New answers tagged plot
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Issues to avoid when writing military sci-fi?
None of those are, in and of themselves, things to avoid unless YOU specifically wish to. There are plenty of examples of excellent and enjoyable military-themed books that have one or more of those &...
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Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?
The depth of a character should be proportional to their role in the story. The more they contribute to the plot, the more characterization they need.
A throwaway character who appears in one chapter ...
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Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?
It's not bad to use a side character as a plot device, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do a wee bit of character development. You don't want the protagonist's sidekick to come across as flat and ...
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I want to write a short story without naming the places the characters visit
Being a short story, how many restaurants will they be in? If there's only one, you don't need to name it or even say that it's a restaurant. Let context handle that (show, don't tell):
They looked ...
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3
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Issues to avoid when writing military sci-fi?
For a start, you are under no obligation to present a 'correct' attitude in your story. Plenty of literature that glorifies war, demonizes the 'enemy' etc. has been written, is being written, and ...
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I'm afraid of being accused that I copied, even when I'm the one writing earlier
I would never share a story while I am writing it with another writer writing a similar story, and wouldn't want another writer to share their story with me, just because of the effects you describe.
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I want to write a short story without naming the places the characters visit
Exactly how you do this will depend on the point of view you are writing, and your overall tone. But most of all, on why you want the location to stay unnamed. Some options include:
having the ...
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I want to write a short story without naming the places the characters visit
We all have concepts in our minds ("table", "computer") and will unavoidably label the things we encounter. So a person visiting a restaurant will think of the restaurant as ...
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I want to write a short story without naming the places the characters visit
You can include a description. You don't have to mention the name if you don't want to.
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I'm afraid of being accused that I copied, even when I'm the one writing earlier
a story is a gift
You cannot share a story and keep it to yourself.
You have the good fortune of a small group of friends who support your interest in writing. You will, at times, need to compromise ...
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Issues to avoid when writing military sci-fi?
Figure out what bothers you when reading military-related topics, and avoid doing that.
For every point mentioned, there's doubtless a successful counter example. Eg: Glorification of violence - A ...
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Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?
To discuss the two examples given in the question:
A) The partner suddenly remembers a crucial detail for solving the case.
This risks coming across as an uninspired deus ex machina, and the more ...
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Issues to avoid when writing military sci-fi?
Glorification of violence, meaning depiction of violence in a positive way, ignoring ethical issues involved and ugly side effects on civilian populations. Engaging but superficial action without ...
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Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?
Whether you like it or not, modern readers expect a recurring character to have some personality and motivations. Period. You cannot escape it.
That is why in every one of the dozens of incarnations ...
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Why is it bad to use a side character merely as a plot device?
The problem with such characters arises when they feel unreal to the readers. In real life, people do not exist who only appear to help another, to be kidnapped, and to have a convenient memory -- ...
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3
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What are the things you need to consider when portraying a complex web of alliances and betrayals?
People choose their allegiances out of several different considerations. A character who would benefit most from siding with group B but still chooses A might do so because:
They have a personal feud ...
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2
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Is there a middle ground to a deus ex machina?
The first solution to this (and most situations where you've "written yourself into a corner") is - re-write the parts of the story that led to the corner.
You're the writer here, and it's ...
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Is there a middle ground to a deus ex machina?
I have two thoughts.
First, you don't want your deus ex machina to be completely unpredictable. Example: your hero is fighting the villain and is about to lose when suddenly a convenient earthquake ...
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Accepted
Is there a middle ground to a deus ex machina?
Having asked about deus ex machina sometime ago, I believe that it is 'never' a good idea to include any form of deus ex machina in your story as your readers would just feel that the story ending was ...
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After writing the beat sheet, is there any preparatory document you can write before starting to write your story?
Some authors do it like this:
They characterize, modify and develop their characters
This includes increasing contrast of their personality, sketching their vita etc.
Similar for the „world“ these ...
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Accepted
After writing the beat sheet, is there any preparatory document you can write before starting to write your story?
A more detailed outline.
However, you may be just nervous about starting. I note that there is no technique that will sniff all issues, in that people have discovered issues in the fourth or fifth ...
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Accepted
Why is it bad to exclusively rely on plot twists to create tension?
The problem is that poorly done (and even many well done) twists come across as a lazy solution. The author works the characters into a bad spot, then - surprise! - saved by the twist. It also works ...
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Why is it bad to exclusively rely on plot twists to create tension?
Plot twists are almost always part of 'the outer journey.' The plot is the sequence of events, after all, which is external to character. For something like an RPG, the outer journey is pretty much ...
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How to write someone who wants desperately to have emotional bonds but pushes others away because they feel they don't deserve it?
I would probably try to use contrast between the character's public and private behavior. When she's around others, she pushes them away. But then afterwards, her behavior could show an emotional ...
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How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner?
Have a fight scene.
I remember some writing advice I read a while ago. It might have been for movies or roleplaying games, but it would probably fit here:
When things start getting overly confusing or ...
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How to write someone who wants desperately to have emotional bonds but pushes others away because they feel they don't deserve it?
But before she starts healing, how do I give off the impression that she's pushing others away not because she wants to, but is trying to keep them safe rather than any other reason?
Why don't you ...
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5
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Accepted
How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner?
The common advice is to write detective puzzles backwards. That is, you begin with who did it, decide how this is discovered, and then work backwards via the clues that will lead to this discovery all ...
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27
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How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner?
Revision.
Go back and decide which red herrings have to go.
Sometimes this, in fact, requires inventing new red herrings because you concluded an entire subplot has to go, it produces too many bad red ...
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