Posts by Amadeus
I write LGB main characters, at least. (Nothing against TQ, just haven't had a story that needs that). My approach is to "show" not "tell". The female MC flirts with females. Or she picks up a gir...
I think there is a mixed use case. I think your Friend Frank can be smart enough to use formal addresses with Prince Peter if they might be overheard, and informal address when there seems no chanc...
I don't find this story credible. First, why in the world does the kid give up and kill himself after a few weeks on his own? He works at one job for a few weeks, gets fired, and kills himself? Th...
I don't think you HAVE to give a trigger warning, but if you want to give one, give it like we do on movies or television shows, up front, before the story even starts. This fiction contains s...
Hate is not just over-blown dislike. Hate is visceral, a wish that somebody else suffer harm, often for the harm they have actually done, in other cases for the harm the hater truly believes they h...
I would go with characters have dead siblings; but that happens off-screen. Showing it on-screen, and in-period-realistic, might be off-putting itself. Everything you are talking about is a stati...
This will be a matter of opinion. My opinion is no, it is not okay. I write in 3PL myself, exclusively, and everything I write is as if the MC is seeing it. You are doing nothing but saving space,...
(1) Don't use synonyms for said that describe tone or attitude. "said" is a word that disappears for readers, your worry about it is like self-consciousness: Only you care! Get over it, profession...
This is not a problem; get over your own prejudices. I know people married for thirty years with a 13 year age gap, and with the woman older than the man. They started dating when he was 28, and sh...
You need Karmic Justice. Great Pains = Great Rewards. Readers expect suffering of heroes to be rewarded by success, and suffering of victims to be revenged. If good guys die in war, they want the ...
In a modern setting, the prosecution may submit something like blogs or emails intended to prove the defendant was involved in some crime or had knowledge of it. But the judge, in reading these bl...
Along with Cyn's suggestion, another tool to introduce a cultural element is to present a conflict about it; somebody complaining that a death threat is being misused. Like being challenged to a d...
Many books follow a hero that does not really change; consider detective novels going back to Sherlock Holmes. What is essential for a story to be entertaining is that the book is spent on a hero...
You almost have to assign your book a genre in order to describe it to an agent or publisher; the publisher will likely make the final determination of what genre they assign internally, and this c...
I don't think there IS a good way to handle a lengthy monologue. Agents and publishers will reject them out of hand, or demand they be changed. Readers are looking to be entertained, not read a lec...
I haven't read his book, but I suspect he is wrong. A character should have some story arc, which will have some shape. I suppose every story arc, even one that lasts only a few hours, could someh...
I think the route taken in "Unbreakable" (a Bruce Willis movie) is a good example of how to do this. Mainly, there are compelling clues that can be interpreted as either an effect, or extremely go...
Should I be myself and write what I really want, even though it isn't getting much traction? Change what you really want! If writing only for yourself pleases you or is cathartic or menta...
The obvious hints are support for any potential murderer, and the "If I had done it ..." comments. "If we're lucky, somebody killed him, and we owe them a party. Maybe I'll throw it!" "If ...
When does a supporting character become necessary for the plot? Think of a supporting character (SC) as a partner to the main character (MC), somebody they can rely on when they need help in ...
Is writing solely about writing a plot? No. A plot is needed, but writing is about far more than the plot. It is (IMO) impossible to write a good story without conflict going on. If there is ...
Put her alone. People are shy of other people, if she is alone she has nothing to be shy about. Generally you want to open a story on the MC normal, status-quo world. Give her an every day problem...
In both scenes, this seems like for women, all roads lead to romance with men; that this is the only thing they are good for. Or in the second scene, the only reason these women are together in the...
I don't know if this helps, but I think war movies do this very well. The Deer Hunter, Saving Private Ryan, some movies involving gangs, or cops on a mission. The series Vikings has elements of thi...
That is not particularly "big", and it is fine. (--added-- for what it is worth, chapters are generally 3000 to 5000 words long, but it is not a rule. The link goes into more details and examples.)...
