K, there were a total of seven instances of hard/harder in my latest chapter. Thanks for catching that. Apparently, I'm completely blind to them. Time for some quality time with thesaurus.com.
2,676 2017-02-04 01:48:32
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
2,677 2017-02-04 01:40:49
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Do any of your books ever explain what happened at Earthwound? I don't remember reading anything about it. Earthwound figures prominently in these books, but not the explanation. Or does it come later?
2,678 2017-02-03 06:09:06
Re: New Writing Contest (107 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Dill Carver wrote:
...
I guess they'll be a rush of entries before the deadline.
they'll should be there'll. I only point this out because you made it quite clear this evening your love of correct word usage. Truce?
2,679 2017-02-03 05:55:22
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Dill Carver wrote:
Why do North Americans feel a compulsion and the sense of entitlement to hijack bastardise and dumb-down every word they find personally inconvenient?
Ignorance, arrogance or both?
Neither. My phone's Swype software offered up brule, so i went with it. Pardon me for not crawling out of bed, powering up my computer to use my French-English keyboard, and googling the correct spelling to play a fun word game with people, most of whom I know well enough to know they would never be offended by a typo.
Aren't you a pleasant little fellow....
2,680 2017-02-02 15:25:26
Re: Is this show or tell? (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
There are "multiple" views of the corridor outside the bridge. I never specify how many. No drones. The bridge is the nerve center of the ship, and has to be protected, so plenty of cameras.
2,681 2017-02-01 19:04:06
Re: Is this show or tell? (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you, Gacela. It needs tweaking as suggested by graymartin, but I'm very pressed for space in that chapter (20 pages!), and it is a battle scene, so telling seems reasonable. However, I thought the description of the colonel's actions was showing, which is why I was scratching my head when I was told it was telling.
2,682 2017-02-01 02:32:42
Re: Is this show or tell? (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Very helpful. Thank you, all.
2,683 2017-01-31 21:21:32
Re: Two writing tips I've unlearned since joining TNBW. (14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Here's one I have that stubbornly refuses to be trimmed of wases and weres. NJC and Janet Reid helped me get it down to three at one point, but as I added detail, it crept back up to five. This could be a good exercise for a writing class. :-)
Seven-year-old Apollo Julius Caesar III sat with his half-brothers in the game room of Domus Augusti, the Imperial palace in Rome, Italy on Earth. The brothers were perched in floating chairs in front of a galactic simulator made up of four command and control stations, one per child. Caligula was a year older than Apollo, and the twins, Romulus and Remus, a year younger.
As the only child of the Imperator and Imperatrix, Apollo was sole heir to the Imperium Romanum, and was guarded round the clock by a quartet of Candidatii, elite members of the Imperator’s Praetorian Guard. Unlike Apollo, his brothers were non legitimus — illegitimate sons of the Imperator.
2,684 2017-01-31 20:58:06
Re: Is this show or tell? (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I should add that the person watching the video is the colonel's commanding officer and knows him well. I thought the conclusions she draws regarding 'in response' and 'undaunted' were quite reasonable. It's how she perceives those moments about him.
2,685 2017-01-31 20:47:40
Re: Shadow Plotting and 3rd Person for Secondary Characters. (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I had the exact same issue as rhiannon. I told the entire tale from the POV of my two MCs, Joseph and Apollo, alternating back and forth between them on a chapter-by-chapter basis. A secondary character, Caligula, was there as an antagonist. I decided to bring in his POV near the end when I needed the reader to think Apollo was dead. It's one of my favorite chapters in the whole book. I'm now rewriting to foreshadow his surprise role in that chapter.
2,686 2017-01-31 20:30:53
Topic: Is this show or tell? (12 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Can someone please tell me if the paragraph below is showing or telling. It's written from the POV of someone outside the scene who is watching this on video. I was just told this is telling.
Soon, weapons fire targeted the Marines from three sides as Classiarii forced their way through other hatches. The Marines were hopelessly outnumbered. In response, Colonel Montford stood up and walked purposefully into the heaviest stream of oncoming fire, taking out one Imperial after another until they blew off his left arm at the shoulder. Undaunted, the heavily muscled man continued firing his crisper with one hand, yelling wildly as he moved relentlessly forward, his eyes bulging from their sockets. Blood gushed from his wound. The Marines rose and followed his lead, causing the enemy to fall back in fear. Montford’s troops chased them down the passageways as the colonel dropped dead to the deck.
Thanks
Dirk
2,687 2017-01-31 16:38:02
Re: Embedding images or tables into chapters? (4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thank you, sir. I sent a PM to Sol asking about hosting images/tables. Perhaps there's a way.
2,688 2017-01-31 16:00:18
Re: Embedding images or tables into chapters? (4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Thanks, Tom. I'm surprised we can't host the actual image here on the site.
What will happen to your Japanese characters when you publish? Kindle allows resizing of regular text. Do the images automatically resize as well?
2,689 2017-01-31 15:13:48
Topic: Embedding images or tables into chapters? (4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Can someone please suggest an image file type that translates well into book format? Compression ratio? Also, how to insert it into chapters here online. I have a fictional "forum" in my book and would like it to include posts from multiple users, including the poster's name, the text, and a timestamp. Ideally, something that resizes automatically depending on what device the reader is using to read with (phone, tablet, PC). Should I use a Word table instead?
Thanks
Dirk
2,690 2017-01-31 14:56:09
Re: Sending messages to self? (4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
SolN wrote:
Interesting idea. I'll look into it. What about to-do related to book?
Do you mean a separate to-do feature, rather than sending messages to self? It sounds interesting, but I know you have limited resources. Messages to self are a poor man's solution that probably require a lot less work. Your call.
Thanks.
Dirk
2,691 2017-01-31 06:15:49
Topic: Sending messages to self? (4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I was wondering how easy it would be to allow sending messages to self? I would use them as to-do items related to my book. Currently, I flip over to email and send myself messages there. This would create a record of them in my TNBW account. All doable using other software, but this puts them together.
Only worth doing if it's a simple tweak.
Thanks
Dirk
2,692 2017-01-31 06:07:44
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Can someone please suggest an image file type that translates well into book format? Compression ratio? Also, how to insert it into chapters here online. Bill suggested adding timestamps to my Royals Forum posts, and basic formatting doesn't lend itself to that. Should I use a Word table?
Thanks
Dirk
2,693 2017-01-31 04:34:25
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Almost wrote three whole drafts without looking up shogun. Turns out the word I was shooting for all along was samurai. Some days....
2,694 2017-01-30 23:21:03
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Spicy creme brule
2,695 2017-01-30 00:11:16
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
v4 of chapter five, A Pax Romana, is up. I can't believe you folks allowed me to get away with v3.
K, I kept what you wanted and ditched the rest, then added the new material.
Quick go read!
2,696 2017-01-29 01:29:53
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Universal descendent!
2,697 2017-01-28 22:32:31
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Noah survived :-)
2,698 2017-01-28 04:57:21
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Grand Teetering Ark
2,699 2017-01-28 02:13:17
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Thanks.
2,700 2017-01-28 01:17:17
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette
