Standback‭

It's really important to understand that "diversity" isn't something you should be scoring along a single axis. It would certainly simplify things if you could tally up Diversity Points in your sto...

posted 6y ago by Standback‭  ·  edited 6y ago by Standback‭

Kindall tackled the legal aspect. As for reception/perception considerations, here's the rule of thumb I'd use: If you're using the same word in the same way for the same thing, and your story is ...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

My top recommendation is this: Identify what the story is attempting to do. Different stories are different creatures. "I'm pretty sure I know how this ends!" can be a harsh indictment for a myst...

posted 7y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I highly recommend Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoint. It's an excellent book (probably the best book on writing that I've read), and he discusses a lot of important issues in building cha...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

This isn't a binary choice. You don't need to view this as a "take it or leave it" decision - this is something you can talk to your editor about. And you don't need to choose between your ending ...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I haven't read it myself, but I think this book, The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kitely, sounds like exactly what you're looking for. It's got very nice reviews - both in terms of score, and the actua...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Short answer: online writing workshops can be helpful, if you're careful to chose a good one, and if your level of writing and professionalism is in the same rough vicinity as the course. Additiona...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I haven't done actual editing, but I've done a fair bit of critique and review. I think the issues are pretty much the same. Standard proviso: everybody has their own system. Of writing, of readin...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

First thing first: Avoiding said-bookisms is a guideline, not a rule. Writers use said-bookisms all the time, precisely for the reasons you note. They're useful. Sometimes, they're the simplest, c...

posted 9y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

One of the joys in fiction is learning new things. For many readers of historical fiction, learning new details -- even contrary to their own expectation -- is a lot of the fun. So you can definit...

posted 8y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Here's the money quote from a good article on the subject: In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more on style, psychological depth, and character and tends to be multilayered stories which ...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

What happens in your story seems, from your description, to be action/thriller. Where your story is set is an imaginary world, bearing some resemblance to the real world in the 1950-ish era. The ...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Orson Scott Card gives a great example of 4 drafts for the opening of Ender's Shadow, explaining as he goes why each draft isn't what he wants. Sounds like exactly what you're looking for - you can...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Sure there are :) Here's some resources I've found to be extremely helpful: Orson Scott Card's Character and Viewpoint is one of the best creative writing books I've read. He talks about characte...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The other answers are absolutely correct about the use of action tags, but I think there's a larger issue here. You don't really want to write "just" dialogue. That would be a screenplay. Action t...

posted 15y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭