Activity for Grahamâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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| Edit | Post #34889 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #32820 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #29802 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #27464 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #26670 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #26490 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #26475 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
| Edit | Post #23657 | Initial revision | — | about 5 years ago |
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A: How can I write humor as character trait? For me, the annoying thing about "funny" characters is where that the humour gets injected artificially, and for some reason they decide they have to tell a joke out of nowhere. That's great for a stand-up routine, but it doesn't make for a good story. In real life, what you want to be emulating is n... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Story that's too depressing? You've certainly ramped up the grimdark a bit! That said, I can think of a number of successful fantasy series which aren't a million miles away from yours. John Wyndham's The Crysalids is almost the scenario you describe, except that mutants are executed (although torture for information is a thing... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is it considered lazy writing to have a dry prelude at the start of a book? A feature of modern SF and fantasy is that readers are expected to tolerate not knowing the details of the world at the start, and to pick up these details as they go along. Instead of an info-dump at the start, the relevant information is presented more naturally as the story unfolds. This requires ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How do I find logical errors in my novel? In addition to the points raised in other answers, I'd also mention that if you're going to include something you don't know about, then you really need someone knowledgeable in that subject to give you guidance. If one of the characters is a martial artist and there's a fight scene, find someone who... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to invest readers in a story that (initially) has no clear direction? What do you do during that time? Worldbuilding. Show us the world the character lives in. If it's different to ours, show us how it's different, and make us care about it. If the character is on the run, there must be an organisation she's on the run from. What's her understanding of that organisat... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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A: What are the standard genre characteristics of contemporary women's fantasy As my name probably makes clear, I'm not female. However I'm a keen reader of fantasy and SF, and I'm particularly interested in anyone with new things to say, because the power of fantasy and SF is the ability to run fascinating thought experiments. So some of my favourites are from Sheri Tepper, Ur... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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A: Am I describing a zombie? Definitely not a traditional zombie. There are alternative depictions of zombies which you might want to draw on, but all of them have more zombie-like characteristics than you describe. Still, the film Warm Bodies) and the British TV series In the Flesh) are worth looking at, for characters who star... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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A: Rewriting a scifi story to fit with actual science, should I do it as I go? Whose laws of physics...? You're writing this world. If you can make it internally consistent, that's what matters. It doesn't have to follow our physics, so long as everything hangs together. If the plot needs a certain thing to happen, then a certain thing happens. The rest of the world just has ... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |