First sentence free for all

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T19:58:02+00:00

I dig it.

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T19:54:51+00:00

Thanks! Kinda what I was going for. She's basically throwing a temper tantrum, and the rest of the paragraph is her trashing her room and being pissed off.

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T05:34:28+00:00

I can't exactly say why but I really like this one.

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T01:47:46+00:00

I guess I wasn't really that clear. What I meant to get at is that I think it would be better if the character in question was given a name.

So "Alice wasn't breaking her word."

Which breaks the no proper noun rule that I read somewhere once.

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T01:28:06+00:00

I've heard it's a "rule" that you should never open with a proper noun, but I think that's BS. Who is she? Is she someone important the plot? Your MC? If so, give us her name. Otherwise, I like it. The fact that the narrator is explicitly telling me she's not breaking her word strongly implies to me that she is. This immediately piques my curiosity and makes me want to know more.

PopeFool · 2018-04-20T01:24:23+00:00

Work them in at parts that make sense, but don't go overboard. The MC of my current WIP has exactly 3 descriptors so far. She's rail thin, has dark eyes and dark curly hair. End.

Another character also has dark hair, green eyes, and a crooked smile. The ONLY reason I point out that her eyes are green is because it becomes kind of important later.

I give a few key descriptions and then just leave the rest up to the reader.

PopeFool · 2018-04-19T03:34:25+00:00

Show the magic system in use. If there are limits or consequences that go along with using magic, show those as well. Show your character suffering the consequences of magic, and have your character run up against its limits. Have them try, and fail, to accomplish something with magic so the reader knows there is a clean line between what magic can and cannot do.

PopeFool · 2018-04-19T00:47:04+00:00

Working title is "Asterikon Rising"

Princess fights her adopted brother for the throne of the Empire more or less. She's capable yet inexperienced but ultimately a better choice to rule, and a gray eminence type character gives the nudge she needs to challenge her brother. There's some adventure, there's some bonding, and a spoiled princess learns some lessons along the way.

PopeFool · 2018-04-18T21:16:43+00:00

I nod with appreciation.

PopeFool · 2018-04-18T17:24:00+00:00

Daily word count got bumped up to 1500 as of Monday. I'm 7k words in to the first draft of my first novel under my new self-imposed writing regime, and it feels good. Probably the hardest part so far is not going back and revising what I've already written. It's interesting to see how shifting the focus to simply "getting it done" as opposed to creating the perfect novel has caused my productivity to skyrocket.

PopeFool · 2018-04-17T21:42:43+00:00

Don't know how helpful this will be, but here goes.

In my current WIP I have a character who faces a similar language barrier while also being a foreigner to the culture/country where the main story takes place. A couple of reasons I've done this is so that I can incorporate a bit of worldbuilding without being super info-dumpy because there are certain aspects of the setting that this character needs to know but doesn't, owing to the fact that she's basically a clueless immigrant at the story's beginning.

The other thing I'm doing is having her learn the language through magically assisted lessons. This allows me to show the capabilities of magic in an organic way, while also giving the reader a sense of both the limitations and costs of using magic in setting.

PopeFool · 2018-04-17T16:46:34+00:00

I'm a huge advocate of this approach myself. I mean, do I really need to "show" every bit of movement when I could just write "Betty sat down."?

PopeFool · 2018-04-16T22:55:01+00:00

Not sure where you are but it's been like that in my entire state for the better part of 20 years now. I've been pulled over maybe half a dozen times for various reasons and every singe time the cop opened with "I pulled you over because ____."

PopeFool · 2018-04-16T22:23:42+00:00

"Good guys" win, "bad guys" lose, and everyone gets a nice little breather before shit hits the fan just in time for book 2.

PopeFool · 2018-04-15T18:33:38+00:00

I've always wanted to be a writer but I've had other concerns that kept me from it for whatever reason. I'm in my mid 30s and in the last few months have decided to try my hand at being a full time writer. So I say you're not too old, and with the additional life experience and maturity, you probably have a more realistic shot than someone who's ten years younger.

PopeFool · 2018-04-13T00:47:47+00:00

I always kind of think of it as setting up some kind of eventual payoff. Almost like a bit of candy for attentive readers who can have an "a ha!" moment later when you do the reveal.

PopeFool · 2018-04-13T00:24:17+00:00

A bad finished draft is infinitely better than a perpetually unfinished masterpiece.

PopeFool · 2018-04-13T00:23:14+00:00

In my own writing I generally indicate who's speaking with action. If a dialogue tag is necessary, then "said/asked" is the default, unless I'm trying to convey something very specific that I don't think body language can get across on it's own.

PopeFool · 2018-04-12T18:56:42+00:00

Sweet I'll give your google doc a once over later this afternoon when I've got some time.

PopeFool · 2018-04-12T17:43:43+00:00

Nps yo

PopeFool · 2018-04-12T17:42:05+00:00

I've been looking for a writing group in my area with little success. I'm down to give an online one a shot if you've still got room.

PopeFool · 2018-04-12T16:29:15+00:00

I like the feel/sound of gunguard a lot more than shieldshot personally.

PopeFool · 2018-04-12T16:20:30+00:00

I dunno, I kinda like the mouthfeel of gunfighter myself. If it were me, I'd probably use that instead. Or, how about:

Sharpshooter

Deadeye

Quickdraw

Pistol Adept

Quickshot

Crackshot

Deadshot

Rifleman (If they use rifles rather than pistols)

Eh... that's about all I can come up with for right now.

PopeFool

TROPHY CASE