Activity for Standback‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Avoiding repeating "I" and "you" in an epistolary piece Short, simple, straightforward words like "I" and "you" don't really interrupt reading flow with moderate repetition; they're clear and unobtrusive. The only thing to do right at the start is get some material written. Then you'll be able to deal with problematic repetition, not just by how often th... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the story structure called when someone doesn't know they have the solution to their problem in hand? This is less of a story structure and more of a trope. (You can have very different story structures leading up to that final revelation.) Also, I don't know how many story structures actually have established names :P Tropes don't always have established names either, but TV Tropes calls this "It W... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is this America Star Books Special Services unsolicited email a positive step in publishing and marketing? As you suspect, an unsolicited email is not good news. America Star Books is a well-known scam. The offer shoddy, overpriced self-publishing and promotion packages. They make their money charging hopeful authors who don't know better, not by getting any of your books sold. They may well be saying s... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write a homosexual character, whose homosexuality isn't the point of the story? My advice here would be: don't think in terms of "right" and "wrong"; think in terms of structural arcs. You need to figure out what options for arcs you have, and which of those you actually want to use. You've basically presented three possible arcs: - The primary arc , where in some meaningful w... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it necessary for an article about a problem to address solutions as well? It depends on a lot on what you're trying to say; what structure and focus you give your article. Basically, if your article prompts the question "why isn't anybody fixing this?" or "can't anything be done," then by omitting solutions you'll be giving an incomplete picture - possibly an actually mis... (more)	—	about 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Name of a subsection and its parent section clash You definitely want to avoid the kind of clash you're describing. Intuitively, the section is composed of smaller subsections, which expand on particular areas. So a clash feels like you're saying "And now, within the topic of `(Topic X)`, let's talk about `(Topic X)`." Even if there's some kind of ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should I create my own ConLang for my story? It's vanishingly rare to need a constructed language in written fiction. Orson Scott Card sums this up in How To Write Science Fiction And Fantasy: > Invented languages are a lot more fun to make up than they are to wade through in a story. Here's the thing: very few readers will have the patienc... (more)	—	over 9 years ago
Answer	—	A: What does being "heavy handed" mean? And how does one avoid it? Heavy-handed is the opposite of subtle. Even by its dictionary definition, it can take two forms: - It can mean being clumsy - imagine trying to do delicate work when your hands are very heavy. - It can mean using blunt force - imagine bringing your hands down heavily on somebody else, e.g. "He rul... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is sending your characters back to a different century a good way to disguise them? In general, your characters will be assumed to be fictional, unless you give overwhelming reason for them to be considered otherwise. Which means that you're asking the wrong question. There's no one twist which will make a borrowed character untouchable in his "disguise"; there are only ways that y... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I trust that the proofreader and designer of a book will not plagiarize our work? Work with reputable proofreaders and designers, who have proven track records with satisfied clients. Anybody with a reputation to maintain will have no profit from plagiarizing clients' work. First of all, a manuscript on its own isn't worth a whole lot (it takes a lot of work to earn good money of... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Question	—	Should my query lead with the detective, or with the crime? In a lot of detective or mystery novels, the detective is the POV character and the protagonist, but the initial hook has little to do with him. Some crime has been committed, and the detective is brought in to investigate. Though he may develop high stakes in the case as the story proceeds, he doesn... (more)	—	almost 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to format Facebook chat in a novel? You have several different options here, depending on what effect you're trying to achieve. Chat room dialogue is a little tough to work with, because it's pure dialogue, with no emotion or action or simple visibility. Oftentimes, it's enough to say something like, > "Roy chatted with Samantha. 'OM... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can I be a good writer without reading a lot? Not really, no. That would be like trying to learn a foreign language without ever hearing it spoken or seeing it written. You can certainly write, inasmuch as you can write words down on a page. But that's not "becoming a good writer." if you have no idea what other books look like, then you'll bas... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: When mentioning two items in a sentence, should I specify which one I'm referring to in the next one? The second option is OK, if you can smooth out the phrasing. What would be more ideal is if you could rephrase to avoid the problem, to avoid lumping the two items together in the first place - for example: > She had green eyes, and curly hair that looked like a cluster of ferns in a mountain fores... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should the opening of a short story mirror the ending? It's very hard to guess what precisely your teacher meant, but here's the closest piece of advice that I know: A story's ending should mirror its beginning, because otherwise, you have probably begun or ended you story in the wrong place. Consider: where is the best place to begin the story? Usually... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Hiding information There is a balance between maintaining point of view , and maintaining suspense, which can crop up whenever your protagonist or your POV (point-of-view) character is planning ahead in any detail. The difficulty is this: If in your story your POV character is making plans and preparations, and then a... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is my opening chapter too short? If to you the chapter seems good, and it seems to be fulfilling your purpose for it, I would not worry about it now. If it is too short, what that really means one of the following: either you didn't establish as much in the opening chapter as you think you did, or else there's some other major prob... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Misleading facts in the About the Author section Yes, it constitutes a lie, technically speaking. Yes, it is legal. The use of pseudonyms is an established practice in publishing. There's a wide range of reasons where writing under a pseudonym might be obviously beneficial to the author: - The author's real name is similar to the name of a more-p... (more)	—	about 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Tension built upon whether the main character will commit suicide or not. Problem: I'm using first person narrative First person narrative is just a device, and it doesn't necessarily imply that the narrator lives through the story. For example, plenty of horror stories end with something on the lines of: > And then the beast's bloated tentacles began to squeeze me. The world grew dark, and I knew no more. ...or... (more)	—	over 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Meeting with a respected publisher, what questions should I ask? I'm not clear on whether you see this is a pitch session (i.e., with the explicit goal of interesting the publisher in your novel), or simply an opportunity for a one-on-one conversation. Either way, though, I think the best way to go here (and to get through your nervousness) is to take this excelle... (more)	—	over 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: Genre conventions: Which end do readers expect? I'm going to spin this around for you. In Jeffrey Schechter's My Story Can Beat Up Your Story, Schechter suggests that a lot of theme is about the protagonist asking a thematic question , e.g., > - "Should I settle for less romantically?" > - "Can I balance 'ordinary' responsibilities with my secre... (more)	—	over 10 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I calculate wordcount for a manuscript? In the context of a formatted manuscript, the "word count" isn't the precise number of words, nor is it directly inferred from the number of pages. What you're actually doing here is finding the number of lines your manuscript will take, because a line with just a few words on it still takes up as m... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	How do I calculate wordcount for a manuscript? When I submit a manuscript, I'm supposed to include a wordcount. I understand that this is not simply the number of words in the document (as calculated by Word or Google Docs wordcount tools), but something else. I've found different and contradictory explanations of how to calculate this. What's t... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to create a document with a table of contents in Scrivener on Windows? From the Scrivener for Windows documentation (emphasis mine): > If you need your work to enter a standard word processor workflow, this will be your go-to method. MultiMarkdown's ODF support is comprehensive [... meaning the document can] use the table of contents feature of a word processor. It rep... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	What editing can I expect for a translation of a previously-published story? A friend of mine has published a short story in Hebrew, and I'm currently translating it into English, for submission to short fiction magazines. If accepted, will the editing process be any different than normal? Will the publication feel "constrained" to match up perfectly with the original, or ar... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	What information should I provide when submitting a translated, previously-published story? A friend of mine has published a short story in Hebrew, and I'm currently translating it into English, for submission to short fiction magazines. Is any information about the original publication necessary in our initial submission, beyond > "This story was originally published in `Publication Name... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Good idea to describe the heist place before the heist begins? I think a good rule of thumb would be: Up-front, in preparation, the story can characterize one or two major challenges the heist will need to overcome. That's enough to whet the reader's appetite and to build anticipation. It's also enough to allow you to write very quick explanations while the act... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	Can I plug a loophole in my magic rules without rewriting the whole novel? I've gotten feedback for a complete draft of my WIP fantasy novel. Overall it's looking good, but a couple of friends noticed a significant loophole in the system of magic I use in the book. The book introduces the basic rules of how magic works in my fantasy setting. Without making this too specific... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	Do romances need to have a happy ending? Is a book labelled "romance" expected to a have a happy ending? I've heard advice that "romance" novels are meant to satisfy, well, a desire for romance, and so an ending without a "happily ever after" disqualifies a book from the genre. And indeed, it's hard for me to recall a "straight" romance th... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Elmore Leonard said Avoid Prologues... Why? Orson Scott Card has discussed, in several places, how prologues (particularly to fantasy epics) tend to be dull, disembodied history lessons. For example, from an interview: > The most common mistakes come in picking where and how to begin their story. Too many people believe that old canard about ... (more)	—	almost 11 years ago
Question	—	In a thriller, should my famous cities be familiar, or fresh? The bigger, and more famous, a city, the more it tends to show up in thrillers. The biggest ones - New York, London, Paris, Tokyo - have been set-pieces in any number of thrillers, and I can assume most of my readers have read other novels using them for setting. When I write a thriller featuring a ... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I evaluate an unwritten plot/story? Write a synopsis. Then get feedback on that. Your synopsis should be as brief as possible, conveying only the elements that are absolutely crucial to the story - the elements without which the story would be absolutely different. If you were summarizing the first Harry Potter book, you don't need t... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to handle a character when she is lying about her name What you need is a tell. Give Nicene some clear, identifying characteristic. She has purple hair; she doesn't let anybody touch her; she refers to any sort of weapon as a "thingamabob"; whatever. Then, whenever it is you want the reader to understand who she is, you just let her "tell" show: > "I'm... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Question	—	Is my serial-killer novel horror or crime? I'm writing a novel which centers around a serial killer and his victims. I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether it belongs in the horror genre (it's a disturbing, horrific slasher, and a lot of the book works on horror and dread) or in crime (because a lot is about the good guys' hunt for the ... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to make a debate/discussion between characters less dry? The classic solution is to introduce conflict or tension. These naturally intrigue the reader and command his attention. Any conflict, no matter how minor or subtle, is enough to engage the reader's curiosity to find out what happens next. In this context, "conflict" and "tension" are pretty much a... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Who is the perfect rival to the right-person-wrong-time character in a love triangle? In her writing book Plot, Ansen Dibell discusses the technique of mirroring characters - two characters who are alike in many ways, and different in others. This gives you a "compare-and-contrast" effect, where the contrast between the two characters naturally creates significance and tension. This e... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the best way forward for a first time author with little cash? Once you publish something, it's out beyond your grasp. I strongly recommend against publishing a piece that you feel still has work to be done on. Self-publishing a novel that still needs editing is not a wise stepping stone to feedback and constructive criticism. - First of all, as an unpolished ... (more)	—	about 11 years ago
Question	—	How can I dig conflict out of an optimistic SF-nal premise? I frequently have ideas for what could be called "optimistic" science-fiction premises - imaginary technological or social changes which I think would create an unusual and interesting setting, and "optimistic" in the sense that they have no immediate, obvious downside (or if they do, that's not the ... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Permission requirements from people in my memoir > NOTE: I am not a lawyer, and the following is just the result of some Google searching. You're allowed to publish basically anything you want; the concern is not whether you will be able to publish it to begin with, but whether you can be sued (for libel or misrepresentation) later on. Even if you... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is this stylized writing successful or gimmicky? From the opening, the style feels distinctly noir-ish to me. Short, choppy sentences; curt tone; detached musings about humanity - I can just imagine a hard-boiled private detective narrating the first couple of paragraphs. I suspect that this is, to some extent, intentional - that you wanted to evo... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to tell if a fiction workshopping site protects my rights? Critters, one of my favorite workshopping sites, addresses this question: > Is sending through the group considered publication? > > In a word: No. Editors recognize the utility of critique groups and that many authors belong to them. Being seen by a restricted set of other authors is not publicati... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Question	—	How to tell if a fiction workshopping site protects my rights? There are lots of websites for getting feedback for my writing. But since posting something publicly on the internet can count as "publication," I'm worried that posting my work there might prove an obstacle once the work is done and I'm seeking publication. How do I know whether or not posting my w... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is first electronic rights? In general, "First [X] Rights" means "the right to be the first person/entity to do [X]," or "...to publish this piece in format [X]." "First Electronic Rights" means first publication in a digital format. In this context, emailing a copy to your best friend isn't publication, but posting it on a pu... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: When developing a stage play, whose gender matters more? The characters' or the actors'? Obviously, both female participation and female representation are important. Female participation is more immediately important, because you're dealing with your actual students, and it's crucial that the girls be able to participate just as much as the boys. That being said, this isn't a one-or-th... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Offer to publish - should you accept or wait? If you have an agent, ask them first. If you don't have an agent, this might be a good time to try to consult with one. The specifics of your book and the specific market can be crucial to the decision. This is the agent's area of expertise - negotiating contracts, and understanding what distribution... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: What factors to consider when choosing an e-book platform? I assume your students are interested in self-publishing. Traditional publishing is a whole different ball game. Key Factors To Consider - Rights. One of the main draws of self-publishing is that you keep all your rights over your work. However, plenty of sub-par services exist which'll be happy to... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Iambic pentameter: how do you use words with 'secondary stressed' syllables? At its strictest, iambic pentameter is just as rigid as you've described. "Poetry" is a dactyl (`X-/-/`), not an iamb (`/-X`), hence it shouldn't fit anywhere in an iamb-only sequence. Likewise, by the "strictest" definition, each word has a single primary stress, making the use of many polysyllabic ... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is there a way to ask online booksellers to pull pirated editions of my books? Under the "Product Details" heading, you have several links for updating book information and notifying Amazon of problems. That'd be a good way to try. More directly, there's the Contact Us button on the help page. They should be able to direct you to the right place to alert them to the problem. ... (more)	—	over 11 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do script readers start at the beginning? I have no experience with screenwriting specifically, but I see no reason why this would be different from the considerations in the fiction market (where "sending chapters" is always the first three chapters: the reader will start from the beginning, precisely like a viewer would. Why would he do ot... (more)	—	almost 12 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do authors incorporate languages they don't speak? Mix and match between all the following methods. 1. Research. If you're going to be using a language extensively, then you'll want to have at least an elementary grasp of the words you'll be using. So learn a smattering of the language; understand the words you've written at least at a surface level... (more)	—	about 12 years ago

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