Activity for Cyn
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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A: How to introduce a foreign idea to readers Like with so many non-mainstream settings or ideas, just present it as normal. Give a minimum of information but allow the reader to figure much of it out. Many works use the troupe of using a naive character as a stand in for the reader. While this sometimes works, it's also overdone and usually fa... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Showing that a character is in pain in a dialogue If you are in pain, you will have a hard time concentrating, which can make a conversation a bit disjointed. You will pause, catch your breath, maybe close your eyes. You will stumble over words, stutter, put out the wrong word, correct yourself, maybe forget the word you're looking for. Stop. Shak... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Ensuring that character dialogues sound like they are coming from different people By treating each of your characters as individuals. Gender is an important characteristic, but it's not the only one. If all your female characters speak one way and all your male characters another, that is going to be one boring novel. Many characteristics will change a person's way of speaking:... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Why don't writers add commas to lengthy sentences, to make them far more readable? Why do writers add unnecessary commas to sentences just because they're long? While it's true that some writers, maddeningly, do not use sufficient punctuation, it's also the case that some people add punctuation when it's not necessary. Finding that sweet spot is what we all want, but we have diff... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Creating and keeping track of characters I admit to finding this an insurmountable task. My novel has dozens of characters. My first problem wasn't keeping track of them, but creating them. Modern Day: My 20th century characters were easy. I tweaked ages, genders, names, and family configuration a few times, but they were mostly set in a... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What is dark humor exactly? Dark humor (aka black humor) is about finding something funny in a difficult situation, one where humor is usually not acceptable. Dark humor is not about being offensive. While some humor is deliberately offensive (and much unintentionally so), being "dark" has nothing to do with it. Though there c... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Using symbols to refer to mythological figures You're the writer, you can do whatever you want. It's common to use symbols to refer to people, places, things, and so on. The question you want to ask yourself is, does your reader know what the heck you're talking about? In this case, maybe open up the poem talking about Eos directly. A statue, a... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How much description is necessary? Description isn't just visual. You did a pretty decent job describing your "blindness" to imagining how something looks. Let's imagine that castle.... - How does it sound? (echos indoors? surrounded by ponds with singing frogs? what about hearing more outside noises when inside? I can imagine the... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Difference between a descriptive essay and a narrative essay? > Description: > - discourse intended to give a mental image of something experienced > - a statement or account giving the characteristics of someone or something > > Narrative: > - something that is narrated : STORY, ACCOUNT > - the representation in art of an event or story Your essay wi... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can I make a talky, idea-based concept enjoyable NOTE: I am answering the original question about surprise endings. As a general rule, surprises and twists are welcome. Readers enjoy predicting the outcome and we don't always like to be right. The surprise can't be out of the blue or implausible. But rather, a possibility that was always there, ev... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How do some self-published books on Amazon get lots of sales without any marketing whatsoever? People who call themselves experts aren't usually experts. Those bloggers bragging about how they just put a book on Amazon and it sells like gangbusters? They're leaving out part of the process. Maybe that "anonymous" name they're using is the same as one from an author that sold very well (could ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is using an online name generator a good idea? I find them helpful, but often wrong. I used one that has different ethnic groups to get ideas for names. Always always Google the name that comes up. Some of the "girl names" turned out to be used only for boys (sometimes it went the other way). Names said to be Egyptian turned out to be Hebrew. N... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Do hard to pronounce names break immersion? I don't care about pronunciation, because I rarely pronounce even semi-common names correctly. I have trouble with even some of my own characters' names. But then, for me, written language and spoken language are far more separate in my head than they are for most people (which is why I always specta... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How do I stop using 'the' to start sentences so much? I suggest you continue to write however the words come out. Because the last thing you want to do is feel like you can't write unless it's perfect (or better). Every day, go through a paragraph or two of your work and use S. Mitchell's excellent suggestions to revise it. As time goes on, your revis... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Multiple Books in a Single Query I think it depends on the specific style/genre as well as your relationship with the publisher or agent. There are formal queries and then there are chats you have with someone in a position to get your work to publication. In the comic book field, pitching more than one piece is more common, even ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What are some good ways of switching from third-person limited point of view to third-person omniscient point of view? In a novel you could make a Book One vs Book Two split. This is a stronger division than a chapter and is common in longer novels. I've seen plenty that change the POV this way. It's also used for generational changes. Though sometimes it's done without much change at all. But you're writing a short... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Re-reading and making changes to current work that makes everything worse? You're going to have to change your setup. Either: 1. Stop re-reading your work before you write more. This will feel frustrating to you but it may be a rule you have to give yourself so you can move forward. It's hard to write new things but easy to revise what you've already written. It also can... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Tips and tricks to describe more Do you actually need to write longer narratives? A sparse writing style can often work well. Here, every word is important. You must carefully choose what you say and how you say it because you have fewer words to carry the meaning. Other times, being too sparse can keep the reader from understand... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is there such a thing as a "cinematographic metaphor" in novels? Yes. Evoking visuals as metaphors in a way that leaves out verbal explanations of meaning is part and parcel of many (if not most) novels. Your example doesn't quite do this as you state, since it tells the reader what to think vs simply using the empty glass as a metaphor for the character's state ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: A question on determining audience Determining your audience is radically different depending on whether or not your work is fiction or nonfiction. In fiction, the first division of audience is by age. Is your work for children, teens, or adults? After that, you can go for genre, which is not the same as audience but may be more of ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Describing the face and physiological responses in different languages and peoples Different phrases can often mean the same thing. "Her face paled" and "she looked sick" (with context that it was a sudden change) more or less mean the same thing in American English (probably other English dialects too, but I can only speak for American). You can evoke similar meanings with phras... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Could I have some characters reveal more internal monologue than others? This is true of children and cats: They're all my favorites because I love them equally. But this one is my special favorite. It's also true of characters. In a real life situation where you're supposed to love everyone equally, you wouldn't treat them all the same, would you? Extra lap time is a t... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: I am an author that wrote a biography on a singer. Do I need to get permission to turn the book into a screenplay? There are three possibilities: 1. Your contract addresses this issue. Follow it. If you're not sure, ask a lawyer. 2. Your contract does not address this issue. Go ask for permission. 3. You somehow wrote a biography without a contract. Go ask for permission. The next question is permission from wh... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Characters jumping out of their stories I just read an article online and thought "this is great, I should forward the link to Phoebe." Phoebe is one of my characters. I've already had characters tell me how they would speak or dress, what their underlying motivations are, or who they are when they grow up (the main action takes plac... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How important is the apocalypse in a post-apocalyptic story? Nope. You don't have to give the backstory at all. Sometimes it's just not important to the story. Do make sure the reader understands the setting, but then just tell your tale. That being said, you need to know the backstory. There will be some subtle (or maybe not so subtle) differences in how the... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Write now or learn? The only way to become a better writer is to write. Yes, you can take classes and read and study, and those things will help, but only if you do them in conjunction with writing. What should you write? The idea you're most passionate about. You're worried about "wasting" your idea, but that's not ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Formatting for a visual medium: Screenplay or transcripts? Every genre has its own style and professional standards. There may be multiple standards for subsets of a genre as well. They don't exist to make your task difficult, even though the learning process can drive you crazy. They exist for consistency and utility. What you call a "transcript" style is ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Not having any white MC's? The answer I'll give you here is the same as the ones I've already given you and others: write what works for you. If these are who the characters are, then that's who they are. If you're forcing diversity, then it will come off as forced. That includes making some characters white just to be diverse... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: In the background of the Future I find myself in a similar position with my novel and it's in the modern age (1995, with a couple quick chapters in 1942 and 2020) and in the past in a time and place that actually existed (even if the story I'm inserting mine into is more mythology than history). No matter where and when your story... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Should I add racism in my book's world or have my world have no racism? You as an author must be aware of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and other issues that exist in the real world. You as a person need to be aware. How (or if) you depict these things is up to you. But it needs to be an informed decision, one where you decide how best to deal with th... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of copying writing styles? Style isn't something you can copy in this way. Plot, character descriptions, turns of phrase, are all things you can copy enough to get in trouble for it (either legal trouble or trouble from your readers). Style is more of a way of doing things. Not a thing itself. It would be saying, is it okay... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is sentence in English with long subject bad? It depends on the larger context. I've read your example over and over and don't find it confusing. But the word "therefore" is odd. It implies that there's already a discussion immediately before this sentence about those courses. If that's the case, then it would redundant to restate the informati... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to write a memorial plaque? We remember them. A common refrain in Jewish memorials. The idea that a person's existence counted and we will remember the person and focus on that. Say her name. Say his name. A modern, secular, version. Of course you can't say their names in 2-3 sentences. Perhaps they will be named elsewhere... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Avoiding repetition when there are two unidentified individuals You have a few choices here: 1. You can group each person's actions together more (I've also edited a couple errors). > The tall figure was overwhelmingly tall. It stood in the corner of the room then moved to the opposite side of the room and started palpating the wall, as if it was looking for so... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is it redundant to use "billowing winds" and "petulant waves" in the same sentence? No. Winds are not waves. You can describe each of them if you wish. Billowing and petulant have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. - Billowing means "filled with air and swelling outward." - Petulant means "childishly sulky or bad-tempered." The first is a description of the physicality o... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What are the advantages and disadvantages of setting a story in a made up country, compared to a real one? Create a fictional country if there are no existing ones that meet your needs. Or if you need to change things enough that it would be confusing or off putting to place your characters there. If your story is set, for example, with the Spanish Civil War as the backdrop, then you would need to allow ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Should I cite a source that cites an older source? It depends on your audience and/or publisher. If this is a paper for a class, you're probably fine. But if this is your thesis/dissertation or something you're going to publish, you need to see that earlier work. It would be one thing if you were just alluding to the concept. Listing it as one you'... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Can my characters interact with my narrator? (and vice versa) Yes. If it's done well (which is going to be harder than it looks), it can work. A narrator with opinions isn't so uncommon (The Book Thief is a good example) but characters that talk back, well that's quite rare. I would pair it with an irreverent style , as Vonnegut does, meaning characters (or a... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is it ok to use "aluminium" in an otherwise American English text? Yes. It's your story, so it's okay. And I can't be the only American who wasn't all that aware of the difference and whose eyes gloss over the two (I can only see them as different now that you've pointed it out to me, though I was dimly aware before, and now I understand why Brits pronounce it so st... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Story that's too depressing? It's impossible to know if you've crossed the line because all we see is a summary. The summary sounds pretty brutal, but it's the execution that matters. Yes, some books are hard to read. So much so that a lot of readers either won't try or will give up in the middle. The question for the reader is... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to punctuate dialogue tags with action descriptions One of the purposes of punctuation is to tell you when to breathe. Imagine that you are an actor, speaking these lines out loud. Not just the dialogue, but the entire story. Will you speak each word immediately after the last, with no changes in speed, no pauses? As an English speaker, you could fi... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Ideas for short story - not sure how to proceed I would tell someone about the story. Tell your partner or friend or your writing group. Just be sure to do it in writing. Or record your voice if you prefer that. Email, text message, handwriting, whatever works. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Get it down then make a promise that you will... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How should tv broadcast dialogue be formatted in a story? I see it as if you were reporting the dialogue between a couple of people sitting a table over from you in a public place. If you want the words, write it as dialogue. Quote it normally and attribute it however works. > Angela turned on the TV and flipped channels to the news. > > "An explosion r... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is it bad if I don't like the "best" books in my chosen genre? It would be a bad thing if you hated the genre overall. Or if you looked down on it. I will never understand people who want to write something they distain because they think it's "easy" or where the money is. But that's not you. Fantasy is a huge genre and no one could possibly love everything in ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: First quarter friends Your issue is common to many novels and other long works. Your characters aren't just dropping into and out of your MC's life (like you often see in, say, TV shows where the MCs have friends for one episode then suddenly they have a big event and no one shows up). Your MC is changing settings. With s... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can I make distinctions between a hive-mind and a super consciousness? It's not dissimilar to an employee. If you work for the government or a large entity, you represent them at all times when on the job (and sometimes when off work too). You have a set of beliefs and rules you need to uphold. As well as general knowledge about how the entity works. You get communic... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Little disjointed scenes I'm dealing with some similar problems, on a smaller scale. The first third of my novel is composed of short chapters that move the story along. All the emphasis is on getting to the main location. Then they're there. Suddenly their days and nights become repetitive and wearying. This is part of the... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: how can I portray a culture that practices human sacrifice as not being uncivilized? First, I will direct you here, because the questions overlap some (but are not duplicates).How to present an alien culture with different morals, without it coming across as savage? You can't keep the reader from labeling the actions as "evil" if that's what they wish. And perhaps you don't want to ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to present an alien culture with different morals, without it coming across as savage? It's all about context and the full portrayal of the characters and culture. My daughter's ballet teacher is a 90 year old woman. Short to begin with, she's shrunk to under 5 feet. Thin and frail, you could knock her over with a mis-aimed breath. One of her favorite statements, when she doesn't like... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Is there an official license type applied by copyright holder that allows a written work to be continued upon/derived by third-party writers? You have two ways to go here. 1. Add to book notes or social media or whatever you wish that you are open to people creating sequels and will grant permission to do so on a case by case basis. Then you have full control over who can write a sequel (and can weed out things that people call sequels th... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |