Posts by Standback
Zane hit the main ones: desire for personal privacy the other primary reason I know is marketing - same as actors, some authors will adopt snazzier-sounding names to sound good on the bookshelf. B...
[X]'s chosen move requires [n] MP. [X] cannot afford MP cost for chosen move. [X] doesn't have enough MP for that. Clear, simple. Although frankly, the examples OP gives of his own a...
I'm an attentive follower of Janet Reid's Query Shark, and I've learned a lot. But Reid doesn't represent speculative fiction, which seems to present wrinkles of its own. Particularly, Query Shark...
Before you start querying, you must, must, must familiarize yourself with submission guidelines - for the field in general, and for the specific agents and publishers you find are appropriate for y...
This is basically a question of marketing strategy. The major pro of DRM is that it helps avoid pirating; the major con is that it limits accessibility and portability, and can annoy readers and ...
I'm writing a fantasy story about whether a teacher should be fired or not over teaching competency; most of the story revolves around the politics and the procedural process of the decision. So m...
I think the key question here is: what element in your story do you see as being a "fantasy" element? There's no denying we've seen plenty of fantasy published that skirts the edge of mainstream. ...
Writing, of course. If you want to write fiction, then writing fiction. Anything else might be helpful, but it's not practicing the actual thing you want to be getting good at. Reading might give ...
"Realistic Fiction" isn't a single genre. You've got literary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, romances, and more. Each has its own target audience, some wider than others. Moreover, bestseller list...
On bolding: Assume that on a casual browse, the reader's eye will always leap first to headers, and to words in bold. They'll help him understand the structure of your piece, and the most important...
Should I e-publish? It depends heavily on your goals, on the effort you're willing/interested in investing, and on your skill with the various abilities involved with e-publishing. If you aim to...
I see no reason for concern. The two words don't look the same, or even really sound the same. I don't see any reason anybody would get the two confused, certainly not on a scope that should worry ...
I'm looking for books, essays and articles on plotting mystery/detective/investigation stories (and novels). The type of story I'm aiming for is in the vein of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, or ...
Based on their guidelines for requesting an ISSN, I would try their contact email and ask for confirmation: issnic@issn.org . Let us know if that works :)
It depends on what your blog is trying to achieve. I agree with this much of your quote: readers come back most consistently to a blog that is focused, that offers one thing consistently. The reas...
Distinguish between a review and a critique. A review is meant for people who haven't read the book, and is largely intended to help them form their opinion of it; a critique is a discussion of th...
I don't think you need to worry about "seeming like a kid's book," I think you need to worry about making a professional submission. On two points: Why do you think your novel should have illustr...
I'm not familiar with markets that specialize in flash fiction, though these may exist. However, if you feel you've got a worthwhile, marketable story, I think most venues are happy to consider fla...
Your considerations are spot-on. Very nice question. You should definitely be familiar with your genre. If you know enough to place your work within a specific genre, then it had better fit there ...
I know it's frustrating, but in general, I'm not familiar with many resources that go into a lot of detail about abstract plotting and story structure. That's because plot varies so tremendously be...
This isn't really any different than any other important information you want to get across early. Here's a few thoughts: A character considering how s/he might look to others is classic and pret...
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...
Well, first and foremost - do you believe in the character? Do you think he/she is sympathetic? If so, you're already in a good position - because you have a believable, sympathetic character, you ...
Ralph certainly covered the structure of individual episodes: the patient's symptoms escalate; the team tries one treatment after another (with dramatic results, in some direction or another); Hous...
