Recent content by Penpilot

IMHO, people who loved Tolkien wanted more stuff like LOTR. Though I've never read it, I've heard people say that's why Sword of Shannara was popular. It's supposed to be a lift of LOTR. People who love X tend to look for other things that are similar to X. I'm like that, and I don't outright...

Generally speaking, when you have too much showing without adding context with a bit of telling, you end up with something that's vague. The reader may pick up on what you're trying to say. They may not. But they're never certain. If that's what you want, then cool. Next, a character that's...

For me when I edit, I focus on one general thing at a time. I usually work from big picture down to the minutia. The first editing pass after a first draft I do, I focus on plot and logic. I make sure I'm happy with the way things are unfolding in general and that it all makes sense. If I'm not...

Count me as someone who doesn't hate tropes, just badly executed tropes.

When in doubt, follow your own gut. I always say I'd rather fail on my own terms than follow someone else's advice blindly and succeed. Why? If I consciously make choices and fail, I'll learn from it. I'll understand the thought process behind the decisions, and if not now, eventually, I'll...

When writing, it's about knowing when to show and knowing when to tell. And a lot of it has to do with context. No word, sentence, paragraph, etc. can be taken in isolation. When something works, it's because it's part of a greater whole that works. A paragraph can be written in a way where the...

;P https://www.amazon.com/Thanos-Redemption-Starlin-November-Paperback/dp/B014S2WTM2

So I use the scene sequel formatting when I design my scenes. Another way to label them is Action scenes and Reaction scenes. You're having trouble with the reaction scenes, and those IMHO are the most important. They give the action scenes context and meaning. When you don't have or have...

Get in line. :p

He's said that he wouldn't do it even if asked because he's not the right fit. https://winteriscoming.net/2016/09/07/brandon-sanderson-says-never-consider-finishing-winds-winter-something-happen/

I don't necessarily write the ending, but I know what I need from the ending in terms of the character's arc. For example, my main character in my current novel, they spend most of the book denying the truth of themselves and what they are. They lie to themselves about what they really want, and...

For me, it was simply setting aside the time to write every day. Write without expectation, for word count, for quality. Write for the sake of writing. Ideas are just the raw materials we work with. Writing is a muscle that must be trained. Writing is a skill that must be learned in order to...

I've always had one novel going, and around that I'd write shorts stories and plan out the next novel. But, as I'm finishing up my current novel, I'm going to give writing two novels, maybe three, at the same time a go. We'll see how well that goes. Best laid plans and all... haha

Respectfully, I'm going to push back a little on this. There's a huge difference between book knowledge and practical knowledge. I have a degree in CompSci. To get that I did university level chemistry, physics, biology, logic, and high level mathematics. To humble brag, I aced those courses...

First, a little nitpick of mine. I prefer not to use the term writer's block. I prefer to say I'm stuck. To me, writer's block makes it sound like it's not under my control, which it totally is. I just have to figure it out. Second, if you can't find the right path, start trying all the wrong...