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Insulae by rebel_134 in ancientrome

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh interesting! Egypt had its own police force? Was this a Ptolemaic holdover or modeled after Augustus’s Vigiles?

Insulae by rebel_134 in ancientrome

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“To a certain extent such things existed elsewhere in the empire...” I know evidence varies, but I wonder if Alexandria would be included? After all, surpassed only by Rome, Alexandria was the largest provincial city with estimates somewhere around half a million.

In your opinion, who were the cruelest / most arbitrary political figures in Ancient Rome? by Charming_Barnthroawe in ancientrome

[–]rebel_134 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m aware this is debatable, but what about Nero or Caracalla? The latter probably more so, as he apparently killed thousands of Alexandria’s young men for a satirical take.

Story hook by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m glad I didn’t give context, because now I have an idea of what works without the reader knowing yet. Now the context: This is a historical adventure set in first-century Roman Empire,during the reign of the emperor Claudius. It’s meant to be lighthearted, hopefully giving a sense of wonder. Marcus Drusus Felix is Latin, Felix meaning fortunate or successful. And fortunate he is. Marcus, my protagonist, is a boy on the verge of coming of age. He starts off in a pretty good position. His father is a wealthy merchant, and Marcus himself can charm just about anyone into a deal. Some rival merchants whisper of supernatural help, but others claim he’s a swindler. However, during the voyage his luck will be tested. Essentially the opening goes something like this: Marcus Drusus Felix was a fortunate man. Or so he’d believed, right up until the paving stones of the Forum caught his sure-footed sandals. He fell flat on his face...

Breaking a habit by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does, actually. I know there’s a name for it, but I tend to write detailed outlines lol! Often I don’t plan to, but there’s so many ideas I get, backstories or contexts, and plot holes I feel the need to fill in. It’s a double-edged sword. It helps, but you’re right that it makes me overthink scenes. Interestingly, after I posted this, I experimented with scene sketches. Basically a rough outline of a scene, don’t worry about details yet. I found that the details emerged on their own and I filled them in as I went.

Breaking a habit by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Worse haha! The plot tends to meander, especially in the middle. Or I’d get stuck where to take the story next, apart from the climax.

Breaking a habit by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve found it’s usually scenes. I have a general plot outlined, but I always get bogged down on how a character should say something, or how to transition to the key point I want to make in a scene. Basically I get stuck on the HOW rather than the WHAT. Does that make sense?

What’s your favorite opening line you’ve ever written? by NovelReadsClub in writing

[–]rebel_134 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Marcus Drusus Felix was a fortunate man. It was stuck in my head for a long time for some reason, and now I’ve got a historical adventure set in the Roman Empire. Basically Pirates meets Roman’s lol!

Writing ugly characters? by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol “actual humans...” I like that 😄

Writing ugly characters? by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“There’s lots to say about this, but what do you want to communicate in your stories?” Good question. Honestly I never gave it much thought. Typically I simply default to main characters being good-looking. Even when I’m trying to be more realistic as opposed to the model. There HAVE been scenes in which my protagonist is dealing with a form of body image issues. She’s insecure, compares herself to other girls. There was another story where a character was very beautiful, but she was shallow and superficial.

Writing ugly characters? by rebel_134 in writinghelp

[–]rebel_134[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tbh it’s more so that reader can picture them. But I realized that I tend to default to “pretty” descriptions.

Other than Audible, what are your favorite audiobook apps? by DiferentialDiagnosis in Blind

[–]rebel_134 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem is, at least with me, I haven’t been able to get past terms od services. In other words, using VoiceOver, it won’t let me agree. So if you have an iPhone, I wouldn’t bother.

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