Recent content by Telcontar

Hello everyone. Apparently Pixar is going to be doing a Storytelling course over at Khan Academy. Here is a link to the first video. I haven't watched it yet as I am at work, but I have to imagine the folks at Pixar will have something worse listening to.

Apologies for the slow reply, and of course! There should be directions for reserving an island in the introduction posts, but you don't need to wait for my confirmation to post information on your island. As you can see, the project is pretty dormant these days, but that just means it needs...

This struck me as interesting. Especially insofar as whether or not it will end up mattering to the reader whether or not the antagonist's character has experienced growth, or only the reader's understanding of the antagonist has grown (and the villain has remained more or less the same)...

Query letter writing is a very important part of the traditional process. Fortunately, that means there are lots of resources out there to help you. Check out blogs like Pub Rants and Query Shark for guides and advice. Don't be in a hurry. And also, don't invest all of your hopes in getting this...

If you don't want to take the time to write all of the different beginning and just see which one feels better, you can try thinking about what differences each would have on the story that follows after. Are they really different beginnings? Do they have different events? Would they change the...

Generally speaking, when I first get an idea I write down as much as I can about it. The plot, key characters, etc. Whatever I've got at the time. Then I let it sit. Occasionally, in idle moments, I'll come back to the idea. Develop things further, maybe some world-building happens in the back...

If they're the puppetmaster type, a solid option is to introduce them early, without revealing them as the/an antagonist. Just another character, not even that intriguing of one. That way the reveal of his antagonistry (shaddup, it's a word NOW) will have the element of "It was YOU?!" that is so...

Sanderson went through a phase that many of us probably have/will: that time when you think creating a good book is just about how pretty your sentences are. In thinking this he was failing to play to his strengths. It's the Writer/Story-teller divide with the added categories of world-builder...

Physical submissions only? That's surprising. I didn't think any of the venerable old names were still holding out on digital submissions.

Taking "bandits" as meaning pretty much any thief/outlaw types, Lies of Locke Lamora is the first to come to mind. Naturally, any Robin Hood books as well.

I could see a future tense passage having a very interesting effect, especially in fantasy where things like prophecy are commonplace. Flash-forwards already do this, but I don't think any I've ever read actually use the future tense. It seems like something you'd need to use repitively to help...

Gotta say, that's a very interesting tactic to do less editing while writing. I have the same problem... but I don't think that particular approach is for me. I myself need some confluence of discipline, motivation, free time, and a lack of distraction. The discipline is something I attempt to...

Can't think of offhand examples where a character has conscious ideology and sticks strictly to it, really. Seems similar to the (few) animes I know which generally have each character with a distinct technique, or style (martial arts kind of style). In turn, the phenomenon seems similar to...

Pretty much as Reaver said. The project is in what we can generously describe as a dormant stage. Anyone who wishes to expand upon anything written here should feel free to do so!

Not necessarily bad writing, no. The prose may be wonderful. This is an instance of bad storytelling. Writers/Storytellers need to be very careful about how they use repetition. Repeated elements draw the readers attention and give those elements added significance, thus making it a potentially...