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Is this ununderstandable character part of the conflict? By "ununderstandable" I mean that this character I'm thinking of isn't human. He's more of a devil sort of thing. Of course he still has his motivations, goals, etc, but he's more of a tool rather than a force in the story. He just wants his thing and has basically no emotions or humanity. He doesn't care about the main character or what happens to him, be it good or bad. He's like the bus in that Sandra Bullock movie hah Right now I'm in the planning stage. My question is 'Should the conflict include this "tool-character" and be something like "devil against man", or should I consider the conflict to be "the internal struggles of the actual character, which are caused by the tool-character's actions" ?' Note: I'm fairly new to all this, so I try to grab on to concepts like conflict and theme to better understand how to write <Q> Yes. <S> In every conflict, you will have the protagonist and the antagonist. <S> Antagonist does not need to be human, or sentient, or even alive in any sense. <S> For example, in Tom Hanks movie <S> Cast <S> Away , the nature itself is such a non-personified antagonist. <S> But personified antagonist works much better for any story. <S> In your example, " Speed ", we have such a person, a villain, no less, so the audience sees the bus as just a tool. <S> If there is anyone human-like to blame in the story, audience will see that one as antagonist. <S> If, on the other hand, there is a human villain, while the demon is more like Genie from " Aladdin ", then you can focus readers' attention on that human character, while keeping the demon mostly outside of the conflict. <A> Zelazny wrote a fascinating character who was a demon and a half cast spell. <S> Said character had a need to know what and who he was, where he fit in the scheme of things. <S> Any sentient being can be understood by the reader. <S> Zelazny’s character was a tool with a purpose and personality. <S> If it were me, I would write your demon as incidentally in conflict with the MC - giving him about the same consideration as a bug underfoot or some rodent observed. <S> The greater power of the demon will be an advantage, but the MC will have to use wit to prevail despite this strong competition - or fail. <A> Maybe have it both ways. <S> Have the protagonist view the tool as the antagonist when it actually isn't. <S> This will waste some of the protagoinst's energy until they figure out who the real antagonist is. <S> It would be kind of like shouting at the wind for blowing out your candle when there is a panther stalking you.

In your story, if this demon-like being is the most personified force opposing your protagonist, he will be seen as antagonist and, consequently, a part of the conflict. Sometimes the character is one who is so vast and complex, so old and foreign, that he can only be grasped by the other characters but never really understood.

How can I highlight changes in HTML output from Flare, based on branch diff? We use Madcap Flare for a large documentation set, with HTML output. (Flare source is a very HTML-y XML with some Flare-specific additions.) We use git for source control and new work is done on branches. This means that at the end we have a git pull request (PR) that can show a diff between the branch and the main (master) branch. This diff is very helpful for reviewing a PR, if you're comfortable reviewing by reading the raw XML. Some of our reviewers would prefer to look at the changes in the HTML output. That's fine in one sense -- we can do a build from the branch, so reviewers can see what the documentation looks like. But that just gets you a build ; reviewers still have to dig around to see what parts changed. We can give them a list of changed topics, but if a topic is long and the small-but-important change is those two paragraphs most of the way down, then either the writer has to construct detailed instructions for reviewers or reviewers have to scan everything looking for the change. I'm looking for a way to make the specific changes more visible in the HTML output. We use Jenkins to manage our builds. Jenkins checks out the branch from git in order to do the build. Git knows where the diffs are on the branch. Is there a way to feed those git diffs into a Flare build (this probably involves preprocessing the source) so that in the output, diffs are highlighted? If showing deletions is hard, is there a way to at least mark, at the paragraph level, where there were changes? "Mark" can mean changebars, a font color change, an icon at the beginning of the paragraph -- I don't much care what the marker is, as it'll only ever be seen in these review builds. This question is different from How can we make reviewing HTML documentation easier? . That question asks about ways to help reviewers attach their comments to specific changes; this question is about identifying those changes in the output. The ideal answer to this question would describe an automated path (no human intervention after setting it up) from the git diffs to highlighted changes in the output HTML. A preprocessing step that locally modifies the XML source to, say, wrap font tags to change the color around changed parts before running the build would be fine. (This build never checks anything in, so it doesn't matter if it alters the Flare source after checking it out.) If that's hard , then we could work with a solution that shows, for each changed topic, the diff and a link to the right place in the output. Perhaps, based on comments, we might be able to use Flare index tags or bookmarks and git "export patch" to do that. It still has to be automatic, generated from the git diff, though; asking writers to manually mark changes isn't going to work. <Q> I think you can use diff2html <S> which actually publishes diff versions of git as html with colored and presentable font. <S> This is a reliable library. <S> Even Jenkins use it. <S> So you can directly integrate in Jenkins's build process pipeline, that publishes your diff's html automatically during build. <S> Here's <S> a good get started tutorial from Jenkins' official wiki page. <S> Here's a demo diff from diff2html. <A> Even if you could find a way to format dif output in HTML, that in itself would not give you the dif navigation tools that you get from a dif tool (next change, last change, etc.). <S> This is likely to give you a more readable display, since traditional dif displays are optimized for comparing code, Word's compare documents is optimized for comparing documents.) <S> Oxygen XML Editor also has a XML dif utility, but your reviewers probably don't have a copy of Oxygen or any similar XML editor, but they probably do have Word. <S> Word would also give reviewers a simple way to add comments to the dif they are reviewing. <S> Apparently it is also possible to open word in compare documents mode from the command line with a little bit of code, so you might be able to automate the whole thing: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/fc2d1374-1542-420e-bd36-875113217bd6/can-you-initiate-word-2010-by-passing-2-documents-to-it-for-comparison-command-line-string?forum=word <A> MadCap's pre-Central answer is still in the Flare toolset - " Flare Contributor " which sets up a reviewing doc - but it requires the SME to learn a new tool that's basically Flare lite. <S> I think if your org has the resources and isn't adverse to external cloud solutions, Central will be so close to what you're looking for as to be a legitimate answer.

One way to very quickly get a navigable WYSIWYG dif of two HTML documents (old and new) would be to open them both in Word and use the compare documents function.

Would it be believable to defy demographics in a story? My story is set in the US. Would it be believable to the reader if I deviated from the norm that is also supported by demographic data? How many of the following deviations can I get away with? A female character marries an older guy and have a child before she's 23. Assume this happened in the early nineties (we had Palm PDAs then, not smartphones). A male character from a well off mainstream family marries and has a child before he's 22. a 34-year-old male to enlist in the military (maximum is 35 for Army, 34 for navy and marines). A 47-year-old man to have two consecutive children. That is happening in the nineties. Finally, a female character falls in love and is to be engaged at age of 20. <Q> The norm is the average range. <S> You seem to be asking " <S> do I have to write characters who are in the center of the average range? <S> " <S> The answer to that is "no." <S> All of your examples are about age and age has never been a very exciting deviation, except when it is extreme (and maybe not even then). <S> Marriage between people in different decades of their lives has been quite common for a very long time. <S> My great grandfather had (at least) 4 children with his wife. <S> Three months after she died he married again. <S> This was in 1893 and his second wife was my great grandmother. <S> He was 42 and she was 21. <S> They had (at least) 5 children. <S> I'm sure nobody batted an eyelash at any of this. <S> Some couples are the same age, some are very different in age. <S> Some people start new careers when they're older than the usual career-starting age. <S> Demographics are important and give you a sense of the scene. <S> But they tell you nothing about individuals. <S> Individuals do things on their own schedule. <S> They don't check the charts to make sure it's okay. <S> While it's true that people tend to follow the crowd, enough people don't <S> that it really isn't unusual at all. <A> Demographics is statistics. <S> Statistics never defines individual cases. <S> No single case can 'defy' statistics. <S> Being beliveable is another thing though. <S> By that we could mean 'too improbable'. <S> But even then a single interaction doesn't say much. <S> If you need the situation to be like this, go ahead and do it. <S> You can even make a point of it. <S> Say, if a character lives in Detroit and never speaks to a black person over the course of the book, that would be 'too improbable'. <S> Yet if you write it that way, perhaps it will tell us something about that person rather than about the author's ignorance of demographics? <S> Anyway, in your particular examples nothing strikes me as too odd. <A> The first scenario is perfectly reasonable. <S> The young woman might be urged to wait as she is so young, but the heart wants what the heart wants. <S> A cousin of mine recently married a woman nineteen years his junior after dating a few years. <S> Another couple I know, the age difference is more extreme and they are likewise a perfect match. <S> When I was twenty a mature student proposed to me - I said no, not because of the age difference, which never troubled me, but because it was a shock that he asked and clearly I was not at a point in my life when it seemed apt. <S> The main objection that friends and family might have to either of those young people marrying would be will they continue their education and attain their dreams? <S> The mature recruit might need an impetus such as job loss to explain the late enlistment. <S> Middle aged men siring children is hardly news. <S> You could use them all. <A> These all read as totally normal situations aside from the 34 year old military enlistment--there would need to be a compelling motivation there.

None of your examples are outside the norm, meaning they're all things people wouldn't think were unusual. Some people marry young, some marry old, some don't marry at all.

How to collect scattered ideas on various topics in to a blog post/ writing article? I try to write on various Q&A sites, but now I am thinking about having my own blog website. The main thing is that I don't know exactly what my niche topics would be for blogs. I write on various scattered topics. Among those: how to choose one as a specialized blog topic niche for my website? How can I manage my thoughts on different topics into one place? And based on it I have to choose my blog area of writings. <Q> As a long-time blogger , I can say from experience: <S> It's much harder to get any traction with an audience if you don't have a specific topic or theme . <S> But it depends on what your goals for the blog are. <S> If your primary aim is to express yourself, and to have a place to keep your writing skills sharp, then it's okay for your blog to reflect that. <S> But if you're focused on building an audience, your best bet is to find an under-served niche and fill it. <S> It's like choosing a restaurant for dinner. <S> Some restaurants thrive on doing well at a wide variety of cuisines. <S> But most restaurants specialize. <S> People come to them when they want something specific. <S> So, to summarize, one approach to blogging is more personal and expressive, the other is more business-minded and goal-oriented. <S> If your goal is to build an audience, then you should do market research, and find out what people want that they aren't getting. <S> I think most of us, myself included, get in trouble when we think one blog is going to excel at BOTH aims , personal expression and audience-building. <S> I won't say it never happens, but you have to an an extraordinarily compelling voice if you're going to attract people to sign on to your own meandering personal journey. <A> There's actually a simple solution to this: Do a meta-blog-post. <S> I've seen such articles in magazins and newspapers from time to time, when a writer doesn't write on his typical topic, but about how his thought process went when he writes his articles. <S> Using this method, you can combine several thoughts you had and add why you choose to give this topic more space and the other topic less. <S> I hope I didn't misunderstand your question, English is not my first language. <A> You don't necessarily need to focus on one topic. <S> Many blogs are about one specific topic and use that to attract their readers, but there are also other types or blogs that are more focused on you as the author. <S> For example because you have an interested writing style or are good at picking up trends. <S> Typically it will be something you are interested in doing on a regular basis anyway. <S> For example if you are a programmer you might regularly check out new programming language and then write blog posts about them - What features do the languages have? <S> How do they compare to each other? <S> What do you like and dislike about them? <S> What do you anticipate for them for the near and far future? <S> As you can see there are different things that you can write about even if it's just one such little topic. <S> You might also be interested in the previous questions Mixing topics in a blog and becoming better blogger when I write about diverse topics here on Writing. <S> SE.

If you just want a personal blog, there's no right or wrong answer as to how to set it up . If you really want to focus on one specific topic you should write a few posts and see whether you can find a common denominator to all of them.

Do I need to convey a moral for each of my blog posts? I'm thinking of starting a blog. I'm confused about whether giving a moral in each blog post is a good idea or not. Will it sound like a lecture to my readers? Will they see it as monotonous and eventually not return to my blog website? FYI: I'm trying to write about my daily experiences and my thought processes behind them in general. So is it useful or not to provide morals? <Q> The Aim! <S> What is your aim when you write? <S> To please readers To teach morals to readers To improve your writing skills <S> It's just a hobby <S> If you can answer this question, it is pretty self-explaining. <S> Personally, I think a post should convey a message to readers like typical moral telling stories. <S> Readers should feel and get the message at the end of the post automatically. <S> Your writing should able to create that feeling. <A> You can try to add a "what I learned" sentence to the end of your blog posts, when there is something interesting to say, if your aim is to give "morals" to the readers. <S> Clearly stated morals are actually fine for a small subset of written media (e.g. fables or religious parables). <S> In both cases the audience is supposed to be in a certain state of mind. <S> Morals aim to teach you about something, but for them to succeed you need to: be recognized as an acceptable teacher find someone willing to learn A blog where you talk about your daily experiences it's not the best context for this. <S> Sure, you are the most expert person about your daily life, but it's not something you can teach. <S> There's a fine line between drawing conclusion and being arrogant. <S> For example, it's perfectly fine to end a post with: ... <S> in the end, this whole experience taught me to pay my bills on time, everytime. <S> but it's kind of different to force it in this way: ... <S> So, a good man always pays the bills on time. <S> It seems harmless, but it can be perceived as arrogant. <S> You'd be generalizing from your own experience to something virtually every man should do, regardless of the situation. <S> This could go pretty wrong pretty fast. <S> If your daily experiences are interesting, and if there is a lesson to be learned, readers will get that by themselves - as Ron Mike already mentioned. <A> No, you don't need to convey a moral. <S> And probably shouldn't. <S> Many blog posts are just informative and explanatory about what is going on in the world, from your point of view. <S> The scope can be global (like global politics, or climate change effects, etc) down to private life; say you want to describe the cute kids next door playing pirates in the yard. <S> There doesn't have to be a moral , it just has to be interesting. <S> If you are using it to practice writing, you may write short-stories, or even write a critique of a published book, or write about technicalities of writing with examples of books. <S> In fiction, there is very little gain in moralizing, or trying to sum things up into a moral, unless your readers are little children. <S> For teens to adults, if readers don't get the "moral" you are trying to convey, you aren't writing well, and a final "moral" that disagrees with everything they just read (from their point of view) can seem like a bad ending. <S> It's kind of like telling somebody a joke you made up, and the explaining to them why this joke is funny. <S> The end of the book and the last lines should leave the reader immersed in the story world. <S> A moral talking about the book will break that immersion, and seem out of place. <S> And finally, just the fact that you've written a book to illustrate a moral breaks the immersion even more, because it makes the story feel contrived to serve this outer purpose, so the story feels less real to the reader. <S> If you are writing a blog to practice writing, practice without a moral, and write to entertain. <S> So your blog entry might have a theme or topic, and might illustrate a moral, but Leonardo Da Vinci didn't paint footnotes on his paintings telling us why he painted them or what he wants us to see. <S> Let your work speak for itself.

But overall, no: you don't need to convey a moral.

Symbolism of 18 Journeyers In my story, 12 year old Ruth has visions from another place and time which lead her to gather a group of kids for a quest. She is told there will be 18 kids, but she can only find 17 with the specific requirement. They travel together and, upon arriving, discover a stowaway. This boy knows he belongs with the group but he doesn’t tell anyone until well into the book (the reader also doesn’t know). Everyone else thinks he just came along to annoy them. The 18th child is an important character and his journey is pivotal to the story. Why 18? Because it’s a Jewish-themed book and 18 is an important number in Judaism (it is related to the word for life and is often used for luck). There is no specific task that requires 18 people and there is no need to highlight the number too much. It's there because it felt right to do so and, at this point, the characters are set. The number comes up a couple of times early in the story and, so far, not since. I'm looking for subtle ways to reference it. In what ways can I evoke this symbolism and incorporate it into the story? <Q> I see two parts to your question: signaling that 18 is significant, and signaling why it is significant. <S> Assuming that you'll have Jewish readers too, don't skimp on the first part -- you want to give them something to notice and figure out, too. <S> Another answer addresses ways to show why 18 is significant. <S> To show that 18 is significant, have it show up in various ways in the vicinity of the kids -- at a meal there's a candelabra with 18 candles; something happens at 18 past the hour; something costs 18 coins; a shelf contains 18 books; an office or hotel room is #18; etc. <S> For an example (from TV, not writing) of this sort of thing, consider the TV show LOST , in which the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 24 were significant both together and separately, and some of those references you only notice after the fact, once you're looking for those numbers. <S> You can slip 18s into your story in the same way. <S> Make sure they always have something to do with the kids, and the astute reader will eventually notice that there are 18 kids , too. <S> Avoid having 18 show up in other contexts. <A> You can use factorization. <S> Some task takes 6 groups of 3, say making camp. <S> Another takes 3 groups of six, say one group of six stands watch while the other two sleep. <S> At some point, they divide into 2 groups of 9; maybe 9 males and 9 females, and in another 9 pairs of two. <S> A group of six can be arranged in a hexagon, for example, as watch-points on a camp perimeter. <S> Find odd or mystical coincidences. <S> There are 12 months in a year. <S> What if one of the kids notices that they have 1 birthday for every month, and then one more birthday for every other month? <S> So 12 have a partner in their birth month, and 6 do not. <S> What does it mean? <S> It doesn't have to mean anything, it can be just something they have fun with in an idle moment; joking about the partners. <S> But it draws attention to their number. <S> Childhood friendships can originate in coincidental likenesses. <S> There doesn't have to ultimately be an explicit plot reason for 18, but by playing with the number you can draw attention to 18 and make 18 play a subtle role in shaping the story and the relationships. <A> How difficult/dangerous is their quest? <S> You can have the 18 travelers manage to escape from dangerous situations unhurt time and time again, and generally keep having miraculously good luck. <S> Similarly, if there's a situation where the 18 aren't all together (suppose a couple of them wander off sightseeing), that's when their good luck should fail - and only reappear when all 18 are together again. <S> Or, when there's only 17 of them, one can say "We need one more for good luck" - or something to that effect. <A> You've said it yourself: 18 = life. <S> It follows that had there only been 17 travellers, they would not have come home alive. <S> Preferably every child, but particularly the stowaway, must have a crucial role to play. <S> Otherwise, they're not necessary, right? <S> You could play more with the idea. <S> Your 18 travellers might turn out to be somehow necessary for the survival of people around them, making them a "lucky charm" for those nearby. <S> Again, however, all 18 would have to somehow be necessary. <S> To a Jewish reader, the link 18-life is very very obvious, so it becomes a question of how you employ it. <S> It's not something that might be missed, but readers might wonder how you put that symbol to good use. <S> (Non-Jewish readers would have to google it, I suppose.) <A> Exposition from The Mentor <S> If your story has a Mentor, Wise Old (Wo)Man, Role Model, etc. <S> this is a good person to provide hints around symbolism. <S> By nature, these characters are generally assumed to be very knowledgeable, but usual have reasons or personality traits to be vague with the info they give out. <S> Something as simple as commenting "18 of you... <S> That is a lucky number, young ones. <S> " would suffice. <S> Make more or less vague as necessary, from them commenting that it symbolizes life in their religion, to simply advising the group to remain whole. <A> Just find small situations that make the link: <S> The duck had 18 ducklings. <S> On the 18th day they found something important <S> These sorts of things will reinforce the life and luck connection without being too obvious about it (through it may be a bit subtle for kids). <S> Maybe some tasks come in 18s: <S> Gather 18 olive branches, etc. <S> For kids, you may be able to go a bit heavy handed with that one. <A> Speaking as someone who has to restrain himself from ramming symbols down the readers' throats, maybe you've already done enough . <S> The number will jump out at people who already know its significance, and unless your purpose is to be didactic (probably not a good idea), that's all you need for it to do.

You can find ways to emphasize the 18 by the ways in which you can factor 18, and indirectly that is how you can geometrically arrange 18. It can have meaning; you could use this early in the story as an excuse to pair some characters that become friends; perhaps two kids with the same birthday. If you're hoping to make the symbolism a little more obvious (for non-Jewish readers), you could have one of them joke that it's because they have a lucky number (similar to how you might joke about having bad luck on a Friday the 13th).

Writing a Novel based on a Self-help Guide Book I just want to be clear on this before I do any sort of writing with regards to the subject. So I have an idea for a novel that shows a person trying to obtain his objectives using the lessons and ideas of a famous (and real) self-help book. My question is, do I still need to ask permission from the author of the self-help book before writing/publishing it since I used ideas from his book? Another question, would I still need to ask permission from the author of the self-help book even if I don't mention the title of his book but still used some of his ideas? <Q> But it is still better to ask for it, and give him credit throughout the book. <S> I don't see why the permission won't be granted. <A> A real-life case of this (not a self-help book but a cookbook) is the book (and movie) Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen . <S> Julie Powell's book is about her experiences of making every recipe in Julia Child's classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking . <S> It's told in a novel-like style, though it is nonfiction. <S> As it happens, someone has written about the legal ramifications. <S> First, the basic copyright issue . <S> In this case with recipes, but also with idea. <S> The conclusion is that, no, using the recipes and the ideas in Child's book is not a copyright violation. <S> Second, is a legal issue called " right of publicity ." <S> This conclusion is that there is a possible but unlikely potential violation requiring permission. <S> But that Child's death also made the problem a lot less important. <S> Here, the issue is using the name and persona of the first author to promote the book of the second. <S> So you have two choices: <S> Write the book and let your publisher (or your lawyer if you self-publish) work out the details before publication. <S> Get permission ahead of time. <A> Yes you do. <S> You don't have to do it because of copyright issues however unless you quote from him frequently. <S> The reason you need to do it is that the author likely has an existing fan base. <S> If your novel is of good quality and supports his ideas (and credits him for those ideas), don't you think he would promote it to his current fan base? <S> It would be criminal to give up that free publicity.

If you are using the exact title or exact quotes or ideas from the book, you will have to ask for the writer's permission as otherwise it would be considered as copyright infringement and plagiarism. If you're using some general ideas, that are not specifically his (not imposed or put forward only by him) then you can go on without asking permission.

Is there a place for an epilogue in a standalone novel? By definition, an epilogue is an additional chapter after the end of a book. Also, it literally means "additional word". I can imagine a need for an epilogue in a series of novels when there is a need to prepare for a sequel. But are there situations that one would need to add an epilogue in a standalone novel in addition to the concluding chapter? Are there any good examples of this? <Q> Yes! <S> The epilogue began long before "the never ending series" became the common form. <S> Remember: <S> "And they lived happily ever after" is an epilogue. <S> It's a way of satisfying the readers curiosity as to what happens after the story <S> so you don't have to write that story too. <S> It can also tie off any loose threads you could not fit into your narrative ( <S> a bit sloppy but parts might have been cut for timing purposes). <A> +1 Shadocat; I will expand on that answer with reasons. <S> If your story centers around an issue in their present life, it may only cover the span of a few months. <S> But in the course of that few months, the reader may come to feel they know your primary characters like friends and family. <S> Technically, the story is over when they finish their mission. <S> But this can seem like too sudden an ending, and unsatisfying to the reader, like suddenly walking away forever from their friends and family. <S> All the dialogue and feelings about their future feel like loose ends! <S> Even if the main problem is solved, it doesn't feel to the reader like the character stories, or arcs, are completed. <S> You can tie up those loose ends in an epilogue, whether or not the main crew will return for another story. <S> Epilogues are generally conflict free; NOT a story, just the reporting of the facts to tie up loose ends, the personal issues your characters (and readers) were worried about. <A> Epilogues are very common in a variety of novels, as well as movies (sometimes they're filmed, sometimes they're prose on the screen). <S> My own novel has both a prologue and an epilogue, but I guess it doesn't count as an example until it's published. <S> Epilogues often include a significant time jump. <S> Mine goes 25 years in the future. <S> They can be a summary of where the characters are in the future (or the present, if the book takes place in the past). <S> They can also jump to different characters. <S> For example, the story may culminate with the defeat of the villain and end with the main characters basking in the glory. <S> An epilogue might take you back to the villain for some comeuppance. <S> Or you could go to some secondary characters. <S> Another possibility is to use the epilogue to "pan out" and show the bigger picture of the story. <S> Things that the reader didn't know. <S> Politics, history, the actions of the gods, whatever. <S> How you use it is up to you. <S> If you should use it, is another question. <S> Some say no to prologues and epilogues. <S> But they are both common and can be very productive. <S> Just keep them short and sweet.

An epilogue is also common when the story is presented in the form of a narration. Epilogues are especially welcome if your story is strongly focused on characters, and throughout the story they (like most of us) have thoughts about their future, plans and fears.

Personal or impersonal in a technical resume In CVs or on Linkedin profiles there are often spaces dedicated to past experience. In those sections, one is supposed to describe what work he/she did and what skills he/she acquired on previous workplaces/projects. In this context, is it better to describe the experience in a personal or impersonal way? A personal way (e.g. first person) underlines the subjects: Project X While assigned to Project X, I've learned how to mix dangerous chemical ingredients in a cauldron to bring out their hidden potential. Eventually, along with my team, we pushed further the research on superhuman abilities. An impersonal way, to my understanding, underlines the skills acquired: Project X Manufacturing and treating of dangerous chemical ingredients. Testing of superhuman abilities in a controlled environment. Eating of snacks in the down times. <Q> While I get the feeling this might get deemed "opinion based" I've reviewed a few hundred technical CVs in my time (for my sins) so here goes nothing! <S> Personal Use of "I.." or "My role.." type statements a) humanize you <S> so the person reading the CV can see you as a human being rather than just the CV and b) they tie the achievements to you . <S> Impersonal does emphasize the skills but that's what a Skills section is for. <S> When describing the experience you want to emphasize the person getting that experience (i.e. the person whose CV it is). <S> PS: <S> If you ever want a friendly eye casting over your CV <S> there's usually someone in Workplace SE <S> chat who'll take a look for you. <A> I would skip the poetry, but use the personal approach. <S> Project <S> X <S> I had several duties on this project. <S> My primary responsibility was mixing dangerous chemicals in a cauldron for various experiments, including an attempt to liquefy kryptonite. <S> In my second year on this project, I joined a team devising new procedures for testing the limits of Spiderman's strength, and how far Batman can throw a Batarang. <S> We also attempted to test the upper limit of how much marijuana Snoop Dogg can smoke, however, due to experimental design errors, we failed to find a definitive limit. <S> I have read many resumes; and I find this "formal personal" approach the easiest to read. <A> If your sentences start with "I", they are (by definition) about what you actually did. <S> In the impersonal style, it's easy to slip into describing what your team, or your employer, did (e.g. they made $$$$ selling this wonderful world-leading product that was developed while you worked there), but missing out on what you personally contributed to that success story - and your personal contribution is the only thing that readers of your CV are interested in. <S> In the OP's examples, the "impersonal" version doesn't actually say anything about what the OP. <S> For all the reader knows, he/she just cleaned the office floor once a week - and someone processing a stack of job applicants, who only has an hour to scan through 50 such CV's isn't going to see anything there that grabs his/her attention. <S> (If you think processing 50 or even 100 CVs in a hour "isn't fair" on the applicants - <S> well, life isn't fair, and that's often what happens.) <A> A common convention is to use the personal approach but skip most first-person pronouns to avoid repeating them too much: Determined how to mix dangerous chemical ingredients in a cauldron to bring out their hidden potential. <S> Pushed further the research on superhuman abilities. <S> Too many “I”s is unpleasantly repetitive and can sound vain.

The personal style has one big advantage, especially for people who are a bit shy about "selling themselves".

How can I safely use "Thalidomide" in my novel while respecting the trademark? Thalidomide is a tricky one, as I am referring to its disastrous past regarding birth defects; however, Thalidomide is still used as a immunomodulatory drug today - and even though its used under another name, I'm worried about using the trademarked "Thalidomide" in my novel (One I plan to publish). Although I try my best to avoid trademarks like the plague, I'm not sure how I can write, especially negatively, in regards to this medicine and the disaster while legally protecting my novel and any subsequent revenue. Although I could create a pseudonym for "Thalidomide", I do not want to go this route - I reference other important historical events in my novels as well and want to stay as realistic as possible. If possible, I would like to use its actual name. <Q> Here is the entry for thalidomide in <S> Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1983): <S> thalidomide <S> n <S> {ph thal <S> ic <S> acid + -id- <S> (fr. <S> imide ) <S> + - o - + imide } (1962) : a sedative and hypnotic drug C 13 H 10 N 2 <S> O 4 that has been the cause of malformation of infants born to mothers using it during pregnancy <S> What this entry means is that thalidomide is a generic name for a chemical compound—like aspirin . <S> It isn't a proper name and therefore should not be capitalized. <S> According to the Wikipedia article on thalidomide , the drug was sold under the following trade names: <S> Contergan, Thalomid, Immunoprin, Talidex, Talizer, Neurosedyn, Distaval and many others <S> But if you use the generic term thalidomide , you aren't pointing to any specific brand sold during the 1950s (or later) and, again, you shouldn't capitalize the word. <A> The other answers correctly point out that "thalidomide" is a generic drug and is not trademarked. <S> But I'd like to answer the more general question, which is if/how you can refer to a trademark in a work of fiction. <S> In a website article, Using Trademarks in Fiction , the author describes 3 issues to consider: “product disparagement,” “trademark dilution” and “trademark tarnishment.” <S> Product disparagement would be the main issue in your work. <S> Technically it's only a problem if your claims are false, but we know that large companies will bring suit anyway if they feel the need. <S> The costs for them in a garbage suit are few but they can control the press and bankrupt the writer. <S> In the US, it doesn't matter if you're right, it matters if you can pay your lawyers. <S> In another web article <S> , Can I Mention Brand Name Products in My Fiction? , the author focuses on 4 issues: "trademark infringement," "trademark dilution," "trademark tarnishment,"and "defamation." <S> Here, we also have recommendations of an abundance of caution. <S> Big companies can be really touchy. <S> For example, the director Danny Boyle, told the press that he caused Mercedes Benz logos to be digitally removed from cars in his film Slum Dog Millionaire when the manufacturer objected to the depiction of its cars in Bombay slum settings. <S> Makers of movies and TV shows generally are a lot more careful than book publishers, because of the wider audiences and more obvious references. <S> I have not found legal references for what to do when a product is widely acknowledged as having caused harm. <S> Certainly it is okay to talk about (or even show explicitly) <S> the dangers of cigarettes or lead. <S> These aren't trademarks but they both have powerful lobbyists and industry groups. <S> Remember how the beef industry went after Oprah for talking about mad cow disease on her show in 1996? <S> She ultimately won, but only after a lot of her time and money. <S> So it depends. <A> Thalidomide is the generic form of the brand-name drug Thalomid. <S> I would think no one owns a trademark on a generic name. <S> If you are taking thalidomide to treat XYZ, the most common side effects are: … is an example of a name that is geneticized but if the sentence reads; If you are taking Thalomid … then you would be using the brands name. <A> If you have a character who has a birth defect caused by thalidomide, just use the term. <S> Thalidomide child or thalidomide baby were how this defect was called. <S> When I was in university, one of the girls in our dorm announced that her younger sister would be joining her. <S> She warned us of two things: <S> Susan was a thalidomide child and DO NOT help her. <S> Susan moved into the dorm and she was a tough minded girl. <S> In her case, her defect was that her arms were extremely short. <S> Carrying books was difficult for her, but we had been instructed on how not to drive her nuts. <S> One afternoon, I saw Susan by the elevator of the Humanities building and she had dropped her books. <S> I asked her if she would like some help - an important lesson in respect - and she agreed it would be faster if I helped, so let me pick up a few of her books and give them to her. <S> Susan once told me that the doctor who prescribed the thalidomide to her mother apologized to her.

If all you're doing is mentioning that a character has a disability caused by thalidomide, even if it were a trademarked product, you're probably fine, as it is well-documented that these cases happened.

What is special in API documentation compared to general technical writing? The title says it all: what is special in Application Programming Interface documentation compared to general technical writing? What aspects should I take care of? <Q> API stands for "application programming interface". <S> API documentation is addressed to programmers who will use that interface to accomplish some task. <S> While all technical writing is addressed to someone <S> who's trying to accomplish some task, and while some of those people (and tasks) are deeply technical, API documentation has some special considerations: API reference <S> documentation is essential. <S> Sometimes this is the only documentation you get; sometimes it's accompanied by other doc which I'll get to. <S> For each element (class, REST call, etc), API reference documentation presents the syntax, parameters/arguments/options, return values, restrictions, error conditions, inheritance relationships (if applicable), and a (usually concise) description of what it does. <S> Good API reference documentation includes overviews (for example at the class and package level) as entry points ("how do I use all this stuff together?") and good, focused examples. <S> API reference documentation is usually generated from comments in the source code, using tools like Javadoc, Doxygen, and Sphinx and following a standard format. <S> For example, here is the top-level page for the Java API, and here is a reference page for a single class . <S> API documentation includes other elements. <S> Too often it doesn't, but <S> (to continue our Java example), if you go to the top-level page for the Java doc set , you'll see overviews, tutorials, tools, and more. <S> Oracle labels only the reference documentation I described in the previous paragraph as "API documentation", but the Android developer documentation takes a more integrated approach that leads with "build your first app" (tutorial) and "sample code". <S> Examples are important, and I don't just mean "here's some code". <S> In the Android doc, each entry on the examples page is a link to a GitHub repository containing an introduction that lists requirements, describes the example, and tells the reader where to get help. <S> (It's accompanied by the actual source code.) <S> Example code needs to be clean and well-commented, but it also needs to be presented in a context. <A> I would say an API needs reasonable examples of use, and needs attention paid (or links provided) to other closely related elements of the API; even if it is just like "See xyyGraphInit". <S> You want your programmers to be able to use the product quickly and without having to read the whole dang thing five times. <S> I can (and have had to) read through a list of a hundred routines in an API, and finish that task with hardly a clue of what to do first, or how to get what I wanted. <S> IMO that is a badly documented API. <S> The API is supposed to help me (the applications programmer) get to the useful things in your product, if your API just explains individual routines and doesn't make it obvious how to make your product actually do work for me, then the documentation is bad. <S> Most APIs that I have used require several calls to set up and get something done, and many such combinations to accomplish such tasks; for example there may be a hundred types of interactive graphs it can produce. <S> Other technical writing doesn't necessarily have all these interacting parts and subsets of options and everything else. <S> Code is special in that way, and documentation should provide some guidance on not just the individual routines, but how they are related to each other and how to use them together. <A> First of all, let’s make it clear, what API means. <S> API stands for Application Programming Interface. <S> API is a set of tools, communication protocols, and subroutine definitions for building software. <S> Generally speaking, API is a kind of communication channel that allows two separate programs to communicate. <S> How does it work? <S> API is also a part of your daily life. <S> For example, you need to turn on your TV from a distance. <S> You press the ON/OFF button on remote control and the TV turns on. <S> This is how API works. <S> Radio/infrared waves through which a remote control communicates with a TV set act as an API in this case. <S> APIs can be divided into three groups: <S> Software API SCPI <S> (Hardware API) <S> WebAPI <S> Technical writers develop documentation that includes instructions about how to effectively use a hardware (SCPIs), web-API, or software API. <S> Usually, API documentation contains all the information required to work with the API; it also contains details about classes, functions, arguments, and the like, supported by examples and tutorials. <S> API documentation is usually created by means of regular tools and editors. <S> More information why this documentation matters is here: <S> What is API Documentation <A> In one sense you could say, Nothing. <S> The main thing that comes to my mind is that for an API, you pretty much have to have the bulk of the document be reference. <S> That is, you have to list all the API calls, give all their parameters, etc. <S> It would be a really good idea, by the way, if you actually explained what each call does and what all the parameters are and what they're for. <S> I've read several API docs that just list function names and parameter names and data types and that's it.

All technical writing should be clear, give good examples, etc.

Is it acceptable to use props I saw in a movie in my story? I was watching a movie and, in multiple scenes, the characters were using a set of coffee cups that I haven't seen before. I realized my Main Character is the type of person who would have and use such a set. Is it acceptable to use those exact ones in my novel? They would serve to highlight the taste and attachment she has in things that she owns. <Q> If the set of coffee cups is something you can buy or find (outside of the movie company's website), then, yes, no problem. <S> Use them. <S> If the set is something not currently or formerly made but is something a dishware company could easily do in the future (for example, an unusual color or pattern or style of handle), use them. <S> If the set is unique to that movie (or franchise) and something that anyone familiar with the movie might identify, then proceed with caution, especially if they reflect a type of magic that might be used in the movie or if the movie focuses on their having been commissioned. <S> The details matter here. <S> It's hard to imagine a cup being unique enough to matter legally, <S> but then I think about Chip in the animated Beauty and the Beast . <S> "Don't piss off Disney" is usually excellent advice for a writer. <A> I don't see why not. <S> You may as well have seen them in a thrift store. <S> I highly doubt that anyone is going to read your story and recognise that you took those specific cups from a movie, and even if they do, I don't think you'd run into any issues with copyright or trademarks. <A> I am not a lawyer, so all of this is a layman opinion. <S> You can't use it. <S> An example of this might be the designs on the swords and weapons in the movies based on The Lord of the Rings. <S> If it appears elsewhere, if you can find it sold by somebody or a picture of it before the movie project was begun, they cannot claim copyright on that element. <S> If there is dialogue in the movie about the design, they own the copyright on that; you cannot steal their words. <S> I think your question and conversation here prove that you did. <S> If you insist upon the design that you saw, you should consult a lawyer. <S> The easier route, perhaps, is to use your imagination and come up with your own original design, for which YOU will own the copyright. <S> Imagination is the job of the author. <S> When in doubt, create your own.

If the design on the cups is something done by the set designers or artists employed by the movie, then they own the copyright on that design, as part of the copyright on their movie. If they were objects unique to a particular movie setting, like the lightsabers in Star Wars, you'd raise a few eyebrows at least, but these are literally just cups. You're probably okay in most circumstances, but this is not something we can give a generic yea or nay to. I do not recommend appropriating the work of others, ever. Whether you have violated copyright "enough" is a question for the courts, there are no hard and fast rules and the question is if your intent was to profit off of their intellectual property, and it is often a human judgment (by a judge or a jury) as to whether you intentionally appropriated their intellectual property.

In a professional email you need to quote something from a business document. How do you write this? This is in a professional email. I'm quoting from a business document that was sent to the person that I'm writing the email to. I need to clarify something, and to do so I need to quote from a section in the document. The document and the section have names. Is it okay to put it like this? In (the name of the document)'s (the name of the section) it is said, "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX." I looked for examples but I can't find any that's worded the same. Or, is there a better way to write this? <Q> "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. <S> " <S> (Anonymous, 2019) <S> If it comes from a published work that has no author, you can use the name of the work in lieu of the author's name. <S> Both APA and MLA use both of the above methods. <S> Instead of "Anonymous" you can use "Unknown" or "Unknown Author" or "Source unknown. <S> " <S> Etc. <S> If you don't know the exact date, don't make one up. <S> But you might know the general time period. <S> Or the location and other details. <S> For example: Unknown author, 17th century Kenya. <S> Traditional Italian folk tale. <S> Graffiti, London, 1960's. <S> Anonymous saying. <S> The poster has since clarified: <S> I'm quoting from a document that was sent to the person that I'm writing the email to. <S> I need to clarify something, and to do so I need to quote from a section in the document. <S> The document and the section have names, but the creator of the document is unknown. <S> In this specific case, I would suggest one of the following: (Section) in (document <S> ) states: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX." <S> As described in the (section) of (document), "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. <S> " <S> "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX." <S> ((document)) <A> According to APA 6th Edition Citation Style , When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous,” cite in text the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date: <S> (Anonymous, 2010) <S> If, instead, you're citing a newspaper article, journal article, or website with no author, give the article title and date of publication (if date is available). <A> In a professional email the document title (and perhaps the date when it was shared) is a sufficient reference. <S> I am assuming that the document was either shared by email, or given in a meeting, and that it is obvious that you are privy to this information. <S> As stated in [DOCUMENT TITLE], sent on [DATE], "importantstuff"" or Quoting from [DOCUMENT TITLE], page [XX], "importantstuff". <S> For clarity, I am referring to [DOCUMENT TITLE], sent on [DATE] <S> [BY EMAIL/AT MEETING/ARRIVED BY POST]. <S> If the creator of the document is essential, i.e. you HAVE to name someone, then you can add: <S> At present I cannot provide/ <S> I do not possess further details on the author of [DOCUMENT NAME]. <S> Further information will be emailed as it becomes available.

Cite it exactly like you would a source for which you have a full name, except the name is "Anonymous."

How to write character's emotional reactions in a screenplay? Question : When writing my screenplay, I frequently find the urge to describe a character's emotion. However, I have read somewhere (I forget where) that this should be left to the actor to some extent, the actor should understand the story enough to know how their character would respond to events. What is the correct thing to do? Example: Let's say that, in the opening scene, Bob, who we barely know, sees a smiling ghost. Then the scene ends. Bob could be scared, or he could be excited, or he could not care. As the writer, I know I want Bob to be scared. Should I ... A) Write ‘Bob is scared’. (This purveys Bob’s emotion, leaving the actor to react as necessary, but I haven’t written any visual cues) B) Write ‘Bob looks scared', (This purveys Bob’s emotion, leaving the actor to react as necessary, but I have given a very vague visual cue) C) Write ‘Bob freezes on the spot, mouth gaping open, eyes bulging.’, (I have detailed the visual elements of Bob's fear, but is this too explicit and not leaving anything to the actor?) D) Write nothing! (The actor decides how Bob should react based on the entire script, even though a first-time reader of the script may not know how Bob would react because they are new to the script). E) Something else? <Q> Just say it. <S> I suggest reading this: <S> What Visual Storytelling Looks Like In a Screenplay . <S> And this companion article: 4 Examples of Good Visual Writing In a Movie Script . <S> I'd recommend giving the actor something to do besides "looking scared". <S> John, terrified, slowly raises one trembling hand to the side of his face. <S> But that is up to you. <S> Keep it short, one line. <S> Make it visual, incorporate an action if you can. <S> The director will have no qualms about killing or replacing the action if they want, but all your exposition should be visually oriented. <S> As the link says, there is a difference between the screen writer directing and the screen writer providing a visual experience. <S> Notice we don't say "CLOSE ON" or give any camera angle or lighting direction. <S> Just tell a visual story. <S> And it is better if you don't use generic words like "scared". <A> E. <S> A scared Bob walks over to the door, hand on the knob. <S> or BOB (scared) <S> Who are you? <S> While I haven't written scripts, I have acted some on stage. <S> Giving the actor <S> the basic reaction you want her/him to have is important. <S> In your example, the actor can not figure it out from context. <S> Bob might be amused, mad at the ghost, mad at the person who is surely pranking him, worried that he's hallucinating, freaked out that he's dead, etc. <S> Scared of the ghost is a good possibility but far from the only one. <S> Don't make your actors and director guess. <A> I would advise only adding the emotion if it's contrary to what may be expected. <S> So Monster appears. <S> BOB <S> (scared) <S> What's going on? <S> Is less essential than: <S> BOB's Mom appears, carrying a tray of cookies. <S> BOB <S> (scared) <S> What's going on? <S> This may especially be needed for small statements that may appear neutral ("it's ok." "fine") <S> but you want to make it clear that these are decidedly NOT neutral. <S> Another example: BOB (menacingly) Happy birthday.

If the emotion is important to the story, state it succinctly.

Sending manuscript to multiple publishers As an addendum to this question , I have written a children's picturebook, and as I understand it, the process of sending off a manuscript and getting it reviewed is expected to take 3-6 months (I am based in the UK). Is it bad form to send the manuscript to multiple publishers, or is this expected? <Q> Most publishers are fine with simultaneous submissions and understand that it could otherwise take years for a manuscript to be accepted. <S> What's important is to read the publisher's guidelines before submitting (they should say if they require exclusive submissions) and to be up front about it. <S> Because every genre has a different publishing culture, I looked up information about children's books. <S> The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is the primary professional writer's organization for this genre. <S> They say : Once you have chosen the right markets for your project, you are free to send it to publishers that are accepting unsolicited manuscripts... <S> Exclusive submission means that you will not present your project to any other publisher while one publisher has it. <S> You can designate the length of time it will remain exclusive. <S> But most publishers who still accept unsolicited manuscripts also allow multiple submissions, which means you are sending it to multiple publishers. <S> You should make your submission status very clear in your cover letter... <S> Keep copies/files of your correspondence and set up a system to track your submissions. <S> The way I've seen it managed is to state in the cover letter either that this is a "simultaneous submission" ( <S> the term "multiple submission" is often used but technically means sending more than one manuscript to the same publisher) or to say that you will give them X number of weeks before submitting elsewhere. <S> I plan to use that last one when I submit my book to my dream publisher. <S> It is also important to send a short note to the publisher if you get an offer from a different publisher. <S> This allows them the opportunity to move your book up in the review queue so they can decide if they'd like to make you an offer as well. <S> Agents do this all the time. <A> This is a norm that has changed. <S> Not long ago, simultaneous submissions were frowned upon. <S> Now they are largely expected. <S> However, publishing tends to be an old-fashioned industry. <S> There are still hold-outs that have different expectations, so <S> make sure you check the submission guidelines for each publisher . <S> I would recommend, however, that you query first, rather than submit . <S> This means sending a letter describing your manuscript, and waiting for it to be requested before sending it. <S> There are several reasons for this, including that you are free to query as many publishers and/or agents as you want at any time. <S> You are also much more likely to have an unsolicited query read than an unsolicited manuscript reviewed. <S> You can also query in bulk, and/or tweak your query over time. <S> Many agents and publishers ask for the entire text of the manuscript to be included in the query for picture books, since those manuscripts tend to be very short (only a few pages of text). <S> This still does not count as a "submission," per se , in terms of simultaneous submissions. <S> It is appropriate at that point to ask whether simultaneous submissions are allowed, and to consider whether you do WANT to submit simultaneously or not (for instance, you might want to wait for a response from your first choice publisher before submitting to your second choice). <A> You may submit simultaneously to multiple publishers. <S> You mustn't submit simultanously to muliple agents. <A> From what I have read elsewhere, unless they specifically mention that they accept multiple submissions, it is very bad form indeed. <S> The publisher has a process that takes time. <S> If he is impressed by the mss and is working to get it published, having rivals doing the same unbeknownst to him will sour things. <S> Imagine <S> you are working on a project, you go to your client and tell them it is finished <S> and here it is. <S> They tell you that they had it done already by X, thank you for your interest. <S> You won’t do business with them again and will likely mention the experience to colleagues. <S> Multiple submissions could destroy your reputation. <S> One publisher at a time.

If you are lucky enough to get multiple requests for your manuscript, each of those counts as a submission. Publishers expect that you do. And you mustn't submit to publishers before you submit to an agent.

Shortening a title without changing its meaning Essentially, I want to change: Managing a lot of people is a very difficult problem to: Lot of people, difficult problem I understand that when you shorten a title, it will become more vague, but sometimes, I feel like when you shorten it too much the meaning becomes too uncertain or difficult to guess, is there a consensus on how to do this properly or perhaps a widespread practice on how to do this properly, that I am not aware of? <Q> So far, you have: <S> Managing a lot of people is a very difficult problem to Lot of people, difficult problem <S> In this example, you have 3 concepts: <S> It's about managing people <S> There are a lot of people <S> It's hard <S> The most important of these is the first, that your article is about management. <S> Yet it's the one you dropped in your title revision. <S> "Lot of people, difficult problem" can be about anything. <S> Even if you know from context <S> it's about a workplace (and not about, say, overpopulation), it could be about noise levels or fitting in enough desks/cubicles or the fact that you don't have enough bathrooms. <S> All those can be legit articles about work. <S> I would drop the third concept, that it's hard. <S> Because that is implied by the fact that you are dedicating an entire article to it. <S> This leaves you with: Managing a lot of people <S> It's a boring title, but it's got all 3 concepts in it <S> (the 3rd is implied). <S> And it's half the length of the old one. <S> I'll leave it to you to make the title more interesting, and more focused (since you're presumably not covering everything about managing multiple people), because the job of Writing. <S> SE isn't to rewrite for you. <S> Instead, it's to help you work through it. <S> What are the concepts you are trying to convey? <S> Which are the most vital? <S> Which can be dropped because they're implied? <S> Which can be dropped because they're unnecessary in the title? <A> How about... " <S> Crowd Management Challenges" Where "Crowd" encapsulates "lot of people"and <S> "Challenges" implies "is a difficult problem". <A> Management Difficulties Scale with Headcount <S> Titles follow the same rule as billboard advertisements: no more than 7 words; no matter what their size. <S> Scientifically speaking, billboard comprehension rates drop off a cliff after 7 words. <S> Apply the same rule to your titles. <A> Your first title is a complete sentence, which is unusual. <S> Your second title completely drops the concept of management. <S> Ask yourself what the core of the title is and use that. <S> If it were me, I might distill it down to Management Difficulties or Problems in Management. <S> You can also add a subtitle if the main title is not enough. <S> Management Difficulties: Effects of Larger Staff. <S> Your second title could apply to any gathering of people, including the audience at a rock concert. <S> It could be about overpopulation and the problems caused by that. <S> Titles need not be grammatically correct. <S> They should be clear or, in fiction, evocative. <S> Find some combination that properly conveys to the reader that you will discuss the difficulties caused by managing many people rather than a few. <A> I'd go with something short and to the point, like Challenges of managing people . <S> I'm not sure about putting <S> The in front of Challenges , <S> but I think it basically says all you want.

It's fine to shorten but only when the reader can fill in the blank.

Fleshing out the character motivation from the plot I decided to give a try to the snowflake method. The idea is that you gradually expand the story from a blurb into a full draft. This question stems from the character-characterization step, but it applies in general to the understanding of a character. I am at the point in which I need to clarify an abstract goal and a concrete goal for each character. My issue is that I first came up with the plot, and then fleshed out characters to fit their purpose. Now I have a character whose abstract goal should be vengeance and their concrete goal is exacting revenge against the (yet to be found) perpetrators of (a certain action) I have the impression that this is not quite correct. It feels too monolithic and one-sided to have any chances to succeed as an interesting character. To give a parallel, if you are familiar with Hamlet, from the plot I would have characterised the abstract and concrete goals for the MC as 'avenging his father' and 'punishing the uncle' respectively. On the other hand, perhaps I am completely missing the point and the abstract goal should be along the lines of 'Setting a role model for Denmark, as befitting of a future king'. The question is: how to flesh out the abstract goal for a character when the plot is formed but the characters still need to be fully crafted? A related snowflake question , for those who are not familiar with the approach. <Q> I never used the snowflake method myself, even if I gave it a look sometime ago. <S> The problem with your abstract and concrete goals is that one is the specialization of the other. <S> After all "killing X because it did Y" is just a particular instance of "vengeance". <S> So they are basically the same goal. <S> Another problem with this is that the abstract goal feels too abstract. <S> This somewhat remind me of Marvel's Punisher , but I may err. <S> You're rightly worried - it may be difficult to build an interesting character with this premise. <S> What it seems to me is that you have a possible case of characters waiting for the plot . <S> You need someone to carry out a revenge, so you make vengeance his ultimate goal. <S> That will give you a very focused character, but maybe an unrealistic, carton-board one. <S> Brandon Sanderson described this in one of his youtube lessons: imagine the plot as a train, driving the story forward. <S> Characters can't be just people stainding near the rails, with grappling hooks, waiting for the train to get by and drag them on. <S> They will eventually board the passenger wagon and they will eventually exit, but they must exist outside of it. <S> They must have reasons to get in and get out. <S> The plot is allowed to take their lives and change them drastically, maybe even end them, but it should not define ultimately who they are. <S> The character must know, on some level, what he wants to do after he carries out his vengeance. <S> "I won't have peace until I'll see them in the grave" Jack said. <S> "Then, maybe, I'll lay down my weapons and I'll go back to farming. <S> Things will never be as they were, but I dream of dying in my armchair, looking at my apple orchard, as the sun sets." <A> I think an abstract goal needs to be more useful as a life philosophy than you can make "vengeance. <S> " If that is my life goal, what do I do on idle Sundays, ask neighbors if I can take some vengeance on their behalf? <S> I'd come up with an abstract goal of a hero that allows them to do good for others even if there is no vengeance that needs taking. <S> Something that, outside of this particular need to exact vengeance, has some application in making the world a better place. <S> But that is leaning toward the good, you could write an anti-hero and lean toward the selfish. <S> Either way, your abstract goal should be a much broader life philosophy than just a one-word summary of his task in this story. <S> It should inform the rest of his personality and approach to life, and that will make him a less shallow character. <A> I haven't read the Snowflake Method in-depth, but my intuition is that your concrete goal is too abstract it <S> you haven't figured out the justification yet. <S> Why does this character specifically care so much about this specific act? <S> Why would they continue to focus on revenge for this act for an extended period of time? <S> If they found out that the perpetrator was someone close to them, would they still be so focused on revenge? <S> If you ask why enough times, you may end up with a much more fleshed out character. <S> For example, let's say you have a character (call him Smith) who wants to take revenge on the people who burned down his family home. <S> Why wasn't he home when it burned down? <S> He was away at school studying something completely unrelated to farming. <S> If he wasn't interested in farming then, why does he care so much now? <S> Now he feels that he betrayed his family and this is the only way he could make it up to them. <S> Maybe he's ashamed that he secretly wished for a fire <S> and this helps him hide his grief. <S> Otherwise maybe he's pretty sure it's Todd's fault and the thing that's really driving him <S> is that he's hated how Todd made fun of the farm ever since he was little. <S> In some episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kira Nerys is defined by her quest for vengeance. <S> As long as she's finding the perpetrator of a crime, she doesn't have to deal with her grief. <S> Javier from Les Miserables is focused on Justice, but the effect on the plot is similar to Vengeance.

Vengeance doesn't work without context, unless you want to write a character who wants to avenge everyone from the wrongdoings of everyone else . In order to feel real and interesting, characters must be complete - they can't be just props that spring up into motion as the plot happens. Maybe a possible solution would be make the abstract goal different from the concrete one.

Is there a "writer's room" for poetry? Is poetry always a solo endeavor? TV scriptwriting is classically done in a Writer's Room, where the show-runner outlines the main plot/character beats for a season, they and senior writers break out those elements into individual shows, then one or two writers create the draft, then collaboratively more jokes are added or the pacing is adjusted, etc. Movie scriptwriting (from what I understand) is a little more solitary, but often it's layers of re-writes upon rewrites, with different writers/teams brought in every few drafts (or with new producers) to tear it down and start over.) Book and short stories are often done alone, but there's also a fair tradition of collaboration: see Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman for a popular example. What about poetry? Is there a way that it can be done, and done well, collaboratively? " I've got imagery, you've got vocabulary? " Is it the same as technical-writing's editing: (My editor -- " ok, you've got all the things the user needs to do, but this could really be 5 separate sentences in 2 steps. ") Cowriter to potential Poet: I like your rant on facebook this morning -- let's play around with the words to see if we can distill that anger? Just a thought. Any examples of poetic collaboration I can look at? <Q> It depends on the kind of collaboration you mean, but usually no. <S> Poetry <S> - worth reading - is a solitary venture. <S> Years ago, I began something that was quite entertaining and humorous; a poem by committee that was essentially an anti Idylls of the King. <S> One rule existed - couplets only. <S> Couplets were submitted and the piece grew. <S> Nine Cantos and <S> two thousand lines later, it was a curiosity and not a ballad. <S> I tried to give it some cohesion, but the many voices in one piece pull it apart. <S> It can be fun to read, follows the conventions, but is absolutely not poetry. <S> Anything that I have written alone surpasses it and a few of mine <S> I truly think qualify as poetry and not just verse. <S> In prose, you will see coauthors. <S> Even some novels have coauthors; the Belgariad, for example, was written by two people (David and Lee Eddings). <S> How much of it each wrote is something the reader does not see as the two voices blend and become one. <S> The term poem by committee is sometimes used to describe something that is undesirable. <S> Anthologies and combining poems with art is a different kind of collaboration. <S> Anthologies tend to be collections of poems written by single voices. <S> Adding a photograph to a poem about the subject of the photo creates an enhanced and cooperative piece. <A> It's rare for multiple writers to be credited for a single poem, perhaps because poems are usually brief, and as close to pure self-expression as one gets in the world of writing. <S> However this doesn't mean that collaboration is not taking place in alternate forms: <S> A community of poets - This is perhaps the most important and central exception. <S> Nearly all communities have groups of poets who congregate around public readings of one type or another. <S> Do some research, and find your local poets and join them. <S> Poetry slams are one notable form of this, but most larger communities have poets' open mics in a variety of different styles. <S> Those are probably the closest thing to the "writers' room" of your headline. <S> Editors - There are poets we know mainly or exclusively through the actions of an editor or conservator. <S> Emily Dickinson is a key example, her work was largely published posthumously, and might not have achieved its initial popularity without the edits that made it less idiosyncratic. <S> Translation <S> - Translating a poem is really a collaboration --the creation of a new poem from the old one. <S> There's also a form of collaboration when one person is a poet and the other person is not. <S> In my work teaching, I've frequently transformed the raw words and emotions students bring me into poetry --which <S> then is probably best said to have two authors. <S> This is similar to your idea of using a Facebook rant as raw material for a poem. <S> I think this is probably not uncommon, although I'm guessing that the original source usually goes uncredited (or conversely, when a student works with a teacher, the teacher typically foregoes credit). <S> It's also not unheard of for two poets to publish together . <A> It happens rarely but it does happen. <S> I remember a few years ago at a writers' conference (Conversations & Connections, organized by Barrelhouse Press) attending a session where two women who co-wrote a book of poetry discussed what they did. <S> I can't remember their names or the name of the book, unfortunately. <S> I do remember that they were not co-located and so did their sharing via email. <S> If I'm remembering correctly, they each wrote parts and then passed those to the other person for review, and back and forth as needed. <S> They had an overall plan for what they wanted to do with the book before they started. <S> The result was good enough to be published by a reputable press, so it is possible to make "real" poetry this way.

Many great poets have been birthed out of a community of poets who may not directly collaborate, but whose work informs each other in significant ways.

Creating character imagery without describing their physical looks This is more for my own curiosity than anything else but I was wondering if when reading about a character with no specified gender and no description of their looks, does the choice of words used to describe their personality affect what your mental image of who you think they are? I ask because I have been working on a story for a few days and I just realised that in the 3.5k~ words I have written I have never actually specified anything physical about the character or used any gender-specific terms despite having a good idea in my head of who they are. So other than physical descriptions what factors influence a reader's "image" of a character? <Q> This is more for my own curiosity than anything else <S> but I was wondering if when reading about a character with no specified gender and no description of their looks, does the choice of words used to describe their personality affect what your mental image of who you think they are? <S> If personality traits that are particularly strongly associated with a specific gender in the reader's culture are stressed this can lead to a reader making assumptions, as can the genre of the story but in the absence of these factors most people are going to assume a POV character of non-specified gender (as in it hasn't been specified, not that they are explicitly non-binary!) is going to be the same gender as them. <S> Especially where the POV is 1st person. <S> e.g. their profession - if someone described a character as being a "blacksmith" for example readers will likely start to attribute certain characteristics to the way the character looks, e.g. large, muscular etc. <S> Or if a character starts to fit into a common trope in other media/stories they will start to imagine them as looking similar to other examples they have "seen". <S> But the details will vary wildly depending on that reader's own experiences. <S> If a character is a hard-ass drill instructor for example <S> I'm going straight to R. Lee Ermey in my head - because I grew up with things like Full Metal Jacket and Space: <S> Above and Beyond <S> so in the absence of any other descriptive cues my brain pulls up "archetypal drill instructor" <S> and that's mine - for someone who had different influences in their life it may be completely different. <A> I seldom describe my characters to the readers; other than traits that are important to the plot, or are already obvious by the plot. <S> Even then, I strive to have other characters <S> make comments on their appearance or looks, and those in somewhat general terms. <S> Or their appearance enters into the thoughts of the POV character. <S> Readers develop their own ideas, and I think this makes it easier for the readers to identify with the characters they like, and imagine what they will. <S> One thing I do is find a way to quickly indicate gender, but that might be done by name, or if the name isn't gender specific (or is not usually used with the gender) then with a pronoun. <S> e.g. "Charlie was washing her hair". <S> Other physical traits can be important to the plot, and should be brought up long before they are necessary. <S> If a person is particularly tall, and that comes in handy <S> , we should know it before we imagine a person of average height. <S> The same for athleticism, or widely perceived beauty, or anything else out of the ordinary. <S> But I try not to have the narrator do that description; I prefer to invent some situation so the characters do it. <S> Marcie said, "If Alex were here, I bet he could reach it." <S> "And if we had a ladder we could reach it, but we don't have Alex or a ladder, so -- any other ideas?" <S> We also have self reference: <S> "Oh my god, I love this dress! <S> Do you love it?" <S> "On you, sure. <S> You have a bust, I can't fill it." <S> Readers can get a sense of what a character looks like by how other people in the story treat the character, and how the character thinks and behaves. <S> I prefer to leave it at that. <S> Of course, all that might be ruined by your cover art showing a depiction of one or more characters! <A> I tend to be sparing of physical descriptions of characters in that readers will create an image of said character based on who they think they are. <S> I have a character who, initially, I introduced using only her surname. <S> In the third paragraph, I used the feminine possessive pronoun and this guy <S> I was reading it to said ‘Where’d the girl come from?’. <S> Now, I know that my secondary protag is of Irish descent, her family leaving Ireland during the Troubles and moving to the beautiful country of Columbia. <S> I know that she saw dark things, was shaped by her experiences and set down the path she trod in part out of love for a dead sibling, in part to destroy those who hurt her family. <S> The reader, from what I have in the book, can imagine a fierce Latina who chose a cool code name. <S> I mention that she is beautiful, but never describe even the colour of her hair. <S> Description of a character’s physical appearance is only important when it is of important things. <S> I have characters that I never describe - their name, thoughts and actions tell the reader who they are. <S> The reader can choose what they look like.

Beyond gender readers will start to form an image based on things we know about them -

How to write about trauma I never experienced So, in a story, I have a girl who has been ritually abused and raped by her father for being born, as he wanted sons to continue his bloodline. Thing is, this sort of thing has never happened to me. Feeling worthless every day? Yes. Trying and failing to measure to impossible expectations? I can do that. But the emotional trauma is never something I've experienced. So, how can I portray it through my character in a way that can make others empathize or sympathize for her? By the way, the mother is too submissive, but is alive, and the siblings never knew. And she's in her twenties, and a police officer wanting to specialize in this field. We never actually hear about the nitty gritty, we find out via her friend and possible love interest later on. I quote "He still comes in the night, though I've been out of his house for so long." referring to her having nightmares about the trauma. <Q> I suggest you research what victims go through. <S> I'm sure there are online support fora where people talk about their experiences. <S> Alternatively, you could reach out to victims and interview them. <S> It seems likely that--while there may be similarities among victims--different people will have different experiences and different ways of coping, such that, eventually, you'll have to make a creative decision about your fictional character. <A> We write about things we have never experienced. <S> If I were you, I would start by reading what is available; the forums, blogs and articles written by women who have survived such. <S> Once you have more of a grasp of it, then request an interview. <S> Learn how it is possible to internalize that kind of trauma, how her damaged psyche might manifest itself. <S> Imagine yourself without power, allies or friends; the family that should protect doesn’t. <S> You speak of it to no one, not one word. <S> It is normal to you, but you know it isn’t normal. <S> Less is more. <S> Let the reader fill in the blanks. <S> Graphic descriptions of long term abuse can be too much. <S> In one of my works, I go into some detail in a torture scene, but it is fairly brief and does not recur. <S> In the end, your fictional young girl will respond to her situation in a way that is true to her, gives perhaps some insight into who she is and satisfies the reader. <S> Perhaps she will choose success as the best revenge and become much more successful than her siblings. <S> She, the one who is nothing but disappointment, becomes a successful physician. <S> You know her best, just find a way to feather the information you gather into a credible account that suits her. <A> I think the ritualized rape is bit of a red herring here unless you want to write torture porn. <S> So you probably do not need to worry about the specifics of the cause just describe the resulting symptoms. <S> So you can start with something like the generic psychological trauma page on Wikipedia. <S> (Not probably the best page to start with and not even the first google hit but linking to Wikipedia is usually safe as everybody knows what it is and how reliable it is.) <S> Move on to read about the specific symptoms that fit. <S> You can also be more specific and read about the effects of child sexual abuse . <S> Note that the two above have lots of overlap with the expected disorders they can cause. <S> One issue is that it would be tempting to go overboard with this. <S> To over-describe the specifics of the abuse or to give the character too many symptoms or make them too powerful. <S> This is definitely one of those things where less is more though. <S> Usually she is coping but sometimes something catches her by surprise. <A> Read The only thing which will help you here is reading and researching. <S> Most of the events in life you write about are not necessarily experienced. <S> Emotions will play an important role here.

Try to read more about biographies of victims who have gone through such unfortunate traumatic experiences and bounced back and try to build an emotional connect. A good writer may end up writing something which a reader can completely relate to but the writer might not have ever experienced it. Doing some research is always a good idea. The brain has ways of dealing with and responding to mental trauma and they do not particularly depend on the specific source of trauma AFAIK.

Is a tag line useful on a cover? I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to expect violence. I have found myself adding (in much smaller font) a tag line. This is an example of one tag line: A Gentleman Assassin Never Tells Would the addition of a tag line that would imply genre or character improve the chances of it being selected, even momentarily? If the reader doesn’t open the book, it won’t matter how compelling it is. Or do tag lines just add clutter? What kind of tag line would best serve this purpose? <Q> I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds "old fashioned". <S> From "Gentleman" and "Never Tells" <S> my mind jumps to sexual trysts some woman must keep secret. <S> It doesn't jump to informing on a client (if that is even what you meant). <S> And because it is tag line, I assume the story is about these sexual trysts. <S> Perhaps that is why wetcircuit gets "romance." <S> Throw in "assassin" and you get the entire James Bond franchise, a macho super-spy that always winds up in bed with a supermodel. <S> Maybe that is why Cyn gets "old-fashioned". <S> If that's what you've written, there may be mileage left in that trope <S> , I don't know how it sells for new authors. <S> But male sexual fantasy wish fulfillment is probably evergreen. <S> If that's the vibe you want, you nailed it. <S> If instead your intent was to warn of violence, put a small splash of blood with a few drops on the cover somewhere. <S> You don't even have to portray a victim; make the last few letters of your title overlay it. <S> And if you want a tag line, tease the plot; "An Assassin's Epiphany", or "Assassin No More", or "Spy. <S> Assassin. <S> Stamp Collector." or whatever your story is about. <S> Well, maybe not those, come up with something clever to intrigue people! <A> A tag line can work, if it is so worded as to pique interest. <S> But one must be careful. <S> If the tag line suggests a different type of story than the actual work is, those attracted by it may well dislike the book, review it poorly, and fail to buy anything else by the author, while those who would have liked the book might be put off by the tag, and not buy the book. <S> Even people who like both Jame Bond and Parker, say, may well resent getting one when they expected the other. <A> I'm not sure about this specific tag line, but tag lines in general definitely appeal to me as a reader. <S> Even if the tag line catches my eye because I think it's ridiculous, it still catches my eye. <S> And usually I end up reading the back of the book or inside description at a minimum. <S> So I would say that tag lines definitely work, and are usually way more appealing than books that have a bunch of random reviews or things like that on the cover.

In short any tag, like any blurb, should be carefully chosen to attract those likely to approve of the work, and give a reasonably honest idea of the kind of book it is.

Is Social Media Science Fiction? I am writing a science fiction story (actually a screenplay for a film, but I imagine that for the purposes of this question the same rules apply) and I have been told that it isn't really science fiction. It's a series of vignettes with an overarching plot about the snowball effect, and is designed to not really have any single antagonist; the primary "vessel" for this is social media and its abuse. All of the social media used does currently exist (it's a film for a school project, so I get fair use). Does this... count as science fiction? If not, why? <Q> A Science Fiction story must rely heavily on some non-existing tech or some reasonably plausible guess at a futuristic development; like being visited by aliens, or discovering them. <S> In some scenarios (about the future, or space operas, etc) there is a lot of this; in others it can be just one thing; e.g. a time-travel story may have only one piece of non-existing tech (the time machine). <S> The NEW tech (or discovery) must be central to the story line and what happens, e.g. in Star Wars, FTL space travel, light sabers, sentient robots and sentient aliens are all central to the plot. <S> In Men In Black, only a little new tech is important, but aliens are central to the plot. <S> It isn't "science fiction" if it is about science but the science employed is not fictional; it is what we already know <S> , you offer no surprises or eye-opening innovations on the tech front, or about the future. <A> Social media is no longer sci-fi <S> In years gone <S> past concepts like the internet would be considered sci-fi. <S> Many book exist which use digital communication on a global scale as part of a sci-fi setting. <S> 20, 10 or, to some degree, even 5 years ago it would have been difficult to imagine a single network or service having as much control over our lives as facebook does today. <S> A setting that used such a network would have been considered sci-fi or <S> at least dystopian as little as 5 years ago, but wouldn't be today. <S> For example consider the novels Feed (2002) and The Circle (2013) <S> both books deal with an overarching network connection with control over our daily life, set in the not too distant future. <S> Feed is a distinctly sci-fi novel, written when the internet was still relatively new and the idea of a network like that is a major technological advance and social change. <S> The Circle is slightly less sci-fi and more dystopian or alternate reality as the technology and social structure are less distant from reality at the time of writing. <S> Move forward another 6 years to today. <S> The concept of a social network is not longer futuristic and required no technological advances or social change. <S> They already exist and writing on them would be more closely considered social commentary than alternate reality. <S> In conclusion; it would have been sci-fi if you wrote it 10 years ago. <S> Today it is just fiction. <A> I wouldn't really consider a story <S> science fiction <S> if the science and technology in the story exists entirely within the confines of reality today. <S> For it to count, some aspect of the technology in the story would need to be more advanced or significantly different compared to what currently exists today. <S> Tom Scott actually has a lot of videos outlining sci-fi-themed hypothetical scenarios relating to social media and the internet, so here are some examples, along with my view on whether they seem like science fiction: <S> Doesn't feel like science fiction (rather, just fiction): <S> Single Point of Failure: <S> The (Fictional) Day Google Forgot <S> To Check Passwords : <S> Entirely plausible in the modern-day world. <S> Flash Mob Gone Wrong by Tom Scott : <S> "Any similarity to actual events or people is purely coincidental", but it's entirely plausible within the confines of modern-day technology and social structures. <S> Feels like science fiction: <S> The Bubble: imagine the web without trolls, or shocks, or spam : <S> The technology needed to implement this as described is still beyond us :) <S> Oversight <S> : Thank you for volunteering, citizen. <S> Feels like 1984 (social science fiction). <S> The system and social structure described in this video has some sci-fi vibes. <S> The Artificial Intelligence That Deleted A Century : <S> The motivations behind Earworm are scarily plausible but fortunately the technological level of the system is still quite a ways beyond us at the moment. <S> Mesh network of mites ( shivers ).

Oxford Living Dictionary defines science fiction as: fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets. It isn't science fiction, it is just Contemporary fiction, aka Realistic fiction.

How to create a consistent feel for character names in a fantasy setting? Recently while doing some world-building for a role-playing game with a friend we were seriously struggling with naming character consistently. By consistently I mean make the names feel as though the belonged to the same culture or race. We had a particular theme or structure in mind but struggled to create names that suited it. So I'm turning to the wisdom of writing.se for advice. How do you name characters so that they feel as if they belong in the same culture? General tips on technique people use to keep names consistent are useful but in particular I am looking for advice on the traditional fantasy type names. Names with lots of "'" and made up syllables. <Q> Use the same process online name-generators use <S> I'm not sure of the protocol for providing answers that are pretty much just links to other answers on SE, but the answer to this worldbuilding question sounds like exactly what you're looking for. <S> tl;dr Define a set number of linguistic building blocks ('ne', 'rt', 's'en' etc.) <S> and combine them using a random number generator. <S> The set number of 'blocks' will help give your language a distinct 'sound' to it. <S> You can then go further by defining some grammatical rules like 'ab never follows aa' and cross out words that use that combination. <S> A point on real-world names Names in the real world travel further than you think, even before the invention of fast travel and communication technologies. <S> They travel by diffusion along shared borders, through shared history/mythology/religion, and through conquest. <S> Names that make the jump between cultures are frequently adapted to fit the vagarities of the adoptive language (or do so over time). <S> This is one of the reasons the Hebrew name 'Yohanan' crops up as the Greek 'Ioannes', the Latin 'Johannus', the Slavic 'Ivan', the Arabic 'Yahya' the Italian 'Giovanni', the Spanish 'Juan', the French 'Jean', the German 'Hans', the Welsh 'Ifan', and the English 'John'. <S> Might be getting a little Worldbuilding. <S> SE on you here, but if you use a couple of different iterations of your random name generator for different languages, you can use the interplay of your names to tell a little about the deeper history of your cultures. <S> Who invaded who. <S> Which religious movements spread through which cultures. <S> Who has a shared mythological heritage, if not a linguistic one. <A> I dealt with this issue in my most recent novel by training neural nets to generate the names for me. <S> I trained recurrent text-generation neural nets on names from combinations of different cultures-- <S> the combinations that have made it into the novel so far are Arabic/Gaelic (for the fictional country of Almeredh), French/Gaelic (for Calonheil), and French/Japanese (for Kaizene, but <S> I only have a few characters from here). <S> I got the names from Wikipedia name lists by culture . <S> I found this surprisingly effective in creating plausible-sounding names that sound like they all come from the same place, without being immediately recognizable as one of their source languages. <S> I generated a few hundred or thousand names for each combination and cherrypicked ones that actually sounded good for the novel. <S> For some examples, the main characters from Calonheil are named Sithmina, Ausiar, Valentile, Ecraiph, and Chalaith. <S> The mains from Almeredh are Gilleashar, Satris Saida, Aenzular, and Flairnach. <S> (Almeredh and Calonheil are meant to have closely related languages, which is why I had them share one source language, so they do sound similar.) <S> You can do place names and assorted nouns the same way, using place names and common nouns from the source languages. <S> This strategy will probably work better for Earth-ish, historical or contemporary settings, rather than far-future settings, distant planets, or languages spoken by aliens with non-human sets of phonemes. <S> The Python 3 code I used is here. <S> It'll take as many source files as you want, and filters out words that were recreated exactly from the source files, so all the returned words are original. <S> It can run on a laptop given around 30-45 minutes for training to finish. <A> I use this name generator for everything for stories and rpg. <S> https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ <S> It has a massive amount of names for almost everything and is very well organized with catagories and sub-catagories. <S> Each set of names also includes an explanation about structure and usage. <S> For example: This site is very easy to use, I have found it to be invaluable. <A> Bear in mind that languages do not have all names sounding the same. <S> If you take my paternal grandfather's name Hyhory and his sons, Isydore, Anton and Kassian you will note considerable variation and that is in one family. <S> When I am working on names in fantasy, I choose a sound I like and use that as a foundation phoneme. <S> One character, I wanted his name to mean rune, so looking at the word, I decided to flip it to Enur. <S> In others I decided that soft vowels and consonant combinations would be used. <S> In one culture, each name had a y in it somewhere. <S> You want special characters used, so Enur could become 'nur or En'r or E'r or En'. <S> Kryshyn could become K'shyn, K'sh'n, 'ryshyn or Ky'yn. <S> Remember to say the name aloud. <S> If you cannot pronounce it, you might have a problem. <S> You make the rules, just try to almost abide by them.

Pick one name, and morph its phonemes to fit each of your particular languages to paint a picture of a shared history.

How to avoid drifting into a different genre? My intention is to write a novel that falls into the "contemporary fiction" genre. Also, maybe, the "family drama" subgenre, if such a thing exists. I have a plot point that puts one of my characters in legal trouble, in turn, this affects the protagonist and requires a large portion of her attention. She does not need to find the solution for the problem, but she needs to be pushing for it. My problem is that I find myself thinking and writing about the legal aspects of the case, the proceedings, the laws, legal arguments, and so on. I know I don't want to write a legal drama. That's not what the story is about. The story is really about the dynamic between the mother and the family. How can I present the obstacle without delving into details about it? <Q> - it's a very fluid concept that doesn't have to be anywhere near as strict as you are imagining. <S> Write the story and let it be what it is - <S> if after writing it you want to reduce the legal elements then you can do that then. <S> Even if it ends up being more of a "legal drama with family drama" than a "family drama with legal aspects" you might be pleasantly surprised by the end result. <S> Something that stuck out for me in your question: requires a large portion of her attention <S> find myself thinking and writing about the legal aspects of the case, the proceedings, the laws, legal arguments <S> If it's sucking you in to a substantial extent - why wouldn't it do the same to the protagonist? <S> Use that if she's getting absorbed in the case she's going to be less "present for family. <S> This is precisely the sort of event that places family dynamics under strain, which is pretty much the bread and butter of what "family drama" stories are all <S> about - how does the rest of the family feel about the amount of attention and time that the legal situation is taking up? <S> What are the consequences (Jail, fine etc) if the character in trouble loses their case? <S> How will that possible future impact the family? <A> Without reading your story, it's tough to give specific advice. <S> But that said: (a) <S> As @motosubatsu says, don't worry too much about the definitions of a genre. <S> If you set out to write a family drama but it turns out that the legal case is way more interesting than the family interactions, then so what if your story turns into a courtroom drama with a side plot about family relationships rather than the other way around? <S> Unless you have a contract to write a certain type of story, so <S> what? <S> (b) <S> If you find yourself writing 20 pages about a hearing before the judge and the motions and counter-motions made by the lawyers on each side and the judge's rulings and appealing that ruling and ... and you feel that this is all getting tedious and distracting from the story you want to write, then throw it out and replace the whole thing with a couple of sentences. <S> " <S> She went to a hearing before the judge, and after hours of legal maneuvering the judge finally ruled that ..." <A> Some thoughts come to mind: <S> Trust your instincts . <S> Your unconscious might be trying to tell you something about where the story should go or is trying to get to some place where there be dramatic goodies. <S> Don't be afraid to follow it there. <S> There are no guarantees writing a good story is a straight line from beginning to end! <S> Kill your darlings . <S> However, what you're writing can turn out to be crap once you do the edit. <S> Then don't be afraid to cut it out. <S> (You can copy it to a separate document too if you're unsure if it's good or not...) <S> The first draft of anything is shit . <S> To quote Hemingway. <S> You fix it in the edit! <S> Trust your writing ability . <S> You just wrote all that. <S> And sure, you had to remove a lot of it, but you wrote it. <S> Do you have any logical reason to doubt your ability to just sit down and write as much again? <S> You shouldn't, given that writing is mostly learned by doing. <A> The information you are gathering can simply be used to color how you write the scene where she hires a lawyer for her kid. <S> There was a movie a few years back about a family torn apart by an accusation of murder. <S> The teenage son of the family was suspected in the death of a girl he liked. <S> The father, without even asking his son, began converting possible evidence into art. <S> You will have some police in your story, a lawyer or two <S> and maybe even a judge. <S> The defense attorney she hires could be the only one you really create, referring to conversations he had with the prosecutor and the likelihood of getting a decent plea bargain. <S> Your protagonist can leave the lawyer's office almost as confused as she is hopeful. <S> You might only use a fraction of the information you gathered and its main purpose could be in preventing those this writer didn't even try researching procedure from any members of law enforcement who might read it. <S> Avoiding the 'that is not what would have happened' can be reason enough for your research and the knowledge will give it verisimilitude.

Use the details your story requires. To directly answer your question, I think the straight answer is: If you don't want to get into details about the legal case, then ... don't. Firstly don't get too hung up on the genre

What benefits might there be to membership in a Writer's Guild? I live in the publishing hinterlands. I was reading some query letters that worked and one thing they had in common was mention of attendance at a conference. What benefits could a membership give one that would be worth the price of admission? Do they also have agents and editors checking their membership list for likely talent? Or is it just a glorified writer's group that gives no real benefit aside from another card in your wallet and another newsletter in your email? Do they serve a purpose? <Q> The major benefit is information . <S> Professional guilds inform their members about trends and changes in their industry. <S> The help writers' guilds offer for actual writing (e.g. workshops) is usually not better than what you can find on the net for free or in the well-known how-to books. <S> The true value lies in the look behind the scenes of the publishing industry and in getting in contact with other (aspiring) professionals. <A> It depends on the specific organization. <S> The one I know best is the SFWA -- the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. <S> They're pretty amazing; so they're a great example of what benefits a good writers' organization might have to offer: <S> Some of the things the SFWA does are: Runs an Emergency Medical Fund. <S> Writers don't get much in the way of medical insurance. <S> Regularly collects and publishes important resources for writers, like Writers Beware <S> (information on avoiding publishing scams and empty promises) and its Contract Committee (examples of contracts). <S> Runs the well-respected Nebula Awards, and it's only members who get to nominate and vote. <S> Additionally, the SFWA has a professional bar for joining. <S> This means that if you have cleared the bar, the simple note that you're an SFWA member is a nontrivial marker of achievement and professionalism. <S> And , since it's grown into a significant and influential marker -- the SFWA has some actual influence on what counts as "fair" or "professional" payment for writing work; the rates they choose as "pro" is pretty much what the genre industry goes by. <S> There's more than this -- and this is all for just the one organization. <S> Different guilds and groups and organizations will, obviously, offer different things. <S> Some will benefit you professionally; some socially; others are good for the field at large. <S> Some are entirely worthless. <S> But the good ones? <S> Are pretty darn good. <A> Along with depending on the guild itself and what membership benefits it offers, it also depends very much on you and which (if any) of those benefits you feel you'd truly make use of. <S> I have belonged to the SOA and to a local writers' society. <S> Did any of that really make a difference? <S> No, not really. <S> My agent told me that no writer she had signed had ever had a contract assessed -- it was a standard agency contract <S> (they were a big agency) -- and, if anything, it made me look like an amateur (I was :)). <S> If you sign with an unknown agency who might have the potential to fleece you, then getting a contract reviewed could justify membership (if they provide that). <S> Eventually, being the type of person I am, I couldn't be bothered to attend the talks (not getting enough out of them to justify the time away from writing), had no time for reading all the articles in the magazines they sent out (most of which had already hit the headlines online), and didn't really make good use of the membership services because I was too busy doing the job of writing. <S> No <S> ... agents don't check for membership , or troll their databases for talent; it doesn't give you kudos. <S> Agents are interested in two things only: do you have an idea they can sell; and have you written it really, really well? <S> So, it really comes down to the benefits they offer and whether you (as a writer in the hinterland who's no doubt as insular as the rest of us writers) will really make use of the things on that list . <S> Good luck! <S> p.s. <S> one thing I will say in favour of the SOA, is they are fighting publishers for fairer contracts for writers. <S> Now THAT could be worth the price of admission!

At first, it seemed like it was worth the price tag: I went to a few meetings, heard some fairly interesting talks from professionals in the business, and even had my agent contract assessed FOC via an SOA lawyer . For writers this may include trending topics, changes in publishing procedures, networking help, and so on.

How to handle characters who are more educated than the author? This is inspired by a few things that have been breaking my immersion when reading Worm . The main protagonist is a teen, and most chapters are first-person POV, so grammatical casualness fits. I don't expect her to use subjunctive, and her use of "anyways" was (I thought) a great way to indicate that she was a high school sophomore. But then authority figures ALSO used "anyways" in formal communication. No one uses subjunctive. There doesn't seem to be that slight code-switching tone difference with the "adults" when talking to each other at coffee vs sharing information in a meeting. Is this just something to specifically proofread for, highlighting dialogue/thoughts by certain characters, and revising them all in a specific tone-swoop? How do you learn what elements help change that tone? (I know if your character is a physicist, you have to look up enough physics to communicate the science effectively, but language use of a character pervades all their thoughts and dialogue, especially in workplace settings. One doesn't have to be an English major to have this code-switching behavior, or varying levels of formalism: mere exposure to higher-level readings (like academic journals) would have an effect.) I don't intend to knock this author -- I've been reading his works for millions of words! And I know we're basically reading his first-drafts, due to his production choices. I just try to learn what catches my eye/ear as a reader, so I can change that in my own writing. (And yes, I have tone problems too -- often too casual for professional, but too formal for quick communications. And my writing is 100% middle-class white, so I know I'd need an editor of a different background to have better code-switching to show other types of family life, for example.) Not a duplicate of Writing the dialogues of characters who are much smarter than you because that's about "pure" IQ, and my question is more about characters who would realistically have had more formal education than the author. <Q> Some thoughts, in no particular order: 1. <S> Educated people may speak in a more casual way than their education enables (but uneducated people are unlikely to be able to speak coherently in a more educated tone) <S> It is more jarring for an uneducated bum to talk like a research scientist than for a research scientist to mumble, cuss, talk like a valley girl, etc. <S> I know you're including specifically formal situations, but it bears pointing out. <S> 2. <S> What you don't say often communicates more than what you do say <S> You yourself pointed out that it was an included word that struck you as out of place. <S> I once wrote a story where I wanted a character to distinctly feel foreign; I made a rule that she couldn't use any words coined after 1600 (or post-1600 definitions of older words), unless it was the name for a specific object that another character introduced her to (like "car"). <S> Of course, I also have experience reading poetry, and books across several genres, written in 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and grammar played a role - but vocabulary made a huge difference. <S> (I was surprised to find that most of the words I ended up using were NOT fancy or archaic-sounding. <S> On the contrary, many old-fashioned-sounding words are artifacts of the 18th and 19th centuries.) <S> 3. <S> A well-educated person speaks more simply and directly Plain speaking, without sub-culture-specific flourishes, just comes off as more concise and mature. <S> Sadly, loading dialogue with unnecessarily complicated grammar or "look, I can use a thesaurus - badly" words WILL impress many an untrained ear. <S> However, even to such an untrained ear, a straightforward, concise statement is preferable if your goal is to communicate information, and not just tag a character as "smart." <S> And an author can show a character is smart by actually having the character say smart things! <S> Writing concisely can be difficult, though. <S> 4. <S> A widely read author has a deeper well to draw from As hinted in point 1, if you yourself are educated - particularly from a wide variety of disciplines and levels of rigor - you will be more able to write like an educated person would speak. <S> That is, an educated tone can't really be faked. <A> Teachers and professors often pick up the lingo of their students; part of being a good teacher is being able to understand their speech and slang. <S> Not only to communicate with them, but to pick up on things they shouldn't be saying. <S> I will also note that every generation, beginning around puberty to late college years, seems to invent some new slangs, specifically for the sociological function of creating distance between themselves and the older generation; by having, effectively, their own language only they understand. <S> But kids seldom switch modes when adults are around and will use their 'code' in circumstances where the adults can deduce what it means. <S> But in formal settings, I would not expect this; "regardless" is a substitute for "anyways", and most professors I know might say "anyway" in a formal setting (a meeting to discuss curriculum, perhaps) but never "anyways". <A> There are two areas that show different speech patterns - casual speech and professional speech. <S> In casual speech, difference between educated and non-educated people may be nonexistent. <S> Speech patterns here would rather follow social groups - i.e. average teenagers would speak somewhat differently from graduate students and, again, differently from middle age professors. <S> You can try to emulate "professor's speech". <S> Professors are usually good public (and private) speakers, capable of explaining complex subjects in layman terms. <S> It would be a misconception, however, to think that educated people often use "smart" words in casual conversation. <S> In professional speech, thing are becoming different. <S> Not only many special words are being used, the very structure of sentences may become different. <S> In order to successfully depict how doctors, lawyers, physicists etc. <S> discuss professional matters between themselves, one has to do some research. <S> I also would like to mention that this problem ("more educated than the author") is separate from a similar "more smart than the author" problem.

So an adult constantly around many kids, if they are paying attention, will pick up on the lingo, and may themselves slip into usage of it, sometimes as a joke with their peers, sometimes talking to kids, etc.

How to format quick flashes in a screenplay? Question : In my screenplay, the main character occasionally suffers quick flashes, like visions. I have been unable to assert if I am formatting these correctly. Please also note the single and double line spaces, where I have tagged my 'QUICK FLASH' and 'BACK TO SCENE's as Scene Headings in my software (Amazon Storywriter). Am I doing everything correctly? My current sample : Bob slowly averts his eyes towards the trees.QUICK FLASHHands bend a thick rope into a loop.BACK TO SCENEEyes down again. Grimaces. Finds the courage to return his gaze.QUICK FLASHA noose sways in the breeze. Heavy off-beat BREATHING.BACK TO SCENEHead down. Winces. <Q> The way I would perhaps treat them is to treat the visions as separate scenes with a parentheses indicating their status as visions as can be done for dream sequences. <S> I'm not too fond of the 'back to scene' tag as I don't feel it really tells the reader anything. <S> So for example I might try something like the below for what you have: EXT. <S> HOMESTEAD - DAY Bob slowly averts his eyes toward the trees. <S> EXT. <S> RANCH - AFTERNOON (VISION SEQ) <S> Hands bend a thick rope into a loop. <S> EXT. <S> HOMESTEAD - DAY Eyes down again.... <S> Seems like it might be more flexible for moving scenes around. <A> If you are cutting back and before between two scenes, you can use "INTERCUT" http://www.screenwriting.info/15.php EXT. <S> HILLSIDE - DAY Bob slowly averts his eyes towards the trees. <S> EXT. <S> GALLOWS - NIGHT EXECUTIONER, whose face is unseen, prepares the gallows for a hanging. <S> INTERCUT BETWEEN HILLSIDE AND GALLOWS <S> Bob drops his eyes down again. <S> The executioner's hands bend a thick rope into a loop. <S> Bob grimaces. <S> A noose sways in the breeze. <S> Heavy off-beat BREATHING. <S> Bob puts his head down. <S> Winces. <A> You could also consider avoiding setting up a flashback as such. <S> The idea is to use elements of your present scene to show the few relevant details of the flashback. <S> For instance: in a scene I had water from a fountain morphing to a past scene, with quick flashes seen through the character's eyes which I labeled 'Recall'. <S> My goal was to avoid the setting/location change. <S> This works the audience was previously shown the occurrence of the events, during which the character had been standing at a window in full view but without showing any reaction. <S> The character's reaction at the end of the recall shows the audience what he has seen. <S> In my scene this served to tell the audience, and the character, that he had indeed witnessed the face of his wife's killer, a fact that was previously not shown. <S> I further confirm this by making him utter, 'I've seen you, Lin was right. <S> I loved you but you took my family from me.' <S> This is how he realizes there wasn't an accidental fire but arson and the arsonist wasn't among the fatalities but alive. <A> I don't think there is a right or wrong way of doing it, so long as what you are doing is clear, concise, and consistent throughout the rest of your script. <S> I also get caught up over specific ways to format things until realizing that there are specific rules to screenwriting, everything else are just guidelines used to help you set it up in your own way.

I think you're correct in that there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way to do it, what matters is that someone reading it is able to follow it easily. If these visions are occurring a lot throughout the scene and form a continuous scene on their own then you could also use an intercut: introduce the scene headings at the beginning and then have a heading saying INTERCUT BETWEEN...etc.

What is a more techy Technical Writer job title that isn't cutesy or confusing? I have been hired as a Technical Writer at a firm who needed multiple types of writers: A few people were hired to write content for the average website reader interested in our product, such as a Product Manager, and user documentation, such as user guides. However, I was hired to dig down into the code and actually write sample code to explain how to use the company's SDK (software development kit). I interface with the development team on a daily basis and actually test their code, analyze it, and give them suggestions for improvement. I would like to add another descriptive term in my job title on my email signature and resume to show that I have in-depth software engineering knowledge. For anyone who thinks this is to puff myself up or to downplay normal Technical Writers, you are wrong. The primary reason I want to do this is so my resume doesn't look like I switched careers. The secondary reason is so that people who receive my emails and read my resume can tell by my title that I have extensive software engineering experience inside software development. I read this , but it didn't help. Of course, I searched the internet, too. I found articles about my current role, but nothing about job titles. I thought perhaps: Technical Writer (Sr. Software Engineer) Technical Writer as Sr. Software Engineer Technical Writer specializing in the full SDLC <Q> The conventional term is "programmer writer" or, sometimes, "programming writer". <S> It is generally used to describe someone whose training and focus is programming rather than technical writing, but who is currently performing a technical communication function specifically aimed at documenting things for programmers. <S> I did most of my tech writing for developers as well, but because my career focus was technical writing, I stuck to the term "technical writer". <S> Same job, more or less. <S> The difference in titles is more to cover differences in career track, which seems to be what you are concerned about. <A> This is a challenging specialization to capture in a job title, which is why my LinkedIn tagline says "speaker to programmers". <S> But that doesn't work as a job title at any but the edgiest startups. <S> At a previous company I was documenting but also improving (and writing examples against) our SDK, and where we wanted to make it more clear to upper management and our new corporate overloads that I'm an engineering-grade technical writer, they gave me the title (Senior) SDK Developer. <S> Depending on how involved you are in defining your SDK, that could work for you too. <S> At my current company I'm an Information Developer because that's the title they use; internally people know that I have programming cred, and if I need to communicate it externally, I'll probably have more than a title available to do it with. <S> On a resume, for example, there are a couple ways to convey important information not covered in a job title. <S> On LinkedIn (and in a cover letter) you can write a summary that people will see before they get to the job history. <S> If I'm handing somebody a business card (I guess that could happen), we'll have the context of whatever conversation led to me doing so. <S> In my career I've found that the adjective (senior, principal, lead...) carries more weight than the specific tech-writer-ish title. <S> If you get to principal/lead level, people who know anything at all about the field are going to expect you to have some real technical depth. <A> I really like the title "Developer Evangelist" or "Developer Advocate". <S> The former implies that you're spreading knowledge about the company's software/SDK, but that you're also a Developer. <S> The latter implies that you're helping developers interface with your company. <S> I think the former title might be more suited to your preferences. <S> This title is in common usage; e.g. Microsoft uses it: https://careers.microsoft.com/professionals/us/en/c-evangelism <A> Technical writing is about relating new information in the area you are writing about to the existing knowledge of your audience. <S> In order to do that you need to have some degree of that existing specialist knowledge yourself. <S> In this case, it sounds like the thing you would like to highlight, is the specialist knowledge that you possess that enables you to write for an audience of software developers. <S> To that end, I suggest something like: <S> "Writer, specializing in technical documentation for software developers" <S> It might seem a little wordy, but it's crystal clear what you mean at first reading. <S> Anything shorter may confuse the reader, and let's face it, that would be the antithesis of what a good technical writer should do.

As suggested in this answer , some use Programming Writer.

How can I introduce the names of fantasy creatures to the reader? In the story, these fantasy creatures are everyday animals that most people in the story already know. How can I introduce them in an natural way that instantly makes readers remember their names? The story is in comic book form, so that might open up a few more options. <Q> with a frame where this person is getting a water spray bottle while the animal is looking at the reader. <S> This makes it clear what your character is referring to. <S> The same would apply to other animals. <S> Give someone a reason to point out the name and look or point at the animal to make them the center of a frame. <S> If you manage to make this an important thing your readers will surely remember it. <S> Maybe there is an important document on the table. <S> Or the qutie needs to get away from the water tank on the table with all the machies . <S> Especially with a visual medium like comics this is quite easy for the reader to understand. <A> Have a "Cast of Characters" line up at the beginning showing all your characters with their names and include the creature(s) in some typical pose such as sitting on their owner's shoulder. <S> You can also introduce dynamic by having an antagonistic character (if any) scowling or something at the creature on the other character's shoulder. <A> Comics often have a narrator adding content and context via boxes of text attached to the top or bottom of the frame. <S> The narrator is allowed to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience, so introducing and explaining unusual animals doesn't have to burden the current scene or its characters. <A> In the Marvel and Dc tradition many story-lines cut across series. <S> It is very common for there to be a rectangular box in a corner with a "*" that would help catch up the reader on what is going on, or what issue to read to learn the story, or follow a particular thread of the story. <S> These footnotes are not something from the narrator, but are instead directly from the writer or editor. <S> Comic readers are completely used to getting information in this way. <S> In exactly the same way you could use them to provide information on your creatures. <S> They can come from the writer, or maybe from some character, a scientist or a wizard that we never see in panel giving us some fun insight on the creature. <S> Maybe if the descriptions get particularity fun and witty, this character can sometimes get a page in a back of an issue where they could show what they do all day.

The easiest way is to have someone say the name while looking at the animal and having a frame in your comic where the animal is the center. If you have an animal that plays the role that cats play in our real world for example you could have someone angrily say "Get the damn qutie from our table!" Comic books give you a great opportunity to add footnotes.

How to find the right literary agent in the USA? I want to publish an English language book in the USA as a foreigner. Someone told me that the USA is mainly interested in American subjects, so anything else is quite hard to sell. Besides the fact of what America does towards non-American books written by a foreigner, how can I, out of the buttload of literary agents, find a literary agent that is interested in my book without having to check out all the literary agents? I've tried selling internationally by contacting literary agents nationally, but they have either no knowledge or interest in selling internationally. The book is psychological non-fiction. It's about two subjects, rulers and mental weakness. When I search for other psychological non-fiction books to know which agents other authors haven chosen, I get 1193 results under 'non fiction psychological' on 'goodreads.com'. P.S. Thanks to the comments I understand now what an agent wants and why. A writer who goes to an agent has no name that people know about. No story starts as a bestseller. The first people who'll buy from an unknown source, in this case an author, are the ones who are interested in the subject, not so much because it might be entertaining. Once you manage to make your target audience buy your product, in this case a book, they'll refer it to other people. Other people might be less interested in the subject, but if your product, in this case your book is entertaining, regardless of the subject, the majority will like it and your product, in this case a book, will become a bestseller. This has been proven in the past, for example 'Philosopher's Stone', you know who wrote that. The book was denied by 12 publishers. The 13th time was successful, because the daughter of bloomsbury, who liked the book, told her father to publish it. 12 publishers denied the book, because Rowling wasn´t able to sell the story to the target audience, so the publisher wasn´t interested. Since it is most important to sell it to a target audience, for anyone out there who wants to publish there first story some day, be sure that the message that you sent, so your query letter and if required your proposal are professional and conforming to the submission rules of the agency that you sent it to, so sent it to an agency who's interested in your subject as well. Read the following articles for more information https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/getting-published/how-to-ensure-75-of-agents-will-request-your-material https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/pubtips-query https://youtu.be/Ctda91oOboQ <Q> I highly recommend http://agentquery.com . <S> It's free, searchable by category and oriented towards North American agents. <S> I haven't personally had any luck yet securing an agent through them, but the listings all seem to be legitimate, and comparable to the ones you can find through other valid sources. <S> I do recommend, however, taking the time to click through to the agency websites, and not just cold emailing on the basis of what is on the site. <S> In terms of winnowing down the number of agents, the only filtering you want to do is to make sure they are definitely looking for the kind of work you produce. <S> Your first step should be to send out query letters --not manuscripts or full <S> proposals <S> --and you'll want to send out A LOT of them. <S> In my experience, a response rate of 1 proposal request to every 15 queries is doing great. <A> Answer: <S> Another way to think about your question is: How do I get the right literary agent to find me? <S> For non-fiction, the following details are routinely requested by US agents. <S> Not every time, but these things are requested (for NF) regularly: A full proposal of the work (it sounds as though you have this covered) <S> A robust media platform (this is to prove that you have reach, 'followers,' and can sell books) <S> A track record (i.e have authored pieces in journals, anthologies, or so on. <S> This idea plays into 'platform.' <S> It means you have begun creating a potential market.) <S> In other words, you might find the perfect agent. <S> But if you are not the perfect client, (if they don't see an easy or at least profitable sale in your work), then there is a new issue for you to deal with. <S> And, some agents refuse re-queries. <S> It might be worthwhile to put some time toward the things they like to see in a non-fiction query. <A> It's not easy, but the core answer is: You need to learn the market. <S> Being from outside the U.S., or not having an existing platform, might be issues, but they shouldn't be dealbreakers -- lots of U.S. agents work with foreign clients, and a good book on a good topic can sell beautifully. <S> But: you need to know what else is out there. <S> What other books on similar topics look like; what readers will be expecting from a book like yours; whether anyone else has already covered your precise topic, or something extremely similar. <S> Without those, your book will have a really hard time being a good book for the current U.S. market . <S> You're not going to get all those things right by sheer good luck -- you're going to get them right by knowing those other books, and adjusting your own text and approach accordingly. <S> That's why Googling "non fiction psychological" is not enough on its own. <S> Read some of them; read reviews of others; learn which are considered major works. <S> Gradually, you'll figure out which existing books yours is most comparable to. <S> And then you can check and see what agency they've gone through. <S> This might seem like a lot of work -- but it needs to be done, to place your book in a very big market. <S> You'll find that even if right now somebody gave you the name of the most perfect agent ever, the first thing that perfect agent will want is a proposal -- detailing precisely which other existing books your work is comparable to, and how yours is different from what's already out there. <S> So this isn't double work you're doing; it's some of the most important work in querying. <S> Best of luck!

Getting an agent is a numbers game, and the more options you have, the better. I suggest you look for books on related topics to yours, specifically .

At what point does an interesting analogy become a distraction? I've written a book. My question is if it is in bad {taste, karma, policy} to use an analogy that is disrupting to the reader's stream of consciousness. The quote in question is this: Like a banana at an ice cream party, we decided to split up. This sentence is funny, yes, but it potentially distracts the reader from the dramatic situation at hand: we are staking out this building and trying to rescue our friend. I am a believer in the idea that one should not hold back from any good ideas, regardless of how it impacts the current end result, but maybe this is an exception? <Q> Your question is a bit all over the map but, ultimately, it's about tone. <S> Your silly example would be fine for a first person narrator who loves puns and can never be completely serious. <S> If it's the only time s/he ever said anything like that, it would be very out of place and jarring. <S> If your example is a character's dialogue, then it depends on the character. <S> Pretty much anyone hearing that line from someone in real life would roll their eyes (and maybe cross the person off their next invite list), unless they were into the absurd. <S> It's just not a line someone would say about their breakup. <S> The only way it works is if it's two characters (preferably teens or younger) playing amateur detective who enter a location and decide to split up to cover more ground. <S> Even then, it's odd. <S> If the tone of your book isn't consistent, it will annoy your reader. <S> Sure, it's okay to have sad parts, joyous parts, and so on, that's not the same thing. <S> But if you throw in every idea you have, it's going to be a mess. <S> When you get an idea, write it down! <S> Have an idea journal, or the computer equivalent. <S> But when it comes to your book, cut ruthlessly. <S> Leave what works. <S> Kick to the curb (back to the idea journal) <S> whatever doesn't. <A> If the scene is supposed to be dramatic, a joke is out of place. <S> Personally I did not find it funny, I thought it cliché. <S> As a professional author and teacher, I am NOT in favor of the idea that "one should not hold back from any good ideas, regardless of how it impacts the current end result". <S> If it negatively impacts the end result, it isn't a good idea. <S> Or your definition of a "good idea" is seriously lacking. <S> Good ideas improve the writing, ramp up the drama or danger or emotion. <S> Your goal in any given scene is to convey some tone, and a smart writer restricts their definition of "good" to what matches the tone, and their definition of "bad" to anything dissonant with that tone. <A> Humour can ease tension and lighten the mood when things get dark, but that line seems better omitted. <S> The line you mention in the situation you describe seems to undercut the tension of the scene. <S> Watching a building, preparing to rescue a friend and that line runs the risk of making light of the entire situation. <S> Why should the reader care if the author does not? <S> I have some quips and puns in my book, but they are often simply thoughts and followed by a quick glad <S> I didn’t say that . <S> I do have situations where one character will quip or <S> another might, to clarify a situation in his own mind, use humour. <S> Humour should be used carefully. <S> Leavening an otherwise dark work, relieving tension at a critical moment are all valid uses for humour in prose. <S> Be careful that a pun does not cause the reader to put the book down. <S> Edit: Interesting analogies are only distracting if you misuse them. <S> Seamless integration of the analogy reduces the likelihood of breaking reader immersion.

Just because you think something is funny doesn't make it a good idea for the scene you are writing; "funny" is not always appropriate.

Is my book too weird to be published? This question may have already been answered, but I'm just making sure. So, I'm just making a silly book for fun. It's short (compared to other books) but I'd say it's decent. However, let's say I wanted to publish it. Would it be too weird to publish? The book I've been writing is about a boy who wakes up one day and finds out he is a fruit-loop (not sure if correct spelling, as my country doesn't have them). He is transported to a land of alive foods. Part of it has been overrun by an evil spork (spoon-fork) and the boy, with new fruit-loop friends, must save "Fruitloopia". I think this is an original idea, but, as I said, it may just be too weird to be published. It's kind of like with Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling had to go through quite a few publishers to get her book published (or so I've been told). The only difference is it's about a piece of alive food. If someone could answer this, it would be a great help (just in case I actually do want to send it to the world). <Q> Imaginative and silly are great for that. <S> Get rid of your trademark issue with Fruit Loops, come up with some other name that doesn't infringe. <S> e.g "Flavor Rings" or "RingaDings" or something (and Google whatever you come up with to ensure it isn't trademarked also). <S> Edit your story to exclude anything inappropriate to young children, and you might even pitch it as a story that could benefit from illustrations. <S> (Don't worry, illustrations are almost always done by artists the publishers hire). <S> The plots of such stories are usually simple hero stories with minor setbacks and fairly easily defeated villains. <A> There are some very odd writers with passionate fans, and sometimes critical acclaim or even fame and fortune. <S> Daniel Pinkwater, Samuel Delany, Steven Hall, Francesca Block, Haruki Murakami, Lewis Carroll, Dav Pikey and Walter Moers are just a few of the very idiosyncratic writers who might make that list. <S> But most of them are also extraordinarily good writers, and/or have other qualities that make them successful. <S> Being odd isn't enough. <S> To put it another way --every kid on every playground writes parodies of popular music. <S> But there's only one Weird Al Yankovic . <A> Nothing is too weird to be published. <S> Truly, nothing. <S> But plenty of works will not interest any of the publishers that currently exist. <S> Even many works that are totally mainstream don't get published because nobody the author submitted to wants to publish them. <S> Assuming you fix the problem of using a trademarked phrase (Fruit Loops), your silly story could find a home. <S> If it's well written. <A> doesn't matter how weird you are ... <S> there are 7 billion people on the planet... <S> if 0.01% of the people enjoy your brand of weird... <S> that's 700,000 people! <A> Sounds like a kids book. <S> You can self publish it <S> you might want to have some pictures in it <S> but no there have been worse things written remember the attack of the 50 foot chickens?

I'd say, for a short book, pitch it as a young children's book. No guarantees in the publishing business, but weird isn't a dealbreaker. Any silly or weird or odd story can.

Is it ok if some of my city names are the same as the ones in other books/series/video games/ pieces of work? My book has a few place names that are also present in other pieces of media, for example, one of my cities is called "Manalin" and I just found out that there is a planet in Star Wars also called Manalin. The capital of one of the kingdoms in my book is called Pokrovka, but I've also recently discovered a video game series where another city is also called Pokrovka. I took the name from a commune in Ukraine. Will these be a problem? <Q> You can't copyright individual words, such a city names. <S> Leaving legalities for practicalities, what you want is to avoid confusion. <S> If a coined name is distinctive and at least somewhat prominent, you might want to vary it. <S> A planet mentioned once in a single line of dialog in Star Wars, where no action takes place or is even reported, will not matter. <S> But I wouldn't call a planet "Alderaan" (the planet destroyed by Vader) or use the name of Luke's home planet, unless you are inviting readers to assume that they are the same. <S> "Centerville" was the home town of the VP character in <S> Have Spacesuit <S> , Will Travel but it is so generic that anyone should feel free to reuse it. <S> A name used in an obscure work that few have read should also be fair game. <S> In short ask yourself, "how likely is it that some significant number of readers will be confused, or make an association I don't want them to?" <A> I set my comic in Santa Mira , a fictional California city, precisely because it's been used in so many fictional works ... <S> although I've also made no effort to reference any of them in the comic. <A> Legally, you're probably ok. <S> Trademark would become an issue if it seemed like you were trying to profit from an unauthorised association with Star Wars. <S> As it is now, it doesn't sound like you've crossed the line. <S> But it's so easy to change them, you might as well play safe and make them uniquely yours. <S> For example: Manalinsk and Pokroviya. <S> Or Malalina and Pokrograd. <S> A quick google will show you whether a name has been used before..

You could trademark them, but unless it is a major central location, no one will do that. Legally you ought to be in the clear, especially in places with real-world parallels.

How to tell people you write smut/erotica/porn So, I am a person who writes titillating stories. Problem is, I want a way to tell people what I write in a way that doesn't seem like I'm some sort of pornstar or filmmaker. Because "I write porn/erotica/smut" is typically frowned upon, how do I tell people without being blunt about it? Or should I be blunt about it? <Q> or "I write erotica." <S> It all works. <S> There's enough out there <S> that is NC-17 or even a hard R, or the book/TV/comic equivalent, that people get it if you say your work isn't appropriate for kids. <S> Also, if you don't even know if your work is smut or erotica or porn, which are all different things! <S> You're going to have a hard time explaining it to others. <S> Own what you do. <S> That means you tell the truth ( <S> unless it's your conservative nephew or boss, then you can fudge it). <S> Don't call it ordinary and don't call it porn. <S> (If you do write porn, own it. <S> And don't call it erotica.) <A> There's nothing wrong with the word erotica . <S> That's exactly how it's categorized in bookstores, where it's publicly displayed and not considered something to be hidden from anyone. <S> [Merriam-Webster] <S> 1 : <S> literary or artistic works having an erotic theme or quality <S> If people take issue with the content of your work, then you have a bigger problem than just using this neutral word to describe the subject. <A> I write titillating stories that explore the psychological and physical boundaries of desire and lust without sparing graphical details and explicit references. <S> This may appeal to the more restrained souls. <S> On the other hand, you could also be blunt. <S> Perhaps you ought to be so, given that you probably are quite proud of what you do. <S> And don't forget, regardless of literary genre, you are first and foremost a writer. <S> That in itself is a great opening: <S> I am a writer. <S> The genre? <S> The kind that pleases: erotica/smut/porn. <A> The big question here is: What is your purpose in telling people about your writing. <S> Some people, some forums, and some audiences, will absolutely appreciate that writing erotica is a skill, a craft, something that people enjoy -- and you can just straight up say "I write erotica." <S> Other people, forums, and audiences won't have that appreciation, and may very well look down on you for erotica. <S> (Or just might be heterogeneous enough that you don't know what reaction to expect, but assume that some of them will be offended and/or condescending.) <S> In this second case, the question is: why tell them about your writing at all? <S> Is this a social situation ( <S> "So, tell us what you do for a living!"), a professional conversation ("Hey, can I join this writer's group?", "Sure, what do you write?"), something else? <S> The answer will depend on the situation, and on what you're trying to accomplish -- for lots of these, the easiest solution is just to keep your writing to yourself around people who won't appreciate it. <S> You sound like you want to thread a really fine needle where you do tell people you're writing, but don't tell them what . <S> This isn't about phrasing, because honestly, people know what erotica is (or have very firm preconceptions about what erotica is...), and there isn't some magic phrasing that's going to make them go, "Ohhhh! <S> I'd normally be really dismissive of erotica writers, but this one is different !" <S> I may be misunderstanding your intention here -- maybe you want people to know what you write, and <S> you want to explain to them that it's worthy of respect. <S> Maybe you want to fight the stereotype and the preconceptions. <S> Maybe it's something entirely different -- you're, <S> I dunno, applying for a scholarship, and you want to show experience but also avoid a bad impression. <S> What you want to tell people depends on how you want the interaction to go, what you want them to know, how you'd like them to respond. <S> If you want to add more detail to the question, you might get more specific answers, but I hope that as a general principle this is helpful, particularly with the various examples the answers have offered :) Best of luck!

If you write erotica, call it erotica. If you wish to deal with specific categories of people who have specific keyword triggers, then you could work your way into a fancy description of your activity: "I write stories for adults only."

POV - 3rd Person Rules and Exceptions? I'm stuck on a POV question in a short story I'm writing. The entire story is written in 3rd Person, but not omniscient - I guess it's either "distant limited" or "deep" (I'm not sure exactly the difference and where my story lands, maybe someone can help). That said there are only 2-3 parts where I'm wondering if I need to cut for consistency, or is it ok? If it's ok, does that put it in "omniscient" or "occasional omniscient" if there is such a thing? Examples: There is a main character (but not the POV) who at one point says something like: "...some people called him a jerk, others called him an idiot; still others called stupid..." But the POV character wouldn't have heard that himself or have a way of knowing that. But I feel it's important to explain (and I can't show it because those events would never be in front of the POV character to observe it) - would I need to take that out to keep consistent? Or is it justified somehow and what would the POV then be? The main POV character is approaching a truck with two men in it. The windows are rolled up so the main character couldn't actually hear them. I had a couple of lines of dialogue for the men in the truck. Something like, "Who's that kid?" and the other replying "How would I know?" Again, since the POV character can't actually hear them, do I need to take that out, or if I leave it in, how is it justified? What kind of POV do I have then? In one scene, the parents of a boy are arguing in the kitchen. To keep within the POV, would only the conversation that the boy could actually hear be written? Currently, that's how I did it, but what if I wanted to include a scene here or there where maybe the parents say something out of earshot? I think in the whole story these are the only 2-3 places that may break from what the POV character can see and know. But can one sprinkle the odd POV position throughout a story or does that smack of amateurish writing? Thanks in advance for any clarification. <Q> You can have a scene break (usually two returns, to create white space) and move to the POV of other characters, like the men in the truck or two other characters discussing your main character. <S> It's actually better if you do this more than once <S> so it doesn't look like a mistake. <A> If you want a limited 3rd person narrator, then you need to accept the limitations that come with it. <S> Either find a way to convey (or let go of) the information in your examples, or change the type of narration. <S> In some cases, you might want chapters with alternate POV characters narrating. <S> This can happen in chapter headings too. <S> It's probably overkill for your story though, especially since it's a short story and won't even have chapters. <S> In your first example, either your character needs to accidentally overhear it (which can be done without the speaker knowing) or needs to hear it second or even third hand. <S> Or drop it. <S> The second example is easy. <S> Your main character can see the speakers. <S> It's easy for anyone to figure out <S> "Who's that boy?" <S> "I don't know" from body language. <S> But remember, kids have better hearing than adults (something my teen just shocked my spouse and I with... <S> she heard us speak softly 2 rooms away behind a closed door, and understood what we said). <S> It's entirely possible <S> the adults could be sure it was out of earshot <S> but it wasn't. <A> Your first example is not a straight-forward, out of the book example of breaking a POV. <S> Your character may as well suspect that other people have a bad opinion on him. <S> He might have overheard something, he might have deducted it from how people behave around him. <S> Of course, if it's an important plot point, it would be better to show people treating him like a jerk. <S> Jenn had the habit to slightly sneer each time he talked to her. <S> He entered the breakroom, joining a small group of colleagues. <S> As he approached them, their voices lowered down and vanished. <S> "What's up?" <S> he said. <S> An uneasy silence fell on the group, as they struggled to aknowledge his presence. <S> The same could be done if you need to convey the idea that other people think the POV character is stupid. <S> You could have secondary characters treating him mockingly, joking about it and so on. <S> The second example is indeed a breach of a POV. <S> If the viewpoint character can't possibly hear what the people in the truck are saying, the narrator shouldn't hear them too. <S> So, in my opinion, the real question is: why would you want to break consistency without a really good reason? <S> You can play with the PoV and add be unconsistent, but as a general rule is better to avoid that. <S> Short PoV-breaking sentences are to be avoided, unless they are clearly separated from the main text. <S> For example you could have short intros to each chapter written in another PoV. <S> Or you could write entire chapters in another PoV and style, showing events that the "main" narrator wouldn't possibly know. <S> But whatever device you choose to use, make sure it's justified. <S> Pov switches are tricky and shouldn't be used as shorthands. <S> Consider improving your existing narrator before switching to a new one.

You cannot randomly change POV in the middle of a paragraph just to get in that one critical snipe at your main character. For your third example, yes, only what the boy can hear is fair game.

Writing "hahaha" versus describing the laugh When posting an excerpt of my book on a critiquing site, someone commented on my use of "hahaha" inside the dialogue instead of just having a laughing verb after or before it. They said it took them out of the reading. Obviously, this is subjective, so rather I will ask this: Which alternative is the most popular and professional? Which do you see the most in writing? The answers to this question said to use speech tags. But I thought this was bad, and within the phenomenon called filtering . In another question , a user taught me about this, and I've tried to take it to heart. I thought the alternative was a separate line under, like this. -That's so funny! A thundering laugh rolled out of him. Instead of: -That's so funny, Mick laughed. The latter having filtering , in the way there's a "Mick laughed" in between the dialogue and the rest of the text. So, I thought the alternatives were "hahaha" and having this separate line under. The problem is, which someone once told me, having specification for the dialogue at a later time isn't good, because it often makes the reader have to go back. The person said this in relation to not including name tags after the dialogue, but I believe it applies to the way dialogue is uttered, as in if it is laughed or said normally. <Q> Dialogue quotes are for things a character actually says. <S> If your character says "hahaha" then fine. <S> But I've never heard anyone do that. <S> You might get a single "ha!" <S> but that's an exclamation not a laugh. <S> Or someone might say "ha ha" (or even "ha ha ha") sarcastically. <S> Again, not a laugh. <S> If you want to tell your readers that your character laughed then, <S> yeah, you need to just say so. <S> Stylistically, many people recommend against using tags that aren't your basic "said" or "asked" <S> but you can get away with a few. <S> "It's... <S> I can't even explain it," Griselda laughed. <S> Or you can describe the action directly. <S> Griselda laughed. <S> "That's... <S> just wow." <S> Using the phrase "hahaha" to indicate that someone is laughing is perfectly legitimate in texts, emails, and other informal settings. <S> Don't use it in your writing. <A> +1 to Cyn, much my answer; use a tag. <S> I can add, I use a single "Ha!" <S> a handful of times in a book. <S> You can also describe the laugh in more detail; Griselda laughed, and covered her mouth as she did for a few seconds. <S> " <S> Oh my god!" <S> I would increase the visual of that, there must be twenty kinds of laughing. <S> To me this goes for all verbal sound effects; I find it off-putting in novels when an author tries to simulate the sound of screams, moaning (in pleasure or pain), singing, grunting, or inarticulate anger. <S> Use tags, or just say "Mike grunted. <S> " Or describe them, use a metaphor, or an adjective. <A> You want to immerse your reader in the story hence writing "hahaha" does not give a vivid definition of how the character felt whilst laughing. <S> People read stories to get lost in the moment and feel like they are actually there ,so its the job of the writer to make it so. <S> *micheal burst out in fits of laughter clutching onto the chair for support. <S> "That <S> ..was.. <S> so..funny " <S> he said between laughs. <S> * <S> this gives the reader a vivid picture of the story as compared to a simple "hahaha"(which can also be interpreted as sarcasm). <A> I don't see anything wrong in using hahaha as long as it's surrounded with a quote. <S> I mean, I believe a character's style of laughter can be represented by a quoted word like "hahaha" or even "buhahaha". <S> The key pointer here is to surround it by quotes so that the reader knows what's going on. <A> I don't think 'she laughed' is filtering, and I can't imagine a situation in which it would be. <S> If you read widely you'll see that tagging with 'she laughed' is occasionally fine. <S> It's when too many book-isms stray into the tags that it's annoying. <S> But, having said that it's not a filter, it's still hard for me to imagine someone speaking in a laugh. <S> I'd use the laughter as an action tag, not a dialog tag. <S> This is the difference between: "I can't believe you just said that," she laughed. <S> and She laughed. <S> "I can't believe you just said that. <S> (very trivial difference, <S> but I'd opt for the second.) <S> Filtering is when there's an extra (usually two-word) snippet between the viewpoint character and the experience. <S> She saw her captor approach. <S> vs. <S> Her captor approached. <S> Other filter words and explanation can be found here . <S> i don't think laughter is one of the filters, since it is not an action that leads to an experience, if that makes sense. <S> Laughter is the experience.

If the laughing comes during the dialogue, you can use a laughing tag.

Is there an online tool which supports shared writing? I want to write a short story (and maybe later a book) together with a colleague from work. Is there an online service which we can use to do this in a convenient way? Useful features would be (not all necessary): write at the same time and immediately see what the other one is changing see latest updates from the other writer highlighted manage tasks (maybe in a kanban board) manage timelines like upcoming deadlines <Q> It's got live updating <S> -- I don't think it tracks edits by author exactly, so you could agree on a convention -- like my students on one team devised a rule where each of them owned 2 colors. <S> (4 students, so like light blue and dark blue was one, red and pink was another, etc.) <S> Anything NEW they would do in one of their colors. <S> Any EDITS to others' work, they'd do in their edit-color. <S> (They copied original sentence to comments, in case people wanted to compare.) <S> They would comment each paragraph with "ok" if they had no changes. <S> Their teamleader would turn paragraphs BLACK if everyone had said "ok". <S> Since it's only 2 of you, that part could be simpler. <S> If you want to stay in Google things, you could fake a KanBan with Google Sheets, just name your columns, and each spreadsheet Cell becomes an Item, which you can move through the process. <S> And then Google Calendar of course also exists for deadlines or blocking out time to write. <S> But Trello is free to use and lets you link to Gdocs also, so that's probably a better Kanban/Deadline solution. <A> Only tool I can think of would be Google docs. <S> You can have multiple people writing in a document at the same time and see where their cursor is, there is no color coding on who's typing by default. <S> You can enter what's called "suggestion mode" where changes you add are not validated immediately but merely appear highlighted to your color, allowing the owner to accept or refuse the change. <S> For updates, it keeps track of any changes through the document, so any day you can view the history of the doc <S> and it will show you what was changed and by whom. <S> There is however no task or timeline managing that I can think of. <A> While a learning curve exists you can layout documents beautifully with it. <S> I come from an engineering background where special characters and formulas are needed on a regular basis. <S> Not for simultaneous work on one document, but maybe of interest for you <S> : should you get off the grid for some reason, you can use offline editors like TeXstudio to continue working on your files. <S> Once you get back online, you would still have to carefully merge stuff together, but there won't be many bad surprises in regards to formatting. <S> EDIT: I missed some of your points, sorry. <S> You can see where your colleague is working (there is a visible cursor) and who is logged in atm. <S> I do not recall any other highlighting, though. <S> You can leave comments within the text visible for everyone working on the document - this might offer you the task management functionality without overburdening you with yet another tool. <S> As for deadlines... I did not notice any tracking functionality in Overleaf. <S> I would personally use Gantt charts to organize myself, including milestones and the like. <S> But if you put the project files into some secure cloud storage or inside a git repository, it may suit your needs. <S> EDIT2: <S> As Eric Lino pointed out in the comments, there can only be two people working on the document if you are using the free version <S> (source: pricing list ). <A> Depending on your requirements, something more lightweight like <S> etherpad might fit your needs. <S> It offers basic formatting functionality like headings, bold and italic. <S> It's very customizable and if you host it yourself you don't have to give your data to any external company. <S> You can look here for a demo. <A> Depending what you mean by 'online', there's Gobby https://gobby.github.io/ <A> I want to mention Confluence Wiki ( https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence )as it supports editing the same Wiki page where you see the cursor of the other Editors as well what they are typing. <S> For less than 10 users the licence is 10$ single payment (which gets donated) - and can be setup on your own server. <S> You could create one Wiki page per chapter for example. <S> - <S> The structure (as on wikis in general) is your choice. <S> There is also a version history to see what changed from version x to y <A> With LaTeX it works like a charm, each of you can create his own branch and merge when he finishes a chapter/ paragraph. <S> Git will keep track automatically about who made which changes. <S> And with git diff every change will be highlighted for you.

This sounds like Google Docs, perhaps combined with Trello (for the Kanban board and calendar view), would do for you. GanttProject offers everything I need, only used it offline though. Depending on what you use for writing, you should consider git. Another alternative (if you are not afraid to use LaTeX) would be Overleaf . We used Overleaf within our team to work on several parts of our document simultaneously.

Can monster/beasts be in a psychological horror I am working on a psychological horror with an extra element. Monsters, and I don’t mean ghosts. My characters will face suspicions, distrust, paranoia and emotional disturbances. They will deal with these issues while trying to stop and survive these monsters in an empty city where no one (other than the main characters) will save them. My questions are: Can a story still be a psychological horror with physical monsters? What additional guidelines are needed to keep within the parameters of psychological horror? <Q> It's a difficult setting, but it could be done. <S> The point of psychological horror is showing emotional disturbances, psychologic disorders, and provoking a certain feeling of anxiety in the readers. <S> Monsters can be there, but they can't be your focus, or they must be clearly simbolic in nature. <S> For example, the film <S> Babadook <S> a monster scares the main characters for most of the movie, but in the end it's clear that the monster represents how difficult it is to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. <S> The golden rule is that conflict and fear must come from psychological sources . <S> So, while is fine adding a physical monster who represent those sources can be done, it's a little risky. <S> Having a physical, external and even supernatural menace can make your story look more like an action movie or another kind of horror. <S> For example, you could write a character struggling with depression, and portray depression like a looming creature that physically blocks that person on the bed. <S> It may be effective, but you risk shifting focus from the psychological stress to a physical, much more tangible menace . <S> Arguably, all the classic zombie movies leverage our modern fear of repetive, mind-numbing, consuming urban lifestyle. <S> Zombies could be seen as a metaphor of the modern workforce, shuffling step after step while rotting away. <S> Yet most zombie movies aren't played as psycological horrors, but survival ones (aside from being their own subgenre). <S> So, while your concept is viable, I'd be careful to put forward the psychological struggle of your character rather than shifting the focus on the monsters themselves. <S> Again, I believe it would be rather difficult, but that's my opinion. <A> I wrote a very long answer for a similar question: Monsters of psychological horror https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/42750/23253 "Psychology" in horror works to foil the possibility of "monsters" with a rational, non-paranormal explanation. <S> It's a competing theory used to prolong the story, and to keep characters wandering around an obviously haunted house long after they should have gotten the heck out of there. <S> When characters and reader have different information, it gives the story tension . <S> The character clings to a psychological explanation long after we know they are doomed, or a character keeps screaming about monsters but we haven't actually seen convincing evidence so we allow that the character may be unreliable . <S> Once you show the monster as a literal corporeal being with claws and fangs, psychology isn't an alternate possibility anymore. <S> As Liquid said, literal monsters that leave nothing to the imagination stop being horror genre and become something else, typically bullet fodder for action movies, and boyfriend material for dark fantasy. <A> For example, the classic "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" <S> could be entirely done with out the threat of UFOs and not lose any of the impact <S> (in fact, a 2002 remake was entirely plausible with a very timely threat). <S> One of my favorite episodes, "The Obsolete Man" has no scifi or fantasy elements attached to it, with the threat produced entirely by the fact that two different men are locked in a room with a bomb. <S> "The Eye of the Beholder" is a commentary on standards of beauty and specifically points out that the place where the story takes place is just as likely the real world as it is a place in the Twilight Zone. <S> The Monsters of "The Shelter" are very real threats to this day. <S> "The changing of the Guard" features a mysterious element, but the plot is a lesson about how one man's simple life still made a world of difference.

I would highly recommend you watch the Twilight Zone as a good number of the stories are Psychological.

How to find different meanings behind metaphors used in speech writing? I'm looking for ways to discover what others might think when they hear or see a metaphor used in a speech. I tend to think a certain way. I have certain prejudices. I think we all do. If I use a metaphor, I'm pretty certain that it will invoke the response I intended to that segment of the audience of like-minded individuals. What about other people? People who are not like-minded? How will they interpret the meaning behind the metaphor? I want to learn and understand how other people, "non like-minded people" might interpret that same metaphor. Are there some sort of exercises I can do? Is there a standard set of questions out there I can use to figure out the different interpretations other people might have towards the same metaphor? For example: I'm a 60 year old male. If I say " I am a roll of toilet paper on the inside third. " I know what 60+ year old people think about that metaphor. I'd like to understand what 20 somethings, or 30 somethings, or 40, and 50 somethings might think. Update I ordered a book two days ago called "Lead With A Story" by Paul Smith and it came in the mail today. Chapter 24 is titled Metaphors and analogies . How ironical is that. Smith tells about using what is called the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET). Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique I also found some very interesting resources: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/metaphor-speech-examples/ https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/staff/eiaes/Pragglejaz_Group_2007.pdf http://www.mt-archive.info/CLRU-1959-Wordley-1.pdf <Q> Hi Gunny <S> and it's nice to meet you. <S> Standard exercises--I'd suggest a couple. <S> Join a writing group that shares excerpts. <S> Share your excerpts. <S> Find a list (or other resource) of metaphors such as those linked to here . <S> Read a metaphor, decide what you think it means, and then read the explanation of each metaphor. <S> But, as Cyn mentions in comments, every word you write can be interpreted by the person reading it. <S> Your writing exists first in your thoughts, then on paper, then in the reader's thoughts. <S> What you put on the paper will not perfectly represent your thoughts, and what a reader thinks upon reading your piece will likewise be different again. <S> Also, over time, if you put your mind to it and listen to (or read) <S> a range of language <S> , your verbal range will expand and you'll start to pick up on how your words might come across. <S> So I guess the third exercise is to write a lot, and pay attention to language and writing wherever you go, asking yourself how people are using words. <A> "I am a roll of toilet paper on the inside third." <S> I honestly have no idea what this means. <S> If it was in context, I would hazard to make a guess. <S> If it was still cryptic in context, I would probably assume it is a colloquialism , some sort of military jargon, or an inside joke. <S> As a reader, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. <S> I would probably expect this character (narrator?) to throw more of these wacky, semi-incomprehensible descriptions at me. <S> If it happens 3 times it's a deliberate effect. <S> I may not be sure of the exact effect it is suppose to have, but I know it has intent . <S> 1 wacky metaphor and <S> I may stumble over it. <S> 2nd wacky metaphor, I will note if it is the voice of a single character or the voice of the author . <S> The power of 3 means that I will probably accept it the third time – maybe find satisfaction in recognizing it as a pattern even if it still evokes no personal meaning. <S> If this is intended as a metaphor that somehow illuminates a narrative moment or a character turn, I might suggest using a less opaque phrase. <S> Then again, if you can guide me to the realization where I can translate this odd phrase into an "ah-hah!" <S> moment in the story, that would probably win me over. <A> I wrote this before the poster indicated that this was a speech. <S> My advice still applies, it just needs to be on a shorter timeline. <S> I'd say your question applies to every word you commit to paper. <S> Nothing's special about metaphors. <S> Like what do people from different walks of life think about the fact that a story has unmarried people living together romantically? <S> What do they think about setting the story in Baja California, Mexico vs the south of France? <S> What about slang words in the dialogue? <S> Or accents. <S> Or a million other things. <S> I don't think there's any answer aside from "ask them. <S> " This is true for any metaphor but also for other things. <S> Your best bet is to write what you want, how you want it, then show it to trusted people as you go. <S> See what lands wrong. <S> Then, when it's done, get beta readers and make sure you get a variety of ages, if age is your main concern. <S> Metaphors are easy to change, if you find that one is confusing your readers. <S> Unlike changing a setting or character setup. <S> And if the particular metaphor happens to be important to the plot or theme, then you'll explain it throughly in the text. <S> See what your pre-publication readers have to say. <S> If they flag things, send those out to other people for comment. <S> If you don't have friends that aren't your age, ask them to ask their kids and grandkids. <S> But don't worry about people not getting certain things, as long as they aren't central to your story. <S> Young people tend to assume anything that an older person says that they don't understand is just due to old age <S> and they politely let it pass (then make fun of it on social media, but that's besides the point). <S> A few odd sayings won't turn off readers. <S> They'll care more about your story and how you tell it.

Write what you want, show it to people you trust, revise, then show (or read) it to a more diverse group of listeners, especially those similar to your expected audience. You can ask for feedback specifically on your metaphors, if you like, asking what the group thought.

What kind of metaphor is "trees in the wind"? What kind of metaphor is "trees in the wind"? I saw God in the Forest Teachin' Tai Chi To the trees in the wind Bowing to the sea Excerpt from http://www.bensollee.com/panning-for-gold What I find odd is that the reference is "trees in the wind" and not just a word and the referee is not obvious, because it doesn't seem to be comparing it to anything and the intended can be just "trees moving with the wind" instead of "tree in the wind" as if the trees are flying in the wind. What's the intended effect and what kind of metaphor is this if it indeed is a metaphor? I am talking about "trees in the wind" specifically and not "teachin' Tai Chi to the trees in the wind". <Q> It's Personification . <S> While it is a type of metaphor, this is called personification . <S> The intent here is simply to describe the random movement of the tree branches with a sense of purpose. <S> Although "God" is mentioned as the teacher, the poem is not describing something holy or religious, rather the slow, intentional martial arts motions of Tai Chi. <S> From the link: Personification is not merely a decorative device, but serves the purpose of giving deeper meanings to literary texts. <S> It adds vividness to expressions, as we always look at the world from a human perspective. <S> Writers and poets rely on personification to bring inanimate things to life, so that their nature and actions are understood in a better way. <S> Because it is easier for us to relate to something that is human, or which possesses human traits... <S> "Trees in the wind" specifically is not a metaphor, it's just a figure of speech or an idiom . <A> The imagery is the trees of the forest moving in unison like we see a group of people in the park move in unison when being led in a Tai Chi class. <S> God is the instructor leading the trees. <A> Actually you need to look at that phrase in the context of the whole poem. <S> From God's repeated statement that He has forgotten where he put things it becomes clear that God has lost His people and forgotten who they are. <S> Instead of to men, He is speaking to nature. <S> So the trees aren't a metaphor, but in fact they are just trees. <S> They bow to the sea in the same way that men used to bow to God, but the trees just bow before the wind, without any meaning or intent.

More explicitly stated, the metaphor is that the trees move to and fro in the wind because God (using the wind) is teaching them Tai Chi.

What is the most important characteristic of New Weird as a genre? Recently I've stumbled across China Miéville's novels. Apparently, they fit in a genre called Weird Fiction , or to be even more specific New Weird , where the "new" is used to distinguish new writers from literary sources as Lovecraft. Yet, in my opinion, a book like Perdido Street Station could be defined as a crossbreed between fantasy and steampunk. In short, I'm having trouble understanding what the "New Weird" as a genre entails. On the Wikipedia page a bunch of definitions can be found: ... according to Jeff VanderMeer and Ann VanderMeer, in their introduction to the anthology The New Weird, the genre is " a type of urban, secondary-world fiction that subverts the romanticized ideas about place found in traditional fantasy, largely by choosing realistic, complex real-world models as the jumping-off point for creation of settings that may combine elements of both science fiction and fantasy " However, Robin Anne Reid notes that while the definition of the new weird is disputed, "a general consensus uses the term" to describe fictions that "subvert cliches of the fantastic in order to put them to discomfiting, rather than consoling ends". 1 Reid also notes the genre tends to break down the barriers between fantasy, science fiction and supernatural horror. And then again, from a more historic point of view: Part of this genre's roots derive from pulp horror authors, whose stories were sometimes described as "weird fiction". My point here being that there is no specific consensus about this. So, a new author wanting to write a Weird Fiction novel will either find himself expanding the definition, or missing it completely. After all, other genres can be seen as a breaking of barriers between fantasy and science-fiction (as steampunk, maybe) or fantasy and horror (dark fantasy or grimdark). So, what would be the most important characteristic, the one that you absolutely cannot miss, when writing New Weird? <Q> Genre should be seen largely as a way of connecting a writer with the audience most likely to enjoy his or her book based on elements shared with other books . <S> It isn't an exact science, and for this, a hybrid subgenre, you'll be looking for a signature combination of traits, rather than a single defining one. <S> I'm not previously familiar with the label "New Weird," but it seems quite clear, and I can readily identify work I've encountered that would arguably fall in that (non-exclusive) category ( Dreams of Shreds and Tatters , House of Leaves , Coyote Kings of the Space Aged Bachelor Pad , Sandman , Black Mirror , Kafka on the Shore ) <S> *. <S> It needs to feel fresh and new , not old and musty. <S> It needs to have supernatural or science fiction elements, but it needs to combine those with a semi-realist setting, not a wholly fantastic one --even if set in an invented setting, it needs to give the sense of strange things intruding into the real world in which we live, rather than presenting an escapist fantasy. <S> Finally, it needs a mood that is dark , eerie, disturbing, cautionary or horrific, not one that is twee, playful, childlike, mythic, wish-fulfilling or reassuring. <S> * Note, I'm not much for horror, so <S> my examples are probably on the lighter end of this spectrum. <A> If 'new weird' is a reference to the Weird Tales of the likes of HP Lovecraft and other writings in the Cthulhu Mythos, I would imagine the primary trait of New Weird would be application of the fantastical in a way that implies it's incomprehensible, malevolent, unknowable and dangerous, rather than empowering, whimsical, et cetera . <A> I believe your first two definitions are essentially in agreement. <S> The most important characteristic of the "New Weird" is a fantasy story set in a fantasy world, where traditional fantasy tropes and ideas are subverted and replaced with something less neat and tidy and more complicated and unsettling. <S> This new weird approach to fantasy might also be used for things that aren't fantasy, like sci-fi -- <S> the genre is certainly a loosely defined one. <S> This is expressed by these specific parts of the definitions <S> you give:"subverts <S> the romanticized ideas about place found in traditional fantasy, largely by choosing realistic, complex real-world models as the jumping-off point""subvert cliches of the fantastic in order to put them to discomfiting, rather than consoling ends" <S> Here's another supporting quote: "

If I had to redefine it, I'd call it Contemporary magical realism, but with a horror-influenced sensibility. New Weird exists to overturn cliches and twist the traditional."

How to write a vulnerable moment without it seeming cliche or mushy? So, I have a kinda loudmouthed character who's always the first to fight and first to go on the offensive (This is a fantasy, so she fights a lot.) But, later in the story, she comes across someone she truly fears, and finds that she must fight that person in order to free the townspeople of an oppressive ruler. Thing is, I want her to have a moment when she's weeping on her bed, and the MC/her love interest comes to comfort her. Then again, I don't want (insert group here) screaming in criticism and tearing that scene apart. My question is: How do I show her vulnerability, and have a comforting moment, and tease the romance, without being overly cliche or overboard? <Q> It's called ' me centered narration .' <S> what she wants everyone to think about her, in this case the opposite attribute of what she is actually feeling. <S> He came into my room and I quickly wiped my eyes, before he could see my tears. <S> I refused to show any vulnerability, I was nothing like the girls in town, who constantly needed help for the least little thing. <S> That wasn't me. <S> "What's wrong" he asked gently. <S> "Nothing. <S> " I busied myself about the room, not looking at him, afraid that doing so would lead me to another melt down. <S> Where had that come from? <S> I wasn't a frail little girl who needed saving. <S> I'd saved myself long ago--knew plenty well how to stay ahead of trouble. <S> ... <S> etc... <S> " <S> All right," he said at last, "I'm glad you're okay." <S> He made to leave, and I said, "No, wait." <S> Of course if you did something like this it'd be in your style, which this isn't. <S> I think what it might do for your case is to keep the screaming hordes from saying your girl character is acting out of character. <S> Instead, the scene serves to deepen her character and show that she has inner conflict. <A> Switch the bravery. <S> As always, create a conflict between them. <S> First draft of a long example: <S> Marcie heard something, a gasp, and moved to the back of the house. <S> She heard it again, from Lexi's room, and moved to the door. <S> Crying. <S> Muffled crying. <S> It sounded like Lexi. <S> Was she crying? <S> She thought she should walk away, respect her privacy, but the thought of Lexi actually crying was too much. <S> She opened the door and walked in. <S> Lexi jumped, wiping her eyes. <S> " <S> Get out. <S> Get out of here!" <S> "You're crying. <S> What happened?" <S> Lexi wouldn't meet her eyes, she turned her head to the side. <S> "Nothing." <S> "No, something. <S> " <S> Marcie took a slow step toward her. <S> Lexi stood and faced her, eyes red, then strode to meet her. <S> She raised her voice. <S> "I said, get out!" <S> Her fists were clenched. <S> She was angry. <S> Marcie felt herself flush, she almost turned and ran, but stood her ground. <S> Her knees felt weak. <S> Her voice trembled. <S> "I won't. <S> You don't cry. <S> So something's really wrong, Lexi. <S> Tell me what's wrong." <S> Lexi's expression changed, from anger to ... is it sorrow? <S> "I'm sorry," Lexi said. <S> "I shouldn't scare you." <S> She turned back and sat on the bed, then fell face first into the pillow. <S> She didn't say anything else. <S> Marcie hesitated, then moved to sit on the bed beside her, and put her hand on Lexi's shoulder, which made Lexi twitch. <S> "Tell me." <S> Lexi's voice was muffled through the pillow. <S> "I'm afraid. <S> I have to fight Petrovski, and I think he might kill me." <S> Petrovski. <S> Holy shit. <S> " <S> Wow. <S> That's a really good reason. <S> " <S> Marcie was silent, thinking. <S> Lexi sat up, and looked at her, half amused. <S> "You think so?" <S> Marcie's hand had fallen to her lap. " <S> Well. <S> I would cry." <S> Lexi sniffed. <S> "You cry if you spill coffee on yourself." <S> "Coffee stains, and that was my favorite dress!" <S> Lexi nodded, and leaned left to gently bump into Marcie, then looked away toward the window. <S> "I know. <S> What do you do when you're afraid?" <S> Then, however her love interest comforts her, proceed. <A> I think it depends on the build up whether it seems fake. <S> The character shouldn't just jump to tears. <S> They should go through the whole grief cycle. <S> This should happen even maybe in the span of a single conversation to show how upset she is. <S> She should seem put off but hopeful she can change it or something isn't real. <S> Then she should be stand offish but depressed as she comes to understand something isn't working out or isn't changing. <S> Then she should be angry at the world or something in particular, potentially irrationally angry even at the person that eventually comforts her. <S> How could he understand what she is going through?! <S> Then finally she should break and the tears should flow. <S> As the tears flow, despite being attacked, he pulls her close to his chest. <S> He may not understand what she is angry about, but he understands her . <S> Have some build up showing this is brewing a bit before it suddenly unravels, or do each stage longer and over several days. <S> Just depends on how you want this scene to exactly play out. <A> I always search for words that would convey or express the characters emotion when the character is in an emotional state. <S> and for sad, I would use despondent EX: <S> She was in a despondent state causing a few tears to slip from her eyes," or something like that. <A> Put emotion into it, but don't do it the way so many people (I mean the mushy ones) do. <S> Learn what they do and avoid it.

For example, if I have a sad, crying character but I don't want the typical "sad, crying" character to be depicted, then I search for words such as: sad, crying and I look at the synonyms to those words- Essentially, you have the character express at length in narrative (protest too much) There is a trick for this in The Emotional Craft of Fiction. For this scene, her love interest is the brave one.

In one book can one narrator be in present and the other in past? I'm currently planning a book series that is told from the first person perspective of 5 different characters. I have a different voice for all of the characters, but I think that 2 of the characters should narrate in the present tense and the others in the past tense. Is that acceptable or is it too jarring for the reader? The only reason I want to do this is that these two characters are really fast-paced, in the moment kind of characters. Thanks for any input you have. <Q> A writer can do nearly anything , but it must be clear to the reader what the writer is doing. <S> For instance, if you have a minor-character narrator in the past: There are strange happenings today up at the Collins Mansion. <S> Darkness has just fallen, and people are now scurrying about, lighting candles, and preparing for a party. <S> Still, I can not be at ease with this, and am writing these words so that, should some evil befall me, some benefit may come from my observance. <S> For the "today" narrator: <S> I was going through granddad's desk <S> and I found a thick, sealed envelope addressed to no one, but from someone named Cyrus. <S> Granddad mentioned Cyrus to me just once, the Halloween we were talking about ghosts and demons. <S> He said he'd always thought there was something odd about Cyrus. <S> So, I opened the envelope and found many pages of writing in a very tight hand with what looks like fading iron gall ink. <S> What I read makes sense. <S> The old Collins place remains a dark cloud over this town, but unlike the weather no one discusses it. <S> This structure has made some time travel stories real. <S> I don't know of some framework like this works for your story, but you have the power to make it fit without a crack or witness mark. <A> It would be inconsistent, but weird style/tone shifts have been done before, and not always to the detriment of the style. <S> My example is the Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood, where the perspective goes from first person to third person, then back to first. <S> The reasoning is the main character starts off thinking she knows herself, then gets a rude awakening about her planned 'perfect' life and detaches from herself, up to and including having a dissatisfying affair, before finally finding herself again. <A> I think it's a mistake. <S> You certainly can do it and probably get away with it. <S> But why make a tonal shift so severe if there's no real reason for it? <S> Even though these are different characters, presumably interacting with each other, your reader will assume you're indicating different timelines with the tense switches (or the reader won't notice consciously but will just feel that something is "off"). <S> You can write fast-paced action in either present or past tense. <S> If this is your only reason for choosing to switch some of the narration, just practice writing past tense action. <S> If it still doesn't work, consider switching the entire book to present tense <S> (though really only do it if it works better overall, as present tense isn't used often for good reason). <A> I've also seen characters tell past narratives in the past tense in a story otherwise told present tense as it unfolds. <S> So if you characters are relating events that happened earlier chronologically than the setting of the story, i.e. all your characters are sitting in a pub telling each other how they got there or similar, then you can mix and match the tenses they tell their individual stories in without it being too jarring as long as the speaker is clearly identified at any and all change over points between narratives.

It depends on the tense(s) of the five stories in relation to each other and the overall setting, I've seen narratives set in the past in the present tense when telling it in the first person after the fact, and it's quite effective.

When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot? When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot? I am writing an application for iPhone and I have some error prompt in my application like "Your password must be 8 character long with alphanumeric characters!" However, I am not completely sold on the idea of putting an exclamation mark (!) on error prompt. Are there situation where it might be warranted, and what about just replacing exclamation marks with dots? Is there a sort of standard among programmers? <Q> In a technical manual or documentation or anything similar, you wouldn't put emotion into the text. <S> The only reasons to use an exclamation point are to convey strong emotion or a serious warning. <S> "Your password doesn't meet the criteria" isn't a dangerous situation. <S> There's no need to use anything but a straightforward and calm voice. <S> Just like you would if you were sitting next to someone in person trying to help them set up their app. <S> I would only use a exclamation point in an error message if there was something very important going on. <S> Either an outright safety issue or the user was about to delete all their data. <S> Unless you're writing an app that's supposed to sound like a person and be all folksy (and please just don't), you wouldn't speak like a person does, with emotion. <S> The primary purpose of punctuation in messages from an app is readability. <S> Use a period. <S> A period tells the user that your message is now over. <S> Ellipses imply there is more to come, which isn't the case here. <A> No , you don't need an exclamation mark. <S> Particularly in English. <S> Nor ellipsis (...) or anything special. <S> It's a simple statement in every sense. <S> In fact, if it's displayed in a standalone box, you could even omit any stop rather than put something unnecessarily flamboyant!!! <S> Warning! <S> This is an example where it might be warranted, but a colon (:) is still better. <A> Don't make your program make a mountain out of a molehill <S> If I see a program show an error message with an exclamation mark at the end, I am either going to assume that something is seriously wrong, or start doubting the honesty of the message. <S> Ordinary "user did something the program doesn't handle" errors, like the one you are asking about, do not qualify in this category, nor do error messages generated from transient or temporary external conditions. <S> Even an error message that's indicative of the programmer having made a boneheaded mistake probably doesn't qualify for an exclamation point; the program-killing results of a bonehead exception are emphasis enough. <S> So, when is using the exclamation point the correct route to take? <S> If your application is returning an error that needs imminent user action to avoid serious consequences (such as data loss, or worse), then my first course of action would be to design the issue out. <S> However, if that's not possible, then such a heavily emphasized error may be appropriate, in conjunction with the strongest iconography that the system provides. <S> Another case where I would end an error message with an exclamation point is in programmer-facing errors where your code has been placed into a truly impossible situation by something that's beyond a normal mistake, but reflects a failure of a fundamental assumption about the world your program is living in. <A> I use the blithering idiot test. <S> Only end an error message with an exclamation mark if the punctuation mark could reasonably be replaced with the phrase "you blithering idiot!" <S> For example, "this will turn off the life support systems and kill everyone you blithering idiot! <S> Do you wish to continue? <S> " Or "You have entered the wrong password fifteen times in the last ten minutes!" <S> and so it should only be used in extreme cases. <S> It's ok to use an exclamation mark icon for errors though (c.f. Microsoft Windows). <A> I've been a professional programmer for 40 years, I've written everything from operating systems to business app code to games, and I never use an exclamation point in business or OS code. <S> Ever. <S> Nor ellipsis, why would an error or warning message trail off? <S> Or express any emotion? <S> I use periods, just in case multiple messages are emitted; so they won't run together and be confusing. <S> The only time emotion is appropriate is if the "error" is being delivered by a character or automated narrator within a game as "speech", <S> e.g. "You have no troops in Seattle, General!"

As an end user, an error message with an exclamation mark feels insulting

I have a dialogue that I can't write directly. What would be a good alternative? My attempt at the current writing challenge features a flock of sparrows. Since the actual "dialogue" between two sparrows would sound like a bunch of cheeping, I need another way to show what they're saying. Here are the options I've considered so far: Normal quotation marks. (Example: "This crumb is MINE.") This feels like the weakest option - the sparrows aren't speaking English. Normally I could add "she replied in (language)", but the sparrows don't have an official language, and it doesn't feel right to give them one. Showing the effect on the character. (Example: Raider was having none of it. The crumb was HERS, she insisted.) Sounds a little flat. Italics. (Example: This crumb is MINE. ) I think this is my strongest option, but also might make the sparrows sound telepathic. Are there any other options? <Q> Tell your audience that the sparrows are cheeping and use italics for the translation. <S> This is a technique that I've seen in a few books for communication that isn't verbal/audible the italics carries the meaning <S> but it's stated beforehand that the character isn't hearing the dialogue, often used for for mortals "conversing" with greater entities. <A> If the sparrows aren't sentient or human-like (such as the animals in Aesop's fables) but normal animals, then I think it would be more appropriate to go with option #2. <S> Describe the scene in detail : how would two sparrows fight over a breadcrumb? <S> Would they peck each other, squawk, flap their wings to intimidate each other? <S> If you find the right words and pacing, it will be tense and engaging, not "flat". <S> In general, you can give the animals human mannerisms , without having them speak, and convey intention entirely through body language. <S> This works best in a comedic setting. <S> Look at Shaun the Sheep to see what I mean. <S> For example, in this particular scene, while humans would raise their fists to fight over a woman, birds could "menacingly stretch their wings, and circle each other, fueled by their desire for that delicious, beautiful, pure breadcrumb". <S> Humans may hit someone with a pool cue, a sparrow would use a twig. <A> How do you know what the sparrows are thinking? <S> I mean that sincerely. <S> If you're watching them, you attribute dialogue to them because they're obviously communicating things to each other. <S> They just don't use speech or other formal language. <S> You know what they're "saying" because their body language and interactions with each other and objects around them makes it clear to any observer. <S> As well as clear to the other sparrows. <S> Perhaps your solution isn't in the description, but in the narration. <S> If you were telling this story to a friend, you'd add in the dialogue in a way where no one would think the birds spoke in words. <S> The brown sparrow was eating his bread crumb when the gray one plopped right between his and his food and told him "mine!" <S> She glared at him until he backed away <S> then she began to eat the bread. <S> He snuck towards her, trying to grab a small bit that had fallen off, but she cheeped "back off dude!" until he gave up and flew away. <S> So allow your narrator some poetic license. <S> If a human observer can tell what the sparrows are thinking, express those interpretations through your narrator. <A> I post this answer about once per month: Jane Austen invented a style where the thoughts of any character are suddenly stated as fact through the 3rd-person narrator. <S> Free Indirect Speech <S> What distinguishes free indirect speech from normal indirect speech is the lack of an introductory expression such as "He said" or "he thought". <S> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_indirect_speech <S> Just write the dialog, without quotation marks and without "she chirped". <S> It looks like #3 but without the italics. <S> I agree #3 is the strongest of the examples, but the italics do seem like telepathy or a translation from bird-language. <A> When we write about medieval fantasy, the narrator is always translating ancient languages to English for the reader. <S> It is understood, whether you are writing for Hobbits or writing for sparrows or writing for medieval humans, that you are translating their communications system into modern English for the reader. <S> Actual medieval speech as spoken would be unintelligible to us; even the writing from two hundred years ago is difficult to read.

Just use English, in quotes, like any dialogue.

How can I make some of my chapters "come to life"? In my current WIP, I re-read through some of my chapters, and they seem completely dry and dull. I need to add some oomph to it- it seems my descriptions, and just plain storytelling (in some of my chapters) are mundane. What should I do to give it some excitement to keep the readers engaged? <Q> One possibility is perhaps you weren't particularly engaged while writing this . <S> Maybe it was a scene you just slogged through because you needed it. <S> If you aren't personally interested, it's difficult --not impossible, but difficult --to make it interesting for the reader. <S> Here's some good advice from author Rachel Aaron: <S> Every day, while I was writing out my little description of what I was going to write for the knowledge component of the triangle, I would play the scene through in my mind and try to get excited about it. <S> I'd look for all the cool little hooks, the parts that interested me most, and focus on those since they were obviously what made the scene cool. <S> [emphasis added] http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html <S> Conversely, if you are excited by a part of the story --or were, when you wrote it <S> --but it still reads poorly, then not enough of what makes this interesting is making it onto the page . <S> You might need to flesh out your back story, make your descriptions more vivid or more full, or put more of the character and narrator's attitudes and outlooks into the writing. <S> I used to think problems like this were plot or dialogue issues, but they're more likely to be issues of immersion <S> --you haven't done the work to put your reader inside your settings, and inside your characters' hearts and minds. <S> Finally, sometimes a section just needs to be cut entirely . <S> To quote Aaron again, I decided then and there that, no matter how useful a scene might be for my plot, boring scenes had no place in my novels. <S> Many books would be greatly improved with some ruthless editing. <A> A protagonist and antagonist in every scene. <S> A goal in every scene, and something that stands in the way of the goal. <S> To increase tension ('life') present the protagonist and antagonist as equally opposed with opposing forces. <S> The protagonist wants to make it to the fae castle; the antagonist wants to keep the protagonist as a slave. <S> The protagonist wants to summit Everest, the antagonist (nature) is a formidable opponent. <S> A goal in every scene, an antagonist in every scene. <S> Kill the scenes that you don't need. <S> Review the scene-sequel model of storytelling. <A> You can find some good tips and techniques for tackling description here and here . <S> These questions have several good answers. <S> You may want to make sure you are adding plenty of conflict throughout your chapters. <S> If your writing seems dull or boring, this might perk it up. <S> Give your characters some resistance or challenges to overcome. <S> It doesn't have to be earth shattering. <S> Some fiesty dialogue or uncomfortable decision making might be enough, depending on where you are with your story. <S> (though on a much smaller scale than your main story arc or subplot arcs). <S> While scenes don't necessarily equal chapters, they should overlap with your chapters in a way that each chapter gets a bit of the exciting stuff. <S> And, like @ChrisSunami mentioned, sometimes you just can't make it work and have to get rid of it. <S> It can be devastating to undo something you've worked for hours or days on, but it only hurts for a minute. <S> After I've dumped something I couldn't force into the story, the rest begins to flow so much better.

Also remember most scenes should have their own arc, with rising and falling action, climax and resolution. If I couldn't find anything to get excited over, then I would change the scene , or get rid of it entirely. Put conflict in every scene.

Why am I getting a strange double quote (“) in Open Office instead of the ordinary one (")? Why am I getting a strange double quote (“) in Open Office instead of the ordinary one (")? Every time I type the double quote, I get the weird version instead of the ordinary one. How do I get the normal one instead when I type it? Is there a way to fix this unwanted behavior? <Q> I'd argue that quotation marks like “ ” are the ordinary ones, and quotation marks like " " are the strange ones. <S> :) <S> But if you prefer typewriter-style quotation marks, that's fine. <S> For a screenshot, see: <A> You need to go to Tools - Autocorrect - Autocorrect Options - Localised Options . <S> There you can pick the kind of double quotes and single quotes you like. <S> ( Source . <S> Note the source tries to do the exact opposite - get the curly quotation marks. <S> Shouldn't make a difference though.) <A> In English, the “ordinary” quotes are the “upper 66” quotes for opening and the “upper 99” quotes for ending a quotation. <S> In other languages, it's often “lower 66” for opening quotes, or «quotation marks» or »quotation marks« <S> (French and German). <S> The straight quotes are not correct in any language I know of; they have been invented for programmers. <S> (They are called 66 and 99 quotes because that's what they look like really magnified). <S> PS. <S> The question was: "Why am I getting a strange double quote". <S> That is answered: You are getting what you believe are strange characters because they are the correct characters.

According to the OpenOffice wiki , you can change this behavior by opening the AutoCorrect options, clicking the “Localized Options” tab, and un-checking the “Replace” option in the “Double quotes” section.

Should I explain the reasons for gaslighting? I have an ambiguous script situation, 2 co-protagonists begin gaslighting the MC. They each have ulterior motives which they don't say. The reader is intended to infer the lies through contradictory statements, and the abrupt character change. The shift is so extreme it calls into question everything that has come before, and the MC is overwhelmed by the double-whammy. All 3 characters are on a negative arc. There's no reconciliation. It ends dark. To clarify gaslighting refers to the 2 characters independently lying to the MC to discourage or discredit her. In my story the Hero is gaslighting for sinister reasons (to cover up that he assaulted her), the Paragon is gaslighting to scare the MC so she will get away . The gaslighting dialog has enough truth mixed in to be plausible, in some cases explaining hanging mysteries, or adding a twist that changes them. This is the emotional climax that pushes everyone to their ending state. The Hero's downfall has been heavily foreshadowed, and the MC has been his foil and antagonist – it's why she is assaulted. I have a good idea how this plays out. They argue, and within this dialog the MC calls out his hidden agenda. Then we see the assault which he later gaslights about, so it's clear. But almost immediately comes the Paragon's gaslighting in reaction to this assault, and this motive is much harder to show the reader. The Paragon's gaslighting is basically victim-blaming , and the "twist" aspect suggests the Paragon has been expecting it since the beginning. It causes the MC to leave (it's important that she does). There's no apology, and they don't speak again. There is no "witness" character to observe, or a confidant to confess it to. I originally wrote the Paragon's scene as another confrontation, with the MC saying " You are gaslighting me, blah-blah-blah ", but that was too on the nose , too similar to the confrontation with the hero, and she can't be devastated if she also announces she can see through the ruse. So I removed the explanation. The Paragon is stoic with a few cracks to show inner-turmoil/regret, but mostly relying on the reader to recognize this is out-of-character – except, since I just made the hero assault the MC , the Paragon could be a cruel manipulator in a surprise grimdark ending. How do I show that the Paragon is "wounded" by this act of tough love? Or at least justify it as a strategic maneuver (in-character for the Paragon)? It's not important that the MC understands the motive at all. My concern is the reader. Should I explain the reasons for gaslighting? <Q> Forget necessary - don't pass up the opportunity for a moment of drama and poignance as you reveal the cracks in your stoic character's facade. <S> Because you have the scriptwriting tag, I'm less concerned about introducing an otherwise foreign POV, so put in just a touch of monologue wherever it might fit: <S> [MC]'s eyes filled with tears. <S> "You deserved this," [Paragon] repeated. <S> "You'd been asking for it all along. <S> Did you expect my sympathy?" <S> [MC] shook her head disbelievingly, then turned and stumbled away. <S> [Paragon] murmured softly, "That's right, run away. <S> And don't ever come back. <S> Because anywhere will be better for you than here with us." <S> Still a bit heavy-handed, but that general technique ought to fit your described constraints. <A> Make each of the three, full well-rounded characters who have multiple interactions with not just each other but other people. <S> And with distinct and believable personalities. <S> Show how the two treat the woman and how it changes over time. <S> There can be a tipping point, but the realization shouldn't be sudden. <S> Let the reader ponder about motivations. <S> Maybe even argue them in groups dedicated to your book (we should all be so lucky). <S> The basic motivations are there but the full understanding should take some work. <S> But astute readers will know how to name the behaviors. <S> Assuming that the Paragon is actually gaslighting vs victim blaming...both actions are lies but they aren't the same thing by a longshot. <S> Telling someone she caused or deserved what happened may be a lie designed to manipulate her into action, but actual gaslighting isn't just about psychology, it's about making the victim doubt her (or his) grasp on reality. <S> For example, in one popular book/movie, a man gaslights his alcoholic wife. <S> She drinks enough that she has periods she doesn't remember, or at least was woozy enough that she can believe there was a time gap from the night before. <S> He fills in the gaps for her. <S> A (merely) emotionally destructive man would tell her she embarrassed him and herself. <S> That nobody likes being around her. <S> That she shouldn't go to the next outing, that no one wants her there. <S> A gaslighter, as this man is, tells stories of how she yelled at the host and flung plates of food at the walls in front of dozens of horrified guests. <S> Things that never happened, not even in a lesser way. <S> It makes her doubt every memory she's ever had, because she can never seem to remember when she's been violent, and her own sanity. <S> So, no, don't explain the reasons for the gaslighting. <S> Make them available to an invested reader. <A> I believe you have to explain it, somehow. <S> There is nothing worse than an unexplained major action that determines the outcome of the story, especially when the outcome is sad. <S> It seems arbitrary and fickle. <S> And no, you can't rely on the audience to be thinking and rationally analyzing clues. <S> You have to slap them in the face with dialogue, or (better) give them a visceral moment of realization. <S> Such a moment can be just insight into the character-trait driving the gaslighting. <S> This doesn't have to be dialogue, it can be body language or the character looking at a picture, or making an indirect comment to another character. <S> For example, your "Paragon" can "crack" and feel terrible or shed a tear at the MC's despair as she gives up. <S> A colleague of the Paragon (or smartest person in the room) sees her and says, sotto voce, "You're saving her life. <S> Hang on to that. <S> " <S> The Paragon wipes her eyes and responds, "I don't know what you're talking about." <S> Colleague nods. <S> The Hero, an opposite reaction. <S> The MC is forced to leave, when he gets that information, he says "Aw. <S> That's terrible. <S> " Then when unwatched, smirks and whispers, "Stupid bitch." <S> You don't need much, but IMO nothing is not an option.

Your goal is for the reader to gradually figure out what is going on. This and other stories like it are designed to make her not trust herself when she drinks (because she might harm someone) and to destroy any potential support she may have. I'd avoid ever using the term "gaslighting."

Does every chapter have to "blow the reader away" so to speak? I amended some of my chapters so that they're more intriguing and engaging for my readers. But there's one particular chapter in which one of my beta-readers stated, "It's intriguing, but it doesn't blow me away like the first two chapters did," <Q> No, not every chapter needs to blow the reader away, and you shouldn't be trying to. <S> There are multiple reasons that this isn't something you should try to do. <S> Also, this probably isn't really the issue with that chapter. <S> Why you don't want to do this <S> First of all, you can't. <S> Trying to blow the reader away with every chapter, page, and paragraph you write will lead to you chasing perfection and never thinking your work is done. <S> No one can write like that and believing that you need to will harm your work. <S> Second, it is exhausting to read a book that is written like that. <S> If every chapter presents some new exciting twist or development you don't give the reader (or your characters) a chance to process things. <S> Finally, it will make your work seem one-paced. <S> Sure it might make your book a page turner, edge of your seat epic. <S> But it is far more likely to make it feel frantic and rushed. <S> Think of the books you love, not every chapter is absolutely gripping. <S> The tension of the book waxes and wanes as the author builds toward mini-climaxes then relaxes again. <S> Why that probably isn't your issue <S> Most books start with a "blow you away" opening chapter or two. <S> That's writing 101, get their attention right from the start. <S> You beta-readers are probably indicating that the transition or drop off from your introduction is too stark. <S> Something about that third chapter was a letdown. <S> You should get more feedback and push for details about what felt wrong about it. <S> I am imagining a situation where you had a great idea for a book opening <S> and then your third chapter is the start of your narrative proper. <S> Rather than worrying about blowing the reader away, look at why the third chapter doesn't follow the expectations you have given the reader based on the first two. <S> You may need to adjust your opening to fit better with your overall narrative. <A> Your beta reader feels the chapter isn't pulling its weight. <S> It's not about being blown away, it's about a chapter having a purpose and engaging the reader. <S> Because your reader has put it in these terms, my guess is that the other chapters also didn't really engage as part of a larger story. <S> They had elements that the reader enjoyed a lot but didn't connect to the rest. <S> Perhaps the first two chapters connected to the others <S> but this last one doesn't. <S> Or maybe it's a sign that your novel is all flash. <S> Either way, something isn't working. <S> It would be nice if your reader could tell you exactly what the problem is, but <S> s/ <S> he may not consciously know. <S> "It's intriguing, but it doesn't blow me away" means it has potential <S> but it's somehow not fitting in. <S> What you want is your reader to be blown away by the novel as a whole. <S> The chapters work with each other towards this goal. <S> While each individual chapter needs to be strong and purposeful, it's not a chapter's job to always blow the reader away. <S> Be sure to ask your other beta readers. <S> This might be the preference of one person. <S> But if the others say something similar, it's a sign. <A> It is a matter of uniformity. <S> So, in your case, yes: every chapter should "blow the reader away". <S> Continuity of scope implies that your readers may rightfully expect to continue reading about the same overall topic, or they may expect you to stick to the promised agenda. <S> Uniformity of perception is that they continue to engage with your writing as long as they can draw a uniform range of emotions and intensity out of it. <S> Providing two mind-blowing chapters at the start sets an implicit contract between you and the reader that the continuation will be just as engaging. <S> Lacking to deliver on such contract slows down the pace, creates detachment, and eventually abandonment. <S> Alternatively, chop the dragging parts, edit them, shorten them, set them aside as a source of inspiration but not-yet-fit-for-purpose text. <S> The goal of a lengthy work is to complete the race, not to sprint at the beginning.

Not every chapter needs to blow the reader away If you don't think you can further deliver mind-blowing writing, then you may want to consider revising the initial premise. Chapters are parts of a bigger work where there is an expectation of both continuity of scope and uniformity of perception.

Past vs. present tense when referring to a fictional character What would you write when referring to a fictional character in a non-fiction work? e.g. Tom Sawyer is a boy, he has no parents, he goes on adventures or Tom Sawyer was a boy, he had no parents, he went on adventures. <Q> Tom Sawyer's friendship with Huckleberry Finn represents unity between middle and lower class Americans. <S> In the scene where Tom is painting his fence... (I've never read the book, I just made something up for an example) <A> The book exists in the present, so the characters do as well. <S> The author, though, exists in the past, since he's no longer with us. <S> Mark Twain wrote about a boy, Tom Sawyer, who has adventures with his friends. <S> It would not be wrong to write about the character in past tense if describing his actions that have already happened (because you finished the book). <S> But present tense is okay here too. <S> Tom Sawyer nearly spoiled his friend's plan to run away. <S> or Tom Sawyer nearly spoils his friend's plan to run away. <A> A rule-of-thumb is that characters may become part of the past only in their universe, where they are a "real" person. <S> In this case, you can use the past-tense if you are referring to a "previous version", or "younger version" of the character. <S> You would still use the present for the contemporaneous one. <S> In any other universe, e.g. in those where they are fiction, they are elevated to timeless absolutes. <S> The use of the present-tense is preferred. <S> This should hold true for most non-fiction works about fiction.

If the non-fiction work is an essay or similar analysis of the literary work, I would use present tense.

A flower's head or heart? I’m currently writing a story and one of my characters is a butterfly. In one of the scenes, she manages to run away from a bunch of hungry lizards and hides into a flower; let’s say a Zinnia. When describing the scene I wrote: “……she dived into the Zinnia’s head and hastily rolled into the pollen….” But then, I found that the expression “flower head” means: “A dense, compact cluster of small flowers that appear to be a single flower, as of a dandelion or clover.” Thus, I changed the word to: “…she dived into the Zinnia’s heart and hastily rolled into the pollen….” Would it be correct? <Q> Putting scientific definition aside, "Flower head" works better since it's a personification. <S> The human reader has no trouble associating the upper part of a body with the upper part of a flower. <S> On the contrary, "a flower's heart" is a little harder to imagine. <S> Without further context, I would struggle to understand what you mean, exspecially since I'm not an expert botanist (before looking it up on google, I had no idea how a Zinnia's looked like). <S> It could still work, providing more context: <S> “……she dived between the Zinnia's petals, in the secluded heart that kept the pollen safe…" <A> A few alternatives: She dived into the flower. <S> She dived into the zinnia's flower. <S> She dived into the petals. <S> She dived into the zinnia's center. <S> Or, simply: She dived into the pollen. <S> Add the rolling in pollen parts if needed. <S> I realize you want to differentiate between zinnia the plant and the actual flower. <S> You don't want your readers thinking she's going to be hiding under the leaves. <S> My guess is that your story is for children (because of the butterfly character). <S> If this is the case, then you really want your language to be clear and easy to follow. <S> In any case, avoid terms that aren't perfectly clear. <A> I'm probably gonna be crucified for this given the relative lack of artsiness, but why not say 'landed amid the Zinnia's anthers and covered herself in pollen'. <S> Anthers being the rods which present the pollen of a plant. <S> Stamen also works, as that's the whole male apparatus of a plant. <S> More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamen

Both "head" and "heart" have other connotations; using either of those terms might pull the reader out of the story.

Is it a bad idea to have a pen name with only an initial for a surname? My name is Ana Novkovic and I'm about to start writing and all that. I really really don't like my last name Novkovic. It's so hard to pronounce and I worry it would just distract readers and not look good. I am considering using the pen name Ana N. Is it a bad idea to have a pen name within only an initial for a surname? <Q> Whether it makes a difference to your sales is a very open question, but if it makes you feel better about publishing your work, then by all means use a pen name. <S> Many great writers have done so <S> -- Mark Twain was a pen name; so was Andre Norton. <S> More recently, John Varley was a pen name -- and these are just the ones I know, whose work I've read (and I'm a pretty narrow reader). <S> On the other hand, people with harder names than yours have published under their birth names -- Somtow Sucharitkul, for instance (though after several years, he changed to using S.P. Somtow). <S> Aleksandr Solzhenytsin was another. <S> I'd suggest you don't worry about whether your readers can pronounce your name, and concentrate on writing work they'll want to read. <S> If they want to read it, they'll get past your name. <A> Partly because your name is the same as a Slovenian politician famous enough to be listed in Wikipedia, you should consider an alternative. <S> Do you like your mother's maiden name? <S> Would you prefer a shortened version or an English translation of your surname (Like Ana Novik or Ana Newson, for example)? <S> It should be short enough, memorable and have some charm for you, and it should "age well. <S> " <S> I've had a pseudo for years for arts things that I do that <S> are completely unrelated to my main career, they definitely come in handy. <S> But do tell your publisher and/or agent your full legal name :-) <A> It also makes it harder for reviewers and commenters to refer to you by surname; some will end up finding out your real name and using that, and that will create confusion among your readers. <S> And a single letter alone will make it harder to find you in online searches. <S> You might consider a short and catchy variant of your real name, like "Ana Nov" or "Ana Nova". <S> Or, as others have said, your middle name, or some name in your family that has a nice ring to it and (very important) will be unique when people search for you. <S> I'm also given to understand that in many cases, pen-names (and stage-names) have arisen from the suggestion of publishers or agents, who may have a good sense for the market you hope to reach. <S> So you might consider submitting your first manuscripts with your full name, and asking for feedback at that time. <S> Though, having suggested it, I will say that "Ana Nova" has a nice ring to it. <A> Your name is fine. <S> I would not choose an initial for a surname because people will wonder what you're hiding and you have to file extra paperwork for a pseudonym. <S> But of course you can always tell people "just call me Ana N." when you want. <S> Some of my daughter's teachers at her school go by "Mr. G" or <S> "Ms. O" because their names are long and/or hard to pronounce.

Using the initial for the surname may actually be more distracting for the reader, because it seems like a deliberate attempt at hiding identity, such as is done when writing tell-all books about some long-held secret. You can publish under any name you choose.

How do we write a movie script with a view towards establishing all of the visual symbolisms and how they should be interpreted? How do we write a movie script with a view towards establishing all of the visual symbolisms and how they should be interpreted? Often, movie scripts often only have dialogues and some very brief descriptions, but they don't describe how the camera should move nor do they mention the symbolisms used and how these symbolisms should be interpreted. If you want to do so, how would you format the script? How far would you go towards describing the camera work and the symbolisms used and where should the interpretation be written? Should they be written in a footnote? Is there a standard format for scripts written like this? <Q> Sorry, you simply do not do this. <S> Your script is a blueprint for the director to build a house; the blueprint doesn't contain instructions on painting and decorating the house. <S> The director will determine the camera angles, how long an object appears on screen, IF your scene as written appears on screen, everything you want to do. <S> Famous advice from professionals tell you, don't write anything in the script that cannot be filmed or acted. <S> Period. <S> The story must be accessible to viewers without prompting. <S> You might get away with a minute of written prologue (Like Star Wars, but that may be a director's choice too, as is how to present it visually on the screen), and somehow fit it in there. <S> For example: Bill: Yellow roses. <S> My Mom's favorite, you know. <S> Very depressing. <S> Or direct the film yourself. <S> In any case, unless you can tie the symbolism to the story, the script is not the place to put it; if your symbolism isn't apparent from the visuals (and audio) on the screen and reactions of the actors, leave it out. <S> It isn't adding anything to the story. <A> I have never written a movie script, but that said, I don't see what the point would be of a script specifying how symbols should be interpreted. <S> Suppose you write in your script, say, "When Sally sees that the flowers have died, she realizes that this is a symbol of how all of her relationships have died." <S> That might be a good line in a novel, but how would the director show that on screen? <S> If the meaning of symbols isn't apparent to the audience from the dialog and stage direction, adding this sort of explanation in your script is not going to accomplish anything. <S> I recall reading a script once where the writer said -- not an exact quote, quoting from memory -- " <S> Camera pans to show John. <S> Close up on John's face. <S> In his eyes we see the hopes and dreams of all humanity, the triumph of the human will over adversity", etc. <S> And I thought, how in the world is the camera going to show that? <S> Maybe some notes about symbolism would be useful to the director in understanding what you're trying to do, to give him some more to work with. <A> There is no "standard format" because that version would never be published. <S> Formatted scripts are printed for actors and necessary crew. <S> They include only the information that is necessary to do their job. <S> Please read the answers here: <S> Shots in a spec script? <S> Keep your scene notes in a separate document. <S> There's a "frame challenge" to your question. <S> A scriptwriter is not the filmmaker, and films are collaborative productions that must be created on set due to budget and scheduling constraints and actor performances, and then re-written in the editing room to achieve their published form. <S> The scriptwriter is many times removed from the final version. <S> Film is primarily visual , and what appears on screen has the power to contradict and supersede the text of the script. <S> The parallel visual production document is called a storyboard (or effects pre-vis when it is a video to communicate complex effect sequences) created by the director and director of photography. <S> See the storyboards created for Hitchcock's films for examples. <A> I have never written a screenplay, so take this with a grain of salt. <S> But from the few screenplays that I have read, I can tell that they often have quite a lot of detail. <S> So if you want to have symbolism in your screenplay, just add descriptions as necessary. <S> You can also add suggestions for the camera work, but I would not go into too much detail here, since the actual camera work is not your department. <S> But if a scene depends on a visual detail or on a camera movement, just write it into the description. <S> Example: <S> SCENE 4 ALICE wanders through a hallway made of strangely arranged PILLARS. <S> The camera follows her gaze and slowly pans the room. <S> It seems disjointed and confusing. <S> But then, the camera turns around, revealing a perspective in which the pillars form a perfect GIGANTIC TRIANGLE. <S> The triangle symbolizes Christian dogma that has haunted Alice all her life, and is an important reoccurring symbol. <S> So you establish that the triangle is a symbol you are consciously using, and you describe how this scene depends on a certain camera trick to make it work. <S> This belongs in the screenplay because it is just as necessary as, for example, details about the location a scene is set in. <S> Here is an example from a real movie screenplay - it's the early version of Dark City by Alex Proyas, the first movie with a lot of symbolism that came to my mind. <S> Bumstead shakes his head slowly, turns away from the board. <S> Picks up a cup of hot tea, pours milk into it from a small jar. <S> TIGHT ON THE TEA CUP - Cream SWIRLS into a rapidly dissolving spiral. <S> Bumstead looks up. <S> Puts down the cup hurriedly, turns back to the map. <S> With a thick pen he traces a line between each point marking the location of the victims. <S> He steps back to examine his handiwork. <S> A SPIRAL - moving outwards. <S> Beyond the last victim it becomes a dotted line, following the same trajectory but with a big question mark beside it. <S> While it is not explicitly stated, you can clearly see that the spiral is an important symbol. <S> The camera work is also described in detail (actually more detailed than I would have thought).

You might fit your symbolism into dialogue (which the director may cut, if it isn't critical to the story).

When two first person POV characters meet NOTE: I've seen this question asked when the POV is third but not first. I write psychological thrillers that move quickly and focus heavily on what is going on in the mind of the protagonist. As such, I write in present tense, first person POV. This hasn't been a problem up till now. But in the novel I'm working on at the moment, I have two protagonists, each with their own first person POV chapters. However, in a few chapters, they'll meet. It doesn't feel right switching to third as this it creates a sudden and jarring distance that I don't want (I tried it with a chapter and it felt like reading a different book suddenly). I think the best option is to pick the stronger of the two protagonists and write the scene from her first person POV. But I'm wondering if that's going to be jarring too, given that readers will have gotten accustomed to hearing the inner thoughts of the lesser protagonist. Any advice/tips/suggestions for how to handle it? <Q> Personally, I have a strong dislike for multiple first person POV. <S> With that said, I'd say your option of following through with one character's POV is best . <S> and then by the other . <S> You need to work hard, however, to not make this repetitive or confusing. <S> The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is based around a conceit where the narrator literally inhabits the first person POV of several different characters throughout the novel. <S> The author does a great job of presenting the same scene and the same characters through different eyes in ways that make it continually fresh and new (and not just a rehash). <A> Animorphs did this often. <S> (Mostly in the Megamorphs line of books, which were co-narrated by all the characters, though a few of the main series books would make the switch when the narrator couldn't tell the full story. <S> Main series books would announce the perspective flip early on to make it less jarring.) <S> Normally the chapter would open with the new Narrator and his or her related cover art. <S> The switch was made to an appropriate narrator for the next sequence of events and not in any particular order. <S> If two back to back narrators shared the scene, the hand off would occur because the first character was unfit to tell the story further <S> OR because the second character was the better person to explain what's happening. <S> To my recollection they would not do the same event from a different point of view. <S> As a rule with my POV switches though, I would recommend that they occur infrequently between characters that shared scenes and rather switch to another scene that is not experienced by either of them. <A> I'm not certain how I would handle it <S> and I've never read a multi-first person novel, so <S> I am not sure how such a novel would normally read. <S> I'm currently re-reading a 1st/3rd alternating viewpoint book. <S> It always is a little jarring to switch characters, because of the 1st/3rd switch. <S> But it works, and as an aside, the first person chapters/character are more immersive than the 3rd person chapters. <S> Possibly, this author faced the problem you face and opted to make a character 3rd. <S> I don't know. <S> In the chapters that are in third person (again, one of the two protagonists with a complete arc), there is no 'jarring' sense of seeing the other character (in whose own chapters he is 1st person) now appearing in 3rd. <S> So, I think that aspect of it (suddenly having a viewpoint character appear 'not in viewpoint' which is what I believe you are concerned about) can work, but as I said, it is possible this author started with two first person protagonists and switched. <S> I don't know. <S> Also, pay attention to each 'viewpoint switch' (chapter beginnings, presumably)--to anchor the reader. <S> What you want is for the reader to be firmly in the right head <S> , that's all, and the rest will flow. <S> Keep two first person viewpoints but clearly make the voice of each distinct. <A> Although, I'm not convinced that I would enjoy reading fiction with multiple first-person perspectives like this, I think you might be able to take inspiration from successful non-fiction narratives where the facts of the story require two viewpoints of the same scene. <S> What works best is usually to pick one person <S> (let's call him "Adrian") as the "dominant" view, with offset (e.g. indented) sections from the perspective of the other person ("Briony"). <S> Sometimes these are introduced with a phrase like "As Briony later told me:"; other authors will start Briony's words with a mention of Adrian's name, to show it's no longer his words. <S> It's a few decades since I last read it, but I'd recommend Touching the Void by Joe Simpson for this kind of treatment. <S> For shorter stories, you could probably find a few in the archives of any good mountaineering or caving magazine.

It's not uncommon to have the same scene told first by one character Answer : Here's my instinct: I'd keep 1st/1st, but recommend looking at the voice of each character and making it as extreme and distinct from the other character's as possible.

Would it be a copyright violation if I made a character’s full name refer to a song? I want to write a realistic fiction book similar to Thomas Hardy’s works, where he used techniques and Biblical references (they were also called allusions) to make his writing more meaningful, and to prove points about Victorian society. I am interested in the use of allusions which can be used intentionally. I think that Allusions are still used to this day, such as in ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Percy Jackson’, so I won’t come off as old fashioned. I had the idea where I would name a female character ‘Violet Raine’ to come off as a reference to the song ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince. I don’t want to break a copyright rule even though I changed the name to make it hidden in the text, I am trying to achieve the affect of the allusion in writing without looking into Christian stories, so I am unsure if this is copyright as my reference is to a real musician. Does this depend on how I use the characters, or what region I will eventually publish my work? <Q> Naming your character <S> Violet Raine does not violate copyright. <S> You can throw in a joke about the mom being a Prince fan but the father drew the line at naming the kid Purple. <S> This would be contextualizing your story in the real world . <S> Since he has passed on, you can even make Prince a character in the story <S> – I know that's not your question, but it's my segue into the grey area of Intellectual Property and celebrity image. <S> Based on your references to allusions , I'll guess that Prince is more a creative inspiration , not an actual character in the story (real or fictionalized), with references to cran berry berets and driving little red sportscars too fast. <S> I'm not a lawyer, but I can't see how it would trigger the ire of his estate. <S> Even if you were more on-the-nose with the references, in the US it would probably be considered fair use through recontextualization . <S> What might ultimately be a problem is if the work appears to trade on Prince's fame or image for commercial (marketing) purposes. <S> A judge would consider your intent to determine if you have infringed on the estate's licensing (I have no knowledge of Prince's estate, this is just speaking generally about a celebrity whose image is a marketable commodity). <S> If the name of your novel were Purple Rain , or even Purple Raine , a judge might consider if that was just a grab for name recognition. <S> Since you are going for more subtle allusions (homage?) <S> it would be much harder to claim you are damaging or trading on the estate's intellectual property. <A> This is not a copyright issue. <S> Summary: <S> I am not a lawyer, of course. <S> You can't violate copyright just by using a word, name, title, or other short phrase that somebody else used. <S> A different intellectual property right might apply, but as long as it's clear that you're writing fiction, it should be fine. <S> If you use a real person's name, though, be careful that they or their estate won't have some other complaint against you. <S> (This answer cites sources from a mishmash of jurisdictions, but thanks to international treaties like the Berne Convention, the basics of copyright are mostly the same around the world.) <S> Copyright covers "creative works". <S> [Berne] [US] <S> A name does not meet the standard for a "creative work". <S> [UK  p.4] [US] <S> [US] Basically, it's too short. <S> A name might be protected by other intellectual property rights, though. <S> The main one is trade mark (one word, "trademark", in US English). <S> [UK] <S> [US] <S> [US] Someone might have a trade mark registration on a particular name or phrase, and if you use that in your writing, they might decide to take you to court. <S> However, they would have to prove that your use of their trade mark was likely to confuse the public about the identity of your products versus theirs, [UK] [US] which is unlikely if you're clearly writing fiction. <S> (They might also claim that what you wrote was injurious to their reputation, but that's defamation rather than intellectual property.) <S> The other kind of right that might stop you from using a real person's name is the right of publicity, or personality rights. <S> These are much more internationally variable, so I'll just link you to Wikipedia: Personality rights . <A> Prince was not the creator of the name "Violet Raine" and does not own or control any rights to it. <S> You can name your kids Violet Raine. <S> You can name yourself Violet Raine. <S> You can name your fictional characters Violet Raine. <S> You can even trace the ancestral history of actual people named Violet Raine or Violet Raines , many of whom predate the song by decades. <S> There is a current actress who includes Violet Raine in her name. <S> There are video game characters. <S> It's just a name, and it has been around for a long time. <A> In the Japanese manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventures, many of the characters were named after musicians and pop songs. <S> However, when it was translated to English, many of those characters had their names altered to avoid legal issues with the record companies who owned the rights to those bands and musical pieces. <S> I'm not certain what the exact legal reasoning for them to do so was, but it's clear that the record companies had enough clout to make any legal battles over the issue sufficiently costly to warrant a number of name changes to avoid it.

It might not violate copyright, but that doesn't mean that it's a good idea.

Using “sparkling” as a diminutive of “spark” in a poem How would you react if you saw the word “sparkling” being used as a diminutive of “spark” in a poem? Although poetry does allow for potentially unlimited flexibility, as a non-native speaker I wonder if it sounds awkward. Ideally, I would be glad to see any examples of this. Thank you <Q> (Assuming I understood your question, and you mean 'sparkling' as in a baby spark) <S> However, using 'ling' as a diminutive isn't so rare that it can't be recognized - think <S> fingerling potatoes, 'younglings' in Star Wars. <S> I think it would be understood as a small spark if you provided the appropriate context. <S> " <S> The sparkling flew into the air" <S> I would probably assume you missed the noun that 'sparkling' describes. <S> " <S> Although still young, the sparkling left the nest to fly into the air with their elder brothers and sisters <S> " It's clear that 'sparkling' is a noun here. <S> (sorry about the weird examples) <S> You could also try spark-ling, or play with the format some other way, and see if that makes a difference. <A> "-ling" is a valid diminuitive, but in this case your coinage would be directly competing with a common English word , the adjective "sparkling." <S> Given that, I'd argue against use of this unless there are strong reasons for it. <S> There are other English diminuitives, what about "sparklet" instead? <S> In general, the rule is avoid confusion where possible . <S> Sometimes there are valid reasons to make the reader work harder, but you should never add confusion for no reason. <A> Not only is there the adjective "sparkling" with which your neologism has to compete, as Chris Sunami put it, but the "-ling" ending is also used to call people/animals/creatures that have a certain diminutive attribute. <S> I'm taking about "youngling", "halfling", "fledgling", and so on. <S> These words describe a living being with the attribute of being young, half the size of a normal person, and of having obtained feathers, respectively. <S> In this case the word is being transformed into a name for a creature. <S> So a "sparkling" would be a personified young spark. <S> Out of the fire that was its birthplace, a young sparkling jumped. <S> "It's better to burn out than to fade away", it sang, as it landed on the dry straw. <S> In the case that this kind of personification is what you're going for, it's perfect. <S> If you just want to say "a small spark", I think it's the wrong choice, because it will make people think of the adjective or it will make them think you're personifying the spark. <A> Once I figured it out, I might think it was cute. <S> However, I would figure it out much faster if you used a hyphen ("spark-ling") to distinguish it from the word "sparkling" (something that sparkles). <S> And/or, if the first time you use it, the context makes it clear what you mean.

If I were to come across this without any context, I would probably read it as a verb or adjective (sparkling water, sparkling like a firework, etc).

Alternatives to Second-Person POV Narration I am someone with no formal writing background, who has come to love writing for the fantasy adventure role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (fifth edition) during my free time. I am currently running the adventure that accompanies the Starter Set for 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, titled Lost Mine of Phandelver , and my players are about to reach a location in the adventure that has very little written for it, narratively. They are about to reach Conyberry, not far from the residency of a powerful and knowledgable banshee I felt like this would be a good place to try my hand at writing content. For those not in the know, Dungeons and Dragons can lean very heavily on the second-person point-of-view narration technique. Sometimes it leans so far into it, that it can feel like each sentence is poured of the same mold, so to speak. You have a feeling of immense dread as you take in the macabre sight You are reminded of your own mortaility as you witness the gruesome murder of Sir Important from Storyston You feel delerious as the maddening desert sun beats down on you The "you do x" format is pervasive, and for moments when a certain tone or theme is desired, such as when setting the scene for the first time, it removes a player's agency in at least a couple ways. By declaritively stating "you feel x" the character is being given to action before the player knows why (think "you enter the haunted house and immediately feel a dreaded and ominous presence") the player isn't given time to react, because if the GM is just setting up the scene, they don't know how to react yet That said, my question is: What sentence formats can replace second-person POV for the purposes of rpg / choose-your-own-adventure style narration? I initially had my question on rpg.stackexchange.com here , but was directed to the writing stack exchange because my question has much to do with sentence structure. I don't know what the formal names of these are, but I know that there are drop in replacements such as passive voice (replace "you see" with "there is") as well as third person narration ("Ambros is launched skywards 70ft before ultimately landing with a crunch"), but I'm sure that there are more formats and examples that could fit in just as well. My reasoning for not simply using declarative "there is" or strictly third person narration is that I would like to establish tone specifically, and sometimes tone can be visceral, personal, and emotional. The format of strictly third person or declaration feels sterile and impersonal in a situation where I am trying to telegraph to the role players what kind of place this is, tonally. Having "there is" as a layer of abstraction between the players and the pretend world makes it difficult for myself and them to invest in and enjoy the scene. Moreover, I am trying to grow as a writer, and replacing one writing formula for a singular other writing formula won't help me grow in any meaningful way. I will be more inclined to accept an answer that has more than one reccomendation, and effective examples. Here are some samples of dialog that I have made in preparation for this adventure, so you can see what I'm trying to do: Continuing further along the trail, past the willow vines and into the quickly darkening forest, barely visible are the flickering forms of pale blue fire. They dance around the trees as if chasing one another, living out mischievous and playful past lives. The air here feels freezing and seems to clutch desperately onto warm skin. The trees seem oblivious of the harsh chill, and the branches in direct sunlight have begun to bud. Toads stare apathetically as the trail winds deeper into the darker parts of the woods. Slightly obscuring the view into this primitive abode are thin strands of black filament that hang like a beaded curtain. The strands are still in the air, and each exhale comes out in lush plumes of fog. An intense feeling of dread muffles every sense. After all, anyone with any sense would have avoided this place. It is a place where no living being belongs. Plain to see is a modestly furnished living quarters. Thinly coating the room and its furnishings is a veil of dust that leaves the room looking like it hasn’t been lived in for several centuries. Strangely, a pearl necklace with gold fastenings gleam in the dim blue-green light of the abode as though meticulously polished. A deathly silence hangs in the air. My hope is that I can find more sentence formats to flesh out scene setting moments, ie, the moments right when characters collide with a different setting and a tone needs to be established immediately, and therefore I can find more enjoyment in narrating those moment-to-moment, because I will have more variety. Please let me know how this question can be improved upon. <Q> The player are the "characters". <S> The only thing I see out of place in that regard is the opinion phrase: After all, anyone with any sense would have avoided this place ... <S> That non-neutral claim suddenly (to me anyway) makes the speaker another person in the book (or group). <S> You would get the same effect, deleting it: <S> An intense feeling of dread muffles every sense, it seems a place where no living being belongs. <S> If different characters see different things: <S> The group sees a being materialize before them in the road. <S> Bob sees an old witch. <S> Gretchen sees a dragon. <S> Frank sees a troll, and Larry sees a ghostly, half-transparent frog the size of a goat. <S> The being speaks. <S> I would write your narrative like most commercial fiction is written, with a disembodied narrator <S> that does not feel like another character in the book with their own feelings or opinions, they just describe the settings and describe what the characters sense and feel. <S> A neutral observer that has access to character emotions. <S> (And in fiction often access to character thoughts, but it might be more effective to let your players think whatever they want). <S> Set yourself some rules for what this narrator can do, and stay consistent. <A> It seems to me that you, and in fact all RPG content writers, should be able to use a purely third person perspective with "there is" statements rather than the second person "you see". <S> This overcomes certain issues that crop up all too commonly with the second person perspective as well. <S> Unusually unobservant/willfully stupid parties, I have played and GMd many parties who go out of their way to avoid noticing things for one reason or another and the minute you say "you see" to such groups they start to deny all knowledge, loudly. <S> The feeling that the GM is taking over the character to some degree. <S> Peculiar to systems where criticals (success or failure effect perception checks) is the problem of what do you describe to the players when their characters notice vastly different things about the situation <S> and then how do you communicate that to them without causing friction between player and character knowledge. <A> If the scene allows for it you should portray feelings other characters or creatures might have when entering a scene. <S> A bar man that is obviously not concerned in the least bit by a brewing fight between patrons, city guards shaking in fear at the sight of the old man slowly walking down the street, mice squirming away as fast as they can the moment the evil mage pulls out what looks like a pretty red necklace, ... <S> In the same way you can use the absence of lifeforms to make sure your players understand what is happening. <S> No birds are chirping in the trees, there are no insects close by as would be normal deepn in an average forest, the only thing left that reminds you of life <S> is the carcass of a deer, ... <S> The player characters are the only thing your players control, the rest of the world is controlled by you. <S> So focus on all the other things that are under your control such as the weather, the lighting, the smell and other creatures. <S> Especially with creatures this is powerful because you , as the Dungeon Master, can try to put yourself in their shoes and show your players how you feel in that situation and from your creatures point of view. <S> And, as the examples above showed, "creature" is not simply an NPC, but every living thing that could possibly exist in your scene.

I'm not a RPG player, but it sounds to me like you are engaged in standard fiction writing with a 3rd person neutral narrator; perhaps unlimited (knows what all characters think and feel). Basically you need to turn your attention away from the player characters to give your players the room they need to interpret the scene and decide for themselves how their characters would feel in such a situation.

How can I portray a resentful character without making them overtly angry? I am writing a fiction story about a elite unit, SFD (Strike Force Delta), during the Third World War. The war is basically extremely variable, it lasts from 2025 to 2030. I like to call it the 'mixing pot war' because all of the theaters of the war mimic previous wars in that area. Instead of having nukes, the countries use a myriad of nerve agents and other poison gases against each other. The story is written from the point of view of the Sergeant who leads the squad. In the end, all of his men are killed in a horrendous battle and the squad is awarded a Medal of Honor for their actions before they died. (The men don't all die at the same battle, BTW). Currently, the men are stationed in Passchendaele, awaiting the General's orders to attack. There is a character who is in the squad who knew the Sergeant before the war, and married the Sergeant's college sweetheart. How do I write the Sergeant's POV without making him a angry guy but still resentful toward the character? The Sergeant is supposed to be a hot-headed laid-back guy. So how do I write this so as to keep the Sergeant's personality? <Q> Two words: Severus Snape. <S> Snape's backstory is pretty similar to your sergeant's: James Potter, who bullied Snape at school, married Lily, the woman Snape loved. <S> Snape consequently detests James, and this manifests in his hatred of James' son Harry, who looks just like James. <S> But I can only think of two occasions in the entire seven-book series where Snape gets visibly angry at Harry: when Harry walks in on him being treated for a horrible leg wound, and when Harry accidentally peers into his memories and sees him being bullied. <S> The rest of the time, Snape shows his resentment through dry, sardonic insults, and casual abuse of his power as Harry's teacher. <S> Consider their first-ever meeting. <S> He singles Harry out, asks him multiple questions about Potions that Harry can't answer, insults him for not knowing the answers ("Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?), and deducts a house point from Harry when he talks back to him. <S> All this is designed to undermine and humiliate Harry, making him look arrogant and stupid, and sets the tone for Snape's casual antagonism of Harry throughout the novels. <S> But Snape isn't angry; just cold. <S> He doesn't raise his voice once during that scene, though he does raise it towards Neville about three paragraphs later. <S> Snape is a good model for how you can portray your sergeant. <S> His inner monologue can be as seething and vicious as you like towards the other guy, but when he actually speaks to him, it's with ice-cold venom rather than righteous fury. <S> He uses his position for petty acts of vengeance, but nothing significant enough to constitute abuse. <S> He clearly does not like the other guy, but he's never actually angry towards him. <A> Passive-Aggressive Behavior Implement passive-aggressive actions that are apparent to the reader, yet unnoticed by the other characters in the story. <S> It will be assumed that direct provocation may result in anger, yet the resentful character may never be pulled to action. <S> After recognizing the passive-aggressive behavior, the reader can make assumptions on how the character may react given a particular -- developing or imagined -- scenario. <S> Nondescript Example : " <S> Each member of the squad drew symbols in the dirt as they waited for evac. <S> As they departed the derrelect city into the Aerial Transport Unit, the Sergent trailed behind, nonchalantly sliding his boots over the product of his subordinate's creativity. <A> There is a myriad of different ways your sergeant could be feeling and acting regarding his subordinate . <S> He could value his former sweetheart's happiness, and thus be protective of her husband, for her sake. <S> Both Karl May's character Winnetou and the Star Trek Jean-Luc Picard have this in their backstories. <S> That doesn't necessarily mean that he isn't resentful, and that can come through occasionally in dialogue, but there are things that trump this resentment. <S> In such a case, any seeming mistreatment of the girl (e.g the subordinate supposedly cheating on her) would be met with a disproportionate explosion. <S> Or he could be like King David, deliberately sending the subordinate into a dangerous situation <S> , so he would then be in position to comfort the widow. <S> He can be cold, but not out of control, the way @F1Krazy suggests . <S> He could be distant and professional, not even unpleasant like Professor Snape, but showing a distinct absence of the camaraderie he'd have with other soldiers, maybe insisting more on discipline. <S> "Resentful, hot-headed and laid-back" just isn't enough of a characterisation. <S> Different people can be all three in many different ways. <S> Not know the character cerebrally, but feel their emotions in your gut. <S> Then you'd know what this particular character would say, how they would act.

The assumption that the character may react in anger imbues the character with resentfulness. You need to really get into this particular character's bones, be that particular character.

Term for a character that only exists to be talked to I just saw a two-person play where one character did the majority of the talking and the other seemed to exist only to give the other character someone to talk to. I've seen this happen in books and TV as well, and sometimes a normally strong character will take this role temporarily. Usually the conversation plays out something like this: A: < Talks for 3 minutes about ducks > B: Oh, interesting, so you're saying that ducks can fly and swim? A: Exactly! < Talks for 3 more minutes > B: So what about geese? I've heard about them too. A: Oh, those are similar, but there are some differences. < Talks about geese > And so on and so forth. Character B never really contributes anything meaningful to the conversation and seems to only be there so it's not a 90-minute monologue. I would certainly view this as Bad Writing, and something that would be more appropriate in an children's educational video. Is there a term or trope for this type of character or scene? <Q> I believe in this case, a 'sounding board' fits the bill, simply a person to bounce concepts, dialogue, and ideas off of. <S> Just how some characters act as nought but mouthpieces, this one acts as nothing but an earpiece. <A> I don't believe there is a single term for this kind of character. <S> The terms usually applied to those characters roll in relation to the protagonist are Foil, Confidante, and stooge -- or as I call them Chumley. <S> The Foil serves to highlight the protagonist's qualities and make them stand out stronger by the comparison. <S> The Confidante permits deeper insight into the protagonist virtues, but not their flaws -- else they'd be a foil. <S> Stooge is someone that asks questions so the protagonist can speak to them. <S> I call them Chumleys because that was Chumley's role in the Tennessee Tuxedo Cartoons. <A> The term for this person is the interlocutor, from the Latin. <S> It means the one who "speaks between," and often used for a character in a dialog --for example, the Platonic dialogs --whose role is secondary to the main speaker. <S> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interlocutor <A> Straight Man A member of a team of comic performers who plays a supporting role by helping to set up jokes and punch lines through engaging in preparatory dialog with the principal comedian. <S> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/straight_man <S> See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_man <A> This is an "info dump" or "exposition dump". <S> The character doing it is Mr Exposition . <S> (Warning: TV Tropes links.)

If the person only asks questions, you could also call them the querent .

What's it called when the bad guy gets eaten? Is there a specific name for the plot device in which the story's "Big Bad" has a cunning plan to use some monstrous being to further their diabolical machinations. This may be something summoned from elsewhere, brought back from banishment after earlier issues, or even the creation of magic or mad science. But when it arrives/arises it turns around and destroys the existing Big Bad only to pursue its own campaign of destruction that continues to tie down the same protagonists? <Q> Just Desserts From TV Tropes : <S> A villain ultimately finds their evil deeds come back to bite them. <S> Literally—they end up getting eaten. <S> This does not include a Heroic Sacrifice. <S> But may be subverted with a minor character being killed and eaten in obvious foreshadowing of what is going to happen to one of the bads at some point. <S> While Mooks may be recipients of the Just Desserts, a true Just Dessert is reserved for those higher up the ladder. <S> If the beast doing the eating was unleashed by the guy who gets eaten, he's been Hoist by His Own Petard, making him a Self-Disposing Villain. <S> Bonus points if he made a practice of feeding people to said beast beforehand. <A> On TV Tropes this is called Evil Is Not a Toy : <S> Sometimes the Sealed Evil in a Can doesn't escape by itself, nor is it released by an Unwitting Pawn, but is deliberately set free by a villain (or hero). <S> Let's call him Bob. <S> Bob usually thinks he can control the sealed evil, or bargain with it, expecting to trade on a certain level of gratitude on its part since he was the one who freed it (or in extreme cases, resurrected it). <S> This never works. <S> In many cases, it turns out to have no understanding of loyalty or gratitude at all. <S> Bob may end up being killed on the spot, or he may be enslaved by the sealed evil [...] <S> In any case, if Bob was the Big Bad before, he was really just a Little Bad; the formerly-sealed evil is the true Big Bad. <S> There is also Eat The Summoner , which fits very closely to the title of this question: <S> Alice is a Sealed Evil in a Can. <S> Bob, either because he was promised something like immortality or riches, thinks he can control her, or because he thinks Alice isn't as evil as everyone says she is, tries to free her. <S> After a bit of hard work, and possibly some outmaneuvering of people with more common sense, Bob frees Alice. <S> However, rather than rewarding Bob for his service or even giving him a simple thank you, Alice tosses Bob into her mouth and eats him without a second thought. <A> Personally from the little bit of research I've done <S> I feel that this is originally the "Good vs. Evil" troupe but after the mega force or "worser" evil is unleashed who then attempts to destroy the original villain it switches troupes to what's called "Eviler Than Thou". <S> This is what I believe would be the best way to explain it. <S> Here's the article that lead me to believe that this was the best answer: Eviler Than Thou <A> I think Frankenstein fits this category almost perfectly. <S> That pattern does not take into account that evil aspect as the protagonist wasn't evil. <S> It just describes the pattern of creating something for the sake of personal benefit (be it a good or bad character) that backfires horribly. <S> So maybe we can call it - "The Frankenstein Effect"?

The Sealed Evil in a Can will inevitably turn on the one who freed it — sometimes sooner, sometimes later. In Frankenstein the protagonist had created a creature that backfired on him and ruined his life.

Is it stylistically sound to use onomatopoeic words? I'm writing a non-comedic fantasy novel, and I find myself using onomatopoeic words, like "SLAM!" and "TWISH" (for the shooting of arrows). To my knowledge, onomatopoeic words are almost only used in cartoons and comic books/manga. Perhaps also in cinematography which is derived from set genres. But what about using it in writing, in a non-comedic fantasy novel? <Q> Unlike with comics, you wouldn't want to use sound effects as dialogue or dialogue adjuncts (in comics the letterer makes them separate from actual speech), though you can get away with it in something humorous. <S> You can, however, evoke sound effects. <S> The door slammed shut. <S> vs. <S> She shut the door hard. <S> Or She nocked another arrow, let it fly, and smiled as it hit the target with a satisfying thunk. <S> vs. <S> She nocked another arrow, let it fly, and smiled as it hit the target's rings. <S> These are fairly subtle examples <S> but they each use words one might imagine in a comic but in regular narration. <S> I left out "twish" as it isn't one that ahem speaks to me. <S> You can also bring sound into the narration more directly. <S> This is basically the point of the sound effects; they're shorthand for narration. <S> Describe <S> the background noises just like you would the scenery. <S> Use sounds for emotional impact just like you would the feeling of air whooshing by (another sound effect word). <S> Make your auditory world as rich as your visual one. <S> But do it with solid narration, not with shortcuts. <A> Fair warning: <S> as a reader I have a pet peeve about onomatopoeia; I dislike it intensely as it tends to break my flow when reading. <S> This is usually when non-word syllable strings are used rather than proper words but my aggravation carries over to all forms. <S> In first person you're describing the experience of the narrator so onomatopoeic language is an appropriate mechanism. <S> However onomatopoeia does not translate well, if at all, across people and cultures: what one person thinks the word "twish" sounds like is not the same as another. <S> Nor in fact is one person's experience of what an arrow sounds like going past going to match that of any other particular person. <A> You can certainly use them; but you have to set them apart from the text in a very deliberate way. <S> You can italicize them, encapsulate it in em dashes, both... <S> As long as you do not overuse them, or--if you do use more--make sure they are clustered. <S> One cluster or word per three or four pages at a maximum, I'd think. <S> Therefore, only use them when they actually add to the verisimilitude of a scene. <S> At the same time, do not use them too little, either. <S> They have to be part of the overall style of the story for your reader to grow accustomed to them. <S> For this I cannot really give any indicatives, sorry.

You can use onomatopoeia in any genre - at least you certainly can if you're using a first person narrative; I'm not completely sure about third person, but I wouldn't.

How do we handle pauses in a dialogue? How do we handle pauses in a dialogue? Let's say that character A speaks and then after a pause character A speaks again. How should we separate the two moments, should we write two lines of dialogues or should we cut the two lines of dialogues with a brief description? For example: "Was the computer software hacked?" "No, it was a bug caused by legacy software. Any other question?" "No? Ok, see you on Thursday." "Bye" Bolded parts represent lines spoken by the same person. <Q> You indicate pauses with action, even mentioning the pause. <S> (Or, as Cyn says in comment, with other exposition or thoughts). <S> Chad said, "Was the computer software hacked?" <S> Bryce shook his head. <S> " <S> No, it was a bug caused by legacy software. <S> Any other question?" <S> Bryce waited for somebody to answer, but everyone averted their eyes, or looked at the wall clock. <S> "No? <S> Okay, see you on Thursday. <S> " <S> Noise filled the room as students gathered their books and belongings, and began to wander into the hall. <S> He waited for Alice to pass, his star pupil. <S> She caught his eye. <S> She said, "Bye." <S> Bryce smiled and nodded to her. <A> This is especially often used in phone conversations where the reader is only given one side of the conversation: "Hello? ... <S> No, it was a bug caused by legacy software. <S> Any other question? ... <S> No? <S> OK, see you on Thursday. <S> ... <S> Bye." <S> This isn't exactly your situation, as the "..." doesn't represent a moment when someone else is talking but rather a moment when nobody is talking. <S> But the solution can still work pretty well for you too: <S> "Was the computer software hacked?" <S> "No, it was a bug caused by legacy software. <S> Any other question? ... <S> No? <S> OK, see you on Thursday. <S> " <S> "Bye." <A> Insert a dialogue tag in the middle. <S> After that, the juxtaposition of phrase (or the continuing after a question without indication of hurry or rudeness) implies the pause. <S> "Was the computer software hacked?" <S> "No, it was a bug caused by legacy software. <S> Any other question?" <S> Kyle asked. " <S> No? <S> Ok, see you on Thursday. <S> " <S> "Bye" <S> You are delaying your tag longer than you normally would (the first or second 'breath'), but it is a fine tool if used sporadically. <A> All of these answers are correct. <S> I think this is a more technical way to look at it, which may give you some better direction: <S> All of dialogue has a rhythm, and people reading the dialogue will infer the rhythm from what is on the page. <S> If this were music, the pauses would be demarcated by rests between notes, and they indicate a certain length. <S> In language, the word choice and phrasing have their own rhythm. <S> Longer syllables are slower; short indicative or imperative sentences without filler can be snappier, and they all take some amount of time. <S> Think about the characters' speech as the music notes, and the pauses as the rests, and make the dialogue tags or descriptive actions between lines of dialogue take the same time to read as you want the pause to last. <S> Those pauses are sometimes called beats, as in this article (which is about writing interesting ones): How to amp up the dialogue with emotional beats

Amadeus's solution is a good one, but if you really want to keep these sentences within dialogue, without filling the gaps with anything else, you can also use ellipses to indicate pauses within speech.

Should you avoid redundant information after dialogue? Should we avoid repeating redundant information after a dialogue and is there a way around this? Sometimes, you feel prompted to write the description of an action that follows a line, but that also seems to be redundant, and it leads to some pretty bad prose. How would you work around this? For example: " Here's the chip in question." he said as he handed the chip to him. "It's a very old chip, make sure you take care of it." Sounds redundant, but the fact he's handing it is also important somewhat, or can be important for what may follow. What would you do in this situation? <Q> Why don't you paraphrase the action? <S> Say what he is literally doing. <S> How does he give the chip? <S> Is it in an envelope? <S> Does he extend his arm? <S> Is he tossing it? .... <S> "Here's the chip in question" he said as he passed him the sealed envelope, making sure <S> [Jack] had a firm grip on it before he let go. <S> "It's a very old one, make sure you take care of it. <A> Should you avoid redundancy? <S> Yes. <S> How do you get around this? <S> Cut the redundant part and show only the new information. <S> Infinitezero has already given a good example on that. <S> "Here's the chip in question." <S> He pulled it out from his pocket with slow, deliberate gestures. <S> He gave out the impression of an elephant trying to move bohemian crystal around. <S> "It's a very old one, make sure you take care of it". <S> As you can see, I've omitted "he said", since here it can be implied neatly. <S> "Here's the chip in question." <S> He said. <S> "It's a very old one, make sure you take care of it". <S> Here the pause is still effective, since it cuts the dialogue lines. <S> The lack of further information leaves the reader imagining the chip being passed. <A> Just get rid of the redundancies, and it will sound fine. <S> Original: <S> "Here's the chip in question." <S> he said as he handed to chip to him. <S> "It's a very old chip, make sure you take care of it." <S> Revised: <S> "Here's the chip in question," he said, as he handed it to him, "It's very old, make sure you take care of it." <S> You don't have to repeat "chip" every time. <S> An alternative is to name the object second : <S> Revised: <S> "This is the one," he said, handing him an anti-stat bag holding a chip. <S> "It's very old, make sure you take care of it." <A> Redundancy is good, but in writing it is better to re-phrase than to repeat. <S> Repeating is ok in dialog, as long as that is just how that character speaks, but outside dialog you should check if you are repeating any words, and try to avoid that. <S> If you need to, walk away for a day and re-read it to see if anything sounds weird/off. <S> "Here's the chip in question." <S> he said as he handed it to me. <S> "It's a very old chip, make sure you take care of it." <S> (He and Him imply the same person in this context, so will confuse some readers on first read through) <A> In the palm of his hand was an old, rugged chip. <S> As he extended his arm towards me he said: "It's very old. <S> Take good care of it." <S> Don't know if this helps, but this is what I would make of it. :-) <S> Redundancy in writing is for me as a reader really annoying. <A> Redundancy is neither good nor bad. <S> It either works for you or doesn't. <S> In your brief lines, you have a lot of redundancy that, not knowing the context, can probably be removed without sacrificing understandability. <S> "Here's the chip. <S> It's very old <S> so make sure you take care of it." <S> "In question" isn't needed. <S> The handing over of the chip isn't needed; it's implied with "here's the chip" and in the next sentence the other character will pocket it <S> so it's clear that he has it. <S> Seems to me that there's no need to linger on that sentence any longer than that. <S> Just pass the coin and get on with the story.

If there's nothing new to tell, you don't have to make it up:

Ambiguous sentences: How to tell when they need fixing? A story of mine has the following sentence: Alyssa was possessed by a sudden, fierce urge to snatch the teacup out of her sister's hand and dump the contents into her perfectly arranged hair. On further reflection, I realized this sentence is ambiguous: I never said which of the two gets the tea dumped on her head. Except, I'm not sure that the sentence really needs fixing - it wouldn't make sense for Alyssa to get mad and dump the tea on her own head. (I tried to replace the pronoun with her sister's name, but the resulting sentence just felt... clumsy.) Is there a way I can objectively tell if an ambiguous sentence will cause confusion and needs to be fixed? <Q> Alyssa is upset with her sister. <S> Assuming that this will be make even more obvious by context, I think the text is fine as it is. <S> You could make the sentence perfectly clear, but keep in mind that this isn't tech writing. <S> The protagonist is angry here, and probably not thinking logically. <S> Trying to achieve perfect clarify would probably take the soul of the writing away. <A> As an observation, sentences are typically embedded in paragraphs. <S> If there is an (potential) ambiguity, I might add a reaction sentence to the paragraph, such as, " <S> The sister, Mary, sputtered in shock." <S> Or screeched, yelled, threw a hay-maker, quoted an obscure Latin phrase, or anything else keeping with the assaulted sister's character. <S> If the story and the characters are good, the readers will forgive such minor vaults, if they ever notice them. <S> My advice is to focus on delivering quality in those areas and not tie yourself in knots over subtle points of grammar. <S> Most readers will recognize that that the story has given them pleasure. <S> A few readers will seek to find fault; no amount of analysis, refinement, or quality will stop them from finding something. <S> Focus on those readers who are having a good time, not those who are focused on giving the writer a bad time. <A> By convention, the object pronoun is associated with the nearest object noun. <S> There are exceptions since this is English and rules are only suggestions for the most part. <S> The first occurrence of ‘her’ is potentially ambiguous since there isn’t a clear object noun to link it to. <S> If there were more people present, and some of them were sisters then you wouldn’t whose sister it referred to. <A> Context will make this clear. <S> If it doesnt yet, add enough context. <S> For example you could mention earlier who has perfectly arranged hair of the two. <S> Besides that, there is more subtile context. <S> Has the sister done anything to deserve that thought? <S> Is the Protagonist envious of her sister looks? <S> Or does the protagonist want to portray herself as a crazy Person in Front of her sister friends who think she has a perfect family? <S> Any one of these situations makes it clear enough what is meant.

Unless the reader is analyzing the text word by word, the flow of the material should carry the reader along so quickly that the (potential) ambiguity is disposed of before it is even recognized by the reader. If the object pronoun, ‘her’ in this case, doesn’t have a clear antecedent then the sentence will be ambiguous.

What is a self expression article called? I've been blogging for a while and I only write my thoughts and opinions on topics such as world peace, social matters, art & culture, and various other topics. I want to make a living writing from those articles and I want to know the name of those type of articles so that I can market myself to clients. Are they called 'opinion' articles? I know there's such thing but I'm not sure if it applies to non-political topics as a lot of the definitions I read seem to be talking about political topics only. Please note, that I can't make a living from my blog because I have online earning limitations in my country that makes it impossible to receive my money online. <Q> They're usually just called essays. <S> Though in our modern age we often use names related to the platform. <S> So on a blog, they're posts or blog posts. <S> As Zeiss Ikon points out, in a newspaper, they're called opinion pieces. <S> If they're written by newspaper staff, they're editorials. <S> Chances are though you'll find work by looking for websites and magazines asking for article submissions. <S> If they have any special names for the articles, they'll say so, and then you'll use those names. <A> Very possible that term could be out of date, however (as print newspapers more and more seem to be). <S> In some cases, you might also be writing "reviews" -- especially if you are specifically writing about a single piece of art, performance, or writing ("book review", "movie review", etc.). <A> For newspapers they're usually called opinion pieces though, and shorter. <S> As Zeiss Ikon said, if you're mainly talking about a book/movie it's a review, though if you just use the media as a jumping of piece for your thoughts about a subject it's probably still a personal essay. <A> Yes, they are called "opinion pieces." <S> However, they represent a very tough market, because far far more people have opinions than there are paying publications seeking them. <S> So if you are looking to this as a career, please be forewarned (speaking from experience!) <S> that it is a very difficult one that probably will not provide you with a living any time soon (if at all). <S> You may have to spend an extended "journeyman" period writing for little or no money before you establish your reputation. <S> The majority of people who do make their living writing turn their skills towards functional writing of a type with pre-existing market demand . <S> Technical writing, ghostwriting, niche journalism, advertising copy and so forth make up the majority of actual writing careers. <S> If you do want to pursue a career in opinion, you might want to find a local print publication, or a national one with an appropriate niche audience, and see if you can work your way into doing a regular column (with syndication as an eventual goal). <S> There are also content aggregators online that publish opinion pieces, but the ones that pay are few and far between (and typically swamped with submissions).

In a magazine, they're articles. I'm used to seeing them called "opinion pieces" when they run in a print newspaper. I've heard them called 'personal essays' when we were assigned them in class.

When to finally reveal plot twist to characters? In a post-apocalyptic novel I'm writing (which is the subject of many questions I've asked on Writing.SE), I recently cut out my entire Chapter 10-11. I was revealing the MC, Eris' finékinesis (death-force manipulation) to her love interest, Caspian, and her accidental killing of his mother and her own family, but in the middle of writing it, I realized that it was probably too soon, realistically, for Eris to reveal a part of her past that she'd blocked out after knowing Caspian for roughly a week. At this point in the story, however, Eris' own actions are becoming more obvious to her, and my beta readers also understand that Eris is the one who killed both Caspian's mom and Eris' family. I just don't think it's the right time to reveal this to the characters , and I'm faltering a bit on identifying when is a good time. If this helps, according to an eight-point story arc , I think my story is moving from the quest stage to the surprise stage. <Q> What is the emotional context of this revelation, to Eris? <S> You have the option of her revealing her ability, and vulnerability, as a profound moment--it could even be the mirror moment, the rededication moment , at which point the trials of act II are something she has weathered and is ready to accept and move forward. <S> Or it could be a final plot twist. <S> At the halfway point of the novel, there is a deepness, a darkness, and the protagonist is struggling between the easy path and the right path. <S> the reader is hoping the protagonist chooses the hard path of righteousness. <S> If she does, she i <S> d <S> rededicating herself to the quest. <S> Whether this halfway point is the moment of revealing her power or not depends on the other aces you have up your sleeve. <S> My instincts say at the halfway point or else near the climax. <S> Answer <S> If this is the biggest twist, put it closer to 85%. <A> The 8-point arc: <S> Stasis (Normal World) Trigger (Inciting Incident) <S> The quest (Leaving the Normal World) <S> Surprise[s] <S> (actions complicating/learning the problem) Critical choice (Understanding, then choosing risk) <S> Climax (Solving the problem, incurring the costs) Reversal (Fallout -- problem solved, underdog on top) <S> Resolution (The New Normal World). <S> I believe you are on track! <S> In (4)[surprises] the nature of Eris' problem is something she needs to become certain of. <S> The deaths are her fault. <S> There can be no more question in her mind, or the reader's mind. <S> This is a complicating factor, a conflict, <S> she knows she is guilty and is reluctant to <S> do anything about it, because it has the potential to ruin her life. <S> There should be some consequences for keeping this secret, even if she is the only one that feels them. <S> In <S> (5)[Critical Choice] Eris needs to come to the realization it is going to definitely ruin her life if she continues to let this secret fester inside her. <S> It will destroy her relationship. <S> Perhaps her love interest is despondent over the death of his mother, or thinks he knows who did it and plans to take vengeance on an innocent person -- Making Eris responsible for yet another death. <S> She has to make the critical choice to risk her relationship by revealing the truth, with the evidence for it. <S> In (6)[Climax <S> ] She does this. <S> It doesn't have to be the only climax, but it could be. <S> Perhaps she does this after the main Climax. <S> In (7)[Reversal] <S> She is forgiven. <S> In (8)[Resolution] <S> Her relationship is consummated, with no deceptions, she is loved for her true self. <A> If it is inappropriate for Eris to tell Caspian, but from the reader's POV it is wrong (or worse: frustrating) for Caspian not to know... <S> Have him figure it out for himself. <S> Instant conflict and all that, while staying true to the nature of your MC. <S> For examples where this has been done, the story structure is called Liar Revealed. <S> It does apply to lies by omission.

: Put the reveal at the halfway point, assuming you have a bigger twist waiting for the climax.

Is it okay for a chapter's POV to shift as it progresses? I have this duo in my novel, they're always together in chapters. Usually the story alternates between them within their plot, though mostly leaning to one of the characters, as he's one of the MCs and he's pretty significant to the plot and world. Though, since they're so much together, they get a lot of attention also in the chapters they're not the POV in. That's okay obviously, but in the latest chapter, the attention almost completely shifts to one of them, who isn't the actual POV of that chapter. The reason for this is that the other character gets drunk. They're on this mission, and the POV character has a more passive role in it. That narrative asks for more attention to the doer, but that's not in-line with who is the POV, and the center of attention for the beginning parts of the chapter. So, is it okay to shift the POV as the chapter progresses? The chapter will end with the POV being the center of attention again, there's really only a little segment where the other character kind of takes over. EDIT: When I meant who is active, I mean we see things from their perspective, because they are the one who is doing something. We see their preperations, even though the actual POV is not in the same room. And their emotions are described, not directly, but through surface level cues. So I would say it pretty safe to say the actual POV shifts, and it isn't a Holmes and Watson case. But as Galastel said in his answer, it is okay to shift POV, and it is really more of a question how. <Q> There are two questions hiding in your question, 1. <S> Can the POV character not be the character who's most active? <S> Consider Sherlock Holmes as an example. <S> Watson is the POV character, the story is told in first person by Watson, it's Watson's opinions and emotions we share. <S> But Watson is passive. <S> It's Holmes who is active, it's Holmes who is interesting, it's Holmes who is the focus of the story. <S> There is nothing wrong with writing part of your narrative in a similar fashion, with the POV character observing, while another character is more active. <S> If that's what suits your narrative, that's certainly a tool you can use. <S> 2. <S> Can you switch POV mid-chapter? <S> In her novel <S> The Merlin Conspiracy , Diana Wynne Jones follows two POV characters who start out in two very different locations. <S> Each "part" of the novel is labelled with the appropriate character. <S> Then, as the characters meet, the labels are attached instead to each chapter, (and those can be one page long,) and then they just hover over paragraphs mid-chapter, when the switch happens. <S> It's not disruptive in the slightest, but if you think about it, there's buildup for this happening, structurally. <S> As an alternative, you can write in 3rd person omniscient, in which case you are in whatever head you need to be in all the time. <S> This question goes deeper into it. <S> So, to sum up, this isn't a question about whether it is OK - <S> it is, but about how to do it. <S> There are multiple ways, you need to pick the one that works best for your particular narrative. <A> Break the chapter into three scenes. <S> Each scene has a POV character. <S> First and last scenes have one POV character. <S> Middle scene has the other POV character. <S> Since the scenes in the chapter will differ only in time, make it clear on the scene transitions that the POV has changed. <S> For example, scene two starts with the clearly identified POV character of the second scene thinking that the POV character of the first scene is a fool for drinking so much. <A> There are no hard and fast rules about POV. <S> There are different techniques that you can choose in order to produce the effect you want. <S> Some of the techniques are harder to carry out than others. <S> What generally goes wrong with unskillful handling of POV shifts is that shift is either jarring or confusing to the reader, which breaks the "reader's trance" and pulls them out of the story. <S> One way of dealing with this is to have scene breaks and clearly marked transitions in the text. <S> Then although the POV shift is sudden, it doesn't feel wrong to the reader, because they know it's happening. <S> Another technique is to write in transitions that gently helicopter us out of one POV and into another: <S> That little brat Will was chewing gum. <S> Sister Wendy locked her gaze on the boy, who continued his chewing while staring out the open window by his seat in the corner. <S> The children's heads turned, and there were a few smiles to be seen. <S> A warm breeze blew in through the suddenly silent room, bringing the smell of the stables on the other side of Main Street. <S> A little brown mare was hitched out front, where she'd been led, limping, on a halter. <S> Something was wrong with her left front foot. <S> Will dug the tip of his fountain pen into the palm of his left hand and bit down on his lip. <S> Was it a split hoof? <S> That would hurt a lot for sure. <S> Or maybe someone put a shoe on and did it wrong. <S> A nice example of a POV shifting back and forth between two main characters, with no clear demarcations, is the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey-Maturin novels. <S> It feels asymmetrical and violates the expectations that have been set up in the reader. <S> If it's really necessary to do this, I would try to avoid creating that expectation, by varying the POV in more subtle ways elsewhere in the book. <A> The traditional way of doing things would be to have one POV per chapter, or, if you must switch within a chapter, to divide them with a section break. <S> But, as a general rule, less "head hopping" makes for stronger writing. <S> Multiple POV changes are hugely popular with newer writers, but you don't see it so often in successful published works. <S> It's a very difficult technique to write well. <S> Putting the reader into the headspace of a character takes some effort, and continual changes of perspective often create an emotional distance between reader and characters. <A> I think it is fine to shift, but I think you need a marker of some sort to ensure the reader is aware of whose POV they are in. <S> This could be done in prose, but it might be easier to just use the scene separator within the chapter, usually three dashes centered on a line, to signal to the reader something is changing. <S> Normally this is a time skip within the same setting, or a change of setting but it can be used to signal any kind of change, including a POV change. <S> I wouldn't mix <S> multiple POVs in a sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph fashion, just use the "---" and begin the next sentence with the name of whichever character is now the POV. <S> When we switch from Susan to John, for example:                                              --- John walked to the kitchen, looking for a sponge to clean Susan up [...]

To me it generally feels a little awkward when you have a whole novel written predominantly in one POV, but then one part of one chapter shifts the POV.

Can I modify and turn my published short stories into a novel? I'm writing some short stories that are all connected and are set in the same universe, because I planned to put them together into a novel later. My question is: If I publish those short stories, can I later modify and extend them into a novel, even if they have been published before? Is that considered self-plagiarism or something? <Q> You can't plagiarize yourself. <S> Your only issues are about copyright. <S> If you self-publish the stories, you of course retain the copyright. <S> If you use a traditional publisher (including magazines, websites, etc), you will have a contract (if you do not have a written contract, do not give permission for publication). <S> The contract will specify what the copyright situation is and if there are any other limits. <S> It's common for the author to retain copyright but also be subject to some rules about it. <S> For example, the short story publisher may have the right to publish it first (which seems easy, but sometimes projects get delayed). <S> They may also insist on being credited if you republish the story. <S> Read your contracts carefully to make sure there are no surprises later. <S> And remember, you can always negotiate the terms. <S> If you rewrite your short stories to fit a novel format, then they aren't the same stories, though you should still keep the original agreements, if they are anything more than wisps of inspiration. <S> If you are purposefully writing your short stories as if each were a chapter in your novel, then they aren't really short stories, but rather serialization. <S> That's fine, it just needs to be made clear in your contracts. <A> Consider Nightfall by Issac Asimov & Robert Silverberg. <S> The novel was published in 1990, but it was actually an expansion of a short story that Asimov originally wrote in 1941. <A> It's done all the time, Charles Stross's first two Laundry Files "novels" were in fact collections of earlier short fiction, albeit somewhat edited. <S> The reverse is also done, this is called serialisation where large works are broken into small sections for publication in magazines. <S> You do need to make sure your contractual obligations are compatible with republication, in whichever direction you want to go, this is probably best done before you start your publication cycle.

Unless you have a contract with a publisher that legally prevents it, you can do whatever you like with your own work. It's actually pretty common for writers to turn a short story (or several) into a novel.

Has anyone ever written a novel or short story composed of only dialogue? The participants describe everything needed for the story to continue, within the conversation. The environment, the emotions, everything. The reader gets to "see" it all through their words.Has it been done before? EDIT: I have written 5 chapters of a dialogue-only book. It started off in the usual format, until I realized that the fact that I have not been to locations will definitely show through. Its fleshed out like conversations between people now, with references to the environment thrown in. What I was looking for were references of books done like that, so I know how to write it in a way that others would ACTUALLY read the book and ENJOY the story.Can anyone give me suggestions of books written in such away? Or can any other writer give me guidance on how to write it this way?Thank you for all that have tried. <Q> The short story Orange by Neil Gaiman, from his collection <S> Trigger Warning takes your idea one step further: it's framed as a subject's responses to an investigator's written questionnaire. <S> The questions aren't even there - only the answers. <S> It starts: <S> Jemima Glorfindel Petula Ramsey. <S> Seventeen on June <S> the ninth. <S> The last five years. <S> Before that we lived in Glasgow (Scotland). <S> Before that, Cardiff (Wales). <S> You see how you don't need to see the questions, to know what they are? <S> Not all information needs to be put into words on the page - we are quite good at inferring. <S> For the "story" itself <S> (since the first questions are more of an introduction, really), here's an example: About half a metre above the carpet. <S> She'd sink down a bit to go through doors, so she didn't bump her head. <S> And after the hose incident she didn't go back to her room, just stayed in the main room and floated about grumpily, the colour of a luminous carrot. <S> Again, it is quite easy to infer all the bits that haven't been spelled out for you. <S> When you're writing, you have to have a very clear idea of the things that you're not putting on the page. <S> If what you're giving the readers is only dialogue, you need to know what's happening, the emotions, etc., and you need to make sure those events and emotions are adequately conveyed by the dialogue, that is - the reader can infer them from the dialogue. <S> When you want to create suspense, you can hide things by means of the format: your character might respond in surprise to something the reader cannot see. <S> But ultimately, suspense needs to be resolved, the reader must learn what's going on. <S> @sesquipedalias mentions plays in a comment. <S> That is indeed a useful reference point. <S> In particular, older plays, like Shakespeare, have very little stage directions, except for entrances and exits. <S> Everything that's going on, even the time of day, and most certainly emotions etc., are conveyed by the dialogue itself. <S> There is, however, a big difference: Shakespeare is telling you who is saying what. <S> That's one more bit of information you'll need to convey within the dialogue. <A> A clear-cut example is Your Fathers, Where Are They? <S> And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? <S> by Dave Eggers. <S> It starts like this: — <S> I did it. <S> You’re really here. <S> An astronaut. <S> Jesus. <S> — <S> Who’s that? <S> —You probably have a headache. <S> From the chloroform. <S> — <S> What? <S> Where am I? <S> Where is this place? <S> Who the fuck are you? <S> —You don’t recognize me? <S> —What? <S> No. <S> What is this? <S> —That? <S> It’s a chain. <S> It’s attached to that post. <S> Don’t pull on it. <S> —Holy shit. <S> Holy shit. <S> —I said don’t pull on it. <S> And I have to tell you right away how sorry I am that you’re here under these circumstances. <S> —Who are you? <S> — <S> We know each other, Kev. <S> From way back. <S> And I didn’t want to bring you here like this. <S> I mean, I’d rather just grab a beer with you sometime, but you didn’t answer any of my letters <S> and then I saw you were coming through town so—Really, don’t yank on that. <S> You’ll mess up your leg. <S> —Why the fuck am I here? <S> —You’re here because I brought you here. <S> —You did this? <S> You have me chained to a post? <S> —Isn’t that thing great? <S> I don’t know if you’d call it a post. <S> Whatever it is, it’s incredibly strong. <S> This place came with them. <S> This was a military base, so there are these weird fixtures here and there. <S> That thing you’re chained to can hold ten thousand pounds, and just about every building here has one. <S> Stop pulling on it. <S> —Help! <A> They're Made out of Meat by Terry Bisson consists only of dialogue-- <S> Specifically, between two aliens who are shocked to find fully organic life (spoiler: it's us). <S> Here are the opening lines: ... <S> "They're made out of meat." <S> "Meat?" <S> "Meat. <S> They're made out of meat." <S> "Meat?" <S> "There's no doubt about it. <S> We picked several from different parts ofthe planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all theway through. <S> They're completely meat." <S> "That's impossible. <S> What about the radio signals? <S> The messages tothe stars." <S> "They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come fromthem. <S> The signals come from machines." <S> "So who made the machines? <S> That's who we want to contact." <S> "They made the machines. <S> That's what I'm trying to tell you. <S> Meat madethe machines." <S> "That's ridiculous. <S> How can meat make a machine? <S> You're asking me tobelieve in sentient meat. <S> " ... You can find an audio play version (and an interview with Bisson) here . <A> It's been done a fair few time, I've written a short story this way myself, over two decades ago mind you. <S> It can be done, my recollection is that it came out pretty stilted <S> but I was only 12 <S> so it could have been worse.

The most recent example I can think of is World War Z which, as it is "An oral history of the zombie war", can be considered to be a piece of almost pure dialogue.

Trivial non-dark twist in dark fantasy I am writing a rather dark, grey fantasy story. It is supposed to feature a twist that turns the antagonist's goal to not to be evil at all (just misjudged) and really trivial (despite requiring large dose of effort). The protagonist changes for the worse, but I still get the feeling that that kind of twist will undermine the whole dark-ish feeling and readers' expectations. Would it work? Should I rework that idea? <Q> I would like to offer a frame challenge: you're asking "will X make my story not fit the 'dark fantasy' sub-sub-genre". <S> I say, write your story, make it a good one, <S> then think what genre or sub-genre it fits. <S> Does the twist you're planning make your story a good story? <S> Neil Gaiman says "Fiction is the lie that tells a truth" ( source ). <S> Are you telling a Truth? <S> Then go for it. <S> If in the end your story comes out not "grimdark fantasy" but just "fantasy", where's the harm in that? <S> For what it's worth, I find that a world that goes all wrong because of somebody's trivial wants, and somebody making stupid mistakes, and somebody burying their head in the sand, and somebody clucking their tongue but being unable to be bothered to do something - that's both more realistic and more tragic than some evil mastermind deliberately working to destroy things. <S> But that's not the main point. <A> I think it is a mistake to write half a book as a grim fantasy, then have a twist that undoes that. <S> To me, I am disappointed if the author builds up a dire scenario that suddenly fizzles out, the hero wanders off, the villain turns out to be working an elaborate insane scheme to corner the Nutella market, or write "Bite Me!" on the Moon. <S> The Reader's expectations are set in the first 25% of the book, both directly by the author and implied by the tone and events, and the whole book should be consistent with the first Act. <S> In the first half of the first Act, reader's will accept just about anything; magic, ghosts, intergalactic civilizations, immortality, God (or Gods) walking the Earth, whatever. <S> By the End of the First Act, reader's should know everything important about the world of the MC and Villain. <S> If you really want the twist to pacify the villain and flip the protagonist, you have to signal the tone of this from the beginning. <S> Don't promise a grim fantasy that fizzles out. <S> That's about as bad as the <S> "It was all a dream" deus ex machina. <S> Make it something else. <S> Otherwise, continue with the story you promised readers; the hero (compromised or not) will have a confrontation with the villain. <A> The risk that you run here is that, in making the antagonist's goal trivial, you also trivialise the heroes' quest. <S> 300 pages of blood, sweat, tears, agonizing combat, and heart-wrenching deaths later, your hero finally stops the villain... from introducing strawberry jam alongside the existing raspberry and cherry. <S> Oh, the horror. <S> However - while your antagonist's goal might be trivial, or even acceptable to the protagonist, either their methods or the potential side-effects might not be. <S> Introduce strawberry jam through a clever marketing campaign and a catchy jingle? <S> Everything is awesome. <S> Introduce it by blowing up other preserve factories? <S> That puts us in a bit of a jam. <S> Accidentally revive the neo-Nazi Strawberry-Supremacists while doing so, and kick off World War IV? <S> Really not cool, man. <S> The story then shifts from a straight "us-versus-them" narrative to "I agree in principle, but not in execution". <S> Your protagonist and antagonist might start working towards the same goal, but from different angles, each trying to talk the other around to their viewpoint. <S> "Your way is too slow", "your way is too reckless" - they may even team up for a short time, even while trying to sabotage each other. <S> And, of course, it leaves them both open for a revelatory <S> "oh no, what have I done", and a final sprint to reach their objective while also counteracting the negative consequences they have inadvertently spawned. <S> After all - they may say you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs, but you can get pretty damn close with soya milk and silken tofu. <A> There certainly are precedents. <S> A well-known (in Russia) sci-fi novel has a twist ending where it turns out that an ostensibly evil opponent was actually a high-placed agent in the enemy ranks <S> , his efforts to capture the protagonist were meant to protect him, and the protagonist's actions at thwarting the Evil Plans made things worse. <S> If a plot works in sci-fi, why not in dark fantasy? <S> Though making the goal <S> trivial instead of as grand as it seemed, but good instead of evil might let the reader down.

This works quite well if the "twist" is that the protagonists initially thought that the "unexpected side-effect" was actually the antagonist's main plan all along - while the antagonist may not realise that they are the cause, or even be completely unaware.

Do we have to introduce the character's name before using their names in a dialogue tag? Do we have to introduce the character's name before using their names in a dialogue tag? I am wondering if we can use the names without saying it's a man or a woman, and then making the characters introduce themselves and name themselves before using their names in dialogue tags. For example: "My name is John!" the man said. "Happy to meet you!" said Matthew. "Likewise!" said John. What are the various approaches for this? And when should you use them? <Q> No. <S> Trust your reader's intuition for the obvious. <S> If the first lines of your book read: "Put that back!" <S> Alicia scolded. <S> "No! Mine!" <S> Richard said, defiant. <S> She grabbed the plastic bottle of cough syrup from him, and put it back on the grocery shelf. <S> He started crying, and reached for it again, Alicia moved the cart to the center of the aisle so he couldn't. <S> "Mine!" <S> "No it isn't." <S> Reader's aren't stupid, and writing is not a mathematical or scientific proof. <S> They will infer Alicia is an exasperated mother, Richard is a very young child, they are in a grocery store, and you don't have to tell them any of that. <S> You can even give clues to their appearance by action, instead of telling. <S> "Let me get that for you," Michael said, easily reaching the top shelf, seeing the young woman was about to climb the shelving to reach it. <S> "Oh, thank you," Britney said. <S> "Would you mind grabbing another one?" <A> The only issue to worry about is that your reader knows who is speaking and can remember who the characters are scene to scene. <S> How you accomplish this is up to you. <S> That being said, it's a little weird to have "the man" and "John" so close together. <S> So I'd shake it up slightly. <S> An easy way would be to leave off the "said John" tag (that's easy because it's obvious to the reader <S> he's the one talking there). <S> "My name is John!" <S> the man said. <S> "Happy to meet you!" said Matthew. <S> "Likewise!" <S> You can also play around with the "the man" part. <S> Matthew walked up to a tall young man with a bright purple tie who introduced himself as John. <S> "Happy to meet you!" <S> Matthew said. <S> "Likewise!" <S> If you want to obscure the person's name and gender, you can do that too. <S> Matthew walked up to one of the new interns who was balancing a plate in one hand and a cup of something steaming in the other. <S> "Happy to meet you!" <S> Matthew said. <S> "Likewise! <S> I'm John by the way." <A> As others have said, no, you don't have introduce anything before a dialogue. <S> Infact, you can have dialogues with totally unknown characters: <S> A low, menacing voice whispered behind his ear. <S> "I'd put that weapon down, kid." <S> or She heard someone screaming in the distance. <S> "Fire!" <S> In both cases the character speaking is unknown to the PoV, is not being introduced, and could either be male or female. <S> Regarding the John example, I'd say it's lacking a bit of context. <S> In a scene of a novel, if two characters are going to meet, I don't expect any of them to pop out of thin air and start talking. <S> The man was tall and wiry. <S> The hair on the top of his head were receding, but he looked handsome. <S> His squared jaw gave him a look of quiet confidence. <S> As always, Matthew's attention was drawn in to the little details - the clean, recently ironed shirt, and the polished look of his belt. <S> The stranger knew how to dress. <S> "My name's John," he said, ad he put his right hand forward. <S> "Happy to meet you" Matthew replied, shaking it. <S> Of course this is not always true. <S> You can start a dialogue in medias res , with both character already in the middle of the action. <S> Chapter 24 <S> "My name's John" the new intern said. <S> "Happy to meet you" Matthew answered. <S> Most names are usually gender specific, so most of the times you don't need to specify if the talker is male or female. <S> If you haven't described a character before, the audience will take the underlying information to assume the gender. <S> Chapter 24 <S> "My name's John" Since John is typically used for males, you don't really need to say anything else. <S> Unless, of course, the PoV tells us otherwise: Chapter 24 <S> "My name's John" Matthew looked at the new intern, trying to wash away the dumbfounded expression on his face. <S> He was probably failing at that. <S> " <S> Yeah, I know. <S> " The girl chuckled at him. <S> "You're not the first who gives me that look". <S> "I didn't mean to" <S> He walked up to her <S> and they shook hands. <S> "It's just unusual." <S> The same can happen if you're using codenames, surnames, or names in a foreign language. <S> But I'd call those exceptions, not the general case.

You want to be clear, but you definitely can identify a new speaker without any description and just "blah blah blah," Charname said.

How to write references? I am writing a document for my project, and some information is from another website, I didn't copy the text but use their data, do I need to write that website in references? If so, how to? And that website is not in English. Thanks! <Q> If the website is a journal, it will have a name that you can also use in the citation. <S> If the authors of the website are writing about data that someone else produced, you will need to find the original author and cite her/him/them directly. <S> It can be tricky to figure out who is the original author, because many websites relate studies without being clear about attribution. <S> How to make the citation depends on the style guide you're using. <S> And each style guide has differences based on the type of website and article. <S> An example from MLA : “Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview.” <S> WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview. <S> An example from APA : <S> Cain, K. (2012, June 29). <S> The Negative effects of Facebook on communication. <S> Social Media Today RSS. <S> Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com <S> An example from Chicago Manual of Style : <S> Heck, Jr., Richard G. <S> “About the Philosophical Gourmet Report.” <S> Last modified August 5, 2016. <S> http://rgheck.frege.org/philosophy/aboutpgr.php . <A> If their data is used in your work, you have to reference them. <S> This is important for several reasons: <S> It shows that you didn't just make up that data on the spot. <S> It doesn't give the false impression that you gathered the data yourself. <S> If you didn't do something, you should not pretend to have done it. <S> It allows the readers to evaluate the source of the data by themselves. <S> Otherwise they would have to rely on you having a good judgement of the source. <S> In case you don't provide the data itself in your text, it allows the readers to get at the data in order to replicate your results. <S> And last not least, it gives credit to those people who did the work of gathering the data. <A> Yes, you should cite it, particularly if the data you downloaded might be wrong. <S> But either way, the data is the product of their work and you shouldn't take any implied credit for it. <S> You should have guidelines for citing a website, but at minimum it will be the just the web address and the date. <S> Like Data courtesy of www.SomeDataForYou.com; <S> Jul 2019. <A> Before you write a reference: <S> check whether they may have a section that clarifies how to cite their data; <S> consider writing an email to ask how to correctly reference it. <S> The reason is that the data may not be part of the website per se, but it may belong to the company, or the generic entity that owns the website, or may even belong to a third party that has licensed it to the website. <S> If you wish to write a reference nonetheless: Data from www.source.com or, better, especially if the website is not in the language of your typical reader: Data from http://www.source.com/path/to/data <S> Add dates or versions if the data is subject to changes. <S> I would use the term "courtesy of" only if they replied to a query and confirmed that you are free to use it in any way you wish. <S> Further, you could even use "personal communication of [person]" if the owner of the data sent it to you. <S> The language itself is an issue if your main readership speaks language A, but: the data is organized in a manner that would require knowledge of language B; the data comes with a licence written in language B <S> In the first case, I would advice adding a footnote, or a supplementary section to describe the structure and content of the data for reproducibility of the analysis. <S> In the second case, you could add a note in the reference (e.g. data from [link], subject to licence [link to licence]) and confide in the power of google.translate.

If the authors of the website produced the data, then cite them like you would the authors of a work published on paper. check whether their data has a specific licence that would require a specific type of reference (e.g. copying part of the licence for derivative work).

How to avoid unconsciously copying the style of my favorite writer? I've been reading and writing for a long time. Last year, I was introduced to Haruki Murakami. I don't know if it's case for every writer trying to figure out their voice, but for me, once I read his novels, I clearly and determinately said, "These are exactly the kind of stories I want to tell. And these are the feelings I want to convey." I increased my writing output, being inspired by Murakami's writings, but what I noticed, upon reading a short story I finished, is that I unconsciously copy elements of his style. Sure, it's my story, but his writings have been so influential and inspiring that I find myself constructing sentences and setting scenes in the same way he constructs his. My questions: How to balance my goal of putting readers into the same emotional state I had experienced with Murakami without copying his style? Do I keep writing without questioning this similarity, or try to suppress it? Please feel free to answer either of the questions. <Q> Go ahead and copy his style. <S> Murakami is a brilliant writer who draws heavily on other writers (as does every writer, whether they realize it or not). <S> Honestly, if you can manage to write so well that people compare you to him, you will have accomplished something amazing. <S> It's hard enough to write in a style similar to someone with a more mainstream approach. <S> Writing like someone unusual is quite difficult. <S> So difficult that you will almost certainly put your own spin on it, which is of course what you want. <S> Of course you don't want to copy his ideas, plots, characters, or turns of phrase. <S> But style is more of a school of thought (like Impressionism) and not something unique to an individual, even if it's in fact unique (though no one's style is completely new and different). <S> I mean if you could paint like Monet, you'd do it, right? <S> So go ahead and write like Murakami. <S> With your own particular penstrokes. <A> I don't know Murakami, so I think it depends on how "trademark" his style is. <S> If it is particularly unique, I wouldn't want to be seen as an obvious imitation. <S> But if it is just good writing, I'd use the style. <S> You will probably write yourself out of it anyway, using it as a starting point to develop your own style. <S> Many published authors talk about having done this, imitating their own favorite authors every time they read something by them, but on rewrite tweaking even those to their own unique styles. <S> I wouldn't force a departure from it; it will probably happen naturally. <S> Unless the guy writes in inverted syntax, like Yoda in Star Wars, chances are nobody will notice his influence. <A> Good answers already, and good writing is good writing. <S> If other writers say "I see what you did there" it doesn't need to matter any more than a magician pulling something from his sleeve. <S> But I wanted to throw in a counter intuitive solution <S> Really lay into it. <S> More satire than homage. <S> More parody than pastiche. <S> If instead of Murakami you had been conscious of sounding like Wodehouse, say "What ho" every couple of lines. <S> That way, you'll see when something's "an obvious Murakami". <S> You'll see what he did, but also how he did it, which will give some ideas of how to achieve a similar effect without being too close to the original.

: Write something in Murakami's style. If writing a Sherlock Holmes story, pepper it with "Elementary, my dear Watson" (which Doyle never wrote).

How to foreshadow to avoid a 'deus ex machina'-construction The plot in my story revolves around a certain ability of the MC that is normally not available, unless the circumstances are just right. Therefore, it is not mentioned in the story as a solution to the MC's problem, as the ability is considered to be something from a legend and not really an option.I want to avoid to just throw the existence of said ability into the climax of the story as a deus ex machina. However, it also makes no sense to talk about it extensively beforehand due to above reasons. I'm also afraid that talking too much about it will give away the climax to the reader. How do I foreshadow the existence of this ability effectively without telling too much or too little? Will an anecdote or a story 'from legend' be what I'm looking for? When do I talk about it? <Q> Otherwise, indeed, this is a Deus ex Machina. <S> How you reveal the existence of the ability is up to you. <S> Maybe someone recounts a legend. <S> Maybe it's part of a history lesson. <S> Maybe it is even specifically mentioned to "no longer exist" or maybe you even explain why it's extremely rare and couldn't possibly happen within the story. <S> You could mention the thing once in passing, or you can mention it multiple times as part of your worldbuilding. <S> Look at some examples: in Game of Thrones , G.R.R. Martin says multiple times that dragons no longer exist, and the eggs Daenerys holds have long turned to stone. <S> By the end of the book, the dragons hatch. <S> In Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel , the Raven King is subject of old legend. <S> Then he shows up. <A> One approach to doing this is to not foreshadow the thing itself, but rather mentioning something similar to it. <S> So if there's legendary powers in the story, one solution would be to mention not the exact power your character is going to have but rather a different power in a different context. <S> Maybe they got a tickling sensation when being presented with a certain situation, maybe they felt a rush of power, something like this. <S> Another (though very limited approach) is to include things like legends as part of religion. <S> Let the character take part in a religious ceremony where the ability is mentioned by the priest, buried below tons of other mystical things that don't actually come into life later. <S> As priests often talk about things that seem fantastical at first glance, you can hide an ability without making it too obvious to the reader. <A> As Galastel says, you have to talk about it. <S> I do that with legends; and make sure my hero believes those legends maybe were real, but probably exaggerated, and certainly the descriptions have probably been embellished a bit. <S> Like believing a religious icon from the past maybe had some miraculous powers, but raising somebody from the dead was exaggerated. <S> Maybe the ancient folk thought somebody was dead <S> but they weren't, so <S> the icon cured him and brought him around, but didn't reverse an actual death. <S> Or maybe the hero believes absolutely, but also believes it is a one-time thing, anybody claiming to have the power or have seen the power is either a fraud or a sucker. <S> I tend to include both believers and skeptics, fewer believers and the mainstream skeptics, with logical reasons for being a skeptic and just "belief" for the believers, they don't have any logical justifications. <S> But then of course in the moment of truth the hero gets slapped upside the head with their ability. <S> I like that surprise and the emotional conflict it causes. <A> If the resolution of your MC conflict is dependent on this unusual power, then if even if you cite some legend early in the story about Paul Bunyan possessing this power and how he used to solve a different problem <S> I think your audience will still find it convenient that your MC suddenly has this power too. <S> If the application of this power requires special circumstances, does the effectiveness or forcefulness of this special power depend on how close to special the circumstances are? <S> By this can you establish a trivial circumstance where the MC is able to use this power to no great effect — because the circumstances were exactly right but only moderately right <S> — then the Tale of Genji from ancient and mythical times illustrates how this power can be tremendous under exactly the right circumstances. <S> This by the way is kind of the same as L. Watt Evans ‘With a Single Spell’ a poorly trained wizard that only knows one spell enters a magic competition and uses his one and only stupid spell that — lights a candle — to tremendous effect. <A> I'm forcefully reminded of Stardust in which the rather complex details of Una's contract to Madame Semele are made plain and the expectation is that unless she outlives the witch she's stuck with her. <S> As it turns out the contract is not quite as ironclad as it appears, which comes as a surprise to spite the pieces being there almost from the beginning. <S> You can do something similar in this case, the character has an ability, maybe they've even used it before, but the expectation is that it was an impossible coincidence and they can't repeat their one-time feat, until they can and do. <S> To keep the reader off balance the circumstances around the initial incident should be reported in such a way that the reader thinks the requirements are either more complex than they really are or different because they focus on details that aren't actually important to the use of the ability but were a focus of the characters involved. <S> Purely as an example an ability may only work at a full moon, however the only time it's ever been demonstrated to work is when a full moon marked the spring equinox, people have forgotten it works at the full moon and believe you can only do X at the spring equinox and it usually doesn't work, since the equinox and the full moon more often than not don't coincide.

Another idea would be the following: If the special ability of your main character activates under certain circumstances, let them get into similar circumstances and nearly , but not fully activate the power. You needn't reveal that the character has the ability, but you need to reveal the fact that the ability exists.

Is the MC in first person singular always all knowing? While writing a first-person singular novel, is the MC all-knowing? How do we handle plots which do not include the MC, like something happening with others but not including MC? Will it be taken as granted that as the story has already happened MC knows it all. Edit: In my novel, the characters are playing an online game, how does my MC know what is happing in the game while she is not playing sometimes. Can my character narrate the story of what happened a game when she was not present or she was not told in the story what happened. <Q> TL;DR: <S> First-person protagonists are never all-knowing, but if they're telling the story after the fact, they can know things they haven't been told yet. <S> First-person narratives come in two flavours: past-tense, where the narrator is recalling events that have already happened; and present-tense, where the narrator is describing events as they happen. <S> Past tense is more common in novels, and present tense is more common in visual novels. <S> In a present-tense first-person narrative, the narrator cannot possibly be all-knowing. <S> They learn things at the exact same time as the reader - or possibly even afterwards , depending on the reader's level of perception or genre-savviness. <S> To Kill a Mockingbird , for example, opens with Scout and Jem arguing over the exact chain of events that led to Jem breaking his arm, something that doesn't happen until the very end of the book. <S> But the narrator's knowledge is still limited to their own experiences, and anything they may have been told after the fact, so they're still not omniscient like a third-person narrator can be. <S> To address the question you edited in while I was writing this: If you're using a past-tense narrative, you can have the narrator explain what happened during their absences, under the pretence that they were told later. <S> If you're using a present-tense narrative, and nobody ever fills the narrator in during that narrative, then they cannot possibly know what happened during their absence and you cannot have them describe it to the reader. <A> No not at all. <S> The narrative is limited to what the main character knows. <S> If something happens off page without the MC present, the MC must learn about it either on page or off page. <S> Say the MC's father dies and he doesn't know. <S> Either he discovers the body, or someone tells him. <S> But he is not all-knowing. <S> He is limited to what a normal person knows. <S> The narrative is entirely 'him.' <A> You can do head-hopping point of view if you want first person narrative but need knowledge the viewpoint character doesn't have. <S> Hemingway and Stephen King are famous for head-hopping. <S> Here's a related Q&A from this site: <S> Is head-hopping always bad?

In a past-tense first-person narrative, the narrator has the benefit of hindsight, and will know things they shouldn't know at that point in the narrative.

Shifting tenses in the middle of narration I am writing a short story where the narrator is recording a message to his daughter about some tragic event and in between the narration, the narrator sometimes tries to address directly his daughter. Basically, the narrator recounts his story in the past tense, since it happened twenty years ago, then he shifts to the present tense when addressing his daughter in the middle of narration as if to give further context on the said events. For example: What I saw on that night would forever haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. I was at a loss on what to make out of what I saw. Maribel, there are things in this world that we humans are just not meant to know… things so unworldly, so fundamentally wrong that our minds just couldn’t comprehend it without losing our sanity. Notice that when the narrator was recounting his nightmarish ordeal, he is talking in the past tense. But when he shifts his focus to directly address his daughter, Maribel, he does so in the present tense. Is the shifting of tenses in the middle of narration an acceptable grammar practice? Or not? Thanks. <Q> Yes, you're totally fine. <S> If your tense shift happens between paragraphs — that is, the new tense starts a new paragraph — it should be clear what's happening. <S> If this is a first-person narrative and you as the writer have shown that this is the narrator addressing someone, there's no reason you can't shift. <S> People do this in reality in their speech. <S> What you can't do is have the entire story randomly shift tenses without cause. <S> Third-person narration, or even first-person which is addressing the reader and not another character, has to stay in one tense unless there's an explicit reason (like a flashback or a dream) to change. <A> The actual switch in tense is fine. <S> The context of one tense is simply different from the context of the other. <S> If the bulk of a story is in the past tense, but the narrator switches to the present tense in a few places, I often see such passages put in italics, simply to visually offset the different context. <S> This can help with any possible confusion on the reader's part. <S> But while I find italics a nice signal of context switching, it's not essential—and it could also be handled differently. <S> For instance, if you start every present tense passage with "Maribel,  . . . ," that would quickly be recognized as a cue for what is happening. <S> Other novels I've read have had different characters narrate different chapters—and also had some of those chapters (the characters' narration) be in different tenses. <A> We use tenses to establish a temporal order between statements and from there derive chronology and causality between facts. <S> If you mess that up, no one will be able to follow the stream of events in your writings. <S> That does not mean that it is forbidden to switch tenses. <S> In fact in a stream of consciousness narration it is perfectly acceptable to switch tenses between paragraphs, and even within the same paragraph; it would still be acceptable in a more restrained type of narration, provided that, in both circumstances: events happening in close temporal proximity to each other are presented with the same tense, e.g. what I saw then... <S> what I did then... <S> what I see now... <S> what I do now... <S> statements about absolute truths are told in present tense, e.g. life is great conditional sentences are correctly constructed, e.g. If I were, I would consecutio temporum is respected, e.g. I say that there are things we can't understand

So long as it's done in a way that isn't confusing to the reader, and so long as there's some level of consistency and order to it, there is no reason to avoid a change in tense.

Why do most authors shed their LitRPG elements as the stories go? Is it a genre convention? In almost all the LitRPG stories I read, the start of the stories is full of system messages, +1 here and there, even damage prompts saying "Goblin hits Hero for -8 HP". Classes, skills, experience points galore. For those that don't know, LitRPG ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LitRPG ) - it is a genre more prominent in asian literature, where "transported into or living in a game-like world" kind of stories happen. Not to be confused with "trapped in a game world" like Sword Art Online, that is GameLit. Then as the story progresses and the characters power growth characteristic of a true RPG creeps in, these elements are blatantly discarded, never to be mentioned again. Gone is the damage message, gone is the skill growth, gone is all but the most superficial elements of the RPG and it becomes just a normal (insert genre) story. To the point I feel like the LitRPG element becomes just a crutch to get the story kickstarted. One that could be entirely discarded for the sake of brevity. Or sent to the Checkov firing squad. But almost all authors do it that way. Therefore, is it a genre convention to do it that way? <Q> It is an unfortunate example of the hook and content curve. <S> It is a measure by which the artifact of the work takes precedence over the actual story at any given point. <S> This usually takes on the form you described for two main reasons: <S> The author wants to avoid fatigue regarding the format. <S> Story event density goes up over time (working towards climax) <S> which makes such interesting touches more intrusive to flow. <S> For another genre in which this happens a lot, look at musicals. <S> In nearly all cases, the first half will contain almost double the number of songs of the second half. <A> Different narrative media have their own modes to tell a story. <S> A novel uses written language; a movie uses images replacing each other within a frame accompanied by spoken language, sounds, and music; a comic uses static images placed side by side on a printed page; and a role playing game uses a group of players taking turns casting dice to decide one of several possible outcomes for a narrative situation. <S> Usually one medium doesn't employ the narrative modes of another. <S> When a film is made after a book, cinema goers don't usually see a book on screen that they have to read page after page for 90 minutes. <S> When an author writes the novelization of a movie, he does not describe how on screen the protagonist was only visible to the knees and how the antagonist teased him from off screen. <S> When a comic books is turned into an RPG, the players don't trow the dice for which panel they are going to place on the page next. <S> When one story told in one medium is retold in another, it is not the representation in that medium that gets retold, but the story that was being told. <S> If you attempt to recreate an RPG in a novel, the result will be utterly boring: <S> Lord Voldemort rolled and inflicted 20 damage to Harry Potter. <S> Taking his turn, Harry rolled and raised his protection by 15 points, reducing the damage to 5 points. <S> His health had nevertheless fallen to 18 points now, weakening him so much that he had to pause a turn to recover. <S> Therefore, novelisations of RPG might begin with a reminder of the game mode to draw in the gamers, and will then switch to the narrative mode that works best in this medium. <A> A story filled from beginning to end with stats adjustments would be practically unreadable. <S> That doesn't entail that the the gamelike aspects might not still be an important part of the background setting and atmosphere. <S> It may be true in some instances that those conventions could be entirely removed without any loss --and perhaps to the story's overall benefit! <S> --but <S> it sounds like that would migrate the story to a different subgenre. <S> From the little I know of LitRPG, it's already an anti-realist subgenre <S> --it <S> 's founded on artifice and the deliberate suspension of disbelief <S> --so it doesn't surprise me that it has ritual conventions of form.

It's an anti-realist convention intended to make things less tedious and annoying for both the reader and the writer. Current practice for attention-calling literary elements --I'm thinking primarily here of things like accents and dialects --is to start out with enough to give the flavor, and then to assume that the reader can extrapolate that those same things are continuing in the background , even if they are no longer being called-out or fully rendered.

(Self-)publishing a book using copyrighted material - adaptation for younger readers I have written and drawn a children's book. It's an adaptation of the Hobbit condensed into 32 pages aimed at 4-8 year olds (can be read to and read by children). I had the book printed for private use (it was a Christmas present) but I would really like to publish it to make it available for others because so many people have asked me. But Tolkien's works are copyrighted. My question is- can I publish it? And if not, would making name changes be enough, or would it still be an infringement? <Q> The Tolkien Estate owns the relevant IP and appears to defend it diligently. <S> On the Estate's web site, the first question in the Permissions and Requests FAQ asks whether it is "possible to write stories that are set in Middle-earth" and the answer is an emphatic "NO." <S> I wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot pole, unless you plan to go through the proper channels and get the blessings of any stakeholders. <A> If the book is clearly based on the Hobbit and uses the names of characters from the Hobbit, you are treading on thin ice. <S> If you wrote your condensation by copying key chunks of text out of the original and basically just cutting a bunch of stuff out, that sounds like pretty blatant copyright violation. <S> In practice, I am not a lawyer, but publishing a book like this without permission from Tolkien's heirs would be just asking for a lawsuit. <S> I'll gladly yield to a copyright lawyer who is familiar with the details of the law and the precedents. <A> What do you mean by 'publish'? <S> There is a ton of derivative work on the internet which is pretty much left alone so long as it is not for profit. <S> Fanfiction.net has 57.2K stories spun off from LotR and 12.7K spun off from The Hobbit! <S> I think if you want to distribute your piece, publish it online as a blog post and send people the link and do NOT ask for money.

If you re-told the story in your own words, told essentially the same story but didn't copy any of the words from the original book, you're PROBABLY safe on copyright grounds but would still be open to trademark violation. You could talk to the copyright owners, but my guess is that given the popularity of "The Hobbit", they'd want a lot of money for permission to use the work.

What kind of name should a fantasy author go by? I'm currently in the middle of writing several fantasy books and, even though I'm not done with any of them, I can't stop thinking about how my name will appear on my books once they are finished. I remember reading somewhere that authors should go by names that are sort of related to their genre. I don't know if that's actually important or not. If my name is Sage Piché, would that be good enough (Piché is pronounced pee-shay, by the way)? Or should it be S. M. Piché? Or should I come up with a new name altogether? <Q> I do not know the source of that claim you heard, but I think you're taking it too literally. <S> Generally, most authors just use their name. <S> There's nothing about the name "J.R.R. Tolkien" or "Terry Pratchett" or "Ursula Le Guin" that's particularly related to speculative fiction, except after the fact - those names are related to the genre because that's what those famous authors wrote. <S> In some genres that are perceived "masculine", a woman might wish to mask her gender. <S> This was the case for J.K. Rowling and Robin Hobb. <S> In some situations one might wish to mask one's ethnicity, as was the case for Janusz Korczak, for example. <S> The situation on those things keeps changing though: things that it was advisable, for the sake of publicity, to mask some decades ago, can now become an advantage. <S> If you're set on picking a pseudonym, you would want to avoid something that stands out in the wrong way. <S> As an example, unless you're writing sleazy romance, you probably wouldn't want to be called Roxie Lust. <S> But if you do write sleazy romance, you don't have to call yourself <S> Roxie Lust - there's nothing wrong with a perfectly neutral name that sounds like an actual person's name. <S> That's about it. <S> Don't worry about it. <A> Just use your Initials and last name <S> G.R.R. Martin <S> J.R.R. Tolkien <S> J.K Rowling seems to work well for them... <S> If your last name doesn't have a nice ring to it, just make one up. <S> Or if your last name is too foreign for english language novels (by that I mean Easter, or Middle Eastern), get a pen name. <S> Akhmed Bin Al Shahi -- <S> > <S> you might consider calling yourself A B A Shane. <S> Yes the world is racist and sexist. <S> And people do judge a book by its cover, and an author by the published name. <S> And believe me when I say, my real name is not the dolphin of france <S> , that's just what the president calls me. <A> I don't think it matters. <S> The only fantasy author I can think of who tweaked their name for remotely genre-related reasons was Joanne Rowling calling herself J K Rowling in case <S> boys wouldn't read a story by a woman. <S> I don't think someone new would have to do that today, thanks to her success. <A> The frame challenge of this question is whether you would like to be read by someone who considers your name to be an important factor in the decision on whether reading your book. <S> If having the largest readership is important to you, then you may also want to consider whether the content of your book would appeal to the majority before you even wonder about the pen name that you are going to use. <S> What matters is that your title and synopsis are well crafted to tell the interested readers that you have a book for them.

If you want to use your name, just use your name. If you write for the pleasure of writing, or if the content of your writing is important to you, then your pen name should not matter.

Do living authors still get paid royalties for their old work? Do authors still get paid royalties for their old works? For example, If I decided to buy a copy of the "Odessa File" by Frederick Forsyth or "Kane and Abel" by Jeffery Archer, do the authors get paid royalties for them? Another example would be me buying the Harry Potter series for my kid, maybe 10-15 years down the line (it would definitely be considered a classic by then). Would J.K. Rowling benefit from it? <Q> In the US, an author holds the copyright to his work for all his life, and his heirs hold it for 70 years after his death, at which point the work becomes public domain. <S> ( source ) <S> In other countries the number of years after the author's death may vary, but I do not know of a single country nowadays where copyright expired before author's death. <S> (This used to be the case in the beginning of last century <S> - copyright would only last for X years after publication. <S> It isn't the case now.) <S> Since the author holds the copyright, the publisher cannot just go ahead and publish - the right needs to be paid for. <S> That's what royalties are. <S> ( Source ) <S> So to answer your question, yes, a living author continues to get paid royalties for their older works. <A> Minor point as I've met people who don't get this - authors and publishers are only paid for the new copies of their books. <S> When you buy books from any kind of second-hand store, it's only the store owner getting the money. <S> I came to the belated realisation that my years of finding old SF books in such stores wasn't helping authors and started buying e-books instead. <A> Assuming that you are referring to works published in the USA, it depends on: who owns the copyright and the specific terms of the contract. <S> In some cases, the publisher owns the copyright. <S> In some cases, the author is entitled to royalties only after the publisher earns the amount paid as an advance. <S> Often books don't earn more than the initial advance, and so the author can hypothetically not earn anything from the sale (even though the sale can ultimately lead to more earnings). <S> Is the book being sold for the first time, or is it a used book? <S> Usedbooks don't earn the author any money directly (although there may beindirect benefits). <S> Authors don't earn anything from review copies either. <S> Are you buying an ebook version? <S> Generally speaking, the author earns more money from an ebook sale than a physical copy. <S> Is the book seller selling a book or ebook with the consent of the copyright holder? <S> This can be difficult to tell sometimes (especially with printed books), but some common sense will usually provide the answer. <S> You should generally make an effort to acquire a book or ebook legally and cheaply. <S> On the other hand, I pick up free and cheap books all the time -- and feel no guilt about doing so. <S> Most authors publish several books, and so even if you get one title for free, chances are more likely that you will buy additional volumes by the same author. <S> Giving away free and discounted titles is a legitimate part of building brand awareness.

A publisher pays the author royalties in exchange for the rights to publish their work.

Author and Illustration owner I paid an illustrator to do the art for my picture book and I now own the artwork. Am I then allowed to submit to agents as an author/illustrator? How does this work? <Q> No, that would be dishonest. <S> If you say "I am an illustrator", that means that you draw illustrations. <S> The fact that I bought a piece of beef at the grocery store does not make me a cattle rancher. <S> I own the beef, but I didn't raise the cow. <S> If you call yourself the "illustrator", you set yourself up that a publisher might say, "hey, can you make one more illustration?" or "would you be interested in illustrating this other book we have?", and then have to admit that you are not an illustrator and embarrass yourself. <A> Since you do already own these illustrations, you can use them as a self-publisher, or, in the case that a traditional publisher does want both, you should be entitled to all the royalties without splitting them. <S> However, the original illustrator should still be credited. <S> Also, you should definitely make sure you have all rights and expectations for the images (and the compensation) spelled out in a signed contact. <S> Contrary to popular belief <S> it is NOT necessarily better or easier to sell a picture book with illustrations attached . <S> If you ARE an author/illustrator, your best bet is to submit a portfolio, establish yourself as a proven illustrator, and then pitch a book where you've also written the text. <S> Author/illustrators are the gold standard of the industry, true, but <S> the usual career path is to master one side of the slash first, then the other. <S> It probably won't hurt you to submit a manuscript with pictures attached, but it may not help either. <S> If the story is intimately attached to the pictures, you can provide sketches, but don't expect fidelity to them. <S> If you are primarily a writer, don't commission illustrations unless you are self-publishing. <S> At best, your commissioned illustrations will probably serve as a "proof of concept" that will help the editor visualize your final book. <S> Most publishers like to pair new writers with proven illustrators , and vice versa. <S> Furthermore, they can probably afford much better illustrators than you can. <A> Not a lawyer. <S> You paid an illustrator to provide artwork for your book. <S> You (supposedly) own the right to publish the artwork - <S> that's what you paid the artist for. <S> But that doesn't make you the illustrator of the work. <S> You are not an author/illustrator. <S> You are an author. <S> The illustrator would need to be credited as such. <S> The book would be "written by X, illustrated by Y". <S> By "owning the artwork" it is usually meant that you have the right to publish it in your book, not that you can stick your name on it. <S> The details would be in the agreement you signed with the artist. <S> Agreements that say you are allowed to put your name on another person's work do exist, but that would be explicitly stated, hopefully cost a lot more money, and I personally find it morally disgusting.

You can say, "I wrote this book and I also own the copyright on the illustrations" or something to that effect. It's at-the-least unethical to claim their work as yours , even if you have legal ownership of it.

Lost my ‘magic’ concerning characters I love creating characters, and for me it’s been the joy of writing for however long I’ve been doing it. I have maybe three or four unfinished projects which house characters whom I love, and they’re like little pieces of me and those around me. (I’m working hard to finish one of these in particular) Recently I got an idea for another book—and I don’t think that’s a bad thing, I like a break from my other story sometimes—and I was super interested in this certain character idea. But... once I tried putting it on the page, all of the characters I had thought up seemed super unnatural and even unlikeable. I don’t understand why it’s not working. I used to throw out characters and they would have instant chemistry. What can I do when this happens with my characters? Perhaps I just hit a bad idea and should throw it away? Thanks to anyone who answers or comments. <Q> I quote Natalie Goldberg a lot because I love how, in Writing Down The Bones , she talks about ideas like compost. <S> You throw in all the kitchen scraps and dead leaves and give them time to break down. <S> Given enough time, they develop into beautiful compost that’s like gold for your garden. <S> Maybe you just need to give your story and characters a bit more time to ‘compost’ in your mind. <S> Character is driven by action. <S> Who they are as people is defined by the choices they make and the actions they take. <S> That is, you don’t tell a reader your character has a hard time making decisions, you put them in situations where their lack of decision making leaves them paralysed. <S> Perhaps, if you give your story time to grow, your characters will develop out of the situations you write them into. <S> Try flipping things on their head and have them react in unexpected ways. <S> As your story develops, your characters will too. <S> Sometimes, the harder a story is to write, the more complex and rich it becomes. <S> But those stories take more time than others. <S> The decisions and actions taken harder to make, and the characters deeper and more three-dimensional as a result. <S> So, I wouldn’t rush into writing it off as a bad idea. <S> Perhaps work on finishing the others while you give this one the time it needs to ‘compost’. <S> It could end up being the best thing you’ve ever written. <S> Good luck! <A> It has happened to me. <S> But I went with it. <S> I made the characters really unlikeable. <S> I think I was in an angry state of mind <S> and I needed someone to vent on. <S> It was interesting because eventually I humanized them and found small things that I could relate to. <S> I still didn't like them all that much, but they were not as flat. <A> In my experience, characters generally feel flat and unnatural when they're there to fill a role in the story, instead of being allowed to act like themselves. <S> Meaning, the events are written the way the author wants rather than the way the character wants. <S> The result is a character who is more puppet than person. <S> (You've probably seen them before - the unconvincing villain who's there mainly to make the hero look good, the love interest who has no chemistry with the MC because he's meant primarily as a plot device.) <S> Pretend there's no plot for a moment - drop your characters into the scenario you've set up, and let things play out the way they would want. <S> You may find you need to tweak the plot, or abandon the character and create a new one. <S> (If you're having trouble, I've also found it helpful to take the characters out of the story completely and drop them into situations they might never experience otherwise. <S> How do they react to being stuck in a traffic jam? <S> A difficult co-worker? etc.) <S> In summary: Make sure you're writing your characters as people , not as plot devices. <A> I have that happening to me, too. <S> But you should draw a line between 'unlikable' and 'flat'. <S> In my stories I have characters that are total assholes I would never ever want to meet in real life. <S> But they are never flat! <S> They have something that made them who they are now - even if it's just their character of being a totally selfish jackass with no empathy whatsoever. <S> What may be the challenge you're facing on the other hand might come from the fact that you are jumping between stories. <S> It might be an aversion driven by your subconsciousness because you acuse your new characters of luring you away from all the others of which you still have and want to tell the full story. <S> But that's just a guess tbh... <S> It is also possible that not 'liking' them is your gut telling you that there is something off with their personality, something that just doesn't add up or has no logical explanation. <S> Not of the kind like somebody disliking pineapples for whatever reason, but more like someone shy stepping up as the hero in a deus ex machina way and not as logical development of his character. <S> Just my two cents...

Sometimes, it helps to step back and try to let your characters write the story instead.

Should I stick with American terminology in my English set young adult book? I am writing a book that is set in England, but because I would get the book published in America I don't know what terminology to use. My main character is in the equivalent of 7th grade but in England they would call it Year 8, which might be confusing to my directed audience. Should I stick with American terminology or use English ones? <Q> If you're writing for an American audience, with an American publisher, then use an American dialect for your narration. <S> But... your character is living in England. <S> Whether she's British or an immigrant or a visitor, she's going to be exposed to the local dialect. <S> She will use local terms when appropriate. <S> If she's in Year 8 in school, she'll say that. <S> She might translate it for her friends and family in the United States, but she wouldn't say "7th grade" when talking to other people at school or in the community. <S> Your narrator may also do some translation, depending on the audience. <S> The only difference between this and a book by an American author that's set in China, for example, is that both countries here speak the same language. <S> The dialogue in your story will be whatever it would be in real life. <S> If your main character is English then her dialogue will be too. <S> If she's American, she'll probably code switch, meaning she'll use different dialects with different listeners. <S> And even her American speech will be peppered with some local terms. <S> Her year in school will definitely be whatever it's called. <S> Just like an American graduate student in English will talk about their MPhil program but might say "masters program" for people back home, even though they're not quite the same. <S> The other issue you have is translation. <S> Some Britishisms aren't immediately obvious to Americans (MPhil being one of them). <S> So use context <S> so your readers can figure it out (at least get the gist when it's a term that isn't vital to know) or show your character explaining the terms to an American listener <S> (don't overdo this, it gets tedious). <S> Be aware of what your American audience won't know (use beta readers for this) and tweak it. <A> Use English English except where doing so would cause confusion, in which case use neutral words. <S> If you can't do that, maybe clarify with extra information, (e.g. for "Year 8", you could also add in the age of the character, which makes it clear what grade that year represents) or if you absolutely have to, a footnote or have the narrator explain or something. <S> The reason being, since you're going out of your way to set the book in England, and having the main character be English, you want to give it an English flavour, not an American one, otherwise what's the point in setting it in England at all? <A> By far the most successful young-adult novels in history, Harry Potter , use British spellings, terminology, idioms, and slang—and they did nothing to stop those novels from being more successful than any other. <S> References to prefects and so on, slang like “snogging” etc., caused no problems. <S> For that matter, few Americans had ever even heard the name “Hermione” before, and just about no one I knew was actually certain how it was pronounced until the movies came out. <S> And none of that mattered, because the audience was enjoying the stories. <S> I think you will find far greater success in general if you don’t underestimate your audience—young adults are quite capable of figuring things out from context clues, or hitting a search engine if all else fails, and will happily do so if they care enough to understand the words you use. <S> The differences between British English and American English simply aren’t that large in the first place to make this an overly-onerous burden—provided they actually like your story enough to bother. <S> The choice of terminology is very, very unlikely to make the difference. <A> You could have scenes with a family next door or in the next apartment/flat that just moved in from the USA or Canada. <S> Possibly the protagonist could often have to stop and mentally translate their American phrases into British phrases. <S> And so the readers would learn what those British phrases mean at that time, before the British characters use them. <S> Or maybe the protagonist's family watches <S> American made television shows as well as British shows, and they sometimes have to translate American phrases from the show into to English equivalents, thus showing the readers what those English phrases mean.

If the entire book is simply set in a foreign country you would use local terms but translate prose to American English when appropriate.

Anthropomorphic animals in romantic relationships with other species Basically I’m wondering whether it’s totally weird or if people wouldn’t give much thought to it. I’ll use Zootopia as an example. If the main characters (a fox and a rabbit) were in a relationship, would that be really off putting? <Q> I think people would not give much thought to it, particularly if no other characters gave much thought to it. <S> On the other hand, if other characters are upset about this cross-species "mixed marriage", that is going to strike close to home for people that are on both sides of the divide with regard to real-life so-called "mixed marriages" (between races, ethnicities, nationalities or religions). <S> If you write it <S> so nobody even notices, you won't have a problem, it will be like a tall man marrying a short woman. <S> Or vice versa. <S> Or a redhead marrying a blond. <S> Or --- like on The Big Bang Theory -- a pretty model marrying (for love) <S> a short, insecure, glasses-wearing physicist with asthma. <S> Unusual but unobjectionable. <S> The reaction will depend on your treatment. <A> In real life, interspecies romance is severely frowned upon and illegal in most countries. <S> However, it is a standard trope in science fiction and fantasy (and funny animal/anthropomorphic stories, like Omaha <S> the Cat Dancer and Albedo ), <S> and so I'd not worry too much. <S> You could make it off-putting, as Amadeus suggests, if for example you establish foxes as predators of rabbits first and then try to introduce a relationship. <S> That'd have some weird undercurrents. <S> There are some extremely uncomfortable situations in Beatrix Potter stories, for example, where a pair of animals - both of whom are fully sentient and wearing clothes - are having a cup of tea together, while at the same time one of them (a predator animal) is scheming to actually eat the children of the other one (a herbivore). <A> BoJack Horseman? <S> Seems to be a decent tradition of this trope. <S> Not sure what it means. <S> It might be a way to chat about diversity without appropriating anything. <S> Just wait til our cats learn to read or talk. <S> They are going to have a few harsh words for us.

If neither character is human, then I don't think any of your readers will even blink an eye (so long as both are humanoid and mammalian at least).

How to write a non-fiction book? I've heard that in order to write a non-fiction book I need to write notes and then put them together to make a book, but I'm writing notes from possible 4 completely different books, so when should I start turning these notes into a book? Should I be in a hurry and write as soon as possible, even with poor quality? If I take too long, am I at risk of losing my memories and motivation to write these books? <Q> It seems to me you need to answer some more basic questions first. <S> What do you want to write about? <S> Why do you want to write about it? <S> Who is your audience, and why will they read your book? <S> The next step is: how will the book I want to write work? <S> How will it be organised, in order to convey information, keep the reader's attention, etc? <S> What material do I need? <S> And then, you can start collecting and organising the material--at which point, you may well start taking notes rather than immediately writing a first draft. <S> The notes will be answers to questions such as the above: they will outline the material you will include in the book, record ideas about how to structure this material, plan how to keep the reader engaged, etc. <S> Sometimes, hurrying on and just writing something can be a useful exercise, and you should definitely do so if you feel like it. <S> However, don't expect a great book to result from this exercise, and be prepared to analyse your initial work honestly in order to learn how to improve on it. <A> It may sound odd, but for nonfiction it's typical to sell the book before writing it . <S> The nonfiction audience buys a book based on two factors: what the topic is, and who the author is. <S> If they have a strong enough interest in the topic --or have a need for the information surrounding it --they <S> may buy the book no matter who the author is. <S> If the author is a celebrity, or someone with a proven reputation, the audience might buy the book based just on the author. <S> But the most typical buyer for a non-fiction book buys it because they have some reason to think this author will have something valuable to say about this topic . <S> So, what sells your non-fiction book is a combination of concept and credentials . <S> If you have a strong enough combination of the two, and can demonstrate writing skill (and ideally, writing experience) someone will buy the book even before you write it. <S> If you don't have that combination, you might as well not write it. <S> Even if it's fantastically well-written, it's unlikely to sell. <S> So what you need to do is figure out what is the book people are looking for that you are qualified to write . <S> For instance: A book related to your career; a book about the history of your ethnic group; a book based on your academic credentials; a book about a topic that you are an expert in; a book that supplies a need for an under-served niche audience. <A> As @ChrisSunami says, most non-fiction books are sold before they are written. <S> Typically you have a synopsis, the Chapters and an outline for each, and for some books, a list of people you plan to interview (along with commitments from them). <S> You will also need a query letter to agents or publishers, and a sample of your writing for the chapters, like write the first chapter. <S> Some people will write their book first and try to sell it; just like fiction a finished work is easier for an agent to sell. <S> Particularly if you have no compelling credentials or publication history. <S> Most non-fiction writers have some sort of authority on their subject. <S> For example best-selling novelists write books on writing, or getting an agent, or self-publishing. <S> Unlike breaking into the fiction market, publishers tend to want that subject-matter authority to sell your book. <S> For example, you probably won't sell a book (to a publisher) explaining quantum mechanics without a doctorate in fundamental physics. <A> If you can write how many "chapters" you will write and what will be their content, you can start whenever you feel like it. <S> You should continue reading this, though: <S> If I take too long, am I at risk of losing my memories <S> You may not be taking enough notes if you're at risk of losing your memories. <S> Writing about something which is based in existing literature, like non-fiction or mythology (without re-inventing it), is hard work. <S> And the keyword, here, is work . <S> In this field, having 4 books as source is not a lot. <S> Of course, you may have your favorite works upon which you're basing the majority of your works, but you will probably end up diversifying your source much more than this. <S> Which brings me to the following point: don't just take note. <S> Take references. <S> When you note something on interest, also write where it's from. <S> This is important for many reasons, the first being that at some later time you may want more context on these notes you're taking. <S> Another good reason to note sources is that, over time (and it's probably already happening with only 4 books), you'll realize that some sources will give a different account of the same events. <S> And, at some point, you will have to choose which one you'll use . <S> There are many ways to do this. <S> You may just use the author you trust the most, or the narrative which is the most dramatic. <S> Or anything that suits your agenda, really. <S> It's your book, after all. <S> To choose which material you will use is way harder than it looks, because these choices will have a direct impact on your story. <S> And, as reality has no need to justify itself, sometimes you will have to chime in and fill in the gaps. <S> And that is, as far as I'm concerned <S> , one important job. <S> It's both hard and rewarding... unless you want to stick closely to the facts - then stay away from the narratives which would let you too much rope! <S> Good work, and have fun!

To answer your question, you should start writing as soon as you have completed your story arc.

Doubt about the concept of "true (or complex) character" Following the answer of @Cyn and my comment (on Doubt about a particular point of view on how to do character creation ): I would like to know more about how to "know" more about a true alived character. Now, if you think a little bit, the one will find a particular point of view that is tricky, I mean, say for sure what is an action wrote for an character and what is an action did by them. I'll give you an feeble example: A character walking down the street sees a person asking for help, because this person needs to find a public telephone to talk about a urgent situaton. Then I "observe" my character actions and I conclude that this character helped indeed this person. This example illustrates, at some level, what means "put your character in a situation". I gived my character the possibility to deny a help and say no; my character choosed to help. But the outcome of this situation is something that I imagined, I mean, is my mind. How can I know that my character's choose was a some sort of "independent thought" if I've imagined that outcome? <Q> Your character takes an action. <S> It all happens in your imagination. <S> Well, imagine then: could your character take the opposite action? <S> Could they, proceeding with your example, choose not to help? <S> If right now you're thinking " <S> maybe they were really busy"or something along those lines, you are making an excuse for your character's out-of-character action. <S> That is, you know that normally your character wouldn't act like that, so you're trying to find an excuse about what would cause them to do it. <S> You are familiar with your character, you can anticipate their response. <S> If, on the other hand, the character could just as easily have chosen not to help, if they're just the same character to you, I would say they're under-imagined. <S> What you're holding in your mind is not a person, but a pawn. <S> You have not given it enough character, enough personhood, to have free will. <S> The choices we make (the big ones, not "what shall I have for breakfast") are determined by who we are, how we see the world, what kind of people we are. <S> Also by how we feel that day and what recent experiences might affect our perception of things, but that ties into the same thing: our choices are not random. <S> It is the same for your character - their choices are bound up in who they are, how they see the world, what kind of people they are, what affects them that day. <S> One choice would be true to all those things, the other choice would not. <S> If both choices appear the same to you, then you just don't know who your character is. <S> You've got to find out who they are to understand how they would act. <A> A character is not a human being. <S> A character is a construct created entirely by the author for the purpose of telling a story. <S> This works because stories are much neater simpler things than real human life. <S> They exist in part to allow us to escape our humdrum human lives, and in part to help us understand what human life is actually like and/or to prepare us to bear it vicissitudes. <S> There is certainly a school of thought in writing that says that you should create a complete biography for a character even if most of it never appears in print. <S> But the fact that most of it never appears in print is itself proof that a character, as they appear on the page, is not a human being. <S> And there is another school of thought that points out that some of the greatest and most memorable characters in literature are essentially known for one very particular thing, one quirk, one turn of phrase. <S> In How Fiction Works for instance, James Wood points out that one of Dicken's most notable characters, Emma Micawber, is actually little more than a catch phrase: "I will never leave Mr. Micawber". <S> The same thing could be said of characters like Uriah Heap who is constantly telling people how "'umble" he is. <S> They stick in the memory, for sure, but as representation of a single human characteristic, not a whole human being. <S> Personally, I tend to look on characters as a collection of goals and values. <S> The goals animate them in the story, and the values determine what they will and won't do in pursuit of their goals. <S> It is reasonable to think of real human being in these terms as well, but in real human beings the collection of goals and values is usually large, somewhat vague, and often held and pursued quite indifferently. <S> That won't do in characters. <S> The story would never get going. <S> To create a workable character you have to simplify and heighten: give them one or two fiercely desired goals and three or four <S> well defined and fiercely held values so that they are easy to understand and can act with clarity. <A> They have a childhood, adolescence and adulthood. <S> They've had relationships and passions, they endured pain and they've been shaped from it all. <S> If all you imagine for your character is a short time line which will be covered in your book you haven't imagined all the factors that have shaped how they think, how they interpret others. <S> Without having thought about how all of this works together, your character is a stranger that you recognize <S> but you don't know how they think so you can imagine them either helping or ignoring the chance to help in your example equally. <S> You would not expect a character who has had a lifetime of being abused and cheated to help the person when their suffering has led them to the conclusion that the only way to protect themselves is to withdraw completely and become willfully blind to everyone else. <S> tl dr; A character isn't just a set of loosely connected actions and words exchanged. <S> They are shaped by their actions so that as they choose one action the result of that action is carried forward to weigh in on their future actions.

They are a person in your head, the action comes from how you see that person. Your fully realized character has an entire life story, not just what you plan to write about them in your book.

Male viewpoint in an erotic novel Most erotica today is written by and for women, and bestselling erotica is narrated from a female point of view. The "male pornographic gaze" that sexualizes the female body has been considered offensive by the predominant culture and mostly eradicated from contemporary mainstream literature. But men still lust over female physiology. Is it possible to narrate that experience of male sexual lust without offending female readers? How? <Q> Erotica is not a genre I read, but the lusting male gaze in some fantasy and sci-fi - I cannot say that I always find it offensive. <S> On the contrary - I can find it quite pleasant. <S> I want to be lusted after this way. <S> Which is, I think, the key to your question: consider how a woman would want to be wanted, and how she wouldn't want to be wanted. <S> What are some differences? <S> Heinlein's characters, for example, never consider that a woman might not be interested. <S> Of course she is, or will be. <S> Which is to say the woman has no character, no agency. <S> She isn't a person, but an object with no will. <S> That - I don't like. <S> A man might be attracted to a woman's appearance, but she has other character traits, doesn't she? <S> A man might be drawn by a woman's wit, strength, the way she moves. <S> Or he might be repulsed by her cruelty, no matter how pretty she is. <S> When a woman is nothing but a chunk of meat or a barbie doll, it is disturbing. <S> There is the question of consent. <S> Wanting to "do things to her" is objectifying. <S> Wanting to do things with her, or have her do things to the guy is more interesting. <S> Which all boils down to: in the man's thoughts, treat the woman as a person, not an object. <S> Men, for the most part, want women rather than sex dolls. <S> Women want to be wanted as women, definitely not sex dolls. <S> Win-win. <A> The problem I see is the double standard in sexualization. <S> It seems much more acceptable nowadays for women to a have a lusty look on (attractive) men than the other way around. <S> The cause for this might be the still living cliché that men tend to only think this way while women 'just do it for fun'. <S> But this discussion is not the main point here. <S> Personally I just strongly dislike sexualization of male or female in either way. <S> Describing the male view point <S> I would make sure that lust is not the only thing the protagonist sees in his (physical) love interest. <S> As long as he is not controlled by his sex drive there are plenty other things he recognizes on her and in her personality. <S> She always pins up her hair to a loose bun, revealing the skin of her neck. <S> He tries not to constantly look, dissipating the thought of touching the soft skin behind her ear with his lips. <S> But every time he regains control over his flittering thoughts, she smoothes some loose wisps back, catching his eyes with her secretive movements. <S> If you are able to show that his thoughts are more than See woman, want sex <S> you should have no problem. <S> It is indeed utterly impossible to not offend anyone. <S> But if you write in a respectful manner, the only ones to be outraged will most probably be misandrics that aren't your target audience anyways. <A> It does exist, contrary to the assertion in the question; it's just heavily oriented towards nerds, as a result of its roots growing out from Japanese popular culture (e.g. manga, anime, and light novels). <S> Many of the original Japanese works were even written by women - for instance, the ecchi harem manga Sekirei was written by a woman who was a fan of gay male romance stories, who ultimately decided that she wanted to make more money <S> so she wrote a story about a guy who gets a harem of busty women.

Borrow liberally from male-oriented (often Japanese) erotic literature.

Is there a better way to introduce acronyms through a dialogue? Is there a better way to introduce acronyms through a dialogue? One way of doing it, is to mention what the acronym stands for at the beginning and then use the acronym afterward, but that's a bit weird and unnatural, because people won't say "National Aeronautics and Space Administration" they will say "NASA", so what's the alternative way of doing this? For example: "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided to hire several contractors for the design of the module, but NASA haven't yet given all of the specifications yet, so we will wait a month before beginning the design. In the meantime, you can contact NASA for additional details on the specifications that they gave us." <Q> In this particular case, don't, because the term NASA is more well known than its expansion. <S> Sometimes acronyms evolve into words, such as scuba and radar. <S> Once they become words, use them as words. <S> As a matter of usage, NASA is no longer an acronym but a word (like FBI or CIA). <S> Use it as such. <S> As a general rule of thumb, if the acronym is better known than its expansion, just use the acronym. <S> If the reader does not know what it means, that is what Google is for. <S> Keep the use in your text natural. <S> If it is a made up acronym, think twice about whether you really want a made up acronym in your story. <S> And if you decide you really do, find a way to introduce it in narrative before your characters use it in dialogue. <A> In fiction, there are several possibilities: <S> Have the narrator explain the acronym outside of actual dialogue, assuming that the narrator is written in a way to express their thoughts. <S> Have a character who doesn't know the acronym <S> ask what is being talked about; the acronym can then be reasonably explained within the story. <S> Don't mention the acronym, but talk around it instead. <S> For instance, in the case of NASA, say the space program . <S> However, in the context of a story where everybody knows what NASA is, it wouldn't be normal to explain it. <S> In fact, in the specific case of NASA, most people do know what it is, so even explaining it in the story wouldn't be required for reader comprehension. <S> But there are normally always ways of coming up with a creative solution to problems like this. <S> The specific contexts of some stories will also provide other possibilities. <S> If it's nonfiction, there are various style guides that explain how it can be done. <S> Perhaps the most common is to write out the full name on first use, following by the acronym in parentheses, and then use the acronym after that. <A> I agree with Mark Baker. <S> If it is a real world acronym everybody knows, just use it. <S> For real-world acronyms few people know, or made up acronyms, a common ploy used in fiction is to use the acronym in front of a novice character, that then tries to find out what it is. <S> Perhaps using a search-engine, or asking a friend. <S> Or an instructor writes it on a whiteboard and asks the class what it stands for. <S> Captain Bell wrote on the board, I S B A D. <S> "What does this stands for?" <S> Marcus, in the front row, raised his hand, and spoke before being called on. " <S> Interstellar Battle And Defense". <S> Show off, Timothy thought. <S> He would have told us. <S> Or, a novice asks a friend, that happens to know, or an official from an organization introduces themselves to civilians, and informs them of the meaning, as part of their explanation for why they are there. <S> In general, every acronym you know, you learned the meaning of it from somewhere, somehow. <S> From a website, from a friend, on TV or radio, in a book, from your parents, etc. <S> If you don't think an acronym is commonly known by strangers on the street, explain it in the book, devise a scene in which a character learns what it means like we naturally learn new words or acronyms, so the reader "overhears" that and learns "naturally" too. <S> If you have particularly acronym-laden speech, the best way is to either ignore it, or engineer some sort of argument between two experts in the dialogue. <S> "I think its the F A S, no way its S P C." <S> "What are you smokin'? <S> No anti-particle source can do this, it has to be the spin parser." <S> So we get the impression the acronyms do mean something, even though that is incomplete. <S> But engineers, mathematicians, medical doctors, physicists (and many others) speak in jargon all the time, both to save time and be precise. <S> For a great deal of acronym-laden jargon, treat it like characters speaking in a foreign language conveying foreign concepts with no simple translation (which it is). <S> Namely, the best a novice can do is get a summary of what is being said, there is no quick way to convey all the meaning. <A> Although it's intended for journalistic writing, the Associated Press style guide has a useful list of acronyms that don't need to be explained to readers. <S> NASA is on the list. <S> The guide says to use the acronym without explanation but to use the full name someplace within the (news) story. <S> In fiction, I'd say the writer can judge whether that's even necessary. <A> No one mentioned footnotes yet, so I will just toss this in, for completeness sake. <S> You can have your narrator or characters speak in acronyms, but decipher them in the footnotes. <S> There can also be a list of acronyms, as in scientific publications. <S> What is appropriate for your format, is up to your judgement.

If you are writing fiction and you are referring to a real world acronym that your characters would all know, just use the acronym.

What techniques authors use to keep track of their cast? There is a problem as stories progress (especially in never-ending web novels) where the cast of characters keep growing. Some webnovels I follow are in the hundreds! Is there a technique for authors to keep track of their cast of characters? <Q> The only technique there is really is keeping some sort of "character sheet" for each character. <S> If you can keep them all in your mind, that's great, but I guess you wouldn't have been asking the question if it were that easy for you. <S> Otherwise, people use different platforms. <S> I like OneNote <S> , I've seen others use Scrivener, or physical folders with actual paper, some do just keep it all in their heads - whatever works for each writer. <S> You want to keep track of stuff related to each character: appearance, personal history, goals, views they express. <S> The big stuff, like what kind of person they are - you're not going to forget that as a writer. <S> But little details like eye colour or a food allergy - those are easy to mess up. <S> They're not really important, so you write something in one scene, then forget about it and write something different next time the issue comes up. <S> As an example, the character Thomas Raith in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series is just under 6 feet in some books, a little over 6 feet in other books. <S> When this was pointed out to the author, the next book mentioned how the character wears shoes with whatever heels are fashionable at the moment, so the first-person narrator isn't really sure about his real height. <S> The way you avoid this is you try to double-check such things on the character sheet you're keeping. <S> To clarify, you don't need to create all this stuff in advance. <S> But as you're writing, make notes of what you're writing about the character, so you don't contradict yourself later. <S> (And of course, if there's something you don't remember, such as whether you've already killed a particular minor character, you can Ctrl+f your file.) <A> Time for me to recommend one of my favorite webservices (free) again! <S> Archivos! <S> Why I favor this <S> is <S> it allows you to define and keep track of relationships between everyone, and also to events (who was at the battle of tweedledee?) <S> and places (was the doctor on Mars at the start of the battle, or in the command ship?) <S> This is link showing some works using it: https://blog.archivos.digital/archivos-story-samples/ <S> Basically, everything is a Story Element. <S> From https://blog.archivos.digital/archivos-faqs/ <S> You can choose from the following list to define the Type of Story Element <S> you’re creating: Person* – from protagonists to the smallest walk-on role Region <S> * – worlds, continents, countries, counties, mountain ranges, forests, etc. <S> Location <S> * – towns, buildings, landmarks, ruins, etc. <S> Organization – governments, guilds, religions, cabals, corporations, etc. <S> Item – relics, artifacts, unique tools, cars, ships, etc. <S> Event <S> * – battles, treaties, plagues, births, deaths, graduations, etc. <S> Culture– ethnicity, as well as speculative cultures (elves, dwarves, giants, aliens, etc.) <S> Discipline – magic, kung-fu, cloak fighting, psionics, etc. <S> * <S> These Story Elements have additional unique properties: Person allows the Storyteller to assign an optional gender (Male, Female, Other) <S> Regions and Locations allow Storytellers to assign map graphics to the Element and configure it for display in the Living Map (qv) <S> Events allow Storytellers to assign a date, date range, and/or time to the Event Element <S> So you can add relationships like work ones (hierarchy) or romantic, or who is in a group, etc. <S> Each character can have an image, and there's space for all sorts of notes, etc. <A> I would have a document like the one @Galastel suggests, which makes good sense for 'characterizing your characters', but I also keep a 'mindmap' with a visual representation of how all my characters are connected to one another. <S> I personally use 'Mindmeister.com' and have been quite satisfied with it. <S> You can make your own rules for coloring and labeling, i.e.: Red line = family, blue line = friendship, green line = <S> other... <S> You can export your mindmaps as pdfs to keep around or to send to potential readers, or the cast of a play if that is the case. <S> It is free to use, and they have a website + mobile apps. <S> You create a log-in that works across these. <A> Maybe I'm missing something. <S> The principle here seems pretty obvious: Keep notes. <S> Are you looking for something more specific? <A> Personally, I have a combination of the above ideas. <S> Where I have a list of characters with their hierarchical attributes (affiliations, relationships, living/dead, romance, etc.) <S> which is linked to their "File" which is written up in OneNote. <S> I also have a mastermind map (also in OneNote) to allow me to visualize these characters. <S> Now, if I am being truly honest. <S> I primarily write shorter stories (working on my first novel though) and I do this for each story. <S> However, sometimes a character gets carried over or copied in essence to the other. <S> This allows for faster writing and smoother character development, in terms of pushing along the story, as I can take what I need at a glance and keep working.

Make a list of all your characters and write down enough to remind yourself of the personality of each character.

Research Paper Summary: How much should be citations versus original thought? I'm finalizing a single-paragraph summary of a multi-page research paper for school and I was concerned when I noticed that most of my summary was in my own words. I mean that most of what I wrote was not citing the original paper's author but rather their paper's idea summarized and re-formed by me. Of course , I included lots of citations and references with proper citations and references but that only accounted for maybe 10%-20% of the summary. Should a summary of a research paper include mostly citations and paraphrasing from the original author or rather be summarized in the words of the one writing the summary with citations here and there? <Q> When I was a graduate student teaching undergraduates how to write research papers, the real problem was over-quoting. <S> Students would quote or paraphrase large amounts of other people's work and not do much original writing. <S> It was more stringing the quotes into something more or less coherent. <S> A (good) research paper is analysis. <S> You've read other people's work and use it to inform your discussion. <S> Depending on the field and the wishes of your teacher, you include a small or large number of quotes and ideas (properly cited), but you're still explaining it in your own words. <S> A summary of a research paper is a condensation of this idea. <S> As the one grading papers, I would always prefer a well-informed discussion in the author's own words, peppered with other people's quotes and ideas as needed. <S> While none of the papers I wrote or graded had summaries that were separate, they all had introductions and conclusions. <S> These are the parts most in the author's words. <S> The body of the paper is the place to set out the arguments, which require citations. <S> Show your teacher that you understand the the research you did by pulling it together into an original paper. <A> My rule of thumb has always been, don't quote anything unless you are going to comment on the quotation. <S> But a summary is not about proving or supporting anything. <S> It is a statement of what the argument of the paper is. <S> It is the job of the rest of the paper to support the conclusions. <S> It is the job of the summary to briefly sketch the main argument and conclusion so that a reader can quickly tell if the paper is relevant to their own work. <S> I can't see why you would quote or footnote anything in a summary. <S> In writing anything, you always have to keep in mind what the reader's purpose is in reading it. <S> The reader's purpose in reading a research paper is twofold: to discover its conclusions, and to test its data and method to determine whether to accept its conclusions. <S> For this second part, they need access to the research material via quotations or footnotes. <S> The reader's purpose in reading a summary of a research paper is simply and solely to determine if the paper is relevant to their work and therefore worth their time. <S> They are not, at this stage questioning it conclusions, data, or method, only it relevance. <S> So they don't need access to the supporting evidence, and so they don't need quotations or footnotes. <S> All that said, different institutions have different standards, not all of which make actual sense, but all of which you have to follow if you write for that institution. <S> So look up what the standards and practices are for the institution you are writing for and follow them. <A> Poetry and Precision <S> Also, quote as little as possible - aim for an integrated quote -- only quoting the specific phrase or sentence needed. <S> I rather like the UNC Writing Center's handouts on working with sources: <S> https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/ <S> Some strong ones are Quoting (includes verbs of attribution) and the <S> How We Cite/ <S> Why We Cite videos. <S> The graphic here on Bloom's Taxonomy can give also an idea of why a lot of summary/paraphrase is a good idea: <S> It shows that 're not just finding and regurgitating information, but you're truly comprehending it and ready to analyze/evaluate/synthesize it into a product of your own mind.

If all you are doing is citing an information source to support an assertion, make the assertion in your own words and cite the source in a footnote. When I taught ENGL 100 and Technical Communication, I advised students to quote only for Poetry or Precision -- if there's no other way to say the sentence without losing details (precision) or they're saying something in an especially apt way (poetry) - then quote.

How do you use the interjection for snorting? How do you use the interjection for snorting? I was told that "snort" is an onomatopoeia, but I disagree. "Haha" and "Heh heh" would be onomatopoeia, because they are pronounced the way they are written. The act of snorting sounds like you are exhaling hair like "Pshht", but "snort" is not an onomatopoeia. That being said, is there a true onomatopoeia, and how would you use it in a dialogue? http://www.writtensound.com/index.php?term=laughter "Haha, you're quick on the uptake I take it." "Snort, you're quick on the uptake I take it." What would you replace "snort" with? <Q> It would look more natural outside of dialog, to me. <S> Unless the character says "snort." <S> "He's really attractive." <S> Megan snorted. <S> She grabbed a napkin and wiped the coffee off the table. <S> " <S> Uh, no." <A> I agree with the previous poster who said that if you want to use the word “snort,” it would probably make more sense as a verb than as part of the dialogue. <S> That said, I think “ pfft ” might fit the bill. <S> Max asked Jill whether she’d finished the homework. <S> “Pfft. <S> Are you kidding? <S> It’s not due for another week!” <S> She said. <S> Obviously, this works best for the mono-syllabic snicker sort of snort (of amusement or derision) rather than the noise a pig or pug makes. <A> Closest I can think of, though perhaps a little archaic: <S> "Harumph, you're quick on the uptake <S> I take it." <S> But, like DPT, I would be more inclined to keep it out of dialogue tags. <A> blah blah blah etc". <S> I've seen it used plenty of times. <S> As a single word, before an exclamation mark, it's meaning is unambiguous. <S> AFAIK there isn't a well-known onomatopoeic word for snorting.

I'd just use "Snort!

Is it the right call to title my romance a 'legend'? I am writing a book and I plan to call it "Legend of (name of the protagonist)". But I'm writing in first person (protagonist). Searching the meaning of the word "legend" in google I get: "a traditional story, sometimes popularly regarded as historical, but unauthenticated." So a legend is a story that is unauthenticated, like "the legend of King Arthur". I'm writing a book that's set in fantastic world that doesn't exist. But is it contradictory to call a story 'legend' when the story is told by the protagonist? (Called legend by the title?) In order to be called a 'legend', does the story need to be narrated by others, to add this status of 'unauthenticated'? <Q> The Word "Legend" Evokes an Expectation Putting Legend into a title is fine, but it's a promise to your audience of something a bit larger-than-life. <S> Given a title like "The Legend of [Protagonist] <S> ", I would personally expect something medieval, with a light touch of magic - like the Arthurian legends, with knights and quests, etc. <S> But it would depend on the protagonist's name (and the cover art). <S> "The Legend of Quick-Draw Jim" would lead me to expect a cowboy story of exaggerated flavor; more melodrama than historical realism. <S> Whereas <S> "The Legend of 'Babe' Ruth" would probably be an actual history which focused as much on his exaggerated reputation as on the actual man. <S> Legend is a fine word for a title, just as long as you recognize the expectations it evokes. <S> (A first-person story with 'Legend' in the title would also probably make the most sense if the narrator has a very high opinion of himself or herself.) <A> Distance is an important element of the design of a story. <S> In some cases you want the story to feel very intimate, as if the reader is right there with the protagonist, in their thoughts, in their immediate present. <S> This is the most fashionable way to write today and it is reflected in the overuse of first person in contemporary narratives. <S> In some cases, though, you want to establish distance. <S> You want to separate the reader from the protagonist and their experience in time and in space. <S> When Star Wars begins "Long ago, in a galaxy far far away," it is establishing distance. <S> There are a number of reasons to establish distance in a story. <S> One is to inject a sense of the fabulous into the story (without necessarily straying into outright fantasy). <S> None of the droids in Star Wars perform any useful function. <S> Why, in heaven's name, does Luke's starfighter not have an onboard navigation system, but instead has an R2D2 shaped hole in the back? <S> Imperial walkers make no military sense at all. <S> Why is there a planet inhabited by teddy bears? <S> There are no moments of stunning psychological insight. <S> It is a romp, and the distance established tells the viewer, don't sweat the details, just enjoy the show. <S> The word "legend" signals distance. <S> The use of first person signals intimacy. <S> They pull in opposite directions. <S> More importantly, perhaps, legends are a literary form that depend on establishing distance. <S> If you have written an intimate story, calling it a legend is perhaps a mistake. <A> Legends can be told in first person. <S> Some myths from Ancient Greece , sections of the Christian Bible , Biblical Psalms, The Story of Sinuhe (from Middle Kingdom Egypt), and many others are first person narratives. <S> But you're asking specifically about a first person narrative by the character who is the one who is legendary. <S> The answer is still yes. <S> Remember, legends are not about one person, they're about a time, a place, and groups of people. <S> For example, the King Arthur stories are of course centered on Arthur <S> but they're also about Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, the Lady of the Lake, and so forth. <S> Any involved person can narrate the story, including the central character. <S> The narrator would not know this was going to turn into a legend <S> (unless s/he is telling the story of events from her/his past); the legendary part comes from how the stories fit into the narrative of the culture they come from (real or fictional). <A> I don't think the "unauthenticated" part is necessary, but a legend is a story told about somebody else, a traditional story, and it can't be a "tradition" if it is being told for the first time by the MC. <S> In fiction, an original story titled a "legend" is fine, but the pretense would have to be this was done long ago by the MC and is being told once again.

If you have written a legend, telling it in first person is perhaps a mistake.

Bad to start story with VR/non-real scene? I'm coming up with an outline for a cyberpunk story. I want to establish (at some point) that the main character has marksmanship proficiency by starting my cyberpunk story with a VR sequence, in which the character is firing arrows as an Elf/Orc/some other fantasy race (akin to World of Warcraft). At first I thought this would be a fun, from left field way to establish this as opposed to simply making my character a mercenary or such, but I'm concerned it may be jarring to the reader. QUESTION: Is starting a novel with a non-real scene too jarring or confusing for readers? I plan on going from this VR sim to the "regular, Cyberpunk world" after the first chapter, and basically never returning to that specific game. <Q> What you want to avoid - and what you do seem to be concerned about - is confusing the reader. <S> The last thing you want is them picking up your cyberpunk novel, getting a few pages in, and putting it down because they don't realise what's going on and think you lied to them in the blurb. <S> "I came here for cyberpunk, not World of Warcraft !" <S> I'd say you have two options: <S> Make it immediately obvious that the scene takes place in a VR world (up to you how to do this). <S> Make the scene short enough that it ends before anyone becomes convinced that your story isn't actually cyberpunk. <S> I understand that the intent of the scene is to set up the protagonist's aiming skills, but devoting an entire chapter to that, in a VR setting that will never be mentioned again, seems a little excessive. <A> ANSWER: <S> It Depends. <S> I think this is what you'd call a prologue. <S> It might not be structured like one, but it probably could be and therefor is. <S> In almost all cases you don't need prologues. <S> The common advice for newer writers to avoid them. <S> The reason for this is that its common these days for stories to start "en media res" which means in the middle. <S> Lot's of novice writers start with a prologue, but its distracting, uninteresting, or creates false promises. <S> However, prologues are really common in certain forms of literature. <S> In certain forms of literature its harder to find books without them than it is with them. <S> There's a lot of literature on this. <S> You can do it. <S> It is done. <S> But, it is as successful as it is engaging/relevant to the story. <S> Just to nit-pick, all story is fiction on some level; none of it is real. <S> Pieces of stories matter if they are engaging and cause the reader to turn the page and not give up. <S> So as long as you aren't turning readers away, you can do whatever you like (if your goal is to keep people reading). <S> This answer felt pretty tautological to me to write, so hopefully its helped in someway. <S> The things you have to consider are the things you always have to consider. <S> What is the tone you're going for? <S> Who is your audience and what do they expect, what will they tolerate? <S> How relevant is the dream/vr scene to the whole of the story? <S> If its not related to your book's primary mission, you probably don't need it. <A> I don't think it's a good idea; when a reader opens a book they expect to learn some things about the characters in their normal world. <S> If you open with a VR, the reader will assume that IS the normal world, and real. <S> Orcs and other fantasy beings are only known because in some fantasy (like Lord of the Rings) they were real, how are readers supposed to guess the VR is a game? <S> The jarring aspect of finding out it is a video game will most likely cause disappointment, not delight, and turn your story into something different than they thought they were reading, and perhaps put the story down. <S> At best, they might re-read <S> knowing it is a game. <S> The point is to know their normal world and have the reader sympathize with the MC, at least understand something about the MC, before you put the MC into a meat grinder and change their normal world. <S> I think you can fix this with a line. <S> Jake put his goggles back on and un-paused the game. <S> Better yet, leave the marksmanship for later, show us Jake in some way doing what he does every day in his normal world, interacting with real people, perhaps getting ready to play a game, or getting into a "pick up" game while visiting someone else. <S> Playing a game may indeed be a daily occurrence in his normal world, but tricking the reader into thinking the game is reality is not a good idea. <S> And even your MC does not think it is real, nobody playing a game thinks it is real. <S> So your narrator is intentionally lying to the reader by narrating as if it were real.

It can cause a reader to lose interest. I wouldn't do it, the opening of a book is to show the actual normal world of your Main Character, and quickly (like within four pages) have them interacting with some one else, even a walk-on we won't see again. There's nothing wrong with starting your story with a fantasy VR sequence. This is known as a Fake-Out Opening (TV Tropes link warning!).

I’m having a hard time deciding whether this is a redemption arc So I have a character in a dystopian novel I’m working on by the name of Tyler. He’s inspired by Alex Høgh Andersen’s portrayal of Ivar the Boneless, and his death... is interesting. He’s, for the most part, an antagonist in the story, and I really felt bad about how mean I was to him, so I created a character to love him. Now, my first thought was to create a character that was a love interest, but with characters like him, love interests are often manipulated and exploited by people like him. They have their own reasons for being with the aforementioned person, and that could get messy you, so I decided that this person would be a child. Children live differently, in my opinion. It’s a rather unconditional love, a love that just feels differently, and he’s never had that. He’s never had someone love him simply because they do. His mother loves him, but only because she can use him. His brother’s love him, but only because he’s their brother. His father loves him, but he feels like he has to. But his niece just loves him. She doesn’t love him out of pity or obligation. There is no rhyme or reason why, she just does, and because of this, he is very protective of her, and unbeknownst to him, her fate is now aligned with his, because he will kill any who hurts her. The person who hurts her... he makes good on his promise, but through that, he incurs the wrath of his father, and he is executed for it. I don’t think it’s a redemption arc because despite it all, he’s a horrible person, has always been a horrible person, and nothing about that ever changes. But he does a good deed(At least as good of a deed as that can be), and I feel like some people would appreciate that, especially his brother. But... that doesn’t feel like redemption to me, even though I’ve been told that it is. But maybe I’m wrong. <Q> I would not call it a redemption arc, I could see this as simple revenge for somebody taking some piece of property he was enjoying. <S> In a redemption, the character realizes they have been wrong and becomes a better person. <S> This sounds more like a character that promised consequences, delivered them, but made a mistake in doing so and suffered the consequences of that mistake. <S> Straight up gangster stuff out of the Godfather, very similar to the death of Sonny Corleone taking vengeance on behalf of his sister. <S> (Sonny is the hotheaded brother of Michael Corleone, the MC). <S> But Sonny wasn't "redeemed". <S> He doesn't harm women and children, but he is still a brutally sadistic killer and proud of it. <S> He's never on the road to being a good guy, or moral, or anything more than a criminal. <S> He just let his temper get away from him, and made a mistake that cost him his life. <A> It sounds to me like you have a complex character. <S> Not a good guy, not a good person. <S> Just a person with complex motivations and someone he'd die for. <S> It doesn't sound like a redemption arc, because he doesn't change his ways. <S> A redemption arc, in most cases, is 'siding with the protagonist' or, at the very least, turning good--whether objectively or simply in the eyes of the viewer/reader. <S> This feels to me like someone real. <S> Had a hard life, <S> yeah <S> sure. <S> Look at Snape from the Harry Potter series. <S> You can view him as a hero, but he wasn't. <S> He was a douche, through and through, that did a few things right. <A> Was he the kind of antagonist to brutally slaughter anyone who slightly wronged him, and anyone who got in the way of that slaughter? <S> In that case, avenging his niece would just be more of the same- hard to find redemption there. <S> Was he a cold, loveless loner who cared nothing for anyone else, using them only for his own advantage and discarding them when done? <S> Then avenging his niece, something driven by his care for her and that he knows will severely dis advantage him, might be a form of redemption. <S> Redemption isn't one-size-fits-all; it only works if it's counter to the character's established villainous behavior patterns.

Whether it's redemption or not depends on what made him a bad guy to begin with. All this is, is a man sticking to his core motivation, and the consequence thereof costs him his life.

Is there a way to make editing enjoyable? I have my first draft more-or-less complete, and I've been working on editing it now. There is one big problem: I hate editing I find editing to be so draining. I'll open up a chapter to edit and it'll turn into a endless spiral of finding problems with my writing. Badly worded sentences, sentences that are out of place, continuity errors etc. It would be great if I could find a way to improve the editing experience <Q> I happen to enjoy editing, in a completely different way than writing. <S> What I usually do is print out my manuscript (or the part I want to look at), then I sit down far away from my computer, maybe on the couch or even in the park, and write different coloured comments all over it, circle words, draw arrows, etc. <S> It doesn't have to be all negative, either: If I find a passage I particularly like, I'll also highlight that. <S> (Basically, I critique my own writing.) <S> The advantages of printing it out are that you don't have to come up with solutions right away <S> and you don't get stuck in an editing spiral. <S> When I return to the computer, I have a clearer idea what to focus on and a clear check list of what needs to be fixed. <S> Another thing I like to do <S> (and that works better when it's printed out or on a handheld device) is to act out the dialogue. <S> That's actually a lot of fun! <A> See editing as a different form of creation: from something not so good you create something brilliant. <S> Frank Cottrell Boyce opened my eyes when he said that being used to writing films he was used to continually editing and re-writing, something that seemed unusual when he came to writing a novel. <S> Yes, discovering a word you have repeated too many times and going through and changing some of them (or something similar) is hard graft <S> but you can derive satisfaction in doing so. <S> See things as challenges to be overcome and then celebrated rather than problems. <S> It's a mindset thing. <S> I use various grammar and style checkers after writing the second draft (I write the first by hand so that my editing will be better). <S> These alert me to problems and save me noticing some obvious problems. <S> Believe that editing, making something better, is a beautiful thing. <S> It's not a chore. <S> It's part of the creative process. <A> I like editing, because I like reading my story, and I feel good when I improve a passage. <S> However, I also edit with a specific list of things in mind. <S> I want clarity, I want continuity. <S> I don't want to say the same thing twice. <S> I also want to appeal to senses, sight (including color ), sound (is there music anywhere), gestures and movement while speaking, smell, what things feel like, how the character physically feels. <S> I call this a "fully imagined scene", and we don't have to list all these things, but in cases like dialogue we don't want just a wall of dialogue. <S> Nor do we want uninterrupted info dumps. <S> A bar and an office have different atmospheres, sounds and smells, <S> a conversation in a bar is much different than one in a cubicle. <S> Badly worded sentences, sentences that are out of place, [continuity] errors etc. <S> Don't get exercised by these, they just confirm that you need to edit. <S> I don't worry about mechanical crap, those are easy to fix. <S> What I really want to know in editing is if the scene is the right scene, in the right place, and if I have included enough detail for the reader to imagine it, and not so much detail I have slowed the pace and will bore the reader. <S> Focus on the bigger picture, this is like writing code: <S> Bugs are inevitable. <S> Fix 'em <S> and forget 'em. <S> The bigger picture is in whether you are aiding the reader's imagination of the scenes, and holding their attention with tension <S> so they are looking forward to what happens in the next few pages, by the end of the chapter, the end of the Act, and at the end of the story. <A> If you find editing a chore you may wish to revisit your process. <S> I don't believe I've ever written a second draft of anything. <S> My editing tends to be incremental. <S> At this point I often make changes and correct errors. <S> There is no "one-size-fits-all" method of editing. <S> e.g. I have a quick mind that works in a very nuanced way. <S> I have learned that many readers do not make links which I expect them to. <S> Subsequently, my editing invariably adds to the volume of the text. <A> Editing is a lot of work, let's be honest. <S> I also don't have a lot of experience in editing longer works of fiction <S> (most of my works have been academic or technical in nature). <S> However, what I find works for me is turning on some music (background noise level), and setting a goal for tasks to accomplish and realizing those goals. <A> See it this way: Your text has problems, if you know them or not. <S> Even the greatest master of the craft will not be able to write a text right out of the box without any problems. <S> Since you know up front that your text has problems, the worst thing that could happen is that you don't find them. <S> And the best that can happen to you is that you find them. <S> Therefore when you find a problem, don't feel negative about the problem existing, feel positive about having found it and now being able to correct it. <S> Finding a problem means success. <S> Finding many problems means many successes. <S> So you've got an endless spiral of successes!

By having a set goal to accomplish and working towards it I have found editing to be less arduous and more enjoyable. Before continuing a story I sit down with a cup of coffee and re-read the last chapter or two - to get myself back into the zone. You have to be selective, and decide what can be cut, what can be assumed, what the reader doesn't need to be told.

Using a prominent phrase from the title of a film in the body of an article, essay or paper, without referencing the title I'll start with a clear example. You are writing an essay about the film The Wizard of Oz . Following the rules of titles, you put the film title in italics whenever you use it. But then you use the words in the context of explaining the story, such as, "They tell her to seek help from the Wizard of Oz." This is not a reference to the title. In the context of sharing the plot or quoting dialog, there is no reason to put the phrase "Wizard of Oz" in italics. So, why is my instinct telling me to do so? Not asking you to evaluate my mental state, just saying that I know this is kind of a 'dumb question'. I can't see any standardized formatting reason why you should put the phrase in the title in italics, when it's not referencing the title directly. And yet, I feel like there is an applicable rule I'm forgetting, that is making me lean toward the italics button. Regarding medium - this is for a weekly free-writing "journal" assignment in a college English class, which the instructor, syllabus and instructions specifically say does not have to meet any formal rules on formatting, punctuation, grammar, citations etc. But it really got me to wondering, because I'm that pedantic, how I should be handling that situation in formal writing situation? And a search of SE and the wider internet yielded no obvious answers. And while I tried to use a fairly universal example for clarity, the actual subject of the paper I'm writing is The Good Place . Which does add the wrinkle of; if I always put Good Place in italics, should I also put Bad Place in italics? And people thought the philosophy in this show was stomach-ache-inducing. :) Thanks, in advance, for any input. <Q> In formal writing, the title of any publication/production etc that you are referencing should be italicized - which you're doing. <S> What's causing the confusion is when a character or location within that publication shares the same name as the title. <S> That said, if you are referring to the location, character or item - then no italics are used. <S> So for you Wizard of Oz example, it could look something like: <S> The Wizard of Oz tells the tale of a young farm girl from Kansas who finds herself in the magical land of Oz. <S> To return home, she and her friends must seek out the Wizard of Oz, who resides in the Emerald City. <S> Likewise, with the Good Place - if you are referencing the title of the show - italics. <S> If you are referencing the locations, then normal text (i.e. Good Place and Bad Place). <S> It depends on what you're referencing, and the context surrounding it. <A> It doesn't matter whether or you use italics so long as you are consistent. <S> The title of the story is irrelevant because you are not referencing the title - you are referencing a character. <S> Dorothy was advised: she needed to find the Wizard of Oz . <S> But on her way to the Emerald City she got into a brawl with the Wicked Witch of the West . <S> In jail she met the Munchkins who had been accused of sexually assaulting the Tin Man . <A> The use of italics will only apply when and only when the thing to which you are referring is something you would italicize. <S> If the title of the movie was Dorthy <S> you would italicize only when referring to the actual work. <S> Similarly, when talking about the actual Wizard of OZ himself, you would NOT italicize because he is not a work. <S> Your instinct to italicize is probably down to this: it's a title. <S> Not a title of a work, but the title of a person, or in the case of the Good Place, it's a title of a place. <S> It's capitalized and it doesn't feel like a standard "name" per se, <S> so that's likely why you've got the urge. <S> We use italics to differentiate--to convey information. <S> When the very same words are used, not using the italics lets the reader know that you are not referring to the work/movie/series/book.

When referring to the person or the character you would NOT italicize.

Is the phrase “You are requested” polite or rude? I along with my guide wrote a research publication, which had to be sent to a journal for the purpose of review. My professor wrote the cover letter of the paper as follows: Dear Editor in Chief You are requested to review the paper "Title of the paper".... Thanks This cover letter is from the authors of the research paper (me and my supervisor) to the Editor-in-chief of the journal, requesting that our paper be reviewed. To me, this seems a very impolite way of beginning a cover letter addressed to an Editor-in-chief who is much higher in rank and position than us. On the other hand, we are mere authors of the paper. I believe that a phrase like "You are requested" is used by a top authority to those below it, or when both the writer and reader are at the same rank. Does the phrase "You are requested" seem impolite, when it is written to an authority much higher than you (i.e. by a mere author to an editor-in-chief of a journal), or is it fine? <Q> "You are requested", in general usage, gives the impression you are ordering someone to do something, albeit in an oblique way. <S> It's similar to the usage of "With all due respect..." It sounds neutral, but everyone knows (enough that jokes about it are common) that what follows that phrase is probably not going to be respectful in the least. <S> The editor knows what their job is; "You are requested to review... <S> " sounds like you're telling them what it is. <S> "Why thank you author. <S> Until you told me to review this paper you are submitting, I had no idea that I reviewed papers people submit." <S> ADDENDUM Just as a test, I asked my wife what her reaction would be if she received an message from someone she works with (she works for a government department) that began "You are requested to do..." something. <S> Her direct quote was that she'd be tempted to tell the person to "Fuck off." <S> She said she would have seen it as someone ordering her to do something. <S> My co-workers whom I asked gave the same sort of response; if it came from a superior, it was a thinly disguised order. <S> If from someone else, it was trying to tell them to do something with a veneer of false politeness. <A> As an academic myself, I write We submit our paper, "title of paper", for your review. <S> In the end I think editors don't care or bias their treatment either way, they deal with numerous submissions from people with many native languages writing English as a second or third language, and they are themselves intellectuals, they aren't going to let petty emotions of rank get in the way of providing a good paper in their journal. <A> I would say it 'sounds' pretentious for this reason— <S> "you ARE requested" uses the 'passive voice' – which talks about 'state'*, over action. <S> This implies that an [perhaps] authority** other than the speaker/writer has issued an outstanding request; it removes the human agency from the request by removing the issuer of the request from the explicit statement. <S> Instead, try: "I request..." or the more deferential "I would request". <S> It becomes clear, without pretense or much [frothy] implication, who requests. <S> * the state of BEING requested <S> ** or else, why would anyone care who issued the request, if that issuer falls below the threshold of authoritative? <S> The delivery of the statement itself implies the there-presupposed significance of the issuing authority. <A> Dictionary defines to request as to politely or formally ask for something. <S> So by definition it is not rude. <S> You request things from your seniors ("Boss, here is my leave request"). <S> If there is a problem it stems from the passive voice. <S> "I request that you review my paper" is unequivocally polite but "you are requested" leaves some ambiguity, has the request been made by someone who has authority over the reviewer rather than by the author? <S> Or perhaps it is actually humble, "far be it from me to ask that you review my paper, I dare not even mention myself in the request" I suspect that no offence would be taken by the editor. <A> "You are requested" does sound a bit commanding. <S> It's a common way to remove blame from the person talking -- such as the classic "mistakes were made" phrase that's often used in political situations to derive attention away from the person speaking.

Perhaps "you have been requested" would fit better, as it is a passive phrase that removes some of the causation from the request. If you look at suggested cover letters for writers to submit to editors, for example, they'll say things such as "I’m submitting this to be considered for publication...".

My pen jams up every minute or so whenever I write, what could cause this? I've been having an issue for the past few months where I'm writing along merrily and then my pen stops up and refuses to put ink down onto the paper, and the only thing that will get it working is a few seconds of intense scribbling. I'm using rather expensive paper and a highly-regarded pen (Uni-Ball SXN-210 Jetstream) which is brand-new, so I don't think that's the problem. I waste about 10 seconds every minute (so a sixth of the time I spend writing) just on this problem and my margins are a mess. Does anyone have any solutions? I have tried three pens of increasing quality (and, might I add, expense) and the problem has followed me through all of them <Q> This may occur because of your palm's sebum. <S> Try to put extra piece of paper under your hand so that your skin is not directly in contact with the paper you are writing on. <A> That would aid with the problem of getting your margins messy but not with the problem of wasting time. <S> You might also want cheap paper to use to rest your hand on to protect the writing paper from skin oils instead of using a sheet of yur good expensive paper. <A> Also, "expensive" paper may not be the best paper to match your pen. <S> You say you've tried with different paper but does the paper have different properties? <S> For example, I like fountain pens. <S> A paper that is very good for fountain pens tends to have a bit of a coating to slow down the rate that the ink gets absorbed into the paper. <S> If you try using a ballpoint on that kind of paper, it may not write well because ballpoints want the paper to absorb the ink faster. <S> So you may want to do a bit of research into the paper. <A> Sometimes there are air bubbles in ink (at least I have found). <S> When my pens stop (and as strange as this sounds) I shake them up and down hard, tap them gently (lid on or clicked in, pen downwards), or do some sort of fast swinging motion with it. <S> Usually, after a minute or less, my pens start working again.

I would also suggest having cheap paper handy to scribble on while getting the ink flowing again.

In which sections of a research report is it appropriate to include citations? I have been doing some research on citations and haven't been able to get a clear answer on this. When writing a project report, in which sections is it appropriate to include citations? In this context sections refers to; abstract, introduction, literature review, problem statement, etc... Can I include citations in any of them? Or only specific sections? Are there sections where citations should be avoided? If answers can include sources for me to continue researching on my own that is appreciated. <Q> Assuming you're not following any specific style manual, citations can go pretty much anywhere except for the abstract and the conclusions/final statements. <S> The idea is that the abstract should be a short summary of your document, so any citation is essentialy wasted space. <S> The conclusions should follow naturally from the research you've done, so, again, it doesn't make much sense including citations; you're supposed to write something new or at least specific to your study. <S> Of course citations mostly belong to the literature review section, but they should be fine anywhere else too. <S> My sources are my own limited experience in writing theses, PhD proposals and reading scientific articles. <A> It largely depends on the style you're writing your paper in, but typically you would include a separate page called works Cited that will give the full citation of all works used and is arranged alphabetically by first word in a citation (usually the author of the work, though other mediums may have different formats). <S> If you're writing to a page count, this page usually will not count to the threshold (i.e. If you need to write a five page paper, with works cited, then your works cited page will begin on page six, not page 5.). <S> You will also include a smaller citation in the main text that includes the first significant word of the text and the page number(s) <S> where you drew the statement from. <S> The way this is done is usually style dependent. <A> Shanks, D. R., & Vadillo, M. A. (2019). <S> Still no evidence that risk-taking and consumer choices can be primed by mating motives: Reply to Sundie, Beal, Neuberg, and Kenrick (2019). <S> Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 148 (4), e12-e22. <S> http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000597

Citations can go anywhere in an academic journal article, even in an abstract or title:

Where can I go to have my writing reviewed both in terms of style and technical content? I would love to have essays reviewed both in terms of quality writing and in terms of its content. I have researched a few sites but this service does not seem to exist. <Q> I've never used any online service for reviewing, editing, and/or critique. <S> I always get it from peers and mentors. <S> There are some advantages to having your writing reviewed online, like speed and convenience, but in the end, you don't really know where it's going or who's really reading it. <S> I would recommend finding people you trust--coworkers, friends, teachers, professors, family members--to look over it, and to tell them what you want them to look for ahead of time. <S> Also, be sure to ask for critique from people who would be qualified to give it to you. <S> For instance, asking an English major with a specialty in creative writing to review your technical essay on infectious diseases may not be the best choice. <S> Good luck! <A> The services exist, google "critique service" (without the quotes). <S> Ignore the "copyedit" services (if that is all they do), they are just checking spelling and grammar and formatting. <S> Actual critique services are just damn expensive; running roughly $100/hr, or if the work is long enough, around 2-4c per word, OR $10.00/page for short works, or $8.00 per page for long works. <S> I know you are writing essays, but if somebody wrote a 90,000 word novel (typical) that would be 360 pages, and by these prices anywhere from $1800 to $2900 for a critique. <S> They are easy to find, most will give you a quote on a word count. <S> An essay of 5000 words or so may not be bad, but still perhaps $200. <A> A university. <S> You may be able to pay an academic thousands of dollars to evaluate your writing and give you feedback, but they're typically very busy people <S> so you'd generally be better off just paying for the university course they're teaching, or getting them to become your PhD or research Master's Degree supervisor instead.

If you want your writing evaluated, apply for a relevant university course and use said writing as a part of the work you produce for that course (e.g. a university assignment, a thesis, a research paper, etc).