Recent content by skip.knox

You know you're a writer when you fail to stop writing.

Agreed, and I'm very far from ever having experienced anything of the sort. The effects of combat (as distinct from the effects of war) vary widely from person to person. Even the phrase being "in combat" covers a wide range of experiences. And the effects are going to vary over time, even when...

I don't know if Tolkien was very specific on the topic. Sometimes I think of Ents as basically trees that come alive, but other times they seem more like mammals or other fleshy creature but with tree-like appearance. Maybe he says more in some of his other writings, but I've only read the Lord...

Different people are entertained by different things; similarly, different people are put off by different things. However passionately we might feel on the one score or the other, here in discourse at Mythic Scribes, I recommend people refrain from flat out statements of I'm right and you're...

Hm, that's pretty much how I work (except I resist saying I'm a visual learner or tactile learner or olfactory learner). I do remember what I read and do visualize where I read it (see the page, see the cover, remember the author, all that). What's said to me is often lost (to the despair of my...

I can't seem to find the same page you are seeing, but I did get to Edit a Portfolio Entry and saw a checkbox down at the bottom for "Display cover image above entry" and no evident way to add the cover image in the first place. I've not used Portfolios in years, so I'm no help here.

I went to my profile. (/community/account) The heading on that page is Account Details It shows my avatar in the right-hand column with a message to click on it to edit. I did so, which brought up a series of images, but also the opportunity to Browse my local drive. Does that get you what you...

I appreciate the references; I did watch them (mostly). I still have a hard time turning to movies for examples of how to write (or not to write) fiction. To me, it's as alien as turning to a stage play or opera. Yes, an individual writer can find inspiration or insight, usually peculiar to...

Prince of Spires, I agree. Combined with earlier comments on this thread, I'd say that most *useful* writerly advice concerns basic work habits, the fundamentals of grammar and composition (neither of which is much taught in school these days, at any level), and some pointers to basic resources...

PITFCS (pronounced however you see fit) It has been a few years since I read this thing. I cannot pretend it is great writing, but it certainly is remarkable. I chose the wording in the Subject line with care. The letters are an acronym. They stand for Proceedings of the Institute for...

It's a curiosity that there is so much advice on offer for the first-time writer, yet almost none for the authors who are on their, say, third book. Does something magical happen at Book Two? I rather think not, seeing as how I'm on my sixth book and I still flounder like .... well, a flounder...

We slayed the slew. A slew is nearly as bad as a grue, but they never attack in droves.

Yes, all related etymologically. In current parlance, the word survives mostly as "droves" with the meaning of "a large group" of something. It's also related to the word drive. Now I think about it, there's a whole class of "transitory" people we've overlooked; namely, day-laborers. Very much...

Not circus troupes only, but itinerant performing groups in general can be interesting.

It happens differently with different characters, but the point of recognition is pretty clear for me. It happens when the character gains their voice. I fiddle with this a lot, early on, like a comic trying out imitations. But the key point comes when I can feel "no, this character wouldn't say...