, she acquires the slippers that she needs to take her back to Kansas. But she doesn't reali...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Regarding the "homosexuality," just barely mention it. Maybe show one kissing scene, one love scene or one discussion, just to show who the characters are. Then have them go about their business ...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I tend to write my stories "backward." In a 12-chapter novel, I once wrote the first three chapters, then Chapter 12, Chapter 11, Chapter 10, Chapter 9, then chapters 4-8 in some random order. I k...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

To take off on Lauren Ipsum's short, but excellent answer, you have three choices: 1) Re-write your current story so that your "cool" character is a key, perhaps main, character whose importance i...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

From what I understand, truth is a defense against a charge of libel. More to the point, I've been told that a statement need not be true if it represents a "fair comment" based on the underlying f...

0 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

You practically answered your own question. In these two cases, you should probably use a third party narrator. "very intelligent, like Sherlock Holmes (In the books, Dr. Watson is the point of v...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

An example comes from a cartoon where there is a woman talking to her boyfriend. There's a "cloud" that comes from her mouth, and the text inside reads: "You're so handsome." But there is another ...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were fictional, of course, but Lauren Ipsum has convinced me that if they were real people, a story about a "drug-using detective and his MD sidekick" might expose a ...

0 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The sports term for "heavy handed" is "piling on." In American football, if the runner has been "tackled," there is no need for other defensive players to jump on him. Chris' example, " She had ...

posted 11y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Someone with a tactical bent quickly "resolves a problem into its clearest, simplest form" (Conrad Hilton). Someone of the other kind "overthinks." The second person is actually more analytical, ...

posted 12y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I refer to the old fable that if you set enough monkeys at enough keyboards for a long enough period of time, they will (through random typing), reproduce the "Complete Works of Shakespeare," or an...

2 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by Tom Au‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭