Activity for Kirk
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer | — |
A: Am I Breaking Too Many Rules? Yes, I was breaking too many rules. It's over a year later. I finished the book based on advice here, largely sticking to my original timeline and expected word count. The novel has been placed in a trunk. It was helpful to get to the end, to know I could do that, but in some ways it was also a giga... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Is it possible to use version 3 Scrivener documents in both Mac & Windows? Does anyone use Scrivener cross OS? I just got my first MacBook and installed Scrivener, but then because it's a newer version (3) it wants to update the Scrivener files. Which would be fine, but I still intend to use my Windows desktop to write when at home. I can reach out to their support directl... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Planning story using layers, compartmentalization, and time The snowflake method may help you organize your thoughts and build a story in the way that you want. There are ten steps which move you back and forth between creating characters and creating plot. Each one challenges you to think deeper and grow your story. Here's a broad outline, but you need to g... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: 1000 words a day for a part-time writer It kind of depends on the quality of your writing. Because if you pump out 365,000 words a year, but they aren't high quality words, then it ultimately doesn't get you closer to publishing (if that is your goal; I'm assuming it is since this site is aimed at professionals). The good news is is that t... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can you tell that you have what it takes to be an author? You can't know that you will be until you try Unfortunately, the way you know you can be John Grisham (short of a DNA test) is by dedicating yourself, and years of effort, to getting published; at which point you'll be able to find that book of yours on a book shelf, confirm the text inside of it is... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Can fanfics be bestsellers? Why wouldn't it be possible? Yes. Fifty Shades et al are Twilight fanfics. Note that you may have to reskin a work (change characters, names, settings, etc) to get far enough away from the original work. Let's try this again: Is Sherlock Holmes on the BBC fanfic? Yup. (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Avoiding spectacle creep I think this is a TV/Comic problem. What I mean by that is you're used to ingesting stories which are made for TV, probably broadcast; or comics where each issue must progress with the same cast and have hundreds of stories. They have very short amounts of time to tell individual stories and if they ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Snowflake Method: Step 3 - What is important to a character story line? I'm attempting to use the Snowflake method to try and get around issues I tend to have with writing. I can pump out words, tons of words; not a problem. But, at the end of the day it's a relatively unfocused mess; so the snowflake method appeals to me because it's getting me to ask the hard questions... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: I'm looking for advice on character development The Quick Route to Distinction The Fatal Flaw This is some part of the personality/self that is out of control of the main character, or at least if it's going to be fixed it's going to take an entire book and whether they succeed may determine whether the characters succeed. Greed, Perfectionism,... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Is it true that "Any story can be great in the hands of the right storyteller"? No, it is very difficult to make any story great. And there is a ton of thought and intention that goes into picking even the right story to tell, from the right vantage point. It is not uncommon for a writer to get to the end of the story and throw out characters, plot points, and settings whole onl... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Should I focus on ideas which the market enjoys, or ideas which I enjoy? What is hot today will likely not be hot when you're done writing/revising/securing an agent/editing and then get published. Writing a book and polishing it (for experienced writers) takes about a year in the average-best-case. Securing an agent takes months to years. Once you've got an agent, securi... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Writing a Novel Set In The Future You can but don't need to. Alternate realities which are present day with some slightly different characters/events are totally fine. Unless you're planning to reference things that are happening today (in which case, sure write in the future). An audience will give you great allowance so long as you... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Do Short Stories Need Definitive Endings? Need implies no rational argument exists by witch you can have a short story without a definitive ending. Lady and The Tiger exists, therefor short stories do not need a definitive ending. QED Perhaps at a greater philosophical level no story needs to have a definitive end. And there's a whole thoug... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Dealing with inability to sustain interest in an idea In Movies there's the concept of Set Pieces. These are exciting moments in your story you want to hit that will be lavish and engaging, both for you and the reader. Set Pieces can act as mile markers. If you're anything like me, then you don't want to know more than a rough outline of where you are g... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group? In Short: Your character should be villainous because they have the qualities of a villain, not because the group they are from gives them villainous qualities. I think your real question is "how do I avoid offending people?" and the answer is by having hard conversations with the groups you might o... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Does the degree of immersion in the character alter the extremity of plot points used? It depends on your audience, but it's true that you don't need to get specific to be harrowing, or whatever your intention is. Never forget the things the reader imagines will be stronger than anything you put there yourself. The right way to think about this is that you need to maintain proper focus... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How do you make the reader root for the protagonist when the primary antagonist is more relatable and more likable? Not So Good Guy as Protagonist You may find some value in looking up the anti-hero or even villain tropes. Having murk in your story which prevents people from easily deciding who is right and who is wrong is totally fine and at times really interesting; but you're not going to win over an audience ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Is it a good idea to make the protagonist unlikable while making the supporting characters more likable? You want a character to be engaging, not necessarily likable. Breaking Bad doesn't have a likable or even sympathetic protagonist; it has a competent one and an engaging mystery. An unlikable character is a handicap, so everything else you write will have to carry the dead weight; but it is possible ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Self education over college to become an author... connections? If you do go to a college, make sure it is one with a great writing program. There's nothing worse than being shackled to debt with a piece of paper that says, "sorry for your trouble, but I'm not worth a damn." Which is not to say that you should not go to college. It's just that there are good and ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
How to construct a beat to make an effective treatment for the purposes of revision & group revisions of a Novel? Why this Question is Being asked In a previous question it was suggested that I write a treatment to assist with revising & cutting. A treatment is essentially a multi-page, spoilerific summary of exactly what happens in a written work; but, the term comes not from the Novel, but from screenplay wri... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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How long should it take to Revise/Edit to get to Good Enough? Editing, to focus my question a bit. My goal is to turn a book around from concept to publishable in a 2 year time period. Currently the plan is to write a draft in a year and revise the following, starting the next draft while the first is in revisions. A sort of waterfall methodology to writing. C... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How do you write a Stack Exchange answer? Answer the question in a way that will provide the reader (askee or searcher) with enough information to have actionable next steps. Do it in the smallest number of valuable words that you can. If you must expound, at least organize your thoughts. Aside, the number next to your answer is a popularit... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is inner monologue a bad way to show character traits? Nope. Best selling authors do it all the time. Its encouraged as long as it adds to the story instead of being a distraction; which is the general rule to putting in anything. (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is the "what" more important than the "how"? Can I just ask you to make this more specific? Or try myself? My answer will be based off this, but I'd recommend you try to firm up your question. A story is essentially characters interacting with a problem. The problem is the antagonist and manifests as characters, setting and events that block y... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is "Publishable" 1st Book Word Count still 75,000-125,000? Question For those who have been published or are in the publishing industry: - Can a new author get a longer work published these days? (near 200,000 words) - Would it be smarter of me to try and break it into 3 parallel stand-alone novels that interact with the same time period, events and world... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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Spoilers; What Makes A Feel Good Tragedy? I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but these do exist. I have some examples here, and some of them include movies. Feel Good Tragedies 1. Empire Strikes Back 2. The Prestige 3. Order of the Phoenix. 4. Dead Pool 2 Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLeGWcVeIZ4 Feel Bad Tragedies 1. Romeo... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: I am teaching myself how to write a novel -- where can I find support and resources? Repeating what I've said elsewhere. Writing Excuses is a podcast that specializes in Sci-Fi/Fantasy. They have a master course, that I mentioned earlier (season 10) on how to write a novel. It's free. It's my only recommend, but it won't be enough. Writing a novel is "easy". You just have to have a ... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How should I "remind" the reader of something that they may have forgotten? What you're trying to do is called foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is essentially providing the groundwork for a later event. The typical rule that is followed is the rule of threes. If something is important, mention it at least three times throughout the course of your story. Everyone else is right ab... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Writing the nitty-gritties of a particular scene It sounds like you're writing top down. Try bottom up where you're having difficultly. Let the characters lead and follow their interests. Introduce conflict and goals at that level. You should start to feel your charters acting of their own accord and that may help you move forward. I'm also wonder... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
| Question | — |
Am I Breaking Too Many Rules? I've finally committed to writing my first novel. I've been listening to things like Writing Excuses which encourages first time writers to finish their works, but I'm definitely writing an old darling. I have three POVs. It would be hard to fit this book solidly into a genre as it treads the line o... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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