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| bio | website | jaerhard.com |
|---|---|---|
| location | Karlsruhe, Germany | |
| age | 47 | |
| visits | member for | 2 years, 5 months |
| seen | May 11 at 22:06 | |
| stats | profile views | 37 |
Just some guy having too many accounts on too many sites (and most of those I can't even remember ;-)
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Oct 13 |
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What is a good daily word count goal? And that's the important point: on average. Including planning before and editing after writing the first draft. |
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Jun 27 |
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Level of detail in description of character checking the news I think this would benefit a lot from a few paragraph breaks. If the "News" bit is its own (run-on) paragraph, I think it works. The way this read right now, it's all a mishmash with the scene itself. Oh, and maybe put it in quotes? Because it's another "character" (the TV/news host) saying it? |
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Jun 26 |
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The “Rules” of Writing I prefer the quote from Iron Man (the movie): Sometimes you have to run, before you can walk. Case in point: others always told me that in order to write your own songs, you first have to cover other people's songs. For... how long? They didn't say. And they were wrong. For me, at least. |
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Jun 26 |
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The “Rules” of Writing I can't upvote this enough. |
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Jun 26 |
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The “Rules” of Writing Never say "never" is what I say. Empathically. (But #4 I like) |
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Jun 26 |
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The “Rules” of Writing If you want to tell stories like Elmore Leonard, then yes, it's a good rule. But if you write something else... it may not fit. Oh, and the link appears to be dead. |
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Jun 22 |
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Motivation Reaction Units? Then, Elizabeth, there lots and lots of pointless books. Much of the greatest literature is, as you say, pointless. I think this is a site for writers. Of all persuasions. Oh, and sitting around, drinking tead, being happy, having no problems... could be a perfect setup for really shaking things up. |
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Jun 21 |
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Motivation Reaction Units? "pointless scenes"? So anything without conflict/desaster is pointless? Well, if it floats your boat (and your readers')... it sure doesn't float mine. |
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Jun 21 |
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Motivation Reaction Units? @Lexi: reading lots is the more important part, not amount of books about writing will help. They may help better understanding good writing, but the key is actually reading. |
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Feb 15 |
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Which English grammar should be followed when writing for a global audience? @Neil: works the other way around, too: first time I notice this was with a book by a US author, which I bought in the UK. :D |
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Jan 30 |
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What's Essential In A Combat Scene? You example is, depending, not enough detail. I totally love the fight scenes in Ludlum's Bourne Identity (and similar, he likes his fights up close and personal... and dirty). Quite some detail. So detailed it hurts. And that's what he gets across: in Bourne's case, we quickly learn that he's an expert at hand-to-hand. And he almost kills a man. With no feeling at all. Which shocks him. And us. |
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Jan 30 |
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What's Essential In A Combat Scene? I kinda love/hate LOTR. Some scenes are just wonderful. What I find boring are all the travel bits and the descriptions of nature and hills and valleys and... yawn :D The battles? Great stuff! |
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Oct 8 |
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Are fantasy books expected to be trilogies? "And not a word less either" I'd add. Oh: do you have a link, maybe, to that Cherryh/Lackey convo? Sound incredibly interesting. (Well, I'm a sucker for history of all kinds) |
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Sep 27 |
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What's “fair use” for borrowing someone else's invented term? "you're treading" (free proofreading!) And no, it's not. Not generally, at least. If you use a coined word, why should you use it in a different way? I mean, you're not advocating Humpty-Dumpty, do you? Take the example "grok". I haven't read Stranger in a Strange land, and I still know the term (from the Jargon File). Why should I not use it in the way it's been used by RAH? What did he coin it for if not to use it? Sorry, your rule of thumb is wrong. 100% dead wrong. |
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Sep 22 |
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Has anyone tried “pair writing” before and been published? Example: Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman. Pre-internet, they exchanged floppy(!) disks and talked on the phone. |
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Sep 22 |
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What's the most marketable title? Should have read the answers first. You're saying basically what I did in my comment above :D |
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Sep 22 |
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What's the most marketable title? @MGOwen: if I haven't heard a term before, I don't immediately think "nonsense", I may think "Sounds cool, no idea what it means, but..." Lots of SF titles are that way. Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash"... nonsense? Yes, before reading the book. Sounds cool? Sure. |
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Sep 21 |
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How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece? A thought: Have you let someone who did know your work read only the "bad" second half? Is it bad as such or "just" bad compared to the excellent first half? And what is still good about the second? Nothing? It's an unmitigated disaster? I'm really just afraid that, trying to fix the bad bits, you may destroy your good qualities, your "spark". |
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Sep 21 |
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How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece? @mit: one caveat: whatever you do, watch what your readers say about the first half. The good half, at this point in time. Beware of damaging this in an effort to improve the second half. If you notice it suffering, rethink before committing to a different approach to much. Maybe follow Lauren's suggestion of writing shorter pieces. Maybe going some total other route. I just dread the thought that from "Hey, you're good, let's get you an agent!"/"Meh" you could go to "The books okay, I guess". From "One half great, the other not so much" to full-on mediocrity. |
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Sep 21 |
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What is a discovery writer? So, John, you're saying that sometimes the characters make the decisions for you? ;-) |
