Activity for weakdna says reinstate monica
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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A: Where can I go to have my writing reviewed both in terms of style and technical content? I've never used any online service for reviewing, editing, and/or critique. I always get it from peers and mentors. There are some advantages to having your writing reviewed online, like speed and convenience, but in the end, you don't really know where it's going or who's really reading it. I woul... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Does my protagonist need to be the most important character? In my fantasy story that I'm slowly getting into, my MC Sirena is an apprentice witch. Her two fellow apprentices, Aster and Keeva, study alongside her under their High Priestess, and they all somewhat cooperate with the king of the lands where they live. Sirena is not the most powerful of the three... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Giving a character trauma but not "diagnosing" her? In my post-apocalyptic novel, my MC Eris is severely traumatized by the death of her family at her own hands. Because of this, she has extreme aversion to social interaction and even physical contact. In the real world, if something like this happened, Eris might be suffering from PTSD, depression, ... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Basing my protagonist on myself (I asked another question about this novella here.) In a novella I'm writing, I explore the lives of a young Hispanic woman, Ramona, and her brother, Rafael, in an Orwellian-esque future America where Hispanic immigrants and citizens alike are persecuted. Ramona, give or take, is me, while Rafael is... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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A: How to clarify between imagined sensations and "real" fantasy events? Think about how dream-like or drugged states are portrayed--hazy, halting, illogical. Nothing in an imagined state is solid; time skips around, scenery/environment changes very quickly, people and faces morph into other people and things. Now compare this to the reality of the monster your character... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Subverting the emotional woman and stoic man trope In my post-apocalyptic story, the split of male and female main/supporting characters is 50/50. The girls and women in the story, Eris, Marina, and Ezrith, display very little emotion--Eris represses her emotions so that they only come on rarely and in intense waves, Marina only shows emotional vuln... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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What should come first—characters or plot? I'm starting a new fantasy story, and although I had a loose idea of plot, I began sculpting my characters before writing anything. Creating images of them in my head, developing their personalities, mapping out their interpersonal relationships, and, my personal favorite, searching for people on Goo... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Avoiding racist tropes in fantasy I'm interested in starting a pleasure project: a fantasy story, along the lines of a witch delivering a prophecy to a king about a dangerous and deceitful foe who will overthrow him, and the king enlists three other witches to seek out and destroy this foe. I want to draw on traditional, arguably "c... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
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Is an easily guessed plot twist a good plot twist? In my post-apocalyptic novel, there are two "twists", but they're mostly tied up in each other. The first is that humans have developed different kinds of kineses, like hydrokinesis, telekinesis, and so on. The second is that the MC, Eris, has finékinesis, the ability to manipulate death, and she kil... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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When to finally reveal plot twist to characters? In a post-apocalyptic novel I'm writing (which is the subject of many questions I've asked on Writing.SE), I recently cut out my entire Chapter 10-11. I was revealing the MC, Eris' finékinesis (death-force manipulation) to her love interest, Caspian, and her accidental killing of his mother and her o... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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When to publish satire of current events? I'm writing a satirical novella of sorts, based on the current American political climate. I'm exploring themes of race, political polarity, and youth. I do want to finish and possibly publish this novella, but I don't know when is a good time to do so. If I publish it before the next election cycle... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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Is killing off one of my queer characters homophobic? (For reference, I am queer.) In my post-apocalyptic novel and in the short story from the novel's antagonist's perspective, my MC, Eris' love interest, Caspian, has/had two mothers, Saskia and Ezrith (Ezrith is the antagonist). Saskia was his biological mom, and Ezrith is his adoptive mom. Saskia wa... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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How to transition from poetry to song-writing? I've written poetry since I was nine, and I would say I'm pretty good at it. I also really like music, and I can create simple melodies that I hum to myself. But whenever I try to write a song, my attempts fall flat, and I don't understand why. I'm good at rhyming and metering and I've written poetry... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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In-text citations for a source with no page numbers I'm using online sources for an essay for my DE History course, and we're required to use in-text citations when we quote or paraphrase sources, with the format of author-page number, like (Johnson 12). But the online articles that I'm citing don't exactly have tangible pages, so do I just use (Autho... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Do I have to pay royalties if I include excerpts from other works? In a lot of books, at the beginning, the authors include quotes from poetry or songs that are relevant to the theme of their story or to their characters' situations. Obviously I would have to ask for permission to use these works, but do I have to pay the authors or writers if I publish? (For clarif... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Avoiding the "not like other girls" trope? The "not like other girls" trope is pretty common in young adult fiction, arguably misogynistic, and usually applied to a female protagonist or love interest. Attempts to make a female character strong and unique can very easily end up in this territory, even if the author didn't intend to write thei... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is a lawful good "antagonist" effective? In my post-apocalyptic novel, my protagonist is not necessarily "good", and although the antagonist is an honest and kind person, my protagonist perceives her as "evil". My antagonist is the leader of a group of survivors, and cares deeply for her family and group, and is extremely suspicious of my p... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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How do I make a "contract" with my reader? (EDITED TO MAKE IT LESS BROAD AND MORE CLEAR). I recently asked a question about if I really need to include scientific proof for my mostly-non-scientific post-apocalyptic novel, and the best answer I received told me that I didn't need to back up my premise with science as long as I set the contrac... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Do I really need to have a scientific explanation for my premise? So, in my post-apocalyptic novel, the world was caught up in an international war (basically WWIII), and all the world's nuclear superpowers launched their warheads and killed much of the global population. Ambient radiation from the nuclear fallout has caused humans to develop supernatural abilities... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Including disabled characters without "inspiration porn" We all have seen the headlines: "Touching Moment Where Autistic Boy is Asked to Prom", "Watch This Child With Downs Win Her Heat During a Swim Competition", etc., that are touching at first glance, but in actuality, embody the objectification of disabled people by society, the pity able bodied shower... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Casually inserting sexual orientation EDIT: Many people who are attempting to answer this question are severely misinterpreting the circumstances and setting of the book, so here is some information about Eris that I thought I had included but actually forgot to. This novel is post-apocalyptic. Eris killed her family as a child in an acc... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Critique vs nitpicking During an in-class activity for my AP Lang class, each student did a cold read of a piece they chose, then all the students provided critique out loud and written on their own copy of the author's piece. I read a poem about my life, which mainly focused on my struggles with mental illness and sexuali... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Pairing poetry with original artwork: is this done? Many poets pair their artwork with their prose, probably the most notable is Rupi Kaur in her bestselling poetry collection Milk and Honey). Here, here, and here are some examples of her poetry and art combinations. Many poets and artists, including myself, when handwriting will often add art alongsi... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to write painful torture scenes without being over-the-top If the torture scene is happening to your MC or your current narrator, instead of focusing on all the blood and gore which can make a lot of readers queasy or uncomfortable, focus on the narrator's agony. If your goal is to both portray the goriness of torture to send a message AND show your narrator... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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How to keep romance out of my novel? (Kem uses they/them pronouns.) I'm outlining a story about a witch named Kem who has to protect the world from evil. Kem befriends demons and other witches, but I don't want them to find a crush or anything and I want to keep their feelings for everyone are platonic or familial. I want the reader to... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Writing a short story in the same universe as my novel In my post-apocalyptic novel, the MC Eris navigates the world of survivors and grapples with her newly discovered abilities. The leader of the group of survivors, and the book's antagonist, Ezrith, had a wife named Saskia who was, unbeknownst to everyone, killed by Eris. I want to write a short story... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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How soon is too soon for a redemption arc? My character, Day, is the son of a dictator and the director of state-sanctioned and sponsored torture of mutated humans, one of whom is my MC. He killed his own sister to prove to his father that he was worthy of his government position. After being held hostage by the mutants after they escape cus... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is using first person in academic/technical essays always bad? For as long as I can remember, my teachers have taught me never to use first person in an essay. Yet, some of the examples we read in classes, or older writings we have to annotate, are written in first person. So what is the actual rule here? Why is using first person in essays considered unacceptab... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is bigotry always necessary in a story? I asked a question here on how to avoid political issues when I have a witch MC named Kem who is nonbinary, and a few people suggested that instead of including any kind of transphobia towards Kem, I should talk about how discrimination and anti-witch sentiments exist in Kem's world. I know that ther... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is it bad to have no gender variety? The majority of stories, movies, shows, comics, and other media I've read or seen have a pretty even split between men and women, and that's fine, I don't have a problem with it. But if I want to write a story that's centered around two girls fighting against two female "villains" (with only one mal... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Are run-on sentences always bad? (TW, depression related stuff?) In my AP Lang class, we've recently started an activity called Visiting Author, where a student does a cold read of a piece they wrote and the others give criticism and suggestions either out loud or on paper. I volunteered to read a poem I had written about my life. ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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An LGBT main character, but the book isn't about LGBT issues So I'm in the very early stages of plot development on a new story. It focuses on a (nonbinary, hence the they/them pronouns) witch named Kem who recently discovered their powers and met some friendly demons. It's kind of an action-fantasy book, and it's not about any real world issues, it's about Ke... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Creating a fairytale for adults A short story fairytale that I've been thinking about writing and plotting out has recently given me pause. It focuses on a witch and a princess who both cross faeries, but it isn't by any means for kids, and I don't want to make the mistake of simplifying it or dumbing it down, because it's very dar... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is using an online name generator a good idea? When I'm stumped for a planet name or an organization name or something, I usually search on Google for a free name generator. But are the names in random generators copyrighted? If I used a generated name in a published work, would I have to credit the generator? Is using a generator even a good ide... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Fictional cultures and languages existing in the same area? So I've got this fantasy planet X, where humanoid peoples Y and Z are at war on an island nation about the size of England, and they've been at war with each other for hundreds of years. They are two very distinct peoples, with different physical appearances, traditions, religions, languages, customs... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Not having any white MC's? (For reference, I am not white. I've asked another question about race here). So I'm pretty far into writing my dystopian novel and I was reading over what I had. Something that helps me when I first start a novel is to get a clear picture of my characters in my head and put a face to a name, so I u... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Story that's too depressing? (Warning, mention of sexual abuse!!) In the near future where humans have polluted and radiated the Earth so much that animals and plants have been going extinct at alarming rates and humans themselves are becoming genetically mutated and developing strange abilities, a fascist dictatorship has take... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Is the "hero guy saves girl" trope misogynistic? (Question about my hacker (hacking??) novel.) Just an FYI, I am a woman. Edward is a cyber spy and works with an organization named Vox Populi to curate and release all data online, especially the stuff that shady people don't want others to see. Edward copies and releases data that a very dangerou... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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MC doesn't know something that's obvious to the reader (Another post-apocalyptic novel question! I'm just full of them.) My MC, Eris, has the power to manipulate life force. As a child, she accidentally killed her family and other survivors who investigated the commotion she caused while killing them, and has semi-suppressed the memory, causing the pain... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Do authors often base their characters off of themselves? (I previously asked a related question about projecting myself onto my characters.) I've read just few books where authors use their own life experience as the basis for the characters and plot (most recently, It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini), but most books I read have characters that are... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Character is an expert on something I'm not My OC Edward, who I thought of quite a while ago but haven't done anything with, is a professional cyber spy and hacker. He's employed by an organization (in the future, of course) that is basically trying to curate all the data in the world, including that which is not readily available, which is wh... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Is no religion a bad thing? (I believe I've asked about a half dozen questions pertaining to this post-apocalyptic novel, including my "is this story too diverse" question. This sort of pertains to that.) Last night, I thought of something I hadn't before. My story has no mention of religion. I don't really think it's applicab... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Convincing argument about something I don't agree with In my dystopian novel, Day, the son of a fascist dictator, is trying to convince Analise, a young genetic mutant oppressed under said fascist dictator, that the dictatorship's laws allowing censorship of speech and press, imprisonment of genetically mutated humans, and rigid class structure are in pl... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Is my story "too diverse"? (Edit: I feel like I should clarify, these are the only LGBT characters in the story, and the only characters whose sexualities are even touched on, and they are part of a larger group of people, about 300. This story occurs in America near a large city, so the racial makeup of this group is very mix... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Realistically incorporating trans/nonbinary characters In most books I read and movies I watch, there are rarely any LGBT characters, and the LGBT representation I do see is almost exclusively gay men, with a smaller amount of lesbians and a handful of bisexuals. I can't think of any books I've read with an MC who's transgender or nonbinary (neither male... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Dystopia that isn't cliche Dystopian fiction is a big thing right now, and YA books like The Hunger Games and Divergent are pretty individual and subsequently are bestsellers. But a lot of stuff is also really cheesy and trite, and is only published to make money. But I really like reading dystopian fiction, especially stuff w... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Not projecting myself onto my characters I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I was little. But recently, I feel like my writing has reached a point where my stories are all iterations of each other, with similar characters, similar... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Keeping up with multiple projects at the same time I love writing and write almost every day, and I have multiple pieces that I am working on currently: two books, multiple original characters' background and development, and academic analysis pieces for my AP lang class. But frequently, I've been either focusing entirely on a single piece and ignori... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Effectively conveying an unreliable narrator I have been working on a post-apocalyptic novel for about a year. My female narrator/protagonist, named Eris, was isolated for almost all of her life until meeting a rogue group of survivors and having to assimilate into their world. It's the year 2212 and this world was devastated by decades of nucl... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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Music & Focus During Writing I hate listening to silence while I write, so I usually end up listening to music, but then I lose my focus. I don't really like classical or lo-fi that much and they don't help me concentrate on the task at hand. So I usually attempt to find music that fits the mood of my writing, like emotional mus... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |