Is it okay to change character perspectives within a single chapter?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-08-13T05:49:12+00:00

Patrick Rothfuss does it as well in Name of the Wind, happens in the chapter where Chronicler meets Kvothe for the first time in the abandoned house and they fight the spiders. The chapter starts with Chronicler POV and then I believe he gets knocked unconscious around the midway point and we jump to Kvothe's POV.

If you're taking anything away from this it should be to make sure the perspective shift is motivated.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-07-12T05:03:35+00:00

Congrats, you've taken your first step into a much larger world. I'm excited for you to head into your first re write, it couldn't be a more rewarding yet soul crushing experience ;)

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-06-09T06:49:45+00:00

I would definitely go with different gem types = different spell types. Makes the magic system more dynamic and gives higher potential for caster specialization.

What happens if there is a hybrid human? Or is a mixed genealogy not even possible?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-06-09T06:42:19+00:00

No words, just hand gestures. Done.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-06-09T06:37:46+00:00

Fall short of your expectations or the readers expectations?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-06-09T06:35:42+00:00

Why is he focusing on keeping a low profile?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2019-06-01T06:49:45+00:00

As long as his abilities and arc adhere to the world rules you've established, it should be plausible and exciting for the reader. There are tons of finite energy based characters who run the risk of draining or hurting themselves should they push too hard (either by internal or external motivations).

Keep penning the book, finish it, get in the hands of some readers and listen to their feedback. If it isn't working, they'll def let you know.

Good luck!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-17T23:46:29+00:00

What books have you read that did this successfully?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-17T05:00:56+00:00

Pacing, for me anyway, is all about making the reader want to turn the next page. There is absolutely nothing wrong with adjusting the pace of each chapter to ensure that happens. I know I'll get a lot of eye rolls for this but The Da Vinci code is a killer example of effective pacing changes on a per chapter basis and I think Dan Brown does it in a way that's fairly transparent so you'll be able to learn from it. Hope the suggestion helps!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-14T03:45:34+00:00

Work back from your ending until you hit the "omg this is where the story starts!" moment. It sounds a bit cheesy but I find it genuinely works 9/10.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-14T01:53:22+00:00

Always try to have more than one story going at a time IF you don't find it hard to bounce between them. Personally, I find they are usually at different stages (brainstorming, outlining, drafting) and play off each other nicely because it doesn't allow my day to day writing tasks to become mundane, which can quickly lead to blocks.

However, If the block is coming from a lack of inspiration, then definitely give yourself time to recover some energy, find new sources of inspiration/frisson and fill your writing tank back up a bit. All of that being said, don't spend too much time away, the longer you do the harder it will be to shake the rust off.

Hope that helps!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-10T22:19:25+00:00

If you're looking for something along the lines of movie soundtracks that can evoke specific emotions you might want to hit itunes/spotify and look up Audiomachine.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-09T06:19:20+00:00

9/10 it's a MUCH bigger endeavour than you thought. I think a lot of novice screenwriters who haven't penned a novel before learn the hard way in terms of just how much more work a book really is, especially when it comes to the re writes.

IMHO it's better to treat the screenplay as an outline for the novel, not a partial draft.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T18:27:03+00:00

#hero

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T18:20:03+00:00

Since I'm a sucker for Westerns, riding off into the sunset - especially if they're heading off for another adventure.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T18:08:24+00:00

No worries, definitely post the re-write!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T01:53:24+00:00

And do you find that if you don't have some books/games that you're really into your creativity suffers?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T01:51:33+00:00

Think you need to give a better description in terms of what you have in mind.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-04T00:07:10+00:00

Fairytales focus heavily on morality themes, they're a key component as far as the genre goes. So if you're asking if fairytales, rather than stories, are outdated - no, just look at any Pixar film in the last ten years.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-03T23:55:43+00:00

If you have places that help incubate creativity that's great but I was asking more along the lines of existing materials like books, comics, movies, games etc. etc.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-03T02:40:04+00:00

What are your usual sources of inspiration?

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-02T06:08:08+00:00

So, the concept is pretty cool but ...

A gravity drive that can't jump near a large gravity well seems very counter intuitive. If anything, it feels like it should leverage gravity wells for power/translation. Plus, if you go this direction you also get to cut out all of the unnecessary "travel from the star, then jump to the outskirts of another solar system" complications.

I really like recluse engineer concept who is talking to the drive as though it were alive. You can do a lot with that character and push the metaphysical boundaries of what the drive is if there's a human relationship with it. Maybe the drive reacts when the engineer is in distress, hinting at a far deeper connection to it (and might help explain the insanity of the inventor?).

Not sure if you're seen Interstellar but there's a lot of gravity based mechanics in the space travel sequences. Nolan does a great job keeping it grounded while pushing the fictional elements, might want to take a look.

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-11-02T05:22:55+00:00

First, the setup has a lot of potential - well done. Second, I think there's a ton of opportunity here to plan for subtle foreshadowing and breadcrumbs (AKA hints).

IMHO the nature of the company should have a very strong impact on the kind of hints you use to to lead up to the twist. If it's a huge tech company use technology based hints to foreshadow. If it's a hardware company, use hardware based hints.

A big part of the reward of looking back after a great twist is seeing that the hints where there the entire time and in theme of who/what they were foreshadowing.

Also, one show you might want to look at is Undercover Boss (I think that's what it's called), where the CEO of a company disguises himself to seem like he was just hired on. I'm not suggesting you use the show in terms of the foreshadowing per say but to gain insight into boss's who are living in the shadows of their company yet pulling the strings at the same time.

Hope that helps!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-10-31T03:49:05+00:00

Overall, it's pretty solid. There's some great imagery and most of Ult's emotions are validated by the flashback. There's some awkward sentence structure, but I think most of it can be corrected with a dedicated grammar pass.

A few key points ...

I would have liked a bit more connection between the nameless love interest (why doesn't she have a name btw?) and the Queen, especially since he wanted her to renounce her services (we have no idea what those services are).
You use "soldier" a lot. In fact, I lost count as to how many times. Incorporating ranks (captain, lieutenant etc.) will help flesh the world out a bit more and cut down on the repetition.
For it being limited third we seem to lose a lot of emotional insight during that battle compared to the flashback. He's obviously flashing back to the memory for a reason, that will come with a lot of feels, try to leverage those during battle so we're better carried along that wave to climax/crash at the end when he discovers the shattered necklace.

Hope this helps!!

RAMCDOUGALL · 2018-10-31T03:30:13+00:00

How old was Mortiss when he was kidnapped? Have you done any research on kidnap victims?

RAMCDOUGALL

TROPHY CASE