Nov 25 2008
Do you have any writing questions?
Ack. I misplaced my weekly list of article ideas. If you’d like to suggest any, I’d appreciate that. Here are some of the questions we’ve previously answered.
Our RSS Feed- Please Avoid Having Characters Repeat Each OtherCharacter 1: “Bob and I are going to Vancouver for the summer.” Character 2: “Vancouver?” Character 2 comes across as sort of mentally slow, right? Unless you’re trying to make characters sound slow (or totally disoriented), I would recommend against having them just repeat each other. Whenever a character says something, it should […]
- This Premise Sounds Brilliant: RedshirtsFrom John Scalzi’s Redshirts: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick […]
- Which Tend to Be Better: Superhero Team Movies or Lone Superhero Movies?Since 2000, movies with 2+ superheroes have averaged 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas movies with a lone superhero have averaged 50%. Lone Superheroes Company Average RT Rating Marvel 54 DC 48 Other 43 Overall 50 Superhero Teams Company Average RT Rating Marvel 64 DC 41 Other 58 Overall 59 Below, I listed […]
- How Would You Have Done The Avengers Differently?Is there anything about The Avengers you would have done differently? If so, what? (I wouldn’t recommend reading the comments here until you’ve seen the movie–there will probably be many spoilers). […]
- Guest Authors WantedIf you’re interested in becoming a guest blogger for SN, I’m looking for writing advice for current and/or prospective authors (for example, on some element of writing craft, marketing/sales, promotions/publicity, agents, the publishing industry, or anything else many novelists and/or comic book writers would find helpful). Please send me a 1-2 sentence quer […]
- The Avengers Was SolidI’d give it 3 stars out of 4. The closest comparison that comes to mind is that it’s the movie that Fantastic Four wanted to be when it was growing up (before it got addicted to cocaine and dropped out of school). Some other thoughts: The writing was very fresh and clever. I liked the way […]
- Canadian Superhero Authors WantedTyche Books is looking for Canadian superhero stories between 1000-10,000 words. “We want to see any and all permutations of the superhero genre, but with a uniquely Canadian perspective. Stories must involve a Canadian element — setting, politics, culture, history, characters, etc. Any genre-mashing goes: alternate history, crime, horror, romance, SF, fanta […]
- Please Avoid Having Characters Repeat Each Other
I’m practicing my skills right now, but one thing I’m having a lot of trouble with is a scene where Isaac’s friends discover who and what he really is. I’ve written several versions, but all of them are lame. Their reactions are either “oh my God” or “as if”, and I don’t want that, but it always leads to one of them. How can I write a good one? Thanks!