Activity for Duncan McKenzie
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Post #16336 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #16242 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #16195 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #16014 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #15999 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #15697 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #15688 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Struggling to define a character without giving him viewpoint status It's usually better to plant yourself and describe the character through the eyes of the viewpoint character. It doesn't usually require too much of a change. > Carla looked at John's gaunt face, his haunted eyes. This was what imprisonment did to a man. It was a face that had felt agony and seen it... (more) |
— | about 8 years ago |
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A: Is it a good idea to start each chapter with a snippet from a fictional book? Opening extracts or poems give a slightly old-fashioned feel to a book, so if that's the goal, it could work. In Dune, the extracts are a constant reminder that this is a story of an epic struggle in future history. However, if the point is to shoehorn in more information, the beginning of a chapter ... (more) |
— | about 8 years ago |
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A: Picking a place to start (In media res) The Big Flashback can work, but it's a tired cliché. The general strategy is to open with Louise fighting for her life the grip of the Acturan Octopus Tyrant, then jump back in time to her childhood in Idaho, and the strange sequence of events which will lead to her becoming Earth's one hope against... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: How many errata are too many? I think you mean "errors" rather than "errata". A book's errata is usually a list of errors that have been noted and are corrected on a separate page. You don't see errata so much these days—it's cheaper to correct the error and reprint it, and there's less of a financial inducement to print the erro... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Need guidance on my writing method Start writing. Don't be so afraid to get it wrong. A writer can get a long way by emphasizing quantity over quality. (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: How can a screenplay writer learn to write a novel? You have an ability to write screenplays that even you are forced to describe as "pretty spectacular." Given this, and your dislike of descriptive writing, I can't for the life of me understand why you want to make the transition to books. Focus on your screenwriting. A screenplay will typically mak... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: How to avoid the 'magic explanation' info dump in Fantasy novels This is a complex question. The business of balancing information and story is always tricky. One good approach is to give minimal information, then bury further descriptions in the course of the story. Tolkien often works like this. He offers a brief description of a character's appearance, and oth... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |