Posts by raddevus
One Choice Cuts You Off From All Others This is a common problem for authors since many writers begin writing because they are interested in a number of subjects. However, spending a lot of time ...
You asked: Will I be shooting myself in the foot by doing this? Would it preclude the agent to publisher route for which we tend to hope? There are a few salient points to consider here: ...
Yes, Main Character may (and probably does) want more than one thing in her life. What Is A Story? However, what you're really banging up against here is the ultimate question of, what is a sto...
@Liquid's answer is fantastic, I would add just one thing. Create a Beginning That Immerses the Reader In The Setting Since this is a short story you want to set it up as quickly as possible. A...
Is It Bad? This is a subjective question because there is no specific rule which will tell you if the sentence is bad. However, if you are wondering what makes a sentence more (or less) clear to ...
Most fiction and much of the best fiction comes from real life. This even brings to mind the old writer's adage, "Write what you know." You haven't really said why you should change the details. ...
As We Write, We Learn There is a well-known quote by an author E. M. Forster: “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” Freedom of Creation Allow yourself this first act of freed...
You have quite a bit of detail and so I believe it is possible that a couple of things are happening. These are my guesses but they may help you examine yourself for the best place to start. You...
Why should it be either/or? College (actually a College Diploma) is often thought of as a pass-key to something else. However, it is generally only a pass-key to entry-level jobs. However, that ...
A fantastic book which will explain these differences in far more depth than I can here is : The Playwright's Guidebook (Amazon). Even though you are writing a novel, I believe you'll find the expl...
In Media Res Your idea of starting right in the middle is a good one and is used by the best stories. Readers quickly become bored with stories which just tell a lot of backstory. The idea is ...
In this case the Computers are the characters (the actors on screen). Narrator Not Necessarily Needed There is no need of a narrator. In this case I imagined the movie camera (the shot) moving ...
It's A Colloquialism Among Writers Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird (amazon link), has an entire section named, Shi**y First Drafts. That's where the idea originally got traction. The better way to s...
The sentence where you explain the following is your way into how it should be done: The story is set on the fictional world and narrated in the eyes of that world’s natives. Now, think abo...
No. It is entirely impossible to write a novel without using the word 'the'. I cannot even write that previous sentence without using that word, so I can say unequivocally that it is completely 100...
Overly descriptive scenes leave me wanting less; I don't read many newer novels because they spend way too many pages describing things instead of developing and telling an intriguing plot w...
Can you provide list of specific items you use to evaluate whether or not a piece of fiction is good or bad? For example, if you really had to explain why a piece of fiction were terrible what cri...
Character-Driven Story Is Driven From Self-Concept Self-concept is one of the strongest powers on earth. That's because so many people have self-concepts which put them at odds with the world arou...
Top Three : Most Often Confusing Items Not knowing what to show. Why would a writer pick certain details instead of others? Not knowing why structure is important -- it's for readers -- and cons...
"Show Don't Tell" is an axiom of fiction writing. Here is a short example of why. Example of Telling Bob was feeling sad. Example of Showing Bob picked up the newspaper, read the headli...
"You really don't have to place the character's name first," Larry said. John scratched his head. "You mean the reader can probably understand who is saying what without knocking them ...
Here's an idea: Make Your Story Available Get a google drive account. It's 100% free. write your story and save it on your google drive. share the document via URL -- it's easy to do -- then yo...
She had green eyes is fine. Readers will undersand that her eye color is still the same since, in real life most people's eyes don't change color. Maybe another example will help. He drove a...
What are the criteria an acquisitions editor uses to judge whether or not s/he accepts a manuscript for publication?
Are there significant differences between satire and parody? Can you provide examples of the difference? Do you know of a book which is considered satire; one which is considered parody?
