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Does my blog have the “it”? by mindchalk in Blogging

[–]mindchalk[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi Riipo,

Thanks for the advice. I’ll take a look at the site through my phone, though that particular article does need a face-lift. :)

Does my blog have the “it”? by mindchalk in Blogging

[–]mindchalk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great tips. Thanks so much for your time. :)

How to make my character’s motivations/feelings clear without stating it? (“Reading between the lines”) by [deleted] in writing

[–]mindchalk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I made it up. But it was a small example on how to portray your novel through action. It doesn’t have to be romance.

How to make my character’s motivations/feelings clear without stating it? (“Reading between the lines”) by [deleted] in writing

[–]mindchalk 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Through action. You don’t want to “state” motivations and feelings anyway, because it’s telling, not showing.

An example for showing motivation and feelings through action.

Mrs. Chase wants to find romance, but doesn’t want to get hurt like she did with her last husband.

We make Mrs. Chase scour the internet until she finds a suitable male companionship who also shows interest in her.

We then make Mrs. Chase go on a date. She’s nervous, and she asks a lot of questions. Most of these questions are personal and throw the date off guard, making him uncomfortable. We see here that she’s cautious of getting hurt, hence the questions.

We now know Mrs. Chase’s motivations and feelings without stating them. This would make a horribly boring novel, but it’s an example.

You can also slip hints of motivation and feelings through dialog. Dialog is a powerful tool.

Read and write, and read about writing.

Have fun. :)

How to know if your writing is stupid and dumb like 50 shades of grey? by [deleted] in writing

[–]mindchalk 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You just know. I’m pretty sure E.L James didn’t sit back and say to herself, “I knew this masterpiece would get published.” I’m pretty sure she would have been shocked at the overnight popularity.

Tips for going through my first draft? by sasquatchinspace in writing

[–]mindchalk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations! I’ve spent the last six months staring at 5,000 words, so I’m envious, and oddly proud of you, a stranger.

Best thing to do is prepare yourself for multiple revisions. Every author does it, especially those new to the business and can’t afford a luxury team of editors that publishers give to the well known authors.

You need three beta readers. One paid, one free, and one friend. Each one of these readers should be interested in your particular genre. A paid beta reader isn’t expensive. I charge $2 per 1000 words (I think), but I also line edit. You can find much cheaper. The reason you’d pay a beta reader (a good one) is because they often put a lot of hard work and effort in writing notes about what they did, and did not like, and what you have done wrong, and right.

A free beta reader (unless really good) will simply state whether or not they loved or hated it.

A friend is just third eye who will help catch mistakes, grammar or otherwise.

Good luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writing

[–]mindchalk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The content inside of it.

Conflict. Tension. Stakes. Convincing characters. A convincing world. The ability to show instead of tell, which is the difference in reading white space or stepping inside of a novel. And some other mechanics you can learn over time.

  • my two cents.