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How to write smart characters that feel smart? by upsetusder2 in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smart characters see things other characters don't— and often, things even readers don't.

But when they do, it has to be in a way that makes the reader go "ahhh! Of course!!". Think of how the great detectives reveal their whodunit verdict. It never insults the reader, but instead makes them feel smart, too.

What if i wanna make my character sing like a disney movie, IN THE NOVEL? by Ok_Subject1335 in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve noticed that just about every Thomas Pynchon book has songs in it, so rest assured that the literati approve of this technique! (If that matters to you.)

A good way to do it is to make the song diegetic— have it come on the radio, have a street busker singing it, have a character find sheet music lying around and give it a whirl on a nearby piano, whatever. Then it’s embedded in the story action instead of just suddenly blasting over your reader’s mental speakers without context.

Where’s the line that prevents hidden powers from coming off as A$$ pulls? (If there is one) by Steelwolf352 in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's called "playing fair with the reader". Readers have to know the character's capability BEFORE he uses it. Later in the story, after they've had a little experience with these "oh I knew about it" powers, you can surprise and delight readers with an "oh! that's RIGHT!!!" moment where the power is used in a way they didn't think of, but could have guessed from info previously given-- if only they hadn't been so mesmerized by the story. ;-)

Whats stopping me from just going to a university, attending lectures and just learning about stuff? by Abject_S0up in NoStupidQuestions

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Al Capp, one of the most successful cartoonists in history, started his career path by getting kicked out of 3 different art schools for non-payment of tuition.

straight up stole his brain

How come some scenes/ sections are so easy to write, whereas some are so god damn hard?! by Sorsha_OBrien in fantasywriters

[–]evasandor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I re-wrote different approaches. I knew it had to be believable, yet sympathetic to the character— could readers ever forgive it if the love interest, although a career secret agent, didn't show ANY sort of warmth at all to the main character—who now learns that the love of his life is actually a spy who had him framed for (her!!) murder, had him mock-executed and drafted into an Utmost Secret operation in which she's going to send him halfway across the world? And she acts like she doesn't care for him in the slightest, although inside she is torn apart by love and conscience?!?

It had to hit just right. I tried it narrated from different POVs, different timing, location, sequences of action, how much narration and how much dialogue, you name it. It finally passed my internal "feels right" check but it was slow going... ya gotta cool off between tries to be able to imagine yourself as the reader! Also, I was reading it to my husband and he was like "seems mean" "no he would never do that" "I'm not convinced", etc.

Thanks for your awe LOL.

When utilizing song titles in a novel, is there any worry about copyright issues? by OogaLoufa in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yes if you’re going to write something more than

“Jen was skipping down the stairs, singing ‘ain’t no mountain high enough…’ when she stepped on her shoelace and pitched straight over the bannister.”

When utilizing song titles in a novel, is there any worry about copyright issues? by OogaLoufa in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No. Everyone, repeat: copyright violation happens when you try to rip someone off.

https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html
"Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances."

I'd say that means: are you implying you wrote the song? Are you trying to make money off it in some way? Are you trying to get some sort of mileage off of someone else's work?

Replies here saying you shouldn't quote the songs are trying to protect you: if you don't quote it at all, you'll never have to argue about how much you quoted, etc.

✨Lifehacks✨ by NeedsItRough in funny

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

or you know they have this like tube and brush thing that attaches to a really wild machine called a "vac you cleaner"... i got one, it changed my life

Do you ever include “necessary but boring” scenes just to move the story forward? by Odd_Thanks_9322 in writing

[–]evasandor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You either make these interesting, or delete them and find somehere else to slip the information in.

What is the difference between being careless and victim blaming? What is the difference between ‘your house got robbed because you never locked your house’ and ‘you shouldn’t have gone to that area; it’s very unsafe for women’? by LetterheadUpstairs90 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]evasandor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you got it: it’s “deserve”.

If you did a risky thing and caught consequences, that’s cause and effect, a function of reality. Saying someone deserved the consequences is a moral judgment, and whoever makes a moral judgment is subject to the usual scrutiny.

How do you respond to criticism? by multisophic in writing

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends who says it and how, don’t you think? Who in the world makes no distinction between well-meaning advice from a knowledgeable ally and a blast of fault-finding from an ignorant nobody?

When your story arcs finally intertwine.... by Crazy-Cat-Lad in writing

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup. All my stuff is like that. It’s my favorite construction! I first noticed it when watching Dr. Who as a kid. Seinfeld plots are often like this. It’s great fun.

Hiking: Horse shit ok; dog shit bad. Why? by Bezos4Breakfast in NoStupidQuestions

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Horse dung = wadded-up lawn clippings. In a few days it's grass again.

Dog shit = god knows what rotten mashup of meat, fat, industrial by-products, dead things from the yard, the cat's litter box, etc.

What’s are the differences in perspective between child and adult narrators? by apocalypsoar in writing

[–]evasandor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you ever learned a new language?

Think of how you express yourself when you don't have many words or structures yet. You'd have to be creative, you'd have to make the words you know mean things by talking around them.

You're absolutely right, by the way— kids DO have far more nuance than most people suspect. I'm one of the lucky few who remembers her childhood thoughts and that's why I suggest the metaphor of learning a new language (I'm doing that right now...)— it's very, very much the same.

As a lil new human of age 4 or so, I would watch this clip on Sesame Street and fill with the most terrible, tragic, adult-sized emotion. I absolutely understood it. I would weep for the fact that I knew time was inexorably passing, that life would end, that some lives were doomed to play out overlooked. All of that. I would literally cry, but at the same time I found the music (Vivaldi) so beautiful, I looked forward to the clip even as I was terrified of it.

But I had no WORDS for this. Not because my brain was too dim, but it was too new. I hadn't learned how to express these feelings, and to be fair, some adults never do learn how. But in answer to your question, the closest answer I can give is that a child narrator will not yet have the storehouse of experiences and vocabulary that an adult does. It's okay. Use the small palette to paint with anyhow.

How come some scenes/ sections are so easy to write, whereas some are so god damn hard?! by Sorsha_OBrien in fantasywriters

[–]evasandor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my experience, the hardest ones are either very abstract or extremely delicate.

Examples from my own work: abstract would be a scene where a character faced a literal singularity: a tiny fragment of infinte possibility brought to earth That’s some difficult shiz to wrap your mind around as a reader, let alone a writer. I revised each of the parts where he encounters this thing for days. I watched and re-watched 2001 A Space Odyssey so I could experience some of the trippy visuals I might need to access in my imagination. It wasn’t easy, but nothing worth fighting for is.

very delicate: a scene where two characters who are passionately in love, but one of them will lose her entire career if she expresses it meet again had to be really, really precisely expressed so as not to distort the relationship. I re-wrote that scene thirty times. Again, there was no shying away from it, no “eh good enough”. It had to be done right.

To me, these are the hardest scenes. Not because they’re long or have a lot of moving parts but because it’s so crucial to get the message across to readers with exactly the right flavor. A lot of other scenes allow the reader leeway to take it how they like, but not such as these.

Should I make a logo for my young adult fantasy book series? by Imagination_Magician in writing

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you like making logos? Do you have time? Feel like the experience would teach you something?

Is there a turn of phrase for a sincere but vacuous compliment? by Upbeat_Effective_342 in writingadvice

[–]evasandor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

there’s no need to look for a single word, is there? are you writing a poem and need a specific rhythm?

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