Posts by Amadeus
"We have done it, friends, we are henceforth functionally immortal." -- Josh Briggs. Josh had no idea he would say this, someday. In fact, he had no idea he'd go into research medicine; rig...
In your comment to @tryin, You say "It is a non-debated social perception the character would be fighting." I am not a lawyer but I believe in the USA at least, and possibly elsewhere, there actua...
Was it a short lived trend to write novels this way? I don't believe so. I've been reading novels for over fifty years, I have several hundred of them on my home bookshelves. I would have noti...
OP: So, will suddenly adding this species to the mix over twenty chapters in throw the reader off (in a bad way)? It certainly can do that, but you might get away with it. One way is to spotl...
It depends on the context. If you think it is clear to a reader who is speaking, don't use a tag. If you think it will not be clear who is speaking, put the tag first, to orient the reader, so th...
I think instead of creating the language, you can save a lot of time by just doing as you did in the question: Decide on features of the language that will make a psychological difference in the ch...
Yes, that is acceptable. In dialogue, the only thing I'd say is unacceptable is trying to duplicate "sound effects" in the speech itself.Like if somebody is speaking with a mouth full of sandwich; ...
While the answers thus far are good, and match my advice (just do it), they seem light on the mechanics. For the writing process it is important that you show and highlight unusual features of your...
+1 wetcircuit; my initial thought as well (have other people comment on their appearance). So, something different: You don't need a mirror for the MC to comment on themselves, particularly with f...
I wouldn't call them "High and Mighty"; that is automatically pejorative and carries the air of "haughty", and disdain for commoners. I'd portray such people as intelligent, insightful, and perha...
I'd say, make sure her central dilemma is NOT exactly about where her brother is, but about what her brother does for her. A good analogy would be Dorothy in the movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. ...
I would say, trust the reader, and trust your character. Although these things may not be "discussed", they can certainly be thought about by your POV character. She is doing something highly unu...
I am a discovery writer, for two reasons. First, I have tried plotting out stories, and for me that takes all the creativity out of writing, I stop caring about the story and give up. It feels like...
An alternative is to change your definition of "secret". For example, I knew two professors that were sleeping together and exclusively (one was a friend of mine outside of work), but very few of o...
I write some frame challenges; I suppose the technique I'd advocate is "teacher." Basically a frame challenge is necessary if somebody is asserting something that is false, or too narrow an interp...
I'd say the central component of a religious text is an element within it that is magical and unexplainable, and somebody is a subject of that (whether they like it or not). The pagans believed ev...
Just use English, in quotes, like any dialogue. When we write about medieval fantasy, the narrator is always translating ancient languages to English for the reader. It is understood, whether you ...
I'm a professional scientist; my point of view might help. The only way I can think of is to approach it analytically. Body language is a language you don't know. There are books on it, some contra...
You can do it in exposition, but in general if I find a conversation that requires exposition or background to proceed, it is a signal that the writer is "rushing to drama". The solution is previou...
You may want some of the traditional gods. War is pretty much a universal in human culture, as is love, brotherly love, luck, sexual attraction, in some forms "good" and "evil", death, birth, hunti...
Stop being an Indian writer, and become a writer. There is an Elton John bio movie coming out. He was born Reginald Dwight and changed his name. In one of the preview clips somebody tells Reginald ...
I think it sounds awkward too. First, I would start a new paragraph. Second; "He turned his head toward her" is awkward; "He looked at her" is less awkward. "made him cry a bit" sounds strange to...
The flashback is informing the audience; both literally and metaphorically she is looking at herself, and the flashback is about her past. Yes, it makes more sense later, but by showing us the flas...
Writing can be fine without metaphors or similes or other "literary devices". Your particular writing has problems. Normally we don't do critiques here, but I think for your example this will benef...
Embrace the conflict. Just like a screenplay, a scene can have an ACT I, ACT II, ACT III. And people get absorbed in conflict, there should be some conflict in every scene, and your scene is built...
