Posts by Cyn
Pick a name and go with it. If the fact of the new character being future Adrien isn't a secret from the reader, you don't have to worry about names that spoil the surprise. Use whatever name A...
Just Desserts From TV Tropes: A villain ultimately finds their evil deeds come back to bite them. Literally—they end up getting eaten. This does not include a Heroic Sacrifice. But may ...
Unlike with comics, you wouldn't want to use sound effects as dialogue or dialogue adjuncts (in comics the letterer makes them separate from actual speech), though you can get away with it in somet...
Here's an example of multiple timelines done in a way I found not just confusing, but random and unnecessary. Chronological can mean in order by date and time, or it can mean that the different PO...
If you've established your world as one with fantasy species, it's okay if you don't mention every one early on. Lots of novels and screenplays throw new species into the mix later on and that's f...
The main difference is the ability to be published. To break into TV, you need to live somewhere that produces a lot of TV shows (in the United States, you'd move to Los Angeles and try to hang ou...
I remember what a huge deal it was when I graduated from elementary school (6th grade, age 12) and got my first typewriter as a gift. It was even an electric one! I already knew how to type becau...
The 8th Edition of the MLA has changed the approach to citations: Like earlier editions, this handbook includes information on evaluating sources, avoiding plagiarism, using quotations, con...
Yes, your characters should speak naturally, not as if they were reading a formal piece of writing out loud. But that doesn't mean you won't edit it. Take the example of radio interviews. They r...
To me, the answer is more about you and your writing process than about constructed languages. I am not constructing a language but I've done lots of worldbuilding that will never be visible to my...
While you don't need to follow a style guide here (except your publisher's of course), it's helpful to look at them. The AP Style Guide (Associated Press) is a good one because it's for American n...
Lots of novels go into detail about music, movies, TV shows, and other art and culture relevant during the setting of the book. Also technology. In some cases the cultural details are important...
Have more faith in your process, but run it by others. Rufus Drake is a great name. It has personality, it's easy to pronounce and it's memorable. It's not uncommon but the combination isn't goi...
Creating a world is a lot of work. It doesn't matter if your world is a single town over the course of a year or an intercontinental saga over several generations. Either way, you need to map out...
Everything you put into a book that is not your original work must be done with permission. This refers to both artwork and text. Items in the public domain have blanket permission for others to ...
I agree with Jason that you should also give a first name or initial with the last name to differentiate it from yours (or anyone else mentioned who shares that last name). This advice is geared f...
Photographs belong to the photographer (or to a business which has a contract with the photographer such that they own the copyright). It makes no difference if the subject is alive or dead. A ...
Every character must have a name. The name doesn't have to be a real name, but it needs to be something that identifies that character as unique. In a novel, you can get away without naming cha...
Exactly how you do it depends of course on your story. One way is to simply use them with no explanation and let the reader figure it out over time. Or you can indicate the past within the quotes...
There are multiple ways to approach this and any of them can work. The important thing is that it's very clear to the reader. My novel is structured as follows: Prologue set in 1939. Body of no...
Your name is fine. I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. But of course you can always tel...
Get cozy at your local library. Before the internet, this is where we all did our research. As long as it's a well-stocked library, there should be plenty of books on the basics of explosives. U...
You can't drift off into the distance when you leave a room. Unless it's a really big room. You can drift out of a room, but you disappear rather suddenly, when the line of sight through the do...
It's fine to use action to insert a beat in the dialogue, or just as a change of pace from tags. But you must separate out each person's actions (whether it's speech, thought, or something else) i...
The book exists in the present, so the characters do as well. The author, though, exists in the past, since he's no longer with us. Mark Twain wrote about a boy, Tom Sawyer, who has adventures...
