Recent content by Jackarandajam

You can still do that. What if the paladin is extremely successful and proud, and refuses to believe what the reader already knows until halfway through the story? That would allow the reader to really take a cringy ride-along for a while with the paladin while theyre in denial, which would...

I've just been pounding books on writing into my brain, scraping together what they all seem to agree on, poking around in the real world to see if what they say seems true, trying to put it into practice, and learning what I can from personal experience. That is the limit of my knowledge. I...

So I consulted my emotional superior on this, she brought up identity as the theme: 1. Moana's identity didn't match father = failure. 2. Moanas grandmother's identity is crazy lady = dont listen to her. 3. Chicken bad at being chicken = cook it? 4. Tafiti's identity after heart stolen failed to...

On books... a little harder to say. I think you're probably right about them handling other things poorly as well and not making the cut for picky readers, me included. Kids books and kids movies tend to be more blatant, which is understandable. I don't read alot of nytb pop-topic literary...

1. Jurassic World: Theme: don't mess with mother nature Opposing opinion: some blatantly stupid people thought they had it handled because human smarter than dumb lizard, plus a vague bit about how trained raptors might be useful. Debate: no real debate, stupid arrogant people playing with fire...

There are alot of topics right now that everyone wants to talk about, but everyone is TERRIFIED to debate. For a theme to work and not be propaganda, the plot must be a debate. Also, shoehorning popular issues in where they don't make any sense. Also a theme issue. If the theme is about greed...

I partially agree. I think this typically stems from not solidifying "the lie" well enough. An mc should go from a perfectly comfortable, or at least familiar, lie, into a very uncomfortable truth that, after alot of back and forth, turns out to be the right choice for the mcs internal struggles...

I don't mean the characters are doing it on purpose. Let's say I'm writing a romance. I go a favorite Sparks route and my theme is "love is patient." So: 1. Something I want to say (theme) Love is patient. 2. How I want to prove it is true (plot) A POW dreams about his fiance while going...

I should probably add: 5. Who I want to show doing it wrong (antagonist)

Exactly what I'm working on fleshing out in my WIP! 1. Something I want to say (Theme), 2. How I want to prove it is true (Plot), 3. Who I want to learn it (Protagonist), 4. Who I want to explain it (Side Characters) Thats a long shot from the "cool scene" I had in my head ten years ago...

Yep! You're exactly right. A self/author insert is that. A reader insert is more like a dotted outline of the authors conception of an average human, with an X and "You are here" written on the face.

This. My personal opinion is not high of reader avatar characters. It may be something like a new genre, a response to adult cultures increased desire to comfortably slip into casual escapism for a while, or maybe novels that appeal in more of the way video games do, so I hesitate to dismiss it...

This is a great line!

Love this line.

Sorry it's a bit long, I just really liked how that villain intro came out and couldn't figure out where to cut it.