Activity for Lauren Ipsum
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: How to decide whether a story is worth writing? Write out a few and share them. You may be completely wrong about the market. A tale which "explores a character's path through life" but not much else happens is called a character study, and those are legitimately literature. (And movies sometimes too, c.f. A Room with a View.) (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: At what point disappointment and frustration within the story makes the reader abandon it? When hope that the protagonist(s) will win is snuffed out. I came very close to this with Person of Interest in the middle of the most recent season. There are a number of Good Folks and several groups of Bad Folks. About mid-season the Bad Folks had racked up so many successes and the Good Folks we... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Capitalizing generic names In old fairy tales, the protagonists were sometimes referred to this way: the king, the princess, the miller's son. But there was only one of each, so it was okay to leave them lowercase. If there might be the slightest confusion about which grocer, officer, etc. is being discussed, you should capit... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: What to do with cliched metaphors? I had a poetry teacher who talked about "tired language," referring to clichés like this. Take your original metaphor apart and break it down to the real, concrete, non-representative ideas. Are Eri and Mom so far apart that not one single thought is shared between them? Are they speaking as though ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: What do you think about having very different tones in a single story? You could get away with drastically different tones if you had two different POV narrators. If one is Tina Fey and the other is Sylvia Plath, they will of course see the world differently. The contrast will probably make your book lean more towards humor/dark humor/satire, so as long as you're okay w... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Fragmented sentence A sentence has a subject and a verb, sometimes an object. > He recites. (Subject: he; Verb: recites) > > She throws a book. (Subject: She; Verb: throws; Object: a book) A sentence fragment is missing some part of that. > Ran down the street. (Verb: ran; no subject) > > His impossibly high cheekb... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How to find the balance between research and the obvious Successful example: Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series. The first book, Rendezvous with Rama, read to me like a history book written 50 years from now. Very hard sci-fi, technical, a bit dry. The next three in the series, written with Gentry Lee, are more typical fiction, and center on the adventures of ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How rough should a rough draft be Placehold the highlights. Write the notes of what you want to accomplish. > Beth: Wow, that was really nice of the waiter. > > Alanna: Do you think the boss will punish him for that? > > they discuss if they should give him a big tip to make sure the boss doesn't dock him. Alanna wants to give the... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: My story passes in choppy blocks - how can I fix it? You have all your parts; you've sort of discovered your story backwards. Now you need to reverse–reverse-engineer an outline. A very rough skeleton for an outline is: Intro: set up the story world Act I: Plot is set in motion. Ends with a disaster or reversal Act II: Reversal is overcome. Plot mo... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: What is a "reflection character?" How is s/he different from an antagonist? The reflection character, as I understand it, is literally someone who reflects the protagonist: someone who echoes parts of the protagonist's character or situation to expose the subtext and make it more visible. The reflector could be an antagonist or an ally, or neither. On the BBC's Sherlock, S3... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How to suddenly introduce a scary character, but include description? The first time the character sees the monster, he's only going to get a few basic details. Christ, that thing is huge! It's green! and the teeth! After he's ducked out of the way and looked back over his shoulder, then he's going to notice the matted fur, the slitted yellow eyes, the cracked horns, ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Should I completely eliminate passive voice "X was most likely to be electrocuted" doesn't have an actor, so that's fine as is. But if you have "many new things were done," tell us by whom, and what they did. > While the 15x15 was pregnant, the three-bys were busy building houses, the 9x9s dug latrines, and the lone Whip-It sat in the makesh... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Can Bridging Conflict Work When the Answer is Known? Just because the reader knows the reason for the Bridging Conflict doesn't mean the characters will be able to overcome it. In your example, even if the reader knows all the extra security measures are because of the Zombie Apocalypse, that doesn't mean that the zombies won't break through the secur... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Is the following deus-ex-machina? If so, should I remove it? As Ville Niemi comments above, the simplest way to make this not a coincidence is to have your protagonist do some work to find these people. In fact, I can't imagine how she could casually stumble over something called an Animal Suicide Club. It's the "Club" part which requires the work. Animal sui... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Prologue and Epilogue in third person and chapters in first person doable? Sounds fine to me. The prologue and epilogue are literally before and after the story, so it's fine for them to be formatted differently or have a different POV. (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How to write when thinking in multiple languages? If it's your first draft, just write it as it comes. You can't edit a blank page. After your first draft, go back through and clean up the polyglossolalia. If you're writing in third person, pick one language and make it all that. (Obviously if your characters speak multiple languages, you can decid... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Non-human protagonist - Good, bad, or up to the writing? Up to the writing. If you create characters with whom your audience can identify in some fashion, someone to root for, then their species doesn't matter. Diane Duane has many non-human protagonists and hero characters in her various books: sentient fish and trees in her Young Wizards series, Romulan... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Do you capitalize common nouns (e.g. beach party) if they're part of an event name? You'd capitalize "beach party" if the entire phrase is a proper name, because it's an official event: > You are invited to the WidgetCo Christmas Beach Party! This is being held across the street from the restaurant where we had last year's WidgetCo Christmas Karaoke Night and down the block from th... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Constructed Language - spelled like it sounds? I think @jm13fire has the right idea: use accents, and give readers a quick pronunciation guide at the beginning. I would go for a caron over a C, which looks like č , as ç (with a cedilla) is used for a soft C. I would definitely read Ačir as "Akir." (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Are position titles capitalized when the subject is dropped When a title precedes a name, it becomes part of the name, and is capitalized: > I spoke to Constable Fraser this morning. (You don't use the title and the person's first name. Not in American English, anyway.) When a title comes after a name or stands alone, it's descriptive. It's not a proper ad... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Is mathematical poetry a form of poetry? Poetry doesn't have to be as free-flowing and messy as you're implying. Some poetry throws out rules of form and function, but some adheres to them strictly. Think of the meter and rhyme demands of a sonnet, or the syllable rules of a haiku. If you don't follow those very rigid, precise requirements... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Should "plot" or storyline be the main determinant of what goes into a story? It sounds like you're something of a discovery writer (aka pantser). You wrote lots and lots of material, and now you have to carve away everything which doesn't fit your plot. If you are a discovery writer rather than a planner, then removing all the parts which don't belong there is part of the pro... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: General copyright - How much is actually copyrighted? You may have to research your specific term to see how far back it goes and if you can find the first or earliest instance(s). Depending on what you're looking for, you may have to go to physical libraries rather than just the Internet. Star Trek is obviously a TV show, so the origin can be easily p... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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Methods for creating slang I am interested in creating slang or a vernacular for a particular group in my story. I want it to be distinctive and a definite marker for in-group/out-group, but not incomprehensible. I'm not looking for industry jargon, and it's not extensive enough to be a dialect. For example, Cockney rhyming s... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Are there times when delayed character development is acceptable in fiction? I think there's a difference between character development and character depth. Development means change. You can have an interesting villain who is only ever a villain, but still has backstory, motivation, relationships, and hobbies. That's a deep character who doesn't change. But if your character... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Direct thoughts I find thoughts inside speech quotes to be incredibly distracting, because I have to spend time figuring out if the person is thinking or talking. So don't do that, whatever punctuation you use for speech. Leaving thoughts inline is okay if they're kind of passim narration of a sort: > She ducked a... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How do I punctuate a statement that a character is ordered to say in a future scenario? But those words are a quote, so they should be quoted. If your text is in first person — so that your narration is actually the thoughts of the narrator speaking to the reader — then you'd use speech quotes. (In the U.S. it's double quotes; in the U.K. and other places it's single. I'm using U.S. pu... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How do you decide whether to use the infinitive or -ing version of a verb? I think it's subjective. To my ear, to avoid is a series of individual events, while avoiding implies something continuous and ongoing. "She started to avoid me" sounds like "I called her and she didn't return my call. The next day I texted her but she didn't text back. Two days later I sent her an ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How does one avoid imposing one's own voice and preferences in critiques? As @what sensibly points out, just because you have an opinion doesn't mean it's wrong. Mention your biases up front. "I really enjoy rhyming poetry, and free verse doesn't work for me on an aesthetic level. That being said, if you do X and Y, you'll improve the tone of the line." If you don't want ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: What's the common practice for warranty chapters in technical manuals? I would put them at the end as appendices. That way they're part of the documentation but not in the way when someone goes to look up a feature. But I actually like the idea of having them as part of the documentation, because individual documents mean more moving parts, and a smaller physical docume... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How should I translate this? My instinct is to preserve as much of the original rhythm and flow as possible, but to make it sound readable to a native ear. In both your examples, the original uses short, punchy sentences, which is a particular quirk of the writer's style. Smoothing them out by combining them, to my ear, quite li... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Using expletives in an essay Given your quote in context, the obscenity works. It's blunt and to the point, and since you are in fact pointing out that people don't have time or energy for philosophy when they're starving, it's rather apropos. If you're genuinely worried about the expletive, don't use a halfway substitute. Make... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Stutter that changes words mid sentence Depending on whether the character actually stutters or just rewords mid-thought, you might write: > "Lo— I mean, Warden," he amended. > > "Lor— er, Warden," he amended. > > "Lo— Warden," he amended. In each case, the M-dash indicates an audible but very short pause, maybe accompanied by a quick ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Adding the word "that" to maintain symmetry in sentences I agree with both your points: if your first sentence stood alone, I'd omit that. But in sequence with the other two, it sounds better to leave it in. There is an actual rule in English linguistics called that-deletion, which allows you to drop the word "that" before certain independent clauses if y... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Writing a scientific name in an italized phrase? Underlines are only used to indicate hyperlinks; they should not be used for emphasis. When you have a block of italicized text, and you have a phrase which would normally be italicized in book or roman text, make your italic phrase book. > The ball python, also known as Python regius, is a nonveno... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Should I write "also known as" in full or as an acronym (aka)? If your example is part of narration in a story, you have it written exactly right. There's no need for the acronym. "aka" the acronym originally came from law enforcement when describing someone's alias. It happens to be useful enough that it's migrated out of jargon into non-LEO usage, but you wou... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How to balance for readers who are not technologically literate If the technical terms are important for the rest of the plot, you might be able to explain them in the narration as the acts unfold. (A said to B, "I'm hacking the mainframe." A entered a command into her laptop, and the specialized software disabled the security system and allowed her to access the... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Should I turn my enormous novel into a series? - This sounds closest to The Lord of the Rings, which is one enormous story split into three physical volumes. Each volume contains two parts which Tolkien labelled books, but Tolkien himself thought of it as one work, not three (or six). - GRRMartin's fourth book of A Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Multiple sentences in a parenthetical phrase - How do I punctuate properly? If you have a full sentence as a parenthetical, you generally don't capitalize and punctuate it that way. So it normally appears: > Dick and Jane watch Spot run (they know Spot likes to chase cars). But when you have more than one sentence in the parenthetical, you have to indicate where each compl... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: My story moves too fast 1) Don't worry about it for this draft. Write your entire book. Get it down on paper. Then put in a drawer for a month. Then, when it's finished and you have a little distance, you can go back and see where there's room to insert other scenes and slow events down. You don't want to kill the momentu... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Which one is the correct dialogue punctuation format? The difference is that the first sentence doesn't have a tag. It's a line of dialogue followed by a complete sentence. The second sentence is dialogue followed by a dialogue tag. Your first set of examples is punctuated correctly — when you use a tag, the dialogue ends in a comma, and the tag start... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How to structure a sentence containing long code examples? I like the third version, without colons, because the visual break and the code formatting makes it clear that this is a new "clause," or thought, and the piece of code is not a grammatically correct full sentence. Since you are continuing one sentence over several breaks, I wouldn't use capitals. I... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Point of view chapter to chapter Three first-person POVs might be too much. It's already a little difficult to switch gears when going from one narrator to another; going entirely from one interior perspective to another, and then another, would probably be overwhelming. I wouldn't mind multiple POV characters if the book was in thi... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How do I demonstrate ideological differences between characters who are politically not too different? Let's call them Monty the Moderate and Larry the Left-Winger for the sake of discussion... I think both your charaters are less left-wing and anti-war than you think they are. If Monty is willing to train soldiers to be better assassins, that's not being anti war. That's being practical, or perhaps... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: In a dialogue, how do you write that a character says a letter? Honestly, I have no problem with writing single letters or numbers in dialogue, particularly if they are acronyms. All the following look fine to me: - "The variable x is greater than the variable y." - "I liked the TM1 better." - "I drive a Mazda 2." - "But there is no MI-6!" - "Captain, the Klingo... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Am I making the writing too complex? Gael Baudino sort of did this in her Water! trilogy. In the three books (O Greenest Branch, The Dove Looked In, Branch and Crown) she kept switching not merely narrator and POV, but the entire narrative style: parts were standard narration, then parts were being told by a marketing guy as he was get... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How ordinary must my protagonist be if the book is written from his/her point of view? I don't think your protagonist has to be ordinary to be relatable. - While I haven't read the series, isn't the point of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid that the protagonist isn't the "healthy good guy hero" type? - Writer Graham Moore just won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptingThe Imitation Game, a biog... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Should I drop the quotation marks in a chapter that consists mostly on a character telling a story? It doesn't matter if your book is 95% one person speaking. If your character is speaking aloud, and especially if you have a second person who interrupts even once a chapter, you must have punctuation indicating that someone is speaking. Also, I very strongly recommend that you don't just present yo... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: What are the correct terms regarding (this literary) technique? They're called speech bubbles and thought bubbles, respectively. Speech bubbles usually have clean edges and a kind of triangle pointing to the speaker's mouth; thought bubbles have puffy, cloud-like edges, and the connection to the speaker is a trail of individual round bubbles. I might call the te... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How do you make a vague metaphor more easy to understand? Besides my comment above about referencing the wrong item, in a more general sense, you can make a metaphor clearer by working backwards from your end result. If your end is "silence is golden," which is the important idea you want to reference, consider what part of a person makes sound. It's not r... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |