Post AcGqdGejNF4COSFChU by erwintheauthor@www.minds.com
(DIR) More posts by erwintheauthor@www.minds.com
(DIR) Post #AcF3lVzv7yTfNbUyaO by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-11-27T14:46:28+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
Lately I've been working on a chapter-long action sequence running up to the climax of a ghost-writing project.Without giving away spoilers, the protagonist just did something desperate to be able to pursue the big bad, and now that the mystery portion of the plot has be ostensibly solved, it is up to him to catch up to the fleeing villain and finish him once and for all.Normally, I (try to) write fairly realistic action scenes, which means they are very short and not really sequences at all. In this case, I need to rev up the tension to the climactic moment, so I'm working on layering uncertainty and pay offs as the protagonist approaches the final scene with the villain.I think I'm doing well. The structure is akin to how plot generally works. The only question is whether or not I'll be able to have the actual boss fight be as fun as the mini-boss right before it.
(DIR) Post #AcF3lXE8YbRZBz9qNs by authorbrookeshaffer@www.minds.com
2023-11-27T15:10:28+00:00
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The scaling of my characters. What I mean by that is, in theater there's the saying, "If you think you're overacting, you're getting it just right." Regular conversations are bland and stale and are not intended to convey anything to anyone not in the conversation, whereas acting has to be flamboyant and projective in order to properly engage the audience in the scene.This doesn't work so well in written fiction. Yes, you may have a character who is brash, flamboyant, impulsive, etc., but their scope still tends to be limited to those in the conversation (or the immediate vicinity, such as in battle), not necessarily to those around them. This also applies to character motives and larger planning. A character who "overacts" will only come off as ridiculous.In "Synchronization," Micaiah is scaled a bit too large, I think. I also think that has to do with how I intended to install an exit ramp in the series (if I got bored with it, at least there was an ending there that made sense). In "The Hands of Time" series, Cassius is this way intentionally, and while it works for the story at large, I have come to loathe him because of how I've had to keep up the overacting. It was this experience that has forced me to rethink this overacting business.
(DIR) Post #AcGqdGejNF4COSFChU by erwintheauthor@www.minds.com
2023-11-28T09:02:38+00:00
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Before I was working on my first chapter skills. Now I'm working on my "third round editing" skills. I'm doing this with a friend's story because he wrote the whole thing out already and I'm switching around paragraphs and adding theme or personality where it's missing. Through this, I'm also working on figuring out where tone gets created, and my friend is used a referee because it's supposed to be the tone he wants. So far, it's been going swell, and I try to speed through it by going only up to around 10 paragraphs before I head into the next chapter. So I read into the chapter, figure out what the focus is, then make sure it flows better than the original.
(DIR) Post #AcGqdHVYCrJl2GxO1w by lordjestocost@www.minds.com
2023-11-27T20:54:46+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
Plot. I flatter myself I'm pretty good writing dialog and creating characters, but I suck at figuring out stuff for them to do.I'm getting better, still not great. Outlining helps, and attending writers' groups where members point out lack of conflict in scenes, or details that should have payoffs.
(DIR) Post #AcGqdID9akCDDVMCzg by NSonic79@www.minds.com
2023-11-27T18:55:36+00:00
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Typos. Even with spell check and trying to concentrate to avoid it, I always seem to make them. It’s gotten so bad I even post typos on my posts in social media. It’s spreading 🤣. I’ve been advices to use an AI to scan my work to see if it can fix the typos like how their being used for code/spreadsheets.
(DIR) Post #AcHOWnKyrbHGAS5itc by synthnostate@www.minds.com
2023-11-28T15:30:47+00:00
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I've also been practicing first page/chapter polishing like @erwintheauthor was talking about, and theme and sales pitches. These short story exercises have provided some much-needed direction for finishing and promoting my vampire game.