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Recent content by Incanus

  1. Incanus

    Shameless Self-Appreciation Thread

    I'm just generally happy that I finally have a nice, big epic fantasy story to work on that I really like, and think might be pretty good if it gets finished. That's saying something. It took about 40 years to get here. I wish it could have happened a little sooner, but I'll take what I can...
  2. Incanus

    fat characters

    Wait, I think I got it: If all the animals along the equator were capable of flattery, then Thanksgiving and Halloween would fall on the same day.
  3. Incanus

    How to write good poems.

    Well, I don't have an answer as to how to write GOOD poetry. I've dabbled a little with poems and songs, but not enough to get really good at it. I'll take a look at that link a little later, if I can--- One thing I sometimes try to do is to use the title and opening to suggest a certain...
  4. Incanus

    What counts as "moving the plot forward"?

    I'm largely in agreement with many of these responses. I also think it's more about moving the 'story' forward, rather than just the plot. I'm thinking about the training scenes of the Night's Watch from early in Game of Thrones. We see that Jon Snow has already received training before he...
  5. Incanus

    What about Thinking Time?

    Yeah, me too. I'd probably have to down 3 espressos just before--and then after that, I wouldn't be able to lie down anymore! I really don't know how he does it.
  6. Incanus

    What about Thinking Time?

    I've got one more item about Tad Williams--according to him, he does his three-hour thinking while lying down on a bed. Just wow. I'd be out like a light in 20 minutes or less. I think he's been doing this since the 80's, so it's a method he is comfortable(!) with. It must work--he's one of...
  7. Incanus

    What about Thinking Time?

    Some really different takes on this, which isn't all that surprising. The '3-hours thinking time' author I mentioned above is Tad Williams. One other thing about that--he apparently doesn't do this thinking while mowing a lawn, driving, or anything else. He simply stares off into space for 3...
  8. Incanus

    Celebrate Tolkien Reading Day!

    Well, I can see why 3/25 would be a Tolkien reading day. For myself, I've been celebrating for the last month or two. I'd been kind of avoiding Tolkien while I developed my own work, because LotR is the first (adult) book I ever picked up and read. I think the amount of influence he has on me...
  9. Incanus

    What about Thinking Time?

    We often hear about and discuss how many words per day, or per hour, tracking word counts, daily or weekly progress in terms of words on paper or into word docs. Obviously, writing is a large part of the writing process—after all, it’s right there in the name: writing. But how about the time...
  10. Incanus

    Protagonist and antagonist creation

    I think this may be one of those instances where the answer might just be: it depends. Sometimes common 'tropes' or other elements in stories work really well because the writer is experienced and made a number of good creative choices with many other aspects. I just randomly thought about...
  11. Incanus

    My All-New Zero Draft Approach

    Fantastic! I love it. And really, it makes sense that no matter how much planning was done, the unforeseen still happens. Over the last few days, I've started having some secondary characters get 'voicy' on me, and it's quite pleasurable. The last thing I wanted to do was stifle them. Yes...
  12. Incanus

    My All-New Zero Draft Approach

    Thanks Penpilot, those are some good distinctions to make. I have an outline, but it is not detailed. I think making discoveries while doing a super-detailed outline seems tricky to me, but obviously there is no wrong or right way. I find it interesting, even fascinating, to compare these...
  13. Incanus

    My All-New Zero Draft Approach

    OK, I think I figured it out. Thanks pmmg. Here is the first page of my WIP. It is sloppier than the other pages--I got neater as I went along. It's obviously quite rough. It's 10-20% really poor, maybe 5% of some OK stuff, with the rest being tepid or underwhelming. The image is a bit...
  14. Screenshot page 1.png

    Screenshot page 1.png

    Rough draft page 1 of WIP
  15. Incanus

    My All-New Zero Draft Approach

    Well that settles it--it's the Smurf System for me from now on----- But seriously, I have a question for A E Lowan, or anyone else who uses the long and detailed outline approach. (And I realize in Lowan's case, it is a team of three with each member doing different tasks.) I'm wondering...
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