Search found 15 matches

by jnduncan
February 25th, 2012, 9:19 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Protagonist/Hero is also the bad guy??
Replies: 11
Views: 8184

Re: Protagonist/Hero is also the bad guy??

I think the anithero would be fun hero to write. And really, you don't necessary have to have them win out in the end either. Their tragic flaw or flaws can be their undoing in the end, though they should be trying to do the good thing. I can't think of any literary examples off the top of my head, ...
by jnduncan
February 19th, 2011, 2:06 pm
Forum: Books
Topic: Do e-books change the way you read?
Replies: 11
Views: 7654

Re: Do e-books change the way you read?

I don't own an ereader as of yet. Now that they're getting to the sub-$100 range, I might actually get one soon. That book thickness issue is an interesting one. I like that feeling of inching through the book and watching the pages to the end get smaller and smaller. As an author, something I specu...
by jnduncan
April 3rd, 2010, 11:08 am
Forum: Procrastination
Topic: Lost - Possible Spoilers!
Replies: 261
Views: 115880

Re: Lost - Possible Spoilers!

I too am wondering about the whole "people cease to exist" thing if Locke Monster gets off the island. I'm guessing Locke wants the alternate reality thread to become the new reality as it benefits him in some way. However, if alternate reality means the group never arrived on the island, ...
by jnduncan
April 2nd, 2010, 7:02 pm
Forum: Procrastination
Topic: Contest ideas?
Replies: 33
Views: 19875

Re: Contest ideas?

Hmmm. The agent for a day thing was a big hit, which of course is working off the query slush. I wonder if there's a way to play editor for a day, where the quality of everything is up there, but decisions must be made on which of the good is actually good enough. Not really sure how this could play...
by jnduncan
February 11th, 2010, 11:50 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: How important is word count?
Replies: 4
Views: 2107

Re: How important is word count?

It all depends on the type of story. If the short one is geared toward younger readers, then 53k is likely fine. If this is adult fare, it's likely too short. Not to say that books of that length haven't been published before, but I think an agent will balk at that word count. The only books I'm awa...
by jnduncan
February 11th, 2010, 11:45 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Have you ever been inspired by a song?
Replies: 16
Views: 7578

Re: Have you ever been inspired by a song?

I definitely have. I've had a story based loosely off of Neil Young's "Unknown Legend" for several years now which I intend to write some day.
by jnduncan
February 3rd, 2010, 8:00 pm
Forum: Procrastination
Topic: Lost - Possible Spoilers!
Replies: 261
Views: 115880

Re: Lost - Possible Spoilers!

Most significant line in the show for me? "Locke's" turn of phrase to Alpert. "Glad to see you out of your chains." Also his mentioning to Ben that unlike the real Locke, all he wants to do is "go home." I think we have some kind of alien conflict going on here. The isl...
by jnduncan
January 7th, 2010, 12:36 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 404499

Re: Ask Nathan

Nathan, you posted at some point (can't recall when but it was recent) that you find reading a manuscript a very different experience than reading in book form. How do you think it would be if queriers sent their ms's in properly formatted ebooks that you read off your kindle/ereader/whatever? You t...
by jnduncan
December 20th, 2009, 11:22 am
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: Authonomy: The Future of publishing?
Replies: 26
Views: 16059

Re: Future of publishing?

From what I've gathered, Authonomy requires you to be pretty actively involved in the system in order to garner the support you need to get noticed. If you have the time to invest in such a thing, it might prove useful. I checked it out several months back and realized that I wouldn't want to commit...
by jnduncan
December 20th, 2009, 11:17 am
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: 7-Figure Deal for YA author? - Link
Replies: 22
Views: 9695

Re: 7-Figure Deal for Debut YA author? - Link

I hope for the author's sake that dystopian YA stories are still hot by the time it comes out. While I'd love that kind of money, I'd hate the pressure that would entail.
by jnduncan
December 20th, 2009, 11:13 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Is doubt part of the process?
Replies: 10
Views: 4732

Re: Is doubt part of the process?

I think doubt is a definite part of the process. If you didn't doubt any of your writing, you'd likely never improve your craft. Doubt helps you keep striving to make things better. I always question what I'm writing. Is this element strong enough? Am I generating enough conflict? Am I developing th...
by jnduncan
December 20th, 2009, 11:06 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: What works better for you: praise or critique?
Replies: 24
Views: 11025

Re: What works better for you: praise or critique?

While praise is always nice, mostly for letting you know what people like the most, I like getting critique. Mainly this is because I want to continue to be a better writer. To do this, I need to see what isn't working. Praise doesn't do much to make me a better writer. I have enough confidence in m...
by jnduncan
December 17th, 2009, 7:39 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: I'm getting more confused by the minute ...
Replies: 5
Views: 4369

Re: I'm getting more confused by the minute ...

The new delayed release for ebooks thing that some publishers are going to be doing is only for a limited number of hardcovers. All others will have simultaneous release. For now. As for ebook pricing, I think Amazon is kind of the same way, though I don't know this for sure. Most of their kindle bo...
by jnduncan
December 17th, 2009, 7:12 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: YA + Adult = "New Adult?"
Replies: 3
Views: 3316

Re: YA + Adult = "New Adult?"

Kind of wonder what the thinking is to attempt to appeal to such a narrow age group. One would think they would be wanting to find stories that the teens will read up to, as well as the older ones reading down to. You know, like Harry Potter goes to Wizard College.
by jnduncan
December 17th, 2009, 5:46 pm
Forum: Self-Publishing
Topic: YA + Adult = "New Adult?"
Replies: 3
Views: 3316

Re: YA + Adult = "New Adult?"

The problem I see with this is the general slide of all categories into a general fiction, which we already have. I don't think stores could successfully shelve books by the age of the protagonist. It would make it too hard to find things, as I think that categorization would be rather huge. I don't...