Posts by Cyn
They're usually just called essays. Though in our modern age we often use names related to the platform. So on a blog, they're posts or blog posts. As Zeiss Ikon points out, in a newspaper, th...
Sometimes characters surprise you. And that's okay. You're absolutely right to worry about a deus ex machina situation where a solution comes out of the blue with no rhyme or reason. This is the...
By inviting the relevant people (or their families) to your creative team. Many books and movies are made "with the cooperation of" so and so. This can mean a single interview, or just permission...
Anthologies are often different from other publishing. It is common for small publishers or even individuals to put together a call for an anthology to include any short work: comics, artwork, poe...
Foreshadowing is your friend. Your example of Harry Potter isn't quite right. Chapter One is titled The Boy Who Lived. Now that's a bit ominous. Magic is hinted at on page 1* and is outright on...
How and where you cite depends entirely on your audience. For school reports and academic/scientific papers, you use formal citations both in the body of the text and in footnotes or endnotes. Y...
You have two choices here. If the object is truly inanimate and there are no surprises, then you are writing a history of the object. If the object is anthropomorphized (think Disney talking teac...
If you're writing for an American audience, with an American publisher, then use an American dialect for your narration. But... your character is living in England. Whether she's British or an im...
The given name I've been known by since High School is not the same as the name on my birth certificate or driver's license, but it is, like yours, a known nickname for my legal name. I used to us...
Older meditations are almost certainly in the public domain. In the United States, anything published before 1924 is in the public domain as the copyrights have expired. Newer works may also have...
In the comics world, this is normal. Each issue (the standard is 22 pages, not including the cover and publisher additions) comes out separately, either as an e-comic or on paper, or both. After ...
I've heard of Method Acting. But never Method Writing. There are two approaches to portraying a character on film or stage. Method Acting, where the actor gets into character by living like t...
This rapid scene-switching works in film because you can establish exactly where you are and who you are with in an instant, with a framing shot or something else that recalls one. In a novel, you...
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 tha...
I'm in agreement with Amadeus here. It's just not a technique that is going to work. I'm trying to think of an exception, and I can't. Already you're messing with things by having the 1st pers...
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...
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...
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...
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...
AM and FBI are not abbreviations, they are acronyms. We know to pronounce them letter by letter because they are fully capitalized. In some cases, they also have periods after each letter (with n...
Ideally, the way you write is the right way for the story. It sounds like you have one basic style and it may be a nonfiction/essay style. That's the style most people develop first, because not ...
Make each of the three, full well-rounded characters who have multiple interactions with not just each other but other people. And with distinct and believable personalities. Show how the two tre...
At a bare minimum, you need a central landing place to direct people to in your marketing. The important items you want to cover are: Title and brief description (genre, audience) of your book. ...
Make the character part of the setting. There are various methods for making a person in a story appear to be the main character (or at least a prominent one). For example: Giving her a name (o...
