Posts by Amadeus
Typically agents and publishers want to see your first three chapters (or somewhere between the first 10 and 50 pages). Don't include extra. If you have a prologue, it counts as the first (since th...
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...
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...
I think there are subtle differences between "not caring what is right or wrong" and "only caring about myself" and "only caring about my own interests". A "self-interested" person sounds like som...
For me, my main characters want a dozen things; but the story is about them pursuing one thing that is important to them for one reason or another. Often this is a semi-existential reason. By "se...
I would begin with a story, about somebody you are memorializing. I'd expect it to be tragic, obviously, but the point of the memorial is to remember what was taken from so many. To prevent that fr...
+1 Galastel; your "barabarian" might find those towering buildings just foolish, he doesn't automatically see any advantage in them at all, they isolate people, they are hard to climb, you are trap...
No, people won't say that, not even full time working scientists (like me). I know a great deal about genetics; I've published academic articles about it. That did not prevent me from enjoying the ...
You should be able to use memory (or flashbacks, but I dislike them); or tell it from the Jewish girl's POV, but give her a reason to have conversations with a non-Jew, e.g. a teammate, an ambassad...
I would think Alexander would think of himself with the name he first learned and responded to as a child; likely this was what his mother called him on a daily basis, I would guess that is where t...
I wouldn't want a non-reader, I definitely want somebody that likes to read and gets immersed in fiction. But then, I wouldn't really care if they are a genre expert. A good story is a good story...
So how can I believably and casually show that Eris swings both ways ... EDITED: After clarification from the OP, my first example won't work; the protagonists are too young (~16). However, the an...
I am not a lawyer, but you really should not do this. Orson Scott Card (OSC) and any partners he has (publisher, movie studios) own "Ender", and you cannot profit from it in any way whatsoever. OSC...
The problem with a lot of characters is a result of something we call in mathematics "combinatorial explosion". Eventually, if they are MAIN characters, the reader expects they will all get togeth...
I would recommend two rounds of edits, for each author. If the friends are A, B, C (Ariel, Bethany, Cindy) then: 1) First Round: A->B->C->A. Ariel makes edit notes for Bethany, Bethany ma...
I don't think there is a smooth way; an antagonist has to reverse course, there has to be a moment of truth in which they betray their followers, or partners in evil, and transition to good. You c...
The fact that you use "knobs" that turn is enough, in my opinion. Another way would be to have a naturally scientific (logic based) mind actually fix an older artifact and get it working again. It...
Call her Marie. One way is to let a few other characters (Mike and John) express their frustration with Marie when she is not present; and actually laugh with each other by exaggerating and joking ...
