Activity for Mark Baker‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: Intellectual rights for a guest blog submission IANAL, but, you own all the rights to work you create. No one else acquires any rights to that work unless you grant it to them through an explicit agreement. By sending them your articles to publish, you grant them permission to do just that: publish them on their site. Unless you agree to grant the... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why introduce new physical appearance details late in the narrative? This is the result of two misguided pieces of advice given to most aspiring writers today: "show, don't tell", and "jump right into the action". Taken together, these two piece of advice leave no room for the writer to set up their story. So writers ask, how am I supposed to tell the reader the backs... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to describe a kiss between the protagonists in third person? I suspect that you don't really want to describe their emotions in the clinical sense. Rather, you want the reader to know how they feel, and to feel how they feel, or at least to feel sympathy for how they feel, at the moment of the kiss. If so, the way you do that is not through what you say in th... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Documenting the no-args call of a command line program Arguments modify the behavior of a program. Running it without arguments means you get is default, unmodified behavior. So the help should describe the default unmodified behavior first, in the body of the description. $ foo -h foo [OPTIONS...] Foo does X. For example: f... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Can this sentence have the same detail and yet be simple to comprehend? There is nothing wrong with a long sentence, but it should still be a sentence. Long sentences generally result from qualification and elaboration of a single point. But that is not what is happening in this sentence. Rather it is telling a sequence of events as the midwife reassembles the child. Thi... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Pay rate and terms for writing book series under contract If this were a conventional commercial publisher that was in position to distribute the books widely it would be a very good deal. If it is a purely speculative venture by someone with no previous experience of the book trade, then it is probably not such a good deal. The deal between a publisher an... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Do 'text walls' scare off readers? Almost anything will scare off some readers in some contexts. That does not make them wrong things. It just makes the things that appeal to one person more than another. No work of art or communication should strive to appeal to anyone other than its natural audience. If someone is looking for video... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to handle translation of a language in a comic, while preserving a sense that the language is significant? This is how it was handled in the Asterix comics. Specifically Asterix and the Goths:  (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: I am familiar with the Monroe Motivated Sequence, which is used for speeches. What are some other frameworks which make the outlining process easier? There are a great many systems for structuring the argument of a piece of writing. Each taking different approach to what to structure and how. Some to check out include: - Information mapping - STOP - DITA - Minimalism) - Inverted pyramid In addition you should look at structured writing generall... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it best to make a description metaphorical, or upfront? It is better to be a straightforward as possible in all descriptions. The aim is to form an image in the reader's mind, and the simplest language that does that is the language you should choose, since to do more risks the reader getting stuck in the thicket of words and not receiving the intended im... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I figure out my main character's overall goal? Story is driven by desire and that which stands in the way of achieving desire. If your character had a strong desire, she would have a goal. If she does not have a strong desire, that means she has everything she wants. Or at least she has everything she is willing to work hard to get. That's fine.... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I turn a premise into a story? The part that is most obviously missing from what you describe is "why?" Character provides the why. But equally importantly, the why provides the character. A character is a person who would do this thing in this way. You can start with the character and then ask yourself, what would this person do... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How feasible is it to write a story without any worldbuilding? If your question is, can you set a story in an imaginary place without telling the reader that you have done so, the answer is yes, but the reader will not know that you have done so. The problem is, if any of the features of that imaginary place are necessary to the plot, then the plot will not make... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Past tense writing troubles. Specifically the word "Now" Here's how to fix your problem. 1. Pick up your grammar books. 2. Hold them over a fire. 3. Let go. You can't write out of a grammar book. You can only write out of a fluent grasp of usage in the language you are writing in. In the case you cite, your grasp of English usage is clearly far ahead o... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How are opening chapter expectations affected by genre? > Suspense is called suspense for a reason, you suspend aspects of the story that are revealed later. No, that is not why suspense is called suspense. Suspense is a story that is suspenseful in itself. Something bad might happen and the characters don't know if it will or not. They try to prevent it... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What Can Ensure Re-Readability? A book can be a puzzle or it can be an experience. If it is an interesting puzzle, and you are the kind that likes puzzles, the puzzle may pull you through to the end. But once you reach the end, the puzzle is solved. There is no reason to read the puzzle again once you know the answer. An experienc... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to make sure that you don't end up writing a Self-Insert? Turn your gaze outward. A writer writes what they see. If your gaze is turned inward, you will write about yourself. If you are brutally honest with yourself, this may be revealing, but since we seldom are brutally honest with ourselves it is more likely to be a fantasy of yourself, or a form of pers... (more)	—	about 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Approaches to finding critique group for creative nonfiction I do think it is more difficult to find a critique group for non-fiction. All fiction has a common core: an interest in story. You can still usefully critique a piece that is outside of the genre's you usually read because there is still a story there, or should be. In fact, critiques from people out... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is there any resource available listing words for facial expressions? If you read with attention you will realize that there is very little of this in fiction. Actors can display all kinds of things with facial expression, which is why a script has to leave the actor room to work. But prose does not work that way. If you want a reader to know how a character is reactin... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Quote or Italicize Prior Dialogue It is a quotation so it goes in quotation marks. It is not the function of punctuation to indicate when a speech was uttered. If you need to make that clear, then you must do so in the text. (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Where would I find a Critique Partner or Group? I don't think it is wise to try to do this online. You have no idea who you is giving your the critique. Some people will just always be nice. Some will just always be nasty. You can't tell who are are dealing with if you don't meet them face to face. If you want feedback, join a critique group or t... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does age matter if you want to publish a non fiction book? For non-fiction, publishers basically want two things. They want you to prove that you are qualified to write the book, and they want you to have a platform -- a bunch of people who already follow you or know about you would would be likely to buy the book and recommend it to others. I have never he... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is 'temping' a culture-specific term? All slang is culturally specific. The meaning of most of it can be figured out by context though. Certainly "temping" falls into that category. But vocabulary recognition simply does not happen on a word by word basis. It happens in the context of the story being told. As kids, we pick up new words ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it okay to publish some material in blog first, then incorporate into book? Not only possible, but better. Publishers want to know that there is a market for your work. The success of your blog posts proves that there is. But there is a catch. Under what contract did you write those guest posts? Did you assign copyright to the site or did you retain it. If you assigned copy... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are rhymes bad in prose? What rhymes? None stand out in that piece. Prose is full of words that rhyme with each other, but you only notice when they occur in the same rhythmic position, as they do in poetry. It takes rhythm to make rhyme. EDIT: To demonstrate what I mean, since Neil disagrees: > Old Mrs Smith went to the p... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it needed to add breaks in a depressive story? I think you should make a very clear distinction between tragedy and futility. Classically literature has recognized both tragedy and comedy as essentially heroic forms. In a tragedy, the hero strives for a goal only to be overcome by opposing forces, or by their own fatal flaw, but still they strive... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Are 'how-to write fiction' books full of it? Writing is definitely a craft, and as a craft it definitely has technique, and technique can be described and taught. Writing is also all surface. There is nothing hidden underneath. All the techniques that an author uses are there on display, and so you can figure them out for yourself by reading w... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Does spending time on Self-Publishing take away from improving my writing skills? Publishers are in the book marketing business. Their job is to figure out which books will sell and how to sell them. There are three reasons why a publisher may reject a book: - It is not good enough to sell - There is not a big enough market to sell it to - They don't have the knowledge/channel t... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to use narcissism productively in writing? I really doubt that you can. Literature rests fundamentally on the sympathetic observation of human life. Whether you are writing literature or pulp, your success depends on creating convincing characters and without the power of sympathetic observation, I don't see how you achieve that. Writing is ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I keep my dialogue nuanced and informal without breaking the illusion that the story is a translation (from a fictional language)? In addition to what Chris Sunami said, I would point out that a scene is a lens, not a window. A great scene works by focusing your attention on just one thing. You can have many different things going on in a story, but in each scene you want the focus to be on just one thing. All you have is words,... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How To Develop A Character For A Character-Driven Story? I've never been entirely sure what the distinction between plot driven and character driven is supposed to mean. Story is the intersection of character and event. Character without events is psychology. Events without character is history. None of the definitions of the concept I have read are reall... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to keep the protagonist from being the only interesting person in the world? Every character had an arc. This does not mean that every character has their own subplot in your novel. But it means that they are driven in the same way that your hero is driven: they want something and they are exploring just how far they are willing to go to get it. You may not follow their arc, ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What's the Silicon Valley of English language fiction writing? London and New York are indisputable the places where English language publishing takes place. Traditionally, therefore, they were the places you needed to be to get the attention of a publisher. But while personal relationships still help, it would seem that there are far more avenues now than being... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I improve "beige" text? Don't focus on vocabulary. It is very hard to change your vocabulary and the only real and natural way to do it is by extensive reading. Any attempt to artificially liven up your prose with exotic vocabulary is only going to sound forced. Rather, focus on what you write about. The real texture of wr... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I accurately represent young adult dialogue? Dialogue is not realistic. Human being speak very tediously and brokenly. What makes dialogue authentic is not the vocabulary or diction but the motivation. What does this person say, based on who they are, what they want, what they are trying to conceal, and what they want people to think of them. ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How do I figure out what "challenges/issues" my character could encounter/go through? The basic shape of any character's story arc is that they want something and there are forces that make it difficult for them to get it. They try the least expensive thing they can to achieve their desire, and are rebuffed. They then try the next least expensive thing and are rebuffed again. This rep... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Is it bad not to explain things? The audience that actually cares about worldbuilding is pretty small. Most people who read LOTR, for example, don't care a fig about the whole legendarium. They only care about the story. Most stories with magic in them are very indefinite about how the magic works and what the limits of a character... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Metaphors and other "tricks" in scientific papers There are two aspects to writing style: there is what does the best job of explaining a concept, and there are the shibboleths that determine if a certain group is going to accept the document. Unfortunately, when submitting a document for publication, you have to consider both how stylistic decision... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to write a good fight/action scene? Setup. Setup. Setup. You can't force the pace in prose. Prose is always asynchronous with action because it takes more words to describe some things and actions than others, and because you can't control the pace as which the reader reads. The way you create an effect is fiction is by building up the... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Ways of describing new characters? The reader is going to form an image of a character or a scene by putting together bits from their own experience. They do this based on the clues you give them, but they use those clues to select from their own repository of images. The key, therefore, is to give them the clues that matter, that wil... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Using more than one enneagram types when developing a character for a novel? Most stories are not psychological studies, and even those that are are not necessarily accurate. Indeed, many story characters undergo far more trauma than most ordinary people could ever psychologically endure. (What characters in you average police drama would not be invalided out with PTSD after ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: What's the best way to describe what an option does in a program? There is actually not a lot of point in describing what an option does, per se. What you should really focus on in both technical communication and interface design is what do you enable to user to do. The goal is to enable the user to react correctly. So the first question is, given you user base, ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: "The flux capacitor--it's what makes time travel possible." When to keep world-building explanations short I think there are two basic reasons for describing anything in fiction. One is to give sensual pleasure in its own right. There are all sorts of sensual pleasures that prose might convey, from the erotic to the gastronomic to the social. Tom Clancy's loving descriptions of really big machines with r... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to introduce alien flora/fauna without turning the fiction into a biology book? Everything is boring unless it has a function in the story. It it is irrelevant, it is boring. There is nothing you can do with language to make irrelevant stuff not be boring. Conversely, if something is relevant to the story, then it is interesting. Describing it beautifully may be icing on the cak... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to show a brief hesitation around a word My answer is a variation on my answer to the question you linked to: In prose, you cannot act out dialogue. Prose is recieved by the reader asynchronously. Things that take minutes can sometimes be read in seconds. Things that occur instantly or at the same time may take minutes to describe. Dialogue... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Why/when should character conflict happen and how do I write it? Conflict in a story arises from desire. The basic structure of any story is that the protagonist has a desire and there are forces or people who oppose their attaining that desire. The story proceeds as they attempt to fulfil that desire and face increasing obstacles leading to a moment of truth in w... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Mixing dissonance and alliteration? Alliteration is the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of consecutive words. It is not limited to consonants, and there is nothing in the definition that speaks to its purpose or effect. So, there is no conflict between the terms. You can be both alliterative and dissonant if you... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How to make a choice more sadistic? Few realistic choices are that hard in themselves. What makes them hard is history. Does Spiderman save Mary Jane or a bus load of schoolkids? Easy, save the school kids. The needs of the many, etc. But wait, Spiderman is in love with MJ. Yeah, but still, 30 kids on that bus... But wait, Peter P... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: How can I write well-structured ideas without overusing connectors such as "moreover" and "in addition to" "moreover" and "in addition to" are the kind of connectors that occur to us when we think of another idea as we are writing. It often happens that as you are writing one idea in support of a point, another one pops into your head, and then another one. In the urgency to get them down before they fly ... (more)	—	over 7 years ago
Answer	—	A: Should an author have one website or two? I have four. I now profoundly wish I only had one. The idea of a "site" is now becoming moribund anyway. The essence of a "site" is a home page, but the importance of the home page is diminishing every year simply because, across the board, home pages get less and less traffic each year. People navi... (more)	—	over 7 years ago

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