Activity for DPT
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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| Comment | Post #276120 |
@MarkBaker I'm not sure why you left these comments? You've provided an answer above and presumably can expand there if you have more to say about things. Perhaps these comments are not intended as 'schooling' but ... FWIW they do come across that way. (more) |
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| Edit | Post #276120 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: How can I pinpoint a story's moral dilemma? We gabbed about this today in writers' club. One problem with the exercise is you can fit many suppositions, any manner of supposition, to a piece of expression (a novel). (Rose colored glasses and all that.) Lord of the Rings: Frodo can keep the ring OR save the world ... But... Frodo wanted a... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #41990 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Is the first page of a novel really that important? The cover is important, the blurb is important, the reviews are important, the story structure is important. The first page is important. One of the best exercises I ever did was to bring home twenty books in my genre and analyze the first page of each. There is a pattern, even with the differenc... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39579 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: How do I introduce dark themes? I don't disagree with the existing answers. The other answer (your additional tools) is to put the dark theme into the title, or cover art, or book blurb. We tend to think the document on our computer is 'the book' while forgetting there are other elements buyers will see before cracking the book.... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39578 |
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— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39578 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: How to convey the anatomy of a humanoid race? As a quick thought, many species lay eggs and are not birds. Personally, I would find a second feature from a non-bird egg-laying species (or a sporulating species, or an asexual species) and plant that feature first. Build your world so that they are cold blooded, and they sun, to warm. When the... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Comment | Post #38112 |
It's a word that is useful in maintaining viewpoint. *Bob felt a great weight* is in Bob's viewpoint. *Sally seemed to feel a great weight* is not in Sally's viewpoint. It is a very, very useful word to maintain viewpoint to Bob (or whomever) in limited perspective. (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39541 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Detail vs. filler These are great answers. I'd just add (as a sub-answer) that a brown couch is sort of like a happy smile. The adjective doesn't add much of value. It implies nothing much about the couch, or the smile. But a well-loved couch, or a stained couch, or a threadbare couch, or a stiff, plastic-covered c... (more) |
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| Edit | Post #39538 |
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| Edit | Post #39538 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Is it alright to add scenes that don’t move the plot forwards much but develop relationships/character? ANSWER: Yes, and an easy way to make this work is by accentuating 'other goals.' If the necessity of developing those relationships is clear (at least implicit) as character goals, and if we see the characters taking actions toward those goals (proactive), then it's fine. Bob needed Tim on his... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39537 |
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— | over 4 years ago |
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— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39537 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Should one invest in a professional editor before querying? 1. I think the answer will vary on your specific situation. 2. There are many 'in-betweens,' between not hiring an editor and hiring an editor. 3. If you do hire an editor, that editor needs to be a good fit for you and your book. My answer to this question is to look at your budget and see wha... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Comment | Post #39531 |
@celtschk I suspect it happens more broadly than we realize. Check some of the famous authors in your genre. Example, I bet The Left Hand of Darkness doesn't follow strict viewpoint rules. I remember for a fact that things like myth and technological reports comprise chapters scattered throughout. Wh... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39531 |
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| Edit | Post #39531 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Does a point of view need to be introduced when or right after the character is introduced? The new viewpoint must feel organic, that's all. A year ago I would have said you need to establish the viewpoint rules of your novel up front, but now I believe otherwise, based on re-reading Mistborn. In this novel, Sanderson brings in a new viewpoint, someone we've never met, around page 500. W... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39523 |
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| Comment | Post #39518 |
We both landed on plants, heheh. (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39523 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: How to write an introverted main character with accidental charisma Your protagonist's description reminds me of Violet Baudelaire in the opening chapters of A Series of Unfortunate Events. She was an inventor, and she was well drawn. Which is to say, she had easily-envisioned personality traits and mannerisms, such as tying her hair with a ribbon every time she... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39506 |
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| Edit | Post #39506 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Should a scene break always be put in place when there is change in location, times, and dates? You can do it either way--a formal scene break or through the use of transitioning language. I stewed hard over this because like you, I had seen scenes defined as a change in location, time, or characters. When you get down into the weeds with that kind of definition, you can start slicing and d... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39502 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Are worldbuilding questions on topic? I'd love if world-building included was fair game for possible questions, on this site, both to draw from the obvious expertise from contributors, to run with the idea of being 'not SE,', and also to recognize that all forms of fiction (possibly NF too) involve some elements of world-building. I'... (more) |
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| Edit | Post #39501 |
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| Edit | Post #39501 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: What's the difference between time-tested and formulaic? Without looking at the other answers, I'd say it depends on audience. Some people are happy with formulaic. Write what they want, regardless of it being a formula, and they are happy to buy it and read it. To a certain extent, I'd say the publishing world runs on marketing. Maybe it was not alway... (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39489 |
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— | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39489 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |