Posts by DPT
Of course. Yes. All the time. One advantage of this approach is that the reader can (almost) always know more that the point of view character. Another advantage is the ability to explore a comp...
Authors need to understand which scenes in their stories to cut in order to help the reader enjoy the story best. Knowing what works for the reader and what does not is a key skill for authors. B...
Some of my beta comments fall under the category of 'I the reader am frustrated by what I do not know' - and I've gotten this comment in my real life group too. The reader wants information as s...
No, your character does not have to succeed. Along the same lines as Mark's answer, in which competence and proactivity are concerned, you can also add to your mix the idea of sympathy. Each of t...
When my protagonist is learning to use their magical skill, they must remain in hiding. Because they have not yet mastered their magical skill. My protagonist is bored from being holed up for so ...
I'm looking at my project through the lens of the 'scene-sequel' model now. Scene=Goal/Conflict/Disaster, Sequel=Reaction/Dilemma/Decision. My story has been through over a dozen various revisions...
I'm working through the Sanderson youtube classes on writing fantasy and he discusses the idea that conflict can arise between any two (or three) of the three legs of a story - plot, character, set...
Well. I'm learning as I go and I haven't seen the series. But here's what that sounds like to me. You've identified rhythm and meter. Maybe these can be imagined as dialog that varies in its stacc...
"When a woman picks up a fantasy novel with a female protagonist today – and that is all she knows – what would she expect?" I expect growth in characters regardless of gender and I don't care (to...
(FTR, 21 nods, 53 smiles, 95K. We're pretty close.) I had a beta read on a few chapters and they said the word usage itself was fine. You may be fine. A few ideas. Some nods can be qualifie...
Yes, it is fine for the characters to be unaware of theme. Jack London's Call of the Wild had clear themes. The animals were likely not aware of them. Orwell's Animal Farm. It took me, the autho...
How can I write characters with ideals different from my own, without making them strawman? I would say that attempting to do so, LZP, is a worthy goal in and of itself. (Also, I'd think t...
I'm adding a qualifying question to the end of this question. So I have (let's say) two types of feedback in my beta critiques and real-life writing clubs. One is that I have floating heads syndr...
Caveat: I am not published. I hope you do not abandon your style. You have a unique voice, and there will certainly be people who try to convince you to write your story their way. No. Write your ...
The approach I have taken is to be aware of that possibility - of becoming contaminated. I would argue - You want to be contaminated by good style. You want to write your own ideas in your own v...
I'm now analyzing the scenes in my manuscript. I broke my manuscript into scenes using the definition that a new scene begins when a person, place, or time point shifts. This means whenever...
I've been struggling with this as well, @Keker. I'd ask you this: Would you describe all sections of your manuscript as childish? Are some better and more mature in style than others? This thought...
Also, write, write, write. As you write a new word in appropriate context, you are putting it into your working vocabulary. Don't discount a thesaurus. There are some online. You have ideas...
There are lots of things that push our creativity to the side or that bring it back on full force. Stress. I guess you are in your early 20s? Maybe you're finishing a degree, or starting a job, ...
I'll provide a few (non exhaustive) thoughts on 'how-to' details. This will vary from writer to writer. (1) I am in a writing group where people have 'a great idea' and jump in and start writing ...
I believe it is a time-honored tradition, in fiction, to bend rules for a literary effect. I'm printing a short story for my critique group tonight. One critique-er is a very by-the-book kind of pe...
I believe the most powerful solution is that the presence of the guide develops your main character (the one you do not want 'pulled from.') I believe the answer to this is through your main char...
I am now editing for adverbs, as silly as that may sound to some people. :-) I have learned, 'by ear', that the advice to 'avoid adverbs' is actually not bad advice. But I am also learning that cer...
One suggestion: Go at it differently. Create two characters, completely made up or composites of friends and acquaintances. Then just start having them talk to each other. Don't worry what the sto...
One 'classic' structure of a journey is to write ~ 10-20% of the story establishing the character(s) and their original settings. A switch (marking a decision, a change, a new course for the MC) ha...
