Posts by Amadeus
@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...
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...
I am a discovery writer. I agree with Liquid, I don't leave it alone. If I get stuck, I edit my story so far. I will start reading, from the beginning, and if I see anything worth fixing, I do. If...
... 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." ...
You prevent writing a comic-relief character by making them essential to the mission. And not shallow or dumb. Give him a skill (besides punning) that the others value, or even a trait: Perhaps h...
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...
Typically, if we are going to introduce any shorthand for a long name (including initializing it), the first time we use it in full and then note the shorter name we will use throughout: This can j...
I have two previous answers that will help you, Here, on the Three Act Structure and Here, on Getting the first 50 pages or so started. These are geared to discovery writers, like me, but if you a...
If it is a well known symbol, I sincerely doubt it; unless you are writing a farce or comedy. The issue is I don't think the reader can divorce themselves from the symbol triggering the well-known...
When the men first come in, have the women invent names for them, make it a game. "Wow, what's his name, do you think?" "The dark haired guy? I say ... Richard." "No way, I say Willia...
I'd rather make the luck indirect, I think it works out better that way. So if my character is hungry, the lucky thing is they find a piece of discarded stiff wire, but THEN they sharpen the wire o...
I imagine the issue is psychological, but not necessarily fear of public opinion. I would pick an endpoint for the post; just basically what you think you want to conclude. The result. The point y...
IMO, as a believer in Evolution, aliens cannot be that much different than humans. There is only one reality; in order to become an intelligent, space-faring race they had to go through much the sa...
I think you misunderstand the MC; the MC doesn't have to be extraordinary in any particular sense; and in most good stories the MC has weaknesses or flaws to overcome. The reason an MC is the main...
I'm not sure I understand exactly. I guess you are not telling a time-travel story; so this sounds like a long flash-back. If it is a romance, I think you destroy much of the suspense in a romance ...
Yes, success implies validation and agreement by the author. I say that for the obvious reason; you wrote the fiction, you designed the plot, you let the bully win. Don't say, "That's how the world...
