Activity for Cyn
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer | — |
A: Can the prologue be the backstory of your main character? Yes, you can. And many authors do. But, as others have pointed out, it's something you need to tread carefully with. My novel has a prologue (and an epilogue). I had it in my head since I conceived of my story and knew I wanted it there. My main character is a 12 year old girl living in the United S... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How is simplicity better than precision and clarity in prose? Write for your audience. There are certainly many audiences who might not have the literacy level (or education) to do well or want books written at a upper secondary school level or higher education level. Age is the obvious constraint but there are also groups of people who just got through high ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Correct punctuation for showing a character's confusion Behold! The Mighty Ellipses! > The demon...she? he?...gestured towards the supply wagons. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal style. Dashes, parentheses, ellipses are all correct. Part of the reason I prefer ellipses here is, as Amadeus points out, the gender ponderings aren't really an interrup... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Elongated vowel sounds Your example doesn't look ugly, it's just something that ought to be saved for dialogue. I wouldn't use it in non-fiction, for example. Another method is to italicize the word. > This example is way oversimplified. Adding emphasis with italics can mean to say it slightly louder or clearer or even ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: The difference between dialogue marks There are two other common options. Italics. > Murder, she said. And nothing at all. > Murder, she said. Or more likely set up as narration. > She said murder. I prefer anything to the nothing option. I honestly don't know what goes through an author's head choosing that. Do they think readers... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: In-text citations for a source with no page numbers The answer is two fold: 1. Ask your teacher. 2. Google it. I can't ask your teacher for you, but I did a quick Google search. Since you added the mla tag, I assume that's the format required. So here's the official word: > > # Citing non-print or sources from the Internet > With more and more sc... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: A poker game description that does not feel gimmicky What you describe in the question sounds perfectly fine to me. So if other people are telling you (or you're telling yourself) that it's not quite right, the problem isn't what you're doing, it's how you're doing it. After all, some people love to watch TV coverage of poker games. There the narrator... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Making science for toddlers easy to remember More than words, toddlers remember actions. What is science boiled down to its core? It's the idea that you can form hypotheses about how the world works, test them, then come to a conclusion. So create an experiment. Preferably something an adult can recreate. Include instructions for the adults. ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How do I create uniquely male characters? I think what's tripping you up is the idea that your male characters need to be characters that could not possibly be female. This probably comes from traditions of valuing what men do and devaluing what women do. So many women aspire to do "male" things. Showing them succeed at that can be a way of ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is it important to consider tone, melody, and musical form while writing a song? There are multiple ways to write a song. Sometimes a composer will pick up already written lyrics. Sometimes a lyricist will work off of an already written melody and arrangement (less common for an original song but happens all the time with parody or other alternative songs). Some pairings of co... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Including letters and other documents in a memoir Use an appendix The appendix is the perfect spot for longer documents you wish to include within a work (not just for a memoir). You can have as many as you want. Name each appendix. Appendix A, Appendix B, is perfectly fine. Or use a name that doesn't have the word "appendix" in it if you prefer. ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to identify target audience? And how much details do I need to know about my perfect reader? The example you give in your question is all about age and gender. And age is the one category you need to be mindful of while you write. Most people know in advance the age group they are writing for, others narrow it down as they write. Now, the example is about older adults vs younger adults vs k... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How is the monetary value of a single submission determined? The publisher decides everything. - If there is payment. - What money is available for payment. - How that money is divided up. - If the money is per unit, what the units are and how to count them. - If there will be a non-monetary payment (such as copies) instead of or in addition to money. - If th... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Are submission services worth pursuing? The Writer's Market books will give you the lists of agents (with what they're looking for, contact info, etc) and articles (also in their Writer's Digest magazines and websites) on how to write the letters for $30 (or for free if you get the book/zine from the library). There are other sources for ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Do I have to pay royalties if I include excerpts from other works? You sign a contract with the copyright owner. The contract specifies the arrangement. - Permission to use the quote in your work. - Permission to use the quote in derivative works (electronic, translations, movies, comics, etc). - Payment. - Rights/ownership (more relevant for pieces of work you us... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Can one be a co-translator of a book, if he does not know the language that the book is translated into? Your student worker sounds like a valuable assistant. But he is not a translator. Even if he were doing actual translation work, a co-translator indicates someone doing work at the same level that you are, or close. And he's not. If you want to acknowledge his contribution to your manuscript, by al... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Relationship Problems On-again/off-again relationships don't usually have smooth transitions. Especially not for outside observers (and often not for the participants). Add in that this is a teen relationship, and forget about smooth. Since the relationship is not central to the plot, your narrative can just describe sta... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Publishing Poetry Writer's Digest is still chugging away with their Writer's Market series. With more specialities than ever. I found the 2018 (though the 2019 one is out) Poet's Market on Hoopla. (Hoopla is a repository of e-books and movies available for free if your library subscribes to it...you don't keep them, y... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to show that a character cares for another, but is also clumsy? Let it be awkward. I see you already got this advice, and there's a reason for it. People in general go through machinations of all sorts just to keep things from "being awkward" between them and someone else. This is actually something that women in particular are taught to do. Make it seem like e... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to compactly explain secondary and tertiary characters without resorting to stereotypes? There is a difference between stereotypes and simply not fleshing a character out. For example, your main character goes into a coffeeshop, orders, and sits down to read. At the next table are two women he works with. What are they talking about? Mind you, you're not going to get into their heads. ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Avoiding the "not like other girls" trope? If you want to avoid showing a character as "not like other girls" then make sure your "other girls" aren't stereotypical. The trope shows up with female characters who don't fit in. They don't have a lot of female friends, if any. When they do the stuff they like to do, they're surrounded by men. ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Shortening a title without changing its meaning It's fine to shorten but only when the reader can fill in the blank. So far, you have: > Managing a lot of people is a very difficult problem > to > Lot of people, difficult problem In this example, you have 3 concepts: 1. It's about managing people 2. There are a lot of people 3. It's hard ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: I want to traditionally publish my work but I have multiple ISBNs what do I do? Do nothing. When you create a contract with a traditional publisher, they will tell you what to do. Almost certainly they'll want to use their own ISBNs. As for the ISBN itself, it's done with. > Can an ISBN be reused? No, once a title is published with an ISBN on it, the ISBN can never be used a... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is it okay to majorly distort historical facts while writing a fiction story? Is it okay? Well, it's likely legal (if the person is long dead anyway, and probably even if they're alive). You can do it. You might even get it published. For a large number of readers, the answer is that, no, it's not okay. Though what percentage of that really depends on the details. Fictionaliz... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Sending manuscript to multiple publishers Most publishers are fine with simultaneous submissions and understand that it could otherwise take years for a manuscript to be accepted. What's important is to read the publisher's guidelines before submitting (they should say if they require exclusive submissions) and to be up front about it. Beca... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Beyond letters and diaries—exercises to explore characters' personalities and motivation Do any of them have a confessor? The most literal interpretation of this is that they're Catholic and confessing to an actual Priest who is sworn to secrecy. I don't know what real life Catholics say to priests but, in TV shows and movies, it ranges from very focused descriptions of sins to general... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Why do professional authors make "consistency" mistakes? And how to avoid them? Lack of proofreading has been the bane of writing in many locations over the last few years. Do you remember back when newspapers came to your house and you paid to subscribe? Okay, maybe you don't, due to age or location, but it was a thing. Most people (at least among the college-educated folks I ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to write out words for wordplay It is normal to use a hyphen. I see it all the time. - For puns/jokes. - For academic writing where the purpose is to emphasize etymology (when the crux of the argument requires redefining or reemphasizing certain words). - For political writing to focus on certain meanings. - And just plain old d... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How to write character's emotional reactions in a screenplay? E. > A scared Bob walks over to the door, hand on the knob. or > BOB > > (scared) Who are you? While I haven't written scripts, I have acted some on stage. Giving the actor the basic reaction you want her/him to have is important. In your example, the actor can not figure it out from context. B... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: In a professional email you need to quote something from a business document. How do you write this? Cite it exactly like you would a source for which you have a full name, except the name is "Anonymous." > "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX." (Anonymous, 2019) If it comes from a published work that has no author, you can use the name of the work in lieu of the author's name. Both APA and MLA use both of the ab... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How do I go from 300 unfinished/half written blog posts, to published posts? One at a time. It isn't laziness. That's just a word people throw out when work doesn't get done and in many cases, including yours, it's meaningless. You've done a lot of work, you're just not finishing it. Set up a source of external pressure. I had a novel in my head for 10 years before I did ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: PoD services that do hardcovers of custom dimensions? Any full-service book printer can create custom sizes if they wish, it just takes more work and costs you more. Printing machinery generally only works with paper of particular sizes. This is why you see stock sizing. And why one printer might do a certain set of sizes and another will do a different... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Stereotypical names If you look at any group of people, some will have very common names, others well known but less common names, and a few will have unusual names. If your own characters also have a mix, you're fine. You don't want all unusual names or your reader will have trouble remember them. If they're all top na... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is it acceptable to use props I saw in a movie in my story? If the set of coffee cups is something you can buy or find (outside of the movie company's website), then, yes, no problem. Use them. If the set is something not currently or formerly made but is something a dishware company could easily do in the future (for example, an unusual color or pattern or ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is it ok to use long footnotes? The acceptability of the use of footnotes varies a lot. 6-7 lines would be huge in many works but is nothing when compared to others. If it doesn't belong inside the text, and endnotes aren't a possibility, then a long footnote seems appropriate. I would cut it down as much as you can. Footnotes sh... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Should I join writers organizations? There are several professional writers organizations that people I know have suggested I join. The problem is they're rather pricey and I'm not sure what I'll get out of it. Much of what they have are multiple services for writers who have completed manuscripts looking to shop them, and for writers ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Organizing categories and tags for a writing blog I've started a writing blog (specifically for research and other information about my novel in progress) with Wordpress and am having a very difficult time with categorization. In other blogs I've created, the categories and tags flow organically from the content. For example, my main blog is a mish... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Is there a market for all-ages novels? Historically, books and movies didn't always have a specific target age. While some material was just for adults, a lot of what we think of now as being for kids or teens had a more general market. For example, many people here reference The Hobbit when talking about Middle Grade books. But it certa... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Non-trope happy ending? Whether your novel is in the Romance genre or just a book where romance is the central topic, it's all about how you define your characters and their goals. We the readers need to know what would make them happy. At least what the characters believe will make them happy. If the reader assumes what t... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How can I safely use "Thalidomide" in my novel while respecting the trademark? The other answers correctly point out that "thalidomide" is a generic drug and is not trademarked. But I'd like to answer the more general question, which is if/how you can refer to a trademark in a work of fiction. In a website article, Using Trademarks in Fiction, the author describes 3 issues to ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: When is using a simile better than giving a literal description? When it works. It's not something that has a particular formula. Nothing to count. No threshold to pass or avoid passing. Use your critique group or beta-readers or your favorite alpha reader. Don't ask them to look at this metaphor but, rather, to just read. If the simile sticks out like a sore th... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Is there a place for an epilogue in a standalone novel? Epilogues are very common in a variety of novels, as well as movies (sometimes they're filmed, sometimes they're prose on the screen). My own novel has both a prologue and an epilogue, but I guess it doesn't count as an example until it's published. Epilogues often include a significant time jump. M... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Usage of an old photo with expired copyright Follow the rules set out on the page you want to copy from. The railway schedule is part of the Bob MacIntosh Collection. > Bob has given the DARDPI wiki permission to use his image collection and for individuals to enjoy them for their own personal study of the D.A.R. Bob MacIntosh reserves all r... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: How can my story describe a world and a society without relying on individual characters? You might choose to do a series of vignettes. Break the novel down into many short chapters, each one with a different set of characters. You won't be spending much time on any one character but many of them will have names and descriptions and some of them the reader will learn a few things about.... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Written and illustrated children's book: what now? First of all, mazel tov! Your next step is to publish the book. This means that the book is in a final form and either printed on paper with a cover or in an e-book format. It also means you have an ISBN number and all the other technical bits that go along with publishing. You can start by sending... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Writing a Novel based on a Self-help Guide Book A real-life case of this (not a self-help book but a cookbook) is the book (and movie) Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. Julie Powell's book is about her experiences of making every recipe in Julia Child's classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's told in a no... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Showing mass murder in a kid's book Galastel did a spin off question based on one of mine.Mortal danger in mid-grade literature. And hers has spurred a new one for me. This is an issue I've been grappling with for a while and I still don't have a solution for it. I had thought to wait until I was closer to writing that scene, but the ... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Best practice for academic writing: write and cite or write first? Sometimes when someone asks "which should I do first when writing?" the answer is "whichever one you want." For example, I'm writing a historical novel requiring a lot of research. While I'm a research-first type of writer, it would be wholly appropriate for a different writer to plunge ahead with th... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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A: Mortal danger in mid-grade literature Certainly it's okay to have people (or animals) die in middle-grade fiction. I mean, Bambi (the movie) is rated G and young Bambi sees his mother murdered before his eyes. Ditto with dad in The Lion King. Actually, one or more parents dying (near the beginning, as a catalyst for the MC, or before the... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |
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Symbolism of 18 Journeyers In my story, 12 year old Ruth has visions from another place and time which lead her to gather a group of kids for a quest. She is told there will be 18 kids, but she can only find 17 with the specific requirement. They travel together and, upon arriving, discover a stowaway. This boy knows he belong... (more) |
— | about 5 years ago |