Other side of the lagoon was the tng equivalent of the deflector dish. Also they were playing Voyageur w/ 7 of 9 (Read Four-oh-three) and I recall I never watched the final seasons, so I guess I better get on this before paramount goes under

I remember that episode, unfortunately

Of course it's confusing - you haven't found you true voice yet.

Recommend: Read the published writers you love and emulate for your first draft. Draw what you can from this site, but don't attempt to do it all.

Second-pass come back and watch yourself emulating. Ask yourself what you were really trying to say. Filter it through the eyes of your reviewers. But come back with the wisdom of the completed story and make it yours. In doing so, you will find your voice.

-K

Here's some fuel on the fire...

I'm arguing with an editor who says I can't say:

They had newspaper for seating

The editor said it would have to be "newspapers". Me, foolishly thinking that newspaper could be a count noun or a non-count noun looked it up. Most people agree with me. But here

https://www.italki.com/question/273932

you can see answer two, perhaps "They had newsprint for seating" would actually be more correct.

755

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

shorts works

Norm d'Plume wrote:

In answer to your question from the review, I'm still planning on editing the last 12 chapters of Into the Mind of God, so I can leave it in decent shape for when or if I come back to it into the future. Depends on how long the new trilogy takes.

Interesting. time to bump them higher up on the dance card

Speaking of... where's the next chapter?

Excel might be the better choice. Sort 655535 rows by any number of columns.

My last comment got me googling his boss. I got an obituary. The editing house had a rule you weren't allowed to the name of the person working on your manuscript. So this person stayed faceless for a good 18 months of communication (Email wasn't a thing back then - we killed a lot of trees).  I will likely never find him, but I've added the search to my list of life quests (Including being allowed into Las Vegas), so you never know

Norm d'Plume wrote:

Amy, how much was the editor? I've seen estimates that run into the thousands, although that's for a very detailed edit.

Ya know... a good editor is worth his weight in gold. But they're so hard to find. It's a kind of relationship - it's a person you're 'dating' because you'll need to trust them with something close to your heart (btw I'm referring to a good substantive editor). In the original VQ, I had one and he was like there's no way this can be one book, and I hated him, and he was right. He billed me 3k and I was so mad but I'd get him again if I could find him.

Poor Jaylene

762

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

From here, on the outside, we're all wandering around in a daze

I sleep 1- 2 hrs a night. I'll drop off long before you.

https://78.media.tumblr.com/44ee485b8e4cb932b834732fb637c6a0/tumblr_p4200tSWlk1rrqi2zo1_500.png

Hey Sol...

You need the ability to move threads so you can transplant contentious debates rather than having to end them.

765

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

o dear

Norm d'Plume wrote:

I swear they're going to dig up my grave looking for gold in my teeth. Maybe I should just put them in my will.

Sure fire way to have to fill out post-mortem paperwork in the afterlife

It was a liquid nitrogen river in which one of the villains met a "chilling" demise

William, thank you.

Norm: You should see my prologue. It has K's influence all over it.
njc: (runs screaming from the Prologue)
K: follows the pleasant sound of a screaming reader throwing a book at a wall. Smiles.

Which reason did you mean, that my writing seemed suitable for that age group? I've been told recently that my adult stuff is better

It sounds like you're trying to squeeze the story into a certain demographic rather than just tell the tale. There may be some merit in doing just that, but when you say it that way, I wonder a little.

Warning: K's stories resemble Mickey Spillane's =I the Jury=.  Everyone gets killed off.

Not so! I've guaranteed that Firestarter will survive to the end. And by survive, I mean be "animate" but not necessarily having a pulse or sanity. Plenty of people wake up with neither of these until their morning coffee, so it still counts as alive

Lynne Clark wrote:

As for the demographic of who would love it as it is? yep, you have it on the nail. 40 something women (and men for that matter) who love fantasy. It was never specifically written for the MG age group, I was just told that my writing style (and the lack of sex and violence) would make it more suitable for that age group.

Hmm if you're targeting a demographic for this reason alone, it's probably more of a hindrance than a benefit.

I tend to hover in the background and find creative ways to thin people's casts. Chapter one's are easy... have it so your group isn't assembled yet. I got my group together in chapter 14. I think Amy took an entire book to get hers assembled.

-K.

get this onto the page before the sharpness of the experience dulls

773

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Don't make me get out the cattle prod again

njc wrote:

'Unholy' is a negated word.  I don't have the thesaurus hand, but if you can find an intrinsicly negative word, it might be stronger.

And try dropping the article.


"Dire" is always fun

example:
Dire Angel
Dire Rapture

775

(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Add some GRR Martin. Half the cast is dead by chapter 5