Activity for Amadeus
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Answer | — |
A: Should I focus on ideas which the market enjoys, or ideas which I enjoy? Write what you enjoy. Even professional authors have written first books they couldn't sell, and even when famous wouldn't sell without rewriting them from page 1. It is difficult to sell a first novel (but not impossible, it has happened more than once). If you are not writing something you love w... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Should I take breaks, or focus harder? I take the advice of Stephen King and Orson Scott Card; write every day. I have read of other professionals that, even with another job have treated writing as a job, writing for a specified amount of time in the morning or evening, or only taking off weekends and work-type holidays, etc. I personal... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is there such a thing as using too Many "I's" in a first person novel? Yes, but it is not too many if they are necessary. That said, you should strive to eliminate them when they are NOT necessary. The reader knows who the subject of the sentence is. For example, in your \"I recognized it instantly" passage you have 10 "I or My" and use 82 words. Here it is with 4, usin... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Are words like 'cunt' too provocative for use in the current fiction market? I see nothing wrong with it; as long as you know it turns some readers off, and may get your book in the not-suitable-for-(work, kids, the devout religious). IMO such words are a fact of life; we use them, particularly joking with friends, with lovers in the heat of sexual activity, and in extreme a... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Fantasy novel with obvious - but never defined - sci-fi elements? I would say, you don't get off on a technicality when it comes to readers, so whether you are explicit in telling them it is scifi, or aliens are spaceships or super-high-tech, is all immaterial. If you expect them to figure it out, then it is not different than if you told them. Just because your c... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Brands to use, brands not to use +1 to Neil, my thought was the same: When a replacement name risks breaking the reader's suspension of disbelief (SoD), you need to either circumvent the mention or use the real name. In the GGX case of "famous designer" (or famous lawyer, engineer, programmer, billionaire, CEO, sports star, actress... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Will traditional publishers force you to remove brands? Using a real-life brand or famous name actually subtracts from your story. If you invent your own world-class practitioner, you can hype him as the world's best, better than your real life one, unknown to any but the extremely rich, or the up and coming rival of your RL guy. Your RL guy will be beat... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Flashback or Framing, does either work I never use flashback, I always use a frame, so obviously I think that works better. There are several ways to use a frame; as a report to a superior, a story to a friend or lover, explaining something to a new acquaintance, business or work partner, or lover, even a letter or briefing: Your MC read... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is it important to research the topic of your novel/story before writing it? Make up anything you like (without violating copyrights and trademarks). Outside of intellectual property laws, the whole point of fiction is to exercise your imagination. That said, if you write for readers (not just yourself and your own entertainment), then they will expect certain things to be ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Fiction Writing - has it all been done before? And yet somehow, every year, new authors sell blockbusters and earn $millions. JK Rowling went from nobody to being worth nearly half $billion. So did Dan Brown, so did Stephen King, to name a few, so have many others -- And that is just on their share of the profits , their sales are in the multi-b... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Creating a logical framework for the concept of "decisional causality" Something irrevocable transpires. I would say a decision is made when something irrevocable occurs. Words are spoken and heard, a button is pushed, a trigger is pulled, a letter is mailed, an email is sent. Until then, it is only thoughts about a decision that might be made. In Quantum Mechanics, ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Are "non-readers" useful beta readers? > Are “non-readers” useful beta readers? I don't think so. People that don't read, don't enjoy reading. They don't like that kind of fiction, they don't know what is good and bad, it is all bad from their POV because they aren't comfortable reading for that long, they need glasses they don't have (I... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to organically and believably introduce the tools and skills necessary to survive after an apocalypse? People die, and Kings emerge. I would operate on the notion that our human nature itself, how we see the world and what we will do for survival (of ourselves or kids or those we love) will not be changed by this event. There are people with the skills you need, even without magic. You can even watc... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Sensory Information Overload The Rule of Three. In another context, this has been studied scientifically by psychologists. AKA the 80/20 rule, and the law of diminishing returns. Specifically the study of mentality suggests we humans first exhibit difficulty remembering stuff when it exceeds three items (unless we are constant... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to go from an opening idea to a complete plot? I'm a discovery writer; meaning I write without a plot, and see what happens. I don't have written character histories, or back stories, or a laundry list of traits or descriptions. If I need a physical trait, I invent it on the fly (and keep character notes so I stay consistent). I don't believe in ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is it more important to provide representation, or to avoid following stereotypes? The Story Comes First. I think you are worrying too much about trivial points, and this can only make your story more difficult. When you want to portray a stereotype without seeming to do that, you need to get creative: Give a reason for it that makes it seem other than the shallow reason: One of m... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is it ok to reference something modern to give the reader a better idea of what something looks like if the book is set in the Middle Ages? The only way this is permissible (in my view, of course) is if the main character or the narrator is actually a time traveler from the future. It isn't the setting you need to stay faithful to, it is the mind of the narrator, which is usually of the same mind as the Main Character. If your main char... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How do I describe an accidental kiss between the two main characters that is romantic as well as regretful? Speaking as an American, I think this is a difficult task in the current culture. Your best bet is likely a setting where the characters are a bit drunk, and the woman initiates the kiss. That will avoid many of the politics of men sexually harassing women, if he does not initiate the sexual contact... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Arousing Emotion in Readers I think there is a difference between making the reader angry, and making a character angry. First, to Totomus's idea of looking to Internet trolls: Notice they attack their targets personally with insults, lies, non-sequitur, idiot "logic" and twisting what was said, putting words in the mouths of ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How much indirection is too much? It's not too much if you present it in more concrete terms. A "merchant" is not concrete enough; make it his uncle Bobby, or his neighbor. Have it be a specific person. Have his correspondent be a specific person, and then tell the story as if the MC had been told directly by that guy. > The Jerk t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Disposable Characters +1 Secespitus; I have little to add but to talk on writing mechanics. Game of Thrones is a saga, a long-format story with many main characters so the writers (7, led by George RR Martin) have plenty of time to develop characters they intend to kill, and (like real life) keep bringing more of them in... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Where do I start? I start on Page 1, Line 1, Word 1: The main character's name. If you know this much about the characters, the first scene introduces the main character and her status-quo world. You have 5% to 10% of the story to let your readers get to know her, how she lives her life, deals with problems, deals wi... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Restarting a Novel I am a discovery writer (and find the term "pantster" as pejorative as "plodder" instead of "plotter."). All writers must go through a phase of discovering their story, whether it is inventing a detailed plot or inventing the plot as one writes so it fits the characters, culture, and world as they ar... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Dealing with inability to sustain interest in an idea I suspect you are too focused on your idea. Most ideas for good novel length (or series length) stories are actually pretty simple, and can be summarized in a page. That includes best sellers like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or The Da Vinci Code. And those one page summaries, or a synopsis,... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Writing a novel for a charitable cause for free? I am not a lawyer, but I would ask a lawyer about the following route to avoid your problem. I am pretty certain (because I have disabled relatives) that you CAN earn a certain amount of money that does not endanger your disability payments; in the thousands. Thus (in America at least): 1. Write ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What would be the best way to make a vampire story with a bit of romance without it being crappy? To answer, I must admit to the world: I am a carnivore. That's right, people! I eat meat. Bacon, beef, pork, chicken, turkey -- I shamelessly and without guilt consume them all, and enjoy it. I am not the only one, on this planet, there are both male and female carnivores, and somehow, we fall in lo... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Do writers write philosophical essays? Fiction writers (like me) portray a problem and a resolution (good or bad), usually for a main character (MC). In the process, we strive to create emotions in the reader ABOUT that character; so the reader can identify with her, root for her, and celebrate (or grieve) when she wins (or loses). To th... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: The importance of a premise sentence or two premise sentences A premise statement (read the link, it is short) is not typically IN your story at all, not before it, not in the prose. As the link says: > Every story has one premise. Only one. This premise is the underlying idea of your story-the foundation that supports your entire plot. > > If you can establ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Positive Transformation in the Arc of a Story Generally, the conflict is resolved in the third act. Acts end with (effectively for the story and characters) an irrevocable something, a decision, an act taken, words spoken, event transpiring, etc. That is not to say this must be the final sentence of a chapter, there can be ramifications or cons... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What are the Pros and Cons of long names? There are no pros. The cons are people will not read them more than once, so your story becomes confusing, and they will stop reading altogether. They may sound exotic to begin or appearing once or twice in a book, but if they are not replaced by nicknames of 2 or 3 syllables, I think people will jus... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Breaking up a talky piece of writing I'll say what has been said in my own way: A long block of JUST dialogue is generally an under-imagined scene. The dialogue takes place in a setting, with its own sights, sounds, smells and temperature and humidity and interruptions. If the characters are telling each other things they don't know; t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Thoroughly Despicable Characters I am not sure what "under what circumstances..." is supposed to mean. Whenever you want! IRL violent psychopaths are perhaps 0.1% of the population, one in 1000. With about 3 billion adults on the planet, there are about 3 million of them in the world, and unfortunately for us their IQs follow the ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Need a bit of verse in my prose Steal it! For a ritual setting, the poetry is plausibly old stuff, so find some very old poetry in the public domain, and look for passages you can steal. You don't have to attribute it to anybody. If you have studied enough, you can change some words, paying attention to rhythm and rhyme, and perh... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Characters that take on a life of their own My personal opinion is, don't make that mistake. I consider that similar to "world building disease". It is one reason I am a discovery writer, I first failed as a plodder. The error is that it is too difficult to devise the perfect "personality" for a tightly constrained problem (an over-specific p... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: The psychology of starting a piece of writing Wait. I am a discovery writer, meaning, I do not outline or plot or plan ahead, except in a minor way. I often don't know where the first Act ends, or what complications and setbacks will arrive, I definitely do not have a list of characters, or attributes, or histories. I invent them as I go. Befo... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to make the villain relatable/human without making the hero seem like a monster for killing him? Self-Defense, or Suicide. One way to do this is to make the hero killing the villain a matter of self-defense. Trap the villain, the hero would do the moral thing and take him alive, put him in a prison, try to get him treatment for his crazy: But the villain is so obsessed or dead set on doing what... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: I'm not enjoying my attempt at a science-fiction novella; should I continue? The secret to writing is rewriting. If you aspire to math and computer science, try thinking like a scientist. (I am a research scientist using both math and computer science). A story is much like a program; you are trying to evoke certain emotions from the reader with each scene. If your program d... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Dealing with Amazon Kindle where clueless behavior has been consistent What are the consequences if you ignore these requests? If there are no consequences, add a filter to your email and divert them to the spam folder. (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Plotting a Compelling Story You approach a story with a message the same way you approach a story without one: To make it compelling you need a good plot, good twists, and a hero the audience is hoping will succeed despite the odds being stacked against them and a likely failure. You avoid the traps of a too-perfect-hero, and ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Growing Up Oblivious and Magic +1 to DPT and EBH, this is the only point I can think of to add to theirs. As the OP's link alludes, Magic appearing is typically (not always) a metaphor for puberty and the appearance of sexual desire, a mysterious life change for nearly all of us (even if we were warned). Considering sexual desire... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How can I draft a reminder email when I'm not sure if the agreement is still valid and still have it formal? I think you jump in too fast, remind him of the circumstances first. Be more specific. > In March we spoke about me doing some research on one of your projects, and I expressed interest in doing that. If this position is still available, I am still interested and would very much like to pursue it. P... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Do Short Stories Need Definitive Endings? Yes, if you want readers to be satisfied with your writing. You don't have to answer everything, or explain everything, but a story (long or short) has a central unknown that is the reason the reader is reading, and the story isn't over until it is answered. That central unknown may or may not be e... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Using terms for clarity in first person I would do what people actually do, and call it something descriptive. Here is an Online Etymology Dictionary that can tell you when and how various words in the English language originated and evolved, where they came from. It can be very helpful in giving you ideas for how to make up replacements. ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Gameplay clashing with story? Change the story more (as you have already begun; sidekick isn't always invulnerable). Give the sidekick damage points that he can't recover for some turns after a battle: This becomes a part of strategy too, the player must avoid battle for a few turns if his shield is still effed up by the last bat... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What is the base on which movies writers integrate typical characters into a plot? Past Commercial Success. Those ideas are called "tropes" or clichés; you can google for those; many TV tropes used. Steinbeck may have been the original author of that particular big-dumb, little-smart duo; I'm not sure. The real source is other authors that do something original that resonates, o... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Where do I start with C++ documentation? I am a professor and PhD that has been coding over 40 years. I'll restrict this comment to documenting code, which is different enough to warrant its own answer from a professional: I "grew up" (my first real programming job, 40 years ago) on IBM operating system code; written entirely in assembly la... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How can I make my 'first draft' good enough to be published? I'm a research scientist and professor at a university. We tolerate exactly this "rather curious approach" to research, of multiple refinements until we zero in on something interesting. We do experiment after experiment to find it. Do you realize how many different takes on the internal combustion ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Establishing trust with a Shapeshifter Have a conversation first. Explain herself to her confidant, make it clear she IS a shapeshifter, and willing to prove it, until the person she is talking to demands a demonstration. Then provide the demonstration. You can think of this as a form of intimacy, she has been keeping something about he... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: I have a weak motivation for a god character! How Do I Make It a Stronger Motivation? Although the Olympians had some super-powers, and were immortal, the Greeks considered them to be just like people in their emotional make-up. They fell in love (with humans), got horny, made mistakes, felt grief, etc. Effectively they treated the "immortality" aspect as just "they don't ever die" a... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Basic fails to look out for when writing the drama: What can we learn from soap operas I think you mean "filler," not pulp. In fiction "pulp fiction" meant stuff printed on very cheap paper, and by implication "cheap" both in writing and production values. Filler is anything that could be cut completely without having any influence on the plot or characters, then or later. It doesn't ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |