Activity for Amadeus‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: When does something become "torture porn"? Porn in general shows something for the excitement of it in and of itself. In a story, authors stray into porn when what we are showing does not advance the story, build character, or have any ramifications or consequences to what happens later in the story. Generally, showing sex (or torture) itsel... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you deal with Chapter 2 when Chapter 1 is a volcano opening? I would not start with a volcano opening, I think that is your mistake. A story does not start with that, a story has to start with "the status quo" world of the MC. The reason for that is two-fold. (1) The audience doesn't give a crap about the volcano opening because it doesn't know or care about... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What new plots are available to writers? There's really only one plot: Somebody has a problem, and must deal with it. If that isn't true, there isn't really a story, just some descriptions of things. You might subdivide that into [happy, mixed, sad] endings. You might subdivide by the problem, [political, romantic, business, science, ...]... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Antagonist lacks motivation - where do I find it? You don't have to explain much in sociopathy. Read Understanding the Sociopath: Cause, Motivation, Relationship, in "Psychology Today." An excerpt: > In the media, I'm often asked what causes sociopathy. "Are they born this way?" is one of the most frequently asked questions. The truth is that we d... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does visualization form intuitions, or do intuitions lead to visualization? > So, does visualization form intuitions, or do intuitions lead to visualization, and which is better? Yes! From my study of biologically informed AI and neurology, I actually think the answer is both. Obviously what follows is my opinion on unsettled science of the brain; I will skip the IMO and s... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the name of the technique where quotation marks are not closed but reopened to indicate a break in speech This is called the multi-paragraph quotation rule; see here: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/96608/why-does-the-multi-paragraph-quotation-rule-exist Also read the top accepted answer there, for an explanation as to why we do it that way (so we don't have to re-identify who is speaking f... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: The psychology of finishing a piece of fiction I don't have the major swing you have, from brilliant to horrible; but I understand the sentiment from earlier writing. I suggest three things. 1) Treat yourself like a child, or at least like a student. A beginner. Write what you want, and when reviewing it, be critical but try to put your critici... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should structuring an academic text with the help of questions be avoided? Speaking as a professor and author of several academic papers; I would avoid it. Rhetorical questions are a technique we use in classrooms to generate interest or debate among students. That is a form of "entertainment" and entertainment is NOT the goal of a paper, it is reporting your research and ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write about characters and places you aren't personally familiar with? The Easy Part. You have the Internet! You can research places, slang, and to some extent the culture of Americans, or British, in order to write your story. You have travelogues, you have some American comedy and talk shows (to show you what Americans find funny or enjoy talking about), you have Ame... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I show the confusion my character feels? I think confusion takes time to portray, and I would do this in dialogue; a kind of argument. > He told me he worked at NASA. NASA. He must be kidding. > > I said, "What? You hated science! Math, biology, computers ... everything, you were the worst student in high school!" > > "What can I say? Th... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write a Complete Monster? > their own distinct personalities and motives for villainy. Would this be a good way to write a Complete Monster? It's a start. But there are only a few motives that really apply to a CM. Power, greed, pleasure in torture, killing and causing death. Perhaps misplaced vengeance. To me, the way to m... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can I include Acknowledgement page in a novel? Yes, you can, it is done often, and I see nothing wrong with them. Authors often spend years on a book, and it is normal human nature to thank the people that helped you through it. People don't have to read it, of course, and I wouldn't worry about haters that don't like it, some people find fault ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to know if the story is going too fast? The principles you must rely on are plausibility and connectedness. For example, in the space of 30 minutes I can have ten bad things happen to somebody, if they are connected to each other. A warning light comes on in the cabin of their airplane. An engine explodes. It damages the aircraft, they ar... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: I feel my protagonist is too "detached" from the main plot. What should I do? Stop making him passive, and make him a hero. He doesn't "go to visit his sister," he learns about his sister's trouble and affliction, and drops what he is doing to go save her. He doesn't "meet a girl with no soul," he is walking about waiting for something involving his sister, and sees a girl i... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do my characters need to have different mannerisms in order to be perceived as different? I'll side with your editor. Why do you need two jolly characters, or two stern characters? I wouldn't worry about mannerisms, I am more interested in purpose, intent, attitude and conflict. I think you make it hard for two characters to be in conflict, and hard for two characters to have plausibly c... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to make the reader think that the *character's* logic is flawed instead of the author's? The OP (now) specifies the narrator cannot know the thoughts of any character, including the villain (see question comments). Human logic, both formal and informal, is grounded in self-evident truths , meaning things we believe to be true and require no evidence for that but common sense. e.g. Eucli... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the "Proposal" Part of a Query Letter? This is my understanding, I don't have a reference for you to look at it. The "proposal" is either a description of the work you propose to write, or (almost always) a short description of the work (or story) you have written. I believe actual proposals to represent unfinished work tend to be from ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: I feel suddenly disconnected from my writing. Time for a break? Trust your subconscious. I would say, do not stop writing, do not break your habit of writing every day. Just stop writing THAT. Do some other writerly stuff, on this project or a different one. When I find I am stalling in a story, I also find that this is often because my subconscious mind knows ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How Can You Use "In Medias Res" To Beautify Your Amazing Masterpiece? As everyone else notes, In Medias Res only means "in the middle of things." It does not necessarily mean a climax, or action, or foreshadowing the ending. For example, if I were writing a Sherlock novel, I might begin with Sherlock closing a previous case to the one the novel is about. Jump in, show... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Hate to love, love to hate Love to Hate: To love to hate a villain, the villain must be clever, must outsmart the protagonist, and must usually (nearly always) win. They must be competent and difficult to defeat. The audience must fear what the villain does next, not so much in terms of violence but the audience must think t... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I convey that a relationship is platonic? > They have different sets of talents, different world views, different ways of handling crises. Yet despite all that sets them apart, they're the best of friends. Why are they the best of friends? One theory of "friendship" I find useful for writing is the idea of mutual benefit. This can be demons... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write a good cover letter? Speaking as both a professor and corporate division manager at different points in my life: Your cover letter is not your CV, and (as said by ItWasLikeThat) you should not try to cram your CV into it. The cover letter is more of a polite marketing tool to convince the professor you are the one for th... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are readers tolerant of unique and bizarre character Names? Weird names are fine and tolerated, my personal rule is to ensure there is no ambiguity in how the reader should pronounce them; and "Nyuna" does have that problem, it is not certain whether to try and pronounce the "Y". The sound is more important than the spelling I think, so I'd ditch the "Y", wit... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: I am overplotting my story - how can I figure out what is necessary and cut out what isn't? 1) You had to have some plot (or situation) to begin the book. Although that obviously underwent revisions; you now have a beginning, and an end. Of the first character(s) introduced, how do they figure in the end, as the last characters doing/saying anything? Those are the endpoints of your arc. Pr... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why is character lifetime proportional to character development so often? Proof of Peril. Some characters are killed as various kinds of proof for the audience. This can be proof of peril for the heroes, or for the innocent. This can be proof of the ruthlessness of the villain. This can be proof of the lethal environment. In the opening of Saving Private Ryan many sold... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How many points are sufficient for my essay? If you can think of a third aspect, I would include it. I would not add to existing answers I thought were complete, unless I can bring in another aspect to them. Plus, your instinct to not have only two challenges is probably correct, surely there are more than two challenges / opportunities in alm... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to derive a first sentence from a story? This may depend on the writer and their style; what I think is a great opening line, and what you think is a great opening line, may be quite different things. Speaking for myself, I write stories. Not literature, not poetry, not deep philosophy. Stories, about some person, often about learning thei... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to open a novel? EDIT: This answer still applies after modification of the question; the answer is to focus on the important person (or some important persons if there will be several POV in the novel) first, in minor conflict; not the main conflict, as an introduction into the world of the novel. The aspects of thi... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to avoid writing irritating fan fictions? Do not post online as you write it; even most professional writers do not like their first drafts, and IMO a beginner should never like their first draft, so you are just inviting criticism of something you would never actually try to call a finished product. I hope that is the case. Next, review th... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to quote a book in my novel? Oscar Wilde's work is in the public domain; so yes, you can copy and quote it directly, even without attribution. You are doing Wilde a favor by attributing the quotes to his book. It isn't a problem. (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Would a character displaying the opposite of one of their characteristics break immersion? It may cause the immersion to break. The rational response is, how do I know they are slaves? How do I know if I "free" them I am not sentencing them to certain death? Perhaps in this place, it will be assumed the slaves revolted and the penalty for that is always horrific death no matter what the ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Referencing modern pop culture in science fiction Stranger in a strange land. A foil. Create a tagalong character that needs explanations; a child, somebody new to the group, a good asset but a foreign born person that doesn't get pop references (even if they speak the local language without error or accent). Pretty much the whole point of having ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What are the signs of accidental self insertion? If this character is to be either hero or villain, there must be something they want and do not know how to get, or that comes at a hefty price. There must be a goal not easily attained, or there is no story, there is just a list of actions that produced their desired result and for the reader this i... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: "Thought" Verbs: A sign of weak writing or a stylistic choice? In first person (as Ken says) thought verbs are less necessary or unnecessary, but they can be crucial in third person and absolutely necessary. > Mary knew Jack was lying, but she smiled anyway. "Oh, I guess I didn't think of that," she said. Sometimes what the character is thinking is critical to... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Foregone conclusion of novel's first part You can make it so the MC doesn't get everything he wants, and at the end of the setup may get into the unit of his choice, but loses something else along the way. - Give him a friend whose goal is the same, but washes out (or dies). - Give him a girlfriend that leaves him. - Give him a parent he ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the role of "flashback" in my novel? The determining criteria will be how much information the reader needs. Generally you want to use flashback for a few reasons. 1) Need to know protag and/or context for emotional impact. A battle scene may not make much sense to the reader/viewer if you open with it: Everybody in it is a stranger, t... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should foreshadowing be close to the main event? +1 Cloudchaser, I'd go further and say foreshadowing should NEVER be close to the event. But it doesn't have to be on page 1, or page 50. As I said in my answer to your previous foreshadowing question if you have THIS MUCH foreshadowing you probably have too much of it. Foreshadowing should be a sc... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group? Don't focus on him being a "veteran". Yes, he was in a war, blah blah. You don't ever have to use the word "veteran." If you do, have him use it to game the system or seek sympathy; even veterans hate a cheat. I was in the military, I don't ever refer to myself as a veteran unless it is a formal re... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why do heroes need to have a physical mark? One reason to give a hero a mark is simply for writing efficiency, between characters in the book. Everybody (in the book) recognizes them, except perhaps children (and often even children). In Harry Potter, the lightning bolt scar means everybody on the train, though they have never seen him before... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I make "foreshadowing" more relevant in the early going? You are not foreshadowing correctly; they cannot be unrelated to the story currently happening. For example, you can foreshadow the more experienced Bill getting killed before the novice Charlie with a war video game in which the more experienced Bill is surprised and beaten by the novice Charlie; b... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How acceptable is "alternate history" in writing (nowadays)? > Under what circumstances is this kind of alternate history desirable, or at least acceptable? I think in large part this depends on how well known the true history is. In this case, I think your concerns are misplaced, I think nearly all adults would not know who was the King of France of between ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is subtext? I agree, subtext is something the author does throughout the work, in various ways. It is not necessarily a psychological leaning of their own, it can be an explicitly formulated principle. Nearly all books carry the subtext "Evil loses, good wins;" but that tends more to the 'psychological tendency'... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do writers copy other writers? I do not, to my knowledge ever. I am not a lawyer but I believe copyright applies: If the sentence or fragment you want to use is original (meaning it cannot be found in multiple sources or from a time prior to its publication) then that author holds the "copyright", and you are violating it. This ha... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to plan a short story for a given word count? I would write to shorter limits. Following roughly the three act format. Use 30% for the first act. - introduce the world and your MC; 5% to 10%. - Write your inciting incident; begin at the 15% mark. This will typically introduce your villain; sometimes remotely (by name, or on TV, or a story bei... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do I need to have a degree to become a writer? You do not need a degree to become a writer; you have the Internet. You can teach yourself what you need to know to become a writer; including some experiences you may not yet have (or may never have), and thus may not "connect" to entirely. Keep in mind that writers often have characters doing thing... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why is young adult romance now being written primarily in the first person? I think the trend is a fad, like slang, like teens finding their own "language" to communicate (as every generation does), like fashion. Remember bell-bottoms? Like music. Remember disco? Something sells, others emulate it, a fad emerges, only to be rejected when those that embrace it become "The Es... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: Slow buildup vs sudden introduction I'd introduce the build up first. The appearance of a DEM is difficult to overcome with subsequent explanations, IMO without a hint of what is happening, this taints your story, especially if the guy with power is not that surprised and seems to know they were capable of this all along (as will be t... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the most fundamental advice when it comes to writing? I have another answer, earlier, about motivations. I am not combining this one into it, because it answers the question more literally. The most fundamental advice I can give that I wish I had known, which would have let me write more prolifically and better to start, is that discovery writing (pant... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: What is the most fundamental advice when it comes to writing? To me, Stephen King's advice (as seen in a live interview, and asked what advice he had for aspiring writers): Basically he said, if you want to write, write. Every day. Don't worry about plotting, or any other technical details. That will come, write a story, then write another. Write every day (he... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to improve a "dry" scientific review article? +1 DPT. As a peer-reviewer for scientific articles, I would not use "dry" but I suspect it means you have no particular factual errors but the paper is a boring review anyway. For example, providing results as numbers without any context; "these guys did X, and found a fit of Y." So what? The point... (more)	—	over 6 years ago

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