Posts by Amadeus
As you say, they are philosophical; and they seem powerful because they seem true and momentous. I ask you, to what end? Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. He is explaining...
A method like time of day is very constricting, and becomes more like a disability than an advantage. Consider werewolves that convert, like it or not, on the full moon. It has been used as a story...
What if they spend three nights (and three scenes) at the same pitstop, but the scenes greatly develop the relationship between two important characters? Yes, that would be fine, with one cave...
Yes, you can introduce a villain before a crime is committed. You don't need to use any clichés or tropes. The essence of villainy is, in general, selfishness to the point of not caring about the ...
As @ChrisSunami says, most non-fiction books are sold before they are written. Typically you have a synopsis, the Chapters and an outline for each, and for some books, a list of people you plan to...
I don't agree with McKee's definition of "Story", like many writers I think this difference between a "beat" and an "event" are contrived. I think the way McKee intends them to be used, "beats" are...
If the narrator is describing what a person said and thought, then the narrator can use their name. Typically direct thoughts of a character are in italics, while tags and words from the narrator a...
This sounds more like a man vs. environment story, as @Monica says. A simple MC vs. Nature Imagine, in the modern world, an arrogant multi-millionaire, thinks he is a self-reliant, self-made man....
It is natural for people to notice any physical feature that stands out, but some words such as "tall", "big", "fat", "short" etc are not that descriptive. Adding "very" doesn't help. If it is nec...
If you want to get published, the latter style is not acceptable. Follow the standard convention. Just Google for "Formatting Dialogue", look for sources related to written fiction (as opposed to ...
First, if the context is obvious, you don't need a dialogue tag at all. "Albert, you're already drunk! Stop it!" she implored him. "Nah, if I stop drinking, I won't have an excuse to miss work t...
I will disagree with the advice you received. The vast majority of self-published fiction earns nothing, or at best some friend and family sympathy purchases. The case is even worse for un-markete...
Is it uncompelling to continue the story with lower stakes? It depends on the type of story you are telling. If you are telling a character-driven story, one in which the reader becomes heavi...
You leave out small talk by focusing on big talk! By this I mean every thing a person says should be something at least one person in the conversation needs to hear, or wants to hear, or is surpr...
... an entire species in a fictional setting as outright evil - no matter how one treats them, they reward kindness with treachery and violence. This premise seems incomplete to me, and unnece...
Yes, you should cite it, particularly if the data you downloaded might be wrong. But either way, the data is the product of their work and you shouldn't take any implied credit for it. You should ...
Obviously the little girl is doing the hating, and her father is not a stranger. You want HER to hate the killer. You can show that, being little she can even tell him so, there can be a dialogue e...
I haven't heard of it. When you can get whole books for free, and many books for 99c, this seems an unlikely route to successful marketing. If any piecemeal approach has a chance of working, I'd s...
No. Trust your reader's intuition for the obvious. If the first lines of your book read: "Put that back!" Alicia scolded. "No! Mine!" Richard said, defiant. She grabbed the plastic bo...
I'd say you have a start. The trick is done before the conversation ever starts, at least for one of the characters. I'll presume "strong feelings" is a euphemism for love or friendship. Also I a...
I simply let my character survive a wound that he shouldn't have survived, and then left a note at the bottom about what would have really happened. As a reader, this would break my immersion ...
Successful in the sense that it is the only viable solution. In this world, democracy has failed as an institution, with the various powers unable to come together in unity and oppose the invade...
I would say Rewatch Bonus or The Ending Changes Everything. As a discovery writer, I often don't know my ending until I have written 50% or even 70% of my first draft. So when I am done I actually...
Just get rid of the redundancies, and it will sound fine. Original: "Here's the chip in question." he said as he handed to chip to him. "It's a very old chip, make sure you take care of it." ...
@Liquid covers most of my answer. Sometimes you would refer to your father by his title or office, not to emphasize distance, but to emphasize that role of influence, especially if their blood rel...
