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Posts by DPT‭

113 posts
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Q&A How to communicate character desire?

As mentioned elsewhere, it has been a stumbling block for my readers to understand what drives my characters. I had thought I had communicated character desires through showing, and action, but it ...

5 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question characters character-development motivation
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Q&A What constitutes a 'hook?'

I intuit that hooks are things that hook. (I'm quite astute in this way.) They can be good prose, relatable characters, rich settings. Books must start with a 'hook.' This is a current truism. The...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question novel style readers
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Q&A My readers are losing interest halfway through. What is a list of possible remedies?

I see a pattern among my readers, specifically where they tend to stop reading - it is about 2/3 through the story, during "Act 2." A few readers push through to the end and say they are glad they ...

4 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question 3-acts pacing
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Q&A How firmly must I remain in my characters POV?

Is it legitimate (acceptable) to use a 3rd person POV approach with the narration intentionally being a bit wobbly? I'm using an alternating 3rd person POV structure. One character (Let's call he...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question viewpoint
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Q&A Is the strategy described here an effective one, to distinguish character voice?

I have roughly 30 speaking characters; about ten speak often enough that their voices should be well defined. I have compiled, from web sources, various considerations when building distinct charac...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question characters voice
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Q&A Effective hero journeys that don't kill the villain?

Are there good examples of the hero's journey that don't include any physical deaths within them? My hero has crisis and 'death' of self/ideals/psyche; hero prevails in the end, all good. But, I j...

6 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question plot characters hero
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Q&A Another question about two POV's and broken timelines

My 26-chapter story alternates POV between the main woman and the main man. Early on, the characters are geographically separated and the 2 POV timelines are both progressing, roughly in sync. If I...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question pov timelines
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Q&A Where to put character responses in dialog?

I am not certain of convention. Is one of the two of these correct? Or are they equivalent? Jane said, "Let's chase the ball." Jack looked at her in disbelief. "We always chase the bal...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question conventions
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Q&A "Group think" and least common denominator in writing groups?

So, I knew my Chapter 1 would be tedious last night, but i was still surprised that everyone asked that it be, instead of a Chris McCandless-style solo exodus to the wilderness (which is how the th...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question writing-groups
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Q&A Is it possible to read your own words too much? (and begin to hate them as a result)

I'm working through my chapter 1 for about the 5th time. As a generality, I love my story and characters, all of them, even the psychotic ones. But, it is becoming more and more of a slog to make...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question editing
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Q&A What is the balance between 'stating a problem clearly' and Hemingway's literary iceberg?

At a writer's critique group, one piece of feedback to me was: people didn't understand where I was going until the very end. They suggested stating something explicit at the very beginning so the...

3 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question fiction technique showing-telling feedback show
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Q&A Common mistakes made by first time fantasy novelists?

I'm in a writing group. I see repeating word-choice patterns among the fantasy writers. Example: frequent use of certain words (like 'utter,' everyone seems to use that word... ), or certain sympto...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question fiction fantasy
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Q&A Does a first novel in a fantasy trilogy have to end with a va-voom?

I've devised a trilogy on an Earth-similar world experiencing Earth-similar problems. I am nearing the end of the first draft of the first novel. I am not certain how much of a bang needs to happen...

2 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Question fantasy creative-writing