Posts by Amadeus
The marketing environment for books has become immensely more complicated and crowded than it was in the past. Partly due to the ongoing information explosion (which lets you and discuss this at al...
I suggest obsession. I write little or nothing about my characters before I begin writing. But I think about them, a lot, often for a week or more. I think about them as I get ready for my day, as...
Just say it. I suggest reading this: What Visual Storytelling Looks Like In a Screenplay. And this companion article: 4 Examples of Good Visual Writing In a Movie Script. I'd recommend giving ...
I would go analytical on this one. Talk about the missed opportunities, the lack of conflict, what makes you not give a crap about the characters, or the issues being presented, or in fact the reso...
I wouldn't shy away from "tiptoe", if I have a non-human species that has been around longer than humans, I consider everything I write about them translation of their language to English. If they ...
I look for popular names, but not the MOST popular names. For example, I just googled "most popular names in the UK" and found this at the top link. An excerpt: Boys Oliver - 6,259 Harry - 5,031 ...
I don't think the problem is a "limited point of view", many good stories are told in first person; and many stories are told in third with a limited narrator: They only know the thoughts and feeli...
I am not a lawyer, so all of this is a layman opinion. If the design on the cups is something done by the set designers or artists employed by the movie, then they own the copyright on that design,...
If you are having trouble outlining, or trouble following or completing a story from an outline that you wrote, you should try discovery writing. I am a discovery writer, and I finish books. In Th...
In novels you can parse sarcasm because you know the characters, specifically you know what they know and how they think, so you know the difference between a serious suggestion and a flip suggesti...
I think this is a matter of opinion; but you come close with In fact, not every person using the expression would be aware of its provenance. It becomes an "expression" or "colloquialism" when it ...
I don't think the soldier's presence on the battlefield should be contrived, but there is still reason for soldiers to be out there and in danger. The situation is kind of split. Primarily because...
Do you wish to sell the book? Happy endings outsell unhappy endings about 10 to 1. This has actually been studied to some extent, and the difference comes down to word-of-mouth: Even if people say...
I don't think the specifics matter that much, what you are looking for is dividing lines that can create conflict. In your example, say you decide the son doesn't want to work with his father. Tha...
One way this has been done is by using a human foil; perhaps somebody that doesn't trust the robot. The way this works is the robot presents as a caring human you could care about. But the robot w...
I suggest this long answer of mine (90 votes) on a similar topic; it will define some of the terms you are using. A "sentient" or self-aware being (machine or biological) will have an internal mod...
Of the three acts, Act I, II, III, generally ACT II is the longest, ACT I the next longest, and ACT III the shortest. Roughly, you can divide Act II in half, Act IIa and IIb. And roughly, each w...
In my opinion, a character needs some kind of impetus or crisis or catalyst or heartfelt realization to change their character. To me, that reflects reality. For a positive change of character, som...
Personally, I go by the number of scenes they are in. Basically: If they are in one scene, and neither mentioned or seen after that, they are one dimensional. They may not even have a name. Now, ...
I would say an API needs reasonable examples of use, and needs attention paid (or links provided) to other closely related elements of the API; even if it is just like "See xyyGraphInit". You want...
I think the reader has to like the POV character. Everything is seen through their eyes and thoughts and feelings. If those are repellent to the reader, they cannot identify, and without that, I th...
It seems to me many paranormal stories (like possession, or demons on Earth) just begin with the paranormal, period. In The Exorcist a child is possessed and must be cured. In The Omen, Damien (th...
You can use factorization. Some task takes 6 groups of 3, say making camp. Another takes 3 groups of six, say one group of six stands watch while the other two sleep. At some point, they divide int...
No, you don't need to convey a moral. And probably shouldn't. Many blog posts are just informative and explanatory about what is going on in the world, from your point of view. The scope can be gl...
I typically would not expand a single acronym, and would not use too many. I would give hints, but perhaps I wouldn't do even that. Consider the TV series "NCIS", you can go half a season without ...
