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Posts by Cyn‭

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Q&A Should an author include user-interactive sections in his website?

User interaction is a commitment. Moderation, as Galastel discusses, is one important component of it (use software such as Wordpress that emails you all new comments and allows you to set moderat...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can I trim my word count and still be proud of what I've written?

Sometimes editing to fit a requirement makes you a stronger writer. And sometimes the onerousness of the requirement means you're in the wrong genre. If you said you have a 750 word limit and som...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I hide Chekhov's Gun?

I would hide the basement but not the locked door. A coded padlock on a door inside a house is really weird, and the sort of thing someone would notice and probably comment on. If the MC has a gu...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it necessary to take writing classes and learn formal fiction structure?

This is an offshoot from a comment exchange on an unrelated question. What to submit when asked for "sample chapters"? I know a large percentage of traditionally published fiction authors, especi...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What should I call a short book about my life?

It's called a memoir. Memoir is a subset of autobiography, which is a subset of biography. A biography is the story of someone's life. Autobiography is when you write your own biography. Memoir...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What exactly is the difference between Wordpress.org and Wordpress.com and what should be used for self publishing?

There is an in-between. Many ISPs have Wordpress as part of the package you purchase from them. I use a great local company who offers both internet access and online accounts separately. The ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should we avoid writing fiction about historical events without extensive research?

Just don't. You have a good ten thousand years of (semi) recorded history to choose from, in what is now hundreds of countries and multiple continents. There are many places and times you can pic...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Showing the transition of language comprehension change

This is a followup question to What language shall they sing in? I'm writing a middle-grade novel in English with time-traveling kids from 1995 America who go to Ancient Egypt to join the Exodus. ...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Using rhythm to evoke emotion

Take a dance class. I'm not joking. If you feel the rhythm in your body, you will be better able to evoke it on the page. Going to dance performances is also helpful but you need to understand t...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Mariner Software for writers

I'm boring and just use Word and Excel for writing my novel and keeping track of stuff. I've tried a couple others, including Scrivener and Evernote, but never got into it. I like the idea of spe...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to choose ideal number of main characters?

I have 107 characters. In a single-book, standard length, middle-grade novel. There are a small handful of auxiliary characters too. Obviously, they're not all main characters. I'm not sure h...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A As a new poet, where can I find help from a professional to judge my work?

Step one is to get feedback that you're basically on the right track. A lot of people don't feel ready to show their poems to anyone (maybe outside of close friends or family) and need some encour...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Sometimes a banana is just a banana

Sometimes authors write in ways to drive future literary critics crazy. Then they laugh. Because everything is potentially a symbol. If you've ever taken a lit-crit class, it's quite an experien...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Always sounding idiomatic as a non-native English speaker

Beta readers. Find beta readers who are native speakers of English and give them red pens and completed manuscripts (which you've already run though Google and done the best edit you can on them) ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Publishers that drag their feet

How do you deal with frustration over a publisher's choices? All the stories and art for an anthology are in the publisher's hands—camera ready in digital form—and approved (deadline was 4 months...

0 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Knowing when to use pictures over words

In food writing, there is a specific sub-genre for works (both short and long) that are photo-heavy, with particularly good-quality photos. Food porn. Where you draw the line depends on your audi...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Finishing up someone else's novel

You absolutely can not publish this without permission. It doesn't matter if you make no money off of it. Putting something in the public domain doesn't it make it better (and might make it worse...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should I write a companion book/blog?

As a spinoff to this question: Incorporating research and background: How much is too much? I'm writing a middle-grade fantasy novel with a historical fiction component based in Ancient Egypt. I'm...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Do I need to get a pen name?

First of all, congratulations! If your publisher says it's up to you, then they're not seeing any red flags that would make a pen name advisable. Lots of adults write for both children and adul...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Every character has a name - does this lead to too many named characters?

With a few exceptions, every one of my characters has a name, gender, age, and family relationship. A large percentage also have a backstory. I have well over 100 characters. As others have said...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it okay for the final chapter to be a lot longer than all the other chapters?

The chapters in my middle-grade novel are all over the map (408-1712 words). So far it hasn't been a problem, as I end them at natural stopping points, but this may be something I have to fix when...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can I write an annoying character without annoying the reader?

You need to get inside her head. Everyone makes sense to themselves. She has reasons for doing things and, you might disagree, but they're valid to her. She has goals and dreams and desires. Sh...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should I include an appendix to reference words of an in-universe language for a fantasy novel?

The best appendix is one the reader never needs to use. The same thing applies to footnotes. They're there for people who want the exact reference. They shouldn't have material that you need to ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Injecting creativity into a cookbook

Full confession: I read cookbooks like novels. The best cookbooks, in my opinion, are those with great descriptions of the recipe that turn it into a story. History of the recipe or the ingredien...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Incorporating research and background: How much is too much?

The amount of research I'm doing for my novel is staggering. To the point where my spouse says I need to write a companion book (or a blog) just talking about the research! Sometimes I research f...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭