27
votes
Accepted
I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked
The components of a really effective payoff, in my mind, are these:
The reader knows something is coming
But: they don't know what is coming. They have open questions; they have doubts. They're in a ...
- 28.3k
14
votes
I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked
SHOW, DON'T TELL
Avoid "prophesies" or "maid and butler dialog" about those almost-forgotten immortals that would telegraph what is coming. This is "telling, not showing". It should be a surprise to ...
- 27.2k
12
votes
I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked
Answer: In my experience, introduce hints / foreshadow through multiple different devices.
The most obvious is to have the character not die early on, as you suggest. This would communicate the ...
- 23.8k
11
votes
I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked
Setups are most rewarding when the reader realizes after the fact that that detail was important but doesn't figure it out too early (i.e. it's not more obvious than you wanted it to be). If a reader ...
- 21.5k
9
votes
How do you get solid concepts and stop scrapping ideas?
Let me recommend Stephen King's (and my own) approach, "Discovery Writing."
In this approach, you don't begin with a plot, you let the plot develop as you write.
Instead, you begin with a ...
- 101k
9
votes
I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked
I think the route taken in "Unbreakable" (a Bruce Willis movie) is a good example of how to do this.
Mainly, there are compelling clues that can be interpreted as either an effect, or extremely good ...
- 101k
9
votes
How do I know if my character is a self insert and how do I avoid it or overcome it?
Your character almost certainly is a self-insert on some level.
This can be said without even looking at your character for several reasons. All characters are, on some level, drawn from one of two ...
- 4,685
8
votes
Does the concept come before other "literary devices" in philosophical science fiction?
Art is, in its truest form, the ability to communicate a concept through its medium; in novel writing, your medium is the story. The fundamental building blocks of a story are the plot, the characters,...
- 594
7
votes
How to write a utopia?
How should I write a utopia?
I think the utopian fiction you're describing would be challenging to write because it lacks climactic points. Its predictable. You describe it as if there is no wobbles, ...
- 4,429
6
votes
Accepted
What is the "acid test" for a nonfiction anthology?
I think "selected literary pieces or passages" is your linchpin here.
Let's take that college mainstay, the Norton Anthology (this one is American Literature). This is a book which contains quotes, ...
6
votes
Accepted
How to write a utopia?
I think what's being missed here is the idea that what makes something a "perfect" world is not the same for everyone.
If you want an example of a utopia, try The Wizard of Oz and the subsequent 13 ...
6
votes
How do I write a maze as a story challenge?
This question is more like asking 'How can I hint at the reader the solution to a problem that my characters face?', since we can't give you ideas for your writing, that's something you need to solve ...
- 1,688
6
votes
How do speech writers find the contents that make their speeches so impressive?
I disagree with what's comment. There are certain techniques used in these speeches that help convey meaning. I'm going to use Martin Luther King's I had a dream speech in my answer.
What kinds of ...
- 4,429
6
votes
Accepted
How do I know if my character is a self insert and how do I avoid it or overcome it?
I believe all authors insert themselves into their stories in some way, and that isn't a bad thing. It is an effective technique to use for characters who need possess knowledge of the greater world ...
- 12.2k
4
votes
How to write a utopia?
Let me give three examples of utopian novels published in the last century: B. F. Skinner’s Walden Two (1948), Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time (1976), and Gidon Rothstein’s Murderer in the ...
- 1,733
4
votes
Accepted
Creating a logical framework for the concept of "decisional causality"
Something irrevocable transpires.
I would say a decision is made when something irrevocable occurs. Words are spoken and heard, a button is pushed, a trigger is pulled, a letter is mailed, an email is ...
- 101k
3
votes
How do you get solid concepts and stop scrapping ideas?
It just isn't so that you have to start with plot - some do, some don't. More importantly, you don't have to make up a whole entire new plot of your own that has never before been done. I remember a ...
- 3,760
3
votes
Does the concept come before other "literary devices" in philosophical science fiction?
The concept is everything, but also not the only thing.
In The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, she explores many concepts but the major one is gender and what gender means to both others ...
- 76
3
votes
Case studies of the use of concept mapping in science fiction writing?
I don't write Sci-fi, but I do write Fantasy and Historical Fiction and do tons of research.
I usually use concept mapping only for processes and relationships between characters, places or whatever. ...
3
votes
Accepted
How do you get solid concepts and stop scrapping ideas?
It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming a normal writer. There’s a few key concepts in writing fiction that you should cement into your lifestyle.
Writers always read. The more you read, ...
- 1,112
3
votes
Accepted
What should I do when I keep thinking that a concept of a character is boring?
The Straight Man:
No, not a heterosexual male. In comedy, a straight man is someone who behaves in the most boring way possible, not responding comedically to comedic situations. They act like the ...
- 13.7k
3
votes
How do I know if my character is a self insert and how do I avoid it or overcome it?
Use Character voice
Inserting yourself into the story isn't necessarily a problem, however, if it happens in several characters and they all sound and think like you, then you have problems.
You want ...
- 6,100
2
votes
What is the "acid test" for a nonfiction anthology?
The core concept of an anthology is a "collection," of things that would otherwise be separate --things that have their own separate identity and coherence.
What is anthologized might be different ...
- 56.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Having a hard time developing an idea
So, a choise based story game...
The first thing that came to my mind was 80 days from inklestudios, which is - as one can guess from the name - something that's based on the famous book from Jules ...
- 276
2
votes
Having a hard time developing an idea
A good, story based video game really has to immerse the player in the world and make them want to play further.
Before you worry about your story, develop a character that people will care about ...
- 1,124
2
votes
How do speech writers find the contents that make their speeches so impressive?
To answer that, you've got to learn to read like a writer. (Or, in this case, like an orator.) You can study these speeches that impress you to find the answer to that question and to improve your own ...
- 639
2
votes
How to write a utopia?
Although I am a bit lost in terminology here, I would still like to board this train–even a bit late.
How do you make a utopia work?
For me the terms Utopia, Dystopia and everything in between are ...
- 3,100
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