Activity for Alexander‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Edit	Post #38980	Initial revision	—	about 5 years ago
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Answer	—	A: How can I have a character introduce themselves as humble without making them seem arrogant? Humility is the best when shown, not told. Design a scenario when your character has something that any normal person would brag about, only that he/she is never bragging. It is the best if the other character (and the reader) is not entirely in the dark and would have some tidbit of knowledge about... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does my protagonist need to be the most important character? This is perfectly fine as long as your protagonist's character arc is satisfying and complete. If someone else is stealing the show at the end, there may be good reason for that, and lessons to learn for everybody. If your characters are part of one team (even a dysfunctional one), your task is even... (more)	—	about 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can I include personal experiences in nonfiction? Any book or article can be written with either personified (first-person) or non-personified narration. You just have to select one way or the other. Typically, reader can tell from the very start if the author presents him/her self or not, and whether the entire book or article is written through t... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Rapid change in character "Change of heart" may, or may not be real change of heart. There may be different scenarios to explain your events. 1. Justice is above all. Your character "A" may be self-centered, but he has a strong sense of duty. After listening to "B", he realizes that the only justified course of action would ... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: How important is it for multiple POVs to run chronologically? It is not necessary to run different character arcs chronologically synchronized. However, it is important not to create a false impression that these arcs are synchronized. For example in "A Song of Ice and Fire" (which I refer to quite often) first 3 books George Martin tried to run all chapters c... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I effectively research for a high-fantasy setting? If you are writing via planning and worldbuilding, your creative process goes like this: idea =\> concept =\> detailed plot/setting Research can be (and should be) used in every step of the process. Your methods #1 and #2 seem to imply that this research should predate the "idea" step and should be... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: English words in a non-english sci-fi novel Is your novel set in future? Generally speaking, yes. It is both reasonable and safe to assume that English will continue to serve as a primary language of scientific and engineering community. Thus, most new terms would be based on English. Even though this may turn out to be false, selecting a di... (more)	—	over 5 years ago
Answer	—	A: Describing a chess game in a novel You either have to be precise, and include diagrams, or be "vaguely dramatic". There is no "middle ground" here. Literature has many examples of chess matches and chess players. Other answers have already mentioned a number of them. What I think is common between them is that they are capturing the ... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to describe skin colour, if "white" is not the point of reference? I see, basically, two scenarios how your MC's dark complexion can be relevant and require special description. - Your MC skin tone is darker than the average, to the point that it might influence the plot; - Everyone's skin tone is darker than European white, and you want to convey that fact to the ... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I make a talky, idea-based concept enjoyable Twist should be quick. Ideally, within a scope of a short paragraph reader's world should be turned upside down and the general idea of what was really going on must be formed. At this point, reader likely should have some burning questions ("But why?" "But how?"). Those questions also should be add... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: In the background of the Future First of all, if your story is set 100 years in future, with all relevant technological advancements in place, you would want to make it all clear from the very beginning. You don't wont to create a "today" image like TV Tropes' "Next Sunday A.D." and then suddenly say "Let's go on interstellar trip!... (more)	—	almost 6 years ago
Question	—	Establishing a social circle for a promiscuous character I am developing a college-age female character and think that there may be a contradiction. This is an important secondary character, a good-natured girl, who is unfortunately quite promiscuous. This is mostly because she is "happy-go-lucky", but the alcohol also plays some role. I am thinking that ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: The stages of writing - what are they? To add to other's answers, my own writing can be described by two loops: A. Creative loop: 1. Excitement 2. Exhaustion 3. Writer's block B. Editing loop: 1. Sensing flaws in my writing 2. Revising While loop "A" eventually results in a roughly finished product, loop "B" can be infinite. (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Executing a tonal shift It is quite common for a work of fiction to show a "Calm before the storm". Maintaining good humor after the tonal shift is much more difficult, and rare. The movie "Life Is Beautiful" is the first example which comes to my mind. Much more common is that dramatic shift is serving for the purpose of ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to best pace information reveals to the reader There are "odd things", and there are "mysteries". Mysteries are supposed to get the audience on the hook, and get explained at some point later. Odd things just happen without explanation, and characters move on like nothing happened, whereas audience is left wondering about them. Are you sure your... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it a deus ex machina if the alternative is illogical? Complete resolution of a crisis would be a DXM. Pushing the story in a new direction (by creating another crisis that would need to be resolved) is all right. As far as I can see, your twist can mean two things - either the villain is not that bad, or he's actually worse - and freed protagonists are... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the standard genre characteristics of contemporary women's fantasy This is an interesting question, and while I don't believe there is a "prototypical" plot, let me try to find the answer by defining a contrast between typical male and typical female protagonist. I beg everybody's pardon in advance if my generalization will look offensive. Please keep in mind that t... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How much does style contribute to the overall value of a novel? Consider style, plot and characters the three pillars on which your book is going to stand. All three should get a passing grade, a failure in one will ruin an otherwise promising book. If you think that your critic is giving you an "F" for the style, and you believe that she may be right, that shou... (more)	—	almost 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Plotting My Story~ First of all, your question is about "what to write" rather than "how to write". Now (before your question can be put on hold), take a good look at your characters. What conflict of interests could develop between them? If no obvious conflicts are seen, maybe there is a scenario (a love interest, a ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How much of a character's past/background should I let on? You can (and probably should) tell your characters' background stories, but you should also ask yourself a question - "would it make my book better?" There are a few rules that I think are important: - A backstory should be interesting by itself; - A backstory should be relevant to the main plot, o... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write a character that isn't who they claim? It all depends on your intention. 1) You want your reader to be suspicious about the character, but not know the true explanation. In this case you can put spotlight on this character, show some mystery and hidden depth, but leave a number of other possible explanations to his actions. 2) You want ... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it needed to add breaks in a depressive story? I would say it all depends on your idea of the book. If you want your book to be depressing all the way, then you are good, and your story can be a very good one. However, I personally don't appreciate books like that. To me, a book should have both up and down moments. Even if your characters are (... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago