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Posts by Cyn‭

464 posts
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Q&A If I use a quote followed by a citation, then a small sentence from the cited material, should I include another citation?

So why is the first half of that sentence a quote and the second half your paraphrase? That's the part that seems odd to me. I would either make it all a quote (using ... to indicate that you lef...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Where can a new author sell the first chapter of a book?

Short answer: You can't. It takes time to create longer works. Even experienced writers will go back and edit earlier chapters, move things around, etc. If you're not experienced, you may do thi...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to end a story without reaching a new status quo?

Slice of life describes the depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater it refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a s...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I make my book longer?

Write the length you need to tell your story. If it turns out to be a short story or a novella, so be it. Instead of taking longer to tell the story, maybe what you need is to tell a story that...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How and when should I introduce my main character's superpowers?

You'll need to establish that superpowers are part of your world early on. Whether it's magical realism, urban fantasy, or comic book standards, your novel needs to set the framework within the fi...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Incorporating new people into a critique group

I belong to a terrific critique group (writing group) that has dealt with a lot of attrition. We started with 6 people and currently have 4, one who joined after the first month or two. We also h...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to write in a more conversational tone?

Get thee to a writer's group! Find yourself a group that meets in person (or by video or phone, if you must). Where you take turns reading your work out loud to each other. If that doesn't come ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Dystopia that isn't cliche

Your story sounds interesting. But even the best ideas can be awful when written up and some of the simplest, done-to-death, plots can be amazing. It's all in what you do with it. If a book se...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Formating of table explanation in email to colleagues

I would recommend a PDF. I normally believe in converting files to text (marked or unmarked) for emails because so many times that Word file or whatever is just a couple paragraphs that don't need...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Library of Congress filing: answering "intended for children or young adults"

(This answer was written during the first iteration of the question. The author's changes invalidate much of my answer. My conclusion stands: this is not a juvenile book, but I could only base it...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to cite the place of a conference in Chicago manual of style?

Author of Paper, A., and B. Author of Paper. Year. "Title of Paper." Paper presented at Title of Conference: Subtitle of Conference, Location, Date. https://doi.org/10.XXX/XXXXX.XX So in your cas...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A A Market For Long Narrative Poetry?

A common market for shorter pieces is anthologies. You didn't give a length but "long poetry" is probably still not novel length. Anthologies tend to have themes based on the subject of the work ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Am I using too much exposition here?

The amount of exposition appears totally fine to me. But I think you're using more words than you need to in order to provide it. I would cut the length of the section in half, and probably put i...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Licensed out content for book, whose name in copyright notice?

In your name. You hold the copyright to everything you create (with the exception of work for hire, as April points out) unless you expressly sell or transfer the copyright to another party or pla...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Early investment in a character who "learns better"

As it happens, I'm also writing a middle-grade novel with an unlikeable character. He's not the main character but he's one of the secondary ones. He has a full arc where he changes and so far tw...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to describe movement in zero-G?

I second the idea to use videos astronauts have made. Some are made for school children to teach about the concepts (worthwhile for adults too) and others are on different topics/for different aud...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is my story pacing too fast?

Several comments, in no particular order: 1) Sometimes the problem with pacing is in the transitions from scene to scene and not in the actual pace of the action. A few extra words at each transi...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is genre, and why should we care?

I said what I did in the other thread because of a little word that no one has actually said. Just. Some genres are descriptive: Mystery, fantasy. And those plus others are treated as "genre fic...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What genre my wife is writing?

Sounds like straight-forward contemporary adult fiction. Good luck to her!

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing about a topic which you don't have personal experience in

The short answer is: you live. You gain experience over time. Some things you'll never experience and some you already have. Knowing a drug addict is still personal experience, it's just from a ...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to give characters a unique voice

Find yourself a writer's group where you critique each other's work. Or a group of friends/family will work for this. Make sure it's in person (or by video/phone conference, if you must). Now, r...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can a main character learn about a secret event that will take place?

The other answers outlined the basic methods and hopefully you've already used one of them in your story. Another possibility is that the protagonist works in an industry that the bad guys require...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How long does a first draft have to be if the essay i'm writing is 300 words long?

What kind of a writer are you? I tend to write more than I need, then I hone the work in the editing process. So for a 300 word essay, I would probably first write a draft of 600 words. I wouldn...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Am I Breaking Too Many Rules?

You finished your book, congratulations! But almost nobody writes a novel that doesn't require major restructuring, especially not on the first try. If your readers liked it in general, but had i...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can I use an abbreviated two-digit format for year in a resume?

Like others, I don't recommend it. Why? Because people who read resumes do not treat them like a book. Your resume will go into a big pile (or the electronic equivalent) that someone has to go t...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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