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 5y ago by Standback‭  ·  edited 5y 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 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 6y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 14y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 14y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 14y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 14y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 8y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y 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 6y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Your difficulty is that you need an elevator pitch. If you're unfamiliar with the term, an "elevator pitch" is a super-brief description of your book - basically, how you'd pitch it to somebody sh...

posted 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

This is called a "simultaneous submission," and a well-organized contest should have a clear-cut rule on whether or not they're allowed. If a particular contest doesn't call simultaneous submissio...

posted 12y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

I'm afraid I've never seen any statistics on this. As the comments have noted, this is a very difficult estimate to make - there are many different definitions of "getting published" (does self-pub...

posted 12y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Frame It Appropriately Here's the issue: There's a pretty firm assumption that, the moment you're following a tight first-person (or third person) narration, you're following around in their head....

posted 12y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

I AM NOT A LAWYER. As long as it is clearly evident that the piece is fictional, my understanding is that you can basically employ celebrities however you like. Major issues you generally wa...

posted 12y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭