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| bio | website | mgowen.com |
|---|---|---|
| location | Sydney, Australia | |
| age | 33 | |
| visits | member for | 2 years, 6 months |
| seen | Mar 18 at 3:27 | |
| stats | profile views | 21 |
Amateur writer just starting out - interested mainly in spec fiction.
My blog is updated every Friday: http://mgowen.com
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Sep 24 |
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What are good reads about writing? Also see podcasts, magazines, and online info about writing. |
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May 21 |
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How do I find an affordable editor? @Neil Fein Oh I wouldn't expect a good freelance editor to agree to only a cut up-front, I'd expect a fee too, but my point is someone who wants to make their reputation/career/fortune out of your book might put more into the editing than an hourly fee can buy. It should be a team relationship ideally, not a customer relationship. |
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Mar 1 |
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Podcasts useful for improving writing skills This is good... |
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Mar 1 |
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How does one avoid bland, generic fantasy while they write? Dan Wells says he always laughs/cringes at Brandon Sanderson's early drafts. A good writer is mostly a good reviser. |
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Mar 1 |
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How does one avoid bland, generic fantasy while they write? @Gabe Willard you need more detail about what exactly seems "generic" or "contrived". Are the characters just the same old archetypes? Is the setting "too Tolkien" or "too middle-ages europe with magic"? Or is it your wording, pacing, dialogue? What? |
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Mar 1 |
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Are there any good tablets out there for writing/editing? In terms of small size/weight and long battery life, modern Netbooks are basically just as good as tablets. They can run good writing software like scrivener, have physical keyboards (make no mistake, this is much better than any on-screen touch keyboard) and can be significantly cheaper than an iPad. If you're cashed up and want the iPad for other reasons, at least get a flip-open case with built-in external keyboard. |
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Jan 30 |
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How much sex is allowed in a non-romance novel? This answer sounds good, but isn't actually useful to OP. Of course OP will want to "write the story the way the story needs to be written", the question is, what does that mean? Also, you're assuming OP hasn't already done exactly as you're suggesting. |
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Jan 10 |
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What's the most marketable title? @Jürgen A. Erhard Oh yeah, I agree, but since the OP didn't explain what "hang fire" meant, it's possible she didn't realise that it isn't a well-known term, so I thought I'd let her know (FWIW, I think it's the best of the 3). |
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Sep 22 |
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What's the most marketable title? Reading this thread, it appears "hang fire" actually means something (in a firearms context). Be aware that most people have never heard it in any context, and will just think it's a nonsensical pairing of two random words. |
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Apr 18 |
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How do I find an affordable editor? Aside: Find a good editor who takes a cut, instead. He/she may put more time in if he/she "has skin in the game". |
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Feb 21 |
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Who pays for lyrics or quotes? I always chuckle at the bored lawyers who try to stop people saying Kleenex for tissue or Google for searching. Their marketing people must have permanent face-palm injuries. |
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Feb 21 |
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If you get an advance do you ever have to give it back? ...first half of the book is amazing, but the second half is a complete turkey. Ohhhh! Maybe that's why Dune was "the best book I'd ever read" a third of the way in, and just "a good book" by the end... |
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Feb 8 |
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What's Essential In A Combat Scene? @jalefkowit honestly, I like what you said. Very succinct way to put it. (Mine is just more detailed because it's longer). |
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Feb 8 |
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How should I introduce my characters? I lost track. Too many at once. |
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Feb 8 |
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Character Development - How much is too much? It sounds like you think the term character development means "focusing on or describing how the character feels about things". I don't think that's all there is to it - generally good character development comes from physical descriptions of the character, what they do, what they say, and a number of other things. |
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Feb 7 |
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What's Essential In A Combat Scene? I disagree - I love fight scenes too, but I think some are much better than others, and OP's example is a fairly poorly worded fight scene. |
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Feb 7 |
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Should you use two spaces after a period, or just a single one? Two is wrong. Why it was once OK is an interesting piece of history, nothing more. |
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Dec 24 |
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What helpful writing exercises do you use? A lot of my story ideas actually come from dreams. |
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Dec 24 |
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Tips for expanding my vocabulary? This is actually a good way to expand vocab in a second language, too. |
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Dec 21 |
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At what point does an author deal with an editor? Thanks @Ralph, thought that was clearer, added clarification... |
