Recent content by Terry Greer

I think too many authors over describe a character. Sure you need to specify the main identifiable features to get started, enough to generate an idea in the reader's head - but some of the detail can come later and piecemeal. There are advantages to this - it's faster, and readers can self...

Sounds like procrastination - because I'm bad at it as well. I can get into ruts where I do all the 'housekeeping' stuff - clear out the hard drive, answer mail, do a bit of research, etc, rather than what I actually need to do. The only answer I've found is to do the main work first - before...

There are - but they're not mammals and then it's often down to temperature of incubation (its quite frequent with reptiles and birds). There are some studies on mammals (and some on seals - in particular elephant seals) that show some variation in sex ratios - but it's tied to water temperature...

An interesting thought. Recessives just hang around and can remain in the population forever really as they're only expressed when an individual has two copies of the recessive gene (or 1 if it's on the x chromosome). That 2/3 of males die means that the gene would have to have roughly that...

Is there a monetary/resource reason for humans hunting seal people? Of course they'd have blubber - all marine mammals do. It's even been suggested that human subcutaneous fat (along with other marine adaptations such as diving reflex, hair directions etc. c.f Aquatic ape theory) is the result...

It's unlikely there'd be a biological reason for a birth difference in the ratio of males to females (if we're following the believability route - I can't think of any that do this - differences in ratios are usually very minor). Therefore a male to female ratio of 1:3 implies some form of...

I'm a sucker for detailed believable approach to creatures like this. Apologies if it's in your text and I missed it - but first questions are: How long can they stay underwater both as young and as adults? Strikes mne that this is important and could pose a great tension device if it gets near...

I set 500 a day - but don't stop if I'm going well - there's no upper limit - only a time slot of between 1-3 hours. It's just to make sure I write something - no matter how little.

The problem I always have with much fantasy is how similar it all is. I'd love to see something done that really is brave and inverts preconceptions, which most fantasy doesn't. This is understandable as people get interested in writing what they already like - so tend to want to write...

Cliffhangers are fine but there are rules I've found useful for which ones are fine and which annoying. Resolve the chapter - the cliffhanger should come from some new element introduced or a complication that wasn't forseen. E.g. if it's a fight you need to show the winner - but the...

Use a dice. 1-3 they stay 4-5 they go. Roll the dice and take the result. If you roll the dice and you're not happy with the result - then do the opposite. (Really it's just a way of crystallizing your thought process - you already know subconciously if they should or shouldn't go - you just...

You've probably done this already, but if not I'd suggest looking at real history as well. Even in societies normally associated with being male centric there have always been powerful women that have flipped this ion it's head. A couple that come to mind are Elizabeth 1st (which everyone knows...

Though I wasn't meaning to dis the idea - just wondering how the detail of it would be handled - because that's the stuff that interests me. :)

Lots of questions on the feasibility and scope of this. If you're going to have a tournament between 3 - who chooses the 3? How far down the list chain of nobles/wanabee kings does the tournament actually really start? How many in the first round? 10, 50, 100? One from each district (like...

The best way I've found is to have well known myths and legends for these creatures sometimes with descriptions of them, and have some of them contradictory to a lesser or greater extent. When these things are actually encountered they should be different again - not as imagined. The more the...