Activity for Chris Sunami
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: "Stealing" jokes Stealing jokes, while not exactly uncommon, is really despised and looked down upon from within the comedian community. It's hard to tell from your description whether you're really just "inspired" by what you see, or actually taking other people's signature lines and putting them in your characters... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Respecting classic dramatic structure in a documentary As @Galastel has already noted, the standard documentary approach is to film everything, and then to craft a story only at the end, and through the editing process. This is because the story you may end up with might, through the accidents of life, be quite different than the story you thought you we... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Translating worldbuilding into an interesting opening Worldbuilding gives you the setting in which to tell a story. It is not the story itself. As a writer you need to wear many different hats. Architect is one hat, and editor is another, but the one you need to wear right now is storyteller. Get a complete story down on paper, don't worry about how fi... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What should I do if I can't properly formulate the personality of one of my characters in my novel? Perhaps this character "wants" to be someone quite different than you are trying to make her be. It sounds like she's making a mystery of herself. Perhaps this means she isn't who she claims to be. Perhaps she's in disguise, or an amnesiac, or enchanted, or an imposter, or hiding a big secret. Or ma... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Publishing fiction: when do I start looking for an agent? No one WANTS to spend a year editing something and then get a mountain of rejection letters. But it's the people who tackle that head-on who tend to be successful, not the people who look for shortcuts around it. Believe me, I've spent more than enough of my own years looking for other ways to get th... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Given how much self-promotion modern writers need to do, are Query Letters still worth writing? Self-publishing is viable for all and only the people who are willing and able to personally sell every copy of their own book (or eBook). It's great for public speakers, relentless self-promoters, and people who love book tours and author's events. For everyone else, traditional publishing is still ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Characterisation: What lines can an antihero cross while retaining reader sympathy? The breaking point will be different for different readers, because it all comes down to what we can learn from the character. If we can genuinely put ourselves in the character's place, we'll have empathy for him, even if we abhor his actions. But if he neither regrets them nor learns from them, th... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Series: How can I get my reader to not expect any one genre? It's hard to build a recognizable identity while genre-hopping. The more successful you are with any one style or genre, the more both readers and publishers are going to demand more of the same. Based on my observations of writers in the wild, however, there are several potentially successful strate... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Anticlimactic ending as a surprise after climax? In order for your last ending to feel worthwhile, it needs to complete some important part of the protagonist's story arc left unfinished at the big battle. The Wizard of Oz has an anticlimatic second ending, but it has a crucial purpose. The apparent first ending (flying home with the Wizard in his ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How long can a fantasy novel stay in metaphorical Kansas? I've read books written the way yours is currently set up, and I agree with your beta readers --some foreshadowing would help. However, I think you could afford to be fairly subtle about it. The first book of Zelazny's famous Amber series begins in the mundane world, and for a while, no events happe... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Are there any general rules or guidelines for using newly coined word(s) or neologism? Shakespeare, who may not have coined all the words he's credited with, but who certainly popularized a lot of neologisms, tended to recapitulate or paraphrase a possibly unfamiliar word in the same sentence. > Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Of plottwists and endings I think you've hit on the key in your question: All secondary story arcs need to reach a satisfying conclusion prior to the twist. This is because what we seek at the end of a story is emotional completeness, not necessarily logical or narrative completeness (although it's significantly harder to ach... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Can ‘Stupid’ Characters Make Plot Narratives Memorable? There's a truism, origin unknown, to the effect that "bad decisions make good stories." If everyone makes great choices all the time, it doesn't lead to much in the way of drama or suspense. On the other hand, people want to be able to identify with your characters, and no one voluntarily identifies... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How many characters are too many? As a reader, I very much dislike large casts of characters, I lose patience and the ability to tell them apart quite quickly. However, a lot of it depends on how they are deployed. If your main character travels a lot, for instance, he or she might naturally encounter quite a lot of different people,... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to write a good sex scene specifically for erotica? In my opinion, erotic writing is more about frustration than fulfillment, even in an explicit context. Once you give the reader exactly what they want, you've spent your load, so to speak. So you want to put that moment off, while still keeping the reader engaged. There's plenty of things an explicit... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How do I know if a concept is sexist or not? Assuming you aren't a woman yourself, I would suggest talking this idea through with several women to see how it strikes them. It can be difficult to see through the eyes of a group you don't belong to, and all too easy to overlook your own biases. On the other hand that doesn't mean you need to tak... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: The psychology of starting a piece of writing Every writer must wear two hats, writer and editor. All cases of writer's block, no matter at what part of the process they occur, are because your internal editor is overriding your internal writer. So all solutions to writer's block involve finding a way of circumventing your internal editor. Ther... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Occupational Hazards to being a Full-Time Writer - Loneliness : Writing is primarily a solitary activity. Many software developers are introverts already, so lots of solitude and isolation may not bother you, but for me, as a social person, it's one of the main barriers to happiness as a writer. - Disconnection From Reality : You're going to be sp... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Too Many Goals? Not unsimilar to myself, my protagonist potentially has too many goals. He's isn't a likeable character (which is how I intended him) so to keep reader interest, I would like them to become invested in his projects and goals. But is it better to focus tightly on one major goal than it is to have a ra... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Avoiding Slang whilst Writing You need to recognize this is a tool in your toolbox as a writer. It isn't "wrong" to do it, it just has a specific effect and impact that you may or may not want: Use of slang, in general, establishes a social "in group" (those who understand the slang) and an "out group" (those who don't understan... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Transitioning from novel writing to screenwriting? To transition to screenwriter from a novelist you need to: - Master screenplay format, which is very strict and standardized - Learn to approach writing as a collaboration, not a solo activity. You may still write your screenplay alone, but it will not be a movie without the additional work of up t... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is it ok to reference something modern to give the reader a better idea of what something looks like if the book is set in the Middle Ages? If you do this, it will have a very specific effect --it will create distance between the narrator and the setting, which will tend to remind the reader of the artificiality of the writing. You may want to do this, particularly if you are writing postmodernist fiction or meta-fiction, where you want ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Breaking up a talky piece of writing Dialogue is my favorite thing to write. I tend to use a lot of dialogue in my writing, which sometimes results in long, talky passages -- a bit similar to this question about breaking up exposition. The dialogue I'm talking about isn't necessarily infodumping, however. It's just long stretches where ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can I distance myself from an article published under my name, with edits I disagree with? This is probably a not uncommon problem for less professional publications, where editorial norms may not be as well-understood. That's not to say that ALL college publications are less professional, but some of them certainly are. I'm sure the editor thinks he/she was doing you a big favor. I would... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Basic fails to look out for when writing the drama: What can we learn from soap operas Soap opera scribes are not bad writers, they are writers whose (often considerable) craft is turned against the aims of more substantive writing. The defining characteristic of soap operatic writing is plot disconnected from character development. Events happen, one after another, chosen for their p... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can I make my 'first draft' good enough to be published? If you are not primarily an "exploration writer" (or even if you are), there is a lot of advance work that can make your first draft better. This includes worldbuilding --coming up with rich and expansive details and backstories about your characters and settings (even knowing not all of it will feat... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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The psychology of finishing a piece of fiction I have a psychological oddity when it comes to my own writing (particularly fiction, and particularly longer work). Obviously it may just be a personal problem, but perhaps other people have similar issues: When I am working on my (longer) writing, it seems like the most fantastic thing in the world... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What is the "Proposal" Part of a Query Letter? Query letters and book proposals are two related, but distinctly different tools for selling your book. A query letter is a brief "hooky" one-page document that is often sent as a "cold-call," meaning as your first contact with an agent or publisher you have no previous relationship with. Its purpose... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to write a PG13 Succubus character? A succubus is not the embodiment of sexuality, but the embodiment of the fear of sexuality. So it is highly relevant to an age group where sexuality is often viewed with a mixture of fear, disgust and fascination. You really don't have to bring sex explicitly into the picture at all. Just write a ch... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Referencing modern pop culture in science fiction The general rule is this: The more current something is, the quicker it goes stale. Allusions are a way of contextualizing a piece of work, a shorthand way to borrow some of the magic of the source(s). But the cost of using them is this. To the same extent that they do work for you for the people tha... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Why is young adult romance now being written primarily in the first person? In general teenagers tend to be (a) a little narcissistic and (b) intensely interested in their peers and what they think and feel. When you write in the first person as a teen protagonist, you are effectively taking on the persona and presentation of a peer , a fellow teen with whom they can empathi... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to get started as a freelancer? Your best bet is to build from your previous experience working for magazines and journals by submitting to ones that pay. In addition to the big, general interest publications, there are a lot of niche publications, some of which have healthy budgets. If you're a good researcher, you might be able t... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What are the limits to description in story writing? How do I know if I have crossed them? What needs to be kept in mind is that writing isn't for you, it's for the reader. As a writer, we imagine the story in our heads, we see it vividly, and then we write. But that in itself doesn't guarantee what we see and feel is transferred to the reader's head. The problem with purple prose is that ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Should I write scared? Music is a performance art, it takes place in "real time." Writing does not. So while there is an inevitable trade-off between spontaneity and polish for a musician, the same is not true for a writer, whose spontaneity is always an illusion. Your characters can be smarter and wittier than you, if you... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How long should it take to Revise/Edit to get to Good Enough? Even if you're thinking of this as primarily a learning project, I would advise trying to get it into publishable shape rather than abandoning it and starting a new one. As you said, it's work you'll need to learn to do sooner or later. Given that, however, I'd say you'll want to be a little less rig... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Writing diversity I'm facing a similar issue with the book I'm writing. As a member of more than one minority group, diversity in literature is very important to me. But at the same time, I'm very conscious of the dangers of doing it wrong. I think the key question is "How many different ethnicities can you write wel... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Should I capitalise the first letter of a title that an unnamed character has? A descriptor, or anything else being used in place of a proper noun is capitalized as if it were a proper noun, because it essentially is one. You would typically not capitalize the unless it is an intrinsic part of the character's "name," which it might be. > He took a personal meeting with The Don... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How do you avoid smiling, head-bobbing characters? I'm a little wary of purely data-driven writing changes. Without reading your book, I can't say if 62 smiles is 3 smiles too many or 5 smiles too few. But in terms of a warning sign of possible deeper issues, the question I would ask is whether your characters are too agreeable. Although having some... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Character crisis for a Science Hero? So, she's rational, data-driven, and rule-following AND the rules say she can't be a leader? The conflict practically writes itself: Her data and rational analysis tell her she should be leading, her rules tell her she can't. To sharpen the conflict, her failure could be a complete fluke. She embrac... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How do you write a Stack Exchange answer? I try to always answer in 3 paragraphs whenever possible. Less is often too little for a substantive answer, and more becomes less and less likely for people to read. The first paragraph should always be the most direct answer to the main question in the original post, as asked, with a minimum of ed... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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How do you write a Stack Exchange answer? Over my years on StackExchange I've come to view answering SE questions as its own, highly specialized writing subgenre, with its own demands, and its own ideal format. By trial and error, and observation of highly upvoted answers, and of answers that I personally find useful, I've created my own sta... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is there any way to get around having everyone in the world speak the same language? It may or may not be true that every crisis in the real world is an opportunity, but it is true that every writing challenge is a writing opportunity. The challenge of multiple language isn't an obstacle to overcome, it's a chance to show things about the world your characters live in, the mindset of... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to make the murder's identity less obvious, or make the obviousness not matter? It would be difficult to pull off a first person murderer in a mystery format and still play fair with the audience. About the only way I can see to make it work is to present the entire narrative as a fictionalized story (or perhaps notes for a story) that the narrator is writing about his own expe... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to handle a massive info dump post-ending? You've chosen a challenging structure. Normally, for a twist ending to land, the reader has to have been given most of the relevant information along the way -- think Sixth Sense. The only successful model for something close to this that I can think of is Hero (2002), which borrows Rashomon's famou... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How can a "rip-off" still be good? I think you're taking the wrong lesson from Amadeus' post. There were any number of kids' books about magic schools before Rowling, and the idea of secret conspiracies at the Vatican probably is as old as the Vatican itself. For that matter, The Lord of the Rings is founded heavily on old myths, and ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Where can I find resources about writing "Choose your own adventure"-style books? It's worth noting that "Choose Your Own Adventure" is a specific brand of children's novelty "gamebooks," and that nearly all books written in this format are released under that brand. It's not --at least to my knowledge --a viable sub-genre outside the brand. So if you want to write a book just lik... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is it acceptable to use synonyms to achieve rhythm? I would venture to guess that most writers whose prose has a poetic quality produce that quality naturally, without conscious effort. However nearly anything that can be produced by nature can be reproduced by craft, so I would also venture to guess that there are writers who spend a great deal of t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Two magical realities, ours isn't one of them. How do I stop my readers from getting confused? The main thing to remember is that the audience doesn't need to know the details of your magic system unless the characters need to know.You may be geeked about the system you've put together, but that doesn't justify shoehorning the details into your book. With that said, Master of the Five Magics ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What is the "acid test" for a nonfiction anthology? The core concept of an anthology is a "collection," of things that would otherwise be separate --things that have their own separate identity and coherence. What is anthologized might be different authors, previously published works by a single author, different types or genres of work, and so forth... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to simplify a sentence so that a younger audience can understand it? What sticks out to me about this sentence is not that the descriptor "apparatus" for a pocket square is too difficult, but that it is simply wrong. An apparatus implies a complex assemblage of parts, whereas a pocket square couldn't be simpler. This suggests to me that the underlying problem may be ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |