Richard Stanzak
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The original profile on Stack Exchange can be found here: https://writers.stackexchange.com/u/22690.
Posts
See all 21 »I am surprised by the vehemence of many writers' objection to said-bookisms -- the practice of using a verb other than "said" or "asked" in order to convey dialog. Writers are told you can't hiss a...
2 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I have previously mentioned in other posts that I was a molecular biologist and ICU nurse. Sadly, that means I am bedeviled with a double dose of bad writing habits: academese and medicalese. Just ...
2 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
The good news is I found a great site on Goodreads that matches writers with people willing to be their critique partner:https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18443955-searching-for-critique-partner...
posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
We all have read about the huge successes of self published authors. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2015/04/17/mark-dawson-made-750000-from-self-published-amazon-books/#611bdb2a35e3 http:/...
1 answer · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I am writing a logline sentence of a query letter for my novel and used the idiom 'cat and mouse' as follows: A military bioweapons collector is forced to engage in a game of ‘cat and mouse’ w...
1 answer · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I am writing a novel that contains spy elements. Although the plot is based in the near future, it alludes to recent past historical events. Specifically, it discusses the 1985 'Year of the Spy' an...
0 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
The LONG road to publishing a novel is nearing an end. But writing a novel is actually only the beginning; editing, formatting, compiling and marketing the novel makes the initial task of writing s...
0 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
Last year, I completed a heavily researched 95,000-word novel about an emerging pandemic that targets primarily children. I am a former scientist and current nurse and wanted to do teaching about w...
3 answers · posted 7y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
Even bad writing requires skills. I read my earlier efforts and think how badly I suck, so I edit and move on. Often, I return to revise my revisions only to wonder why I had changed my initial dra...
posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
"By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Goo...
3 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I used to call my novel a techno-thriller but most readers stated they wanted to see more action in the very first chapter. At first I thought of complying, but then realized why would I reveal mor...
1 answer · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
Programmers often collaborate over code by using pastebin. They drop sections of code for others to read and assist in improving or removing errors. Does anyone know if a similar app exists for wri...
3 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I am a former Molecular Biologist and also worked for years as an ICU nurse. I personally liked Crichton's style of writing about science/medical mishaps but found his presentation of science/medic...
3 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I am trying to use more action tags to supplement the 'He said. He asked.' dialog tags. But, now I have read several blogs suggesting although 'said' is invisible and can be sprinkled as liberally ...
2 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
I write primarily science, which I readily admit can be very bland. On occasion I read fiction, but have found over the years that my tastes have changed considerably. Overly descriptive scenes lea...
5 answers · posted 9y ago by Richard Stanzak · last activity 7y ago by System
