Activity for Amadeus
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: Help with my story - elements of a scene A girl being pulled into a room by a man against her will is going to assume she is about to be raped, and possibly murdered in the bargain. She will scream for that, and fight that, even if she is being overpowered. Do not forget she has a voice, she has teeth, she has arms and legs and feet to kick... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Which authors' style would be more appropriate for me to write in? Einstein's Razor. This is an opinion question. I write as simply as I can; but I also have a large vocabulary and I am a huge fan of word etymology (origins and derivations), and I detect or feel very subtle variations in what similar words mean or imply. This means I am often searching for exactly ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to manage getting depressed by what my main character goes through? Write the ending. Do it now. You can revise it later, or scrap it and write it over, but get your tears out of the way. I think you dread writing the outcome; face that dread and write it. Make it a done deal in your life , you won't dread it as much while writing. I am a discovery writer; I often ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How are descriptions and character thoughts handled in a screenplay (versus a novel) Expressions: You can say something besides "angry", there are many flavors of anger, but no, do not describe the facial features. That is directing; do not try to do the director's job in your screenplay. You might say "coldly furious" if it is important to convey the demeanor of Jack and what he do... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Should I describe a person or a room first? I would do the room first. This is a matter of your style. I personally write with very spare descriptions of what people LOOK like, and focus almost entirely on what they feel (or how my POV character reacts to them). I ONLY describe features that will have an impact at some point on the story. As ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Dead parents: something to avoid? > Can you go overboard with this? Obviously you can go overboard with anything, but a few dead parents (or both parents dead, maybe even three parents dead (natural and adoptive) is within the realm of plausible losses. Two certainly is, many children really do end up orphans and in the foster care ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to prevent seeming like a Marty Stu-ish villain is cheating? You can show more of this planning and anticipation in order to make it more plausible. Show your villain expending large resources and manpower in the pursuit of plans and alternatives. Take an intelligent (not superhumanly so) leader with an intelligence agency of thousands of specialists, with an... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Why do readers enjoy reading about "bad" or evil characters? Yes, we are all murderers at heart. We are all killers at heart, for food. Some evolutionary scientists believe we would not have evolved brains without eating meat on a regular basis; regardless we are particularly well suited to long distance running which is probably how our earliest ancestors in... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Working with hints/clues - Show vs Tell vs Nothing -ish I don't think her forgetting is a hint; you could show that easily enough in a conversation. > "Anything interesting happen today?" > "Not that I can think of. Why?" > "I'm going crazy, I swear I heard an ice-cream truck today, loud, but I never saw where it was." The reader picks up the hint, ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What is the correct way to use semicolons vs. commas vs. em dashes? I do not agree that this is parallel grammar. The second sentence after the paragraph is much different than the first. it IS related content and can be condensed by a semicolon, (related by virtue of still talking about "Anything powerful enough to cross the wall") but all the extra baggage after "... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Using questions in dialog to facilitate exposition I'm not sure if I am interpreting this correctly, but I would not "mix" character questions with explanatory exposition (or answers in exposition), and I wouldn't make characters too "ignorant," that sounds too "convenient." A difficult aspect of world-building is to use it and NOT write about it. S... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Access methods for magic systems with a Higher Being as the source Don't forget that you have magic so you can use magical items; perhaps at some price exacted by the Gods. So an example system would be that your amulet or ring or bracelet is a contract with a particular God that controls a particular kind of magic, you cannot have a contract with more than one God... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Does my constantly sad character make a terrible main character? I don't think making Mallory stronger is the issue, but more varied. This sounds like a one-note character to me. What happens after she always reaches a point of despair? Somebody rescues her, or the situation resolves itself (like the son returning of his own volition)? That would not be a good pr... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: In a script - Is it ok to have a general description of a character “YOUNG MAN”, then the actual description? You are making the mistake of describing things we cannot see. And your spelling will get you rejected by a reader immediately. First, > JAMES SMITH, 17, walks slowly into a bar, with a vacant expression. He has been in a car accident, his varsity jacket is torn and bloody, blood drips down his fac... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is it acceptable to break the story up into POVs to show how the characters' stories all tie together? It is fine to do that, many authors do that. However, the question the reader will have is what happened to the other two characters? You made them prominent in the beginning, getting equal time for all, now they are sidelined while one guy finishes the story ... You have wasted my time talking about... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Should I need to add Face Description of all Characters? No. You do not even have to describe the face of your protagonist (the main hero of the story). I've read several published authors that don't do it, but I am away on business and have no access to my shelves to find examples. As a general rule when I write, I seldom describe my characters' physical ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: When should you convert a measurement in a local translation of a novel? If it is a translation for a specific audience, (as the OP says) then I would translate to approximate equivalents, not exact equivalents. unless the tone was calling for exactness. So a gallon is not quite 4 liters, but I'd say 4 liters. A mile is 1.6km, but I'd say "one and a half kilometers", beca... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Writing a Super Intelligent AI I will disagree with others. I am a professor involved in AI, and the easiest way for you to think about a super-AI is to understand what Intelligence IS. Predictive power. Intelligence is the ability to discern patterns (in behavior, in sound, visually, by touch, even by smell) and use those patter... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to break up dialog if some of the dialog is not in quotes? Personally, either may be correct, but visually the second broken up option is better. It better redirects the reader's mental view from William, to Elizabeth, then back to William. Breaking paragraphs does this, and as an author it is your prerogative, a new paragraph is a signal to the reader to r... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is it okay to have made up words/slang in a story? > Is it ok to use fake words like that? If you are making up the culture, that is fine. Slang changes, year by year and city by city, all over the world. Some sticks longer than others, some even become part of the language (like "cool"). Others fade out ("the bees knees" used to mean very cool). P... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to describe a character with changing features? Do not describe his general demeanor. I believe in The Mentalist, Patrick Jane's origin was dissheveled, unshaven, suicidally depressed and he came wanting to help capture Red John, the serial killer that, because Patrick Jane mocked Red John on TV, killed his wife and young daughter, and left them ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Would there be any legal repercussions for naming a protagonist after a celebrity? I am not a lawyer, this is just my layman's understanding from reading cases. Consult a lawyer for a more definitive answer. You have to worry about defamation. For example, if you name the dog after a living female celebrity (substitute Jane Doe for this discussion), and then your characters joke a... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: So I finished my novel. Now what do I do? Rewrite completely, immediately, and start looking into query letters. I disagree with any idea of "not rewriting" the first draft, or only correcting spelling and grammar errors. Definitely rewrite, completely, from page 1. Quite often, the experience of writing a single book has made the author ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Can I make a character make a philosophic observation or say their opinion, even if it's unnecessary for the plot/story? Find Consequences. It depends on how "dispensable" it is. Conversation, beliefs, philosophy, loves and hatreds, likes and dislikes, sympathy's and passions, are all parts of being a real person; what you are doing is character building, for a character that appears repeatedly and has something to do... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Dialogue Writing and Word Repetition For punctuation and capitalization: The easiest thing to do is open a best selling book of fiction, published by a well known author, and look at their dialogue. Pay attention to the details, when commas are used and periods are used, whether quote marks appear before or after punctuation, etc. Wher... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How do you assess the value of an individual scene? There is also physical setting, social setting, philosophy setting, (together perhaps world building) and character building scenes. This scene is a beat, a pause in the action, that is needed, and demonstrates life in the Star Wars universe is not a constant battle. There are things to enjoy. I thi... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Should I write scared? I'd never write scared (of either variety). I might write something challenging, but not scared. I would include in the "not scared" category, being unafraid to rewrite, unafraid to cut large passages or multiple scenes, unafraid to make a major revision to the story. I do not attempt to write abo... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Why are clichés discouraged in fiction writing? > Why are clichés discouraged in fiction writing? Neurology. The first time someone said or wrote, "Why isn't anybody talking about the elephant in the room?" it was a surprising metaphor, and apt, and it evoked an image of an actual elephant in a room with people standing around ignoring it. The ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: I feel like I'm plagiarizing my story? I am not a lawyer, but do business with copyright law, and this is my understanding. First, it IS possible to copyright characters in other works. Here is an excerpt from Protection of Fictional Characters: > Although the decisions in cases involving the protection of fictional characters have not ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is there a tactful way to give advice to a writer who needs it, but doesn't think so? If they haven't asked me to read it, or tell them what I think, I would do nothing at all. Given any opportunity that qualifies as an "ask", I would be truthful. I would not pretend to be any more expert than my friend, I'd just be honest about my own reactions: I did not like the story, it seemed ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How do I write LGBT characters without looking like I'm trying to be politically correct? > How do I write LGBT characters without looking like I'm trying to be politically correct? Don't Try. Do. Actually BE "politically correct." "Politically Correct" is originally (and in my view still is) a pejorative and dismissive term for being fair and unbiased in your writing. Anybody that accu... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Writing a novel which has the same structure and a particular theme in each chapter To me the structure is fine, but your POV character definitely needs an arc, and a goal, These trips should have an arc that mirrors hers. My example, off the top of my head: She may, on the first two, not realize the connection, but after the third should definitely see it. There needs to be an es... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to best pace information reveals to the reader I admit I haven't thought much about this, as a discovery writer. However, I am following a character (or some) and I don't really have"odd things" happening. There are clear things happening the character does not understand that pretty much force them to take some action. Somebody tried to kill th... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What pronoun should a hermaphrodite species use? I don't have this problem in my writing, but this would be my suggestion: If they are not distinguished by gender, then you need a general term any random person. I would latch onto something they do have in common: They are all persons, citizens, or subjects. Or at least when their language formed, ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Giving a character a name that is based on his storyline Yes, author's do this all the time. One of the books I use frequently is The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook", it lists 25,000 first and last names and their meanings from around the world and dozens of cultures. Unfortunately, my version does not contain many Asian names (Japanese, Chine... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is it too late to change a character in the story? I'd say change it, you don't need permission. At first, I was going to ask in comment What is your motivation for changing the name? But then I realized that did not matter, if you are inclined to change it at this point, then I suspect the existing name doesn't really fit the character for some re... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Writing an "honest" Blurb? Tell the truth about the whole story. For example: > Alex trained under the legendary robot general. If her warrior body wasn't proof enough, her skill in tracking the general across the Gap was all the testimony any would need. But getting answers on her origin was barely a start on her true quest,... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to construct a beat to make an effective treatment for the purposes of revision & group revisions of a Novel? It should be easy for you to divide your book into scenes , a continuous segment of time in which your characters interact. By this definition, it is still a scene if it is in multiple locations, I have written a long and continuous conversation occurring as my characters make their way from one plac... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: "Real people don't make good fictional characters". Really true? Characters can be based on real people. John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Genghis Khan, Hitler: real life leaders, gangsters, royalty, heroes and villains. There are several problems with putting them in stories or novels. For one, you cannot possibly know what they really think... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Pretty flowers with clunky Latin names +1 Secespitus. However, I never use any name I don't think my reader would understand, especially not a name derived from the discoverer or a person being honored; those real-life people do not exist in my fantasy! I will make up names. Even for my experts that do know the formal names, and I intro... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How Much Focus to Give a Supporting Character? I think a story can work fine this way. Cinderella is helped by a fairy godmother at her crisis point in the story, that pretty much appears once in the story. Many mystery / adventure / mission stories are instigated by characters in this way, the people bringing the case are introductory props nev... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Intentionally leaving out a part of the story, for a more interesting reveal? One solution is to keep the protagonist from even knowing the answer. Make the project a kind of an exploration and discovery so small accomplishments accumulate to larger things, that suddenly coalesce into a finished project. The other thing to do is keep their thoughts, when working on the projec... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Sympathetic Racist > Is it possible to make a sympathetic and likable character that has this flaw? Perhaps, it depends on the type of racism and how you balance it. In modern culture overt racism and race-hatred is shunned, particularly by people (like editors and reviewers of popular fiction, or TV producers and st... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Is it a deus ex machina if the alternative is illogical? Yes, I would consider this a DxM. To me, a DxM is any logically unjustified outcome, and this twist is not logical. I won't talk about how to fix it or how to write, just what makes me think so: > ...(what's left of them)... So I presume the heroes are dying in their quest already... > The villai... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How do I get my readers through the early, "hardship" part of my fiction? Conflict and Action. It doesn't make a difference what your character does, really, as long as she is in conflict in every scene, small or large. From disagreements with friends or enemies to fighting, or running, or defying her mother or father or brother or sister or teacher or school counselor or... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How to avoid pages of dialogue? Add setting, emotions, hesitations, frustrations, and interruptions and questions. To me (and IMO) a wall of dialogue is typically an under-imagined scene, and it needs to be longer. What is your character seeing of the setting? What about in the detectives? What does he disagree with? Why is... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: What are the advantages and disadvantages to changing the POV in the second and third books of a trilogy? It's not a bad idea, especially across books. Consider a story like Roots, incredibly successful, but it has to cover a few centuries! Obviously that story has to change POV characters all the damn time, but it is done successfully, and the "thread" used is: Follow a child/teen until they have a chi... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Does my protagonist *have* to succeed? Your hero does not have to achieve their goal, but (IMO) for a YA novel, they must achieve something of note. Luke Skywalker did not kill Vader (in the first movie) but destroyed the Death Star and defeated Vader's plan, this was a major setback and victory for the rebels. Killing one antagonist in ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: How can I make sure a major twist is not disappointing? I would find this twist unsatisfying, a deus ex machina (coming out of nowhere) that invalidated the whole story (it was all just a dream...). I also think you wrote yourself into a corner! I suspect the way to fix it is to make your female protagonist better at something than your male protagonist... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Would George Orwell get hired in today's expert climate? I think Orwell would still succeed. For one, a century ago there were simply fewer qualifications to be had; and there has been massive "education inflation" since then; in the USA the number of Bachelor's degrees per capita has gone from about 4% in 1925 to over 30% today. Thus, what we would call ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |