Search found 28 matches

by ljkuhnley
January 24th, 2011, 7:55 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Need help with a scene
Replies: 7
Views: 2843

Re: Need help with a scene

I wasn't sure what you meant by "get" the guy but they could do a number of things: - if the house is supposed to be empty they could call the police and say the man is trespassing. - they could hire a private investigator to watch him (he has to leave sometime right?) and discover his ide...
by ljkuhnley
December 21st, 2010, 6:28 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Re: Fear is killing my creativity

Thanks Mira. I will definitely be practicing a lot over the Christmas vacation. Good luck with your own writing.
by ljkuhnley
December 21st, 2010, 2:23 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How Do You Read?
Replies: 22
Views: 11218

Re: How Do You Read?

Done. :)
by ljkuhnley
December 21st, 2010, 1:58 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How Do You Read?
Replies: 22
Views: 11218

Re: How Do You Read?

Philip, That's an interesting observation about Charlie. I'm reading it myself for the second time and I've seen the original movie several times. I hope Polymath won't mind my hijacking his thread, but I think you're right about the suspense being worth every word. Every time I get to the part wher...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 11:46 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Re: Fear is killing my creativity

Cheekychook, I know exactly what you mean. I once had a crush on a guy who drove a Volvo. I'm not sure I'd ever even seen a Volvo before and then I started seeing them everywhere. - - - - - Mira, Another way of saying this is all stories work with human archtypes. Your plot: "The protagonist li...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 4:46 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Re: Fear is killing my creativity

Thank you dios4vida, It's great to hear from a fan of How to Train Your Dragon. I'd love to hear what you thought about the difference between the book version and the movie version. I thought both were terrific (although when I tried to read the book aloud to my son I struggled with some of the nam...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 4:34 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Re: Fear is killing my creativity

Summer, Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I've had so many similar moments and the panicky feeling that follows. I guess it's a side effect of reading so much. I know some people say they don't read while they're writing but stop reading? I couldn't possibly. I think it's amazing the au...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 4:21 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: How Do You Read?
Replies: 22
Views: 11218

Re: How Do You Read?

...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 3:43 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Re: Fear is killing my creativity

Thanks Margo. Great response. I know what you mean about certain genres being more forgiving of common elements. I guess I worry more because I tend to gravitate towards high concept, commercial fiction. Why not get one super polished and send it off to a good agent and stop worrying until you actua...
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 2:54 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Do y'all do this?
Replies: 22
Views: 6291

Re: Do y'all do this?

I rode a roller coaster as research to see what it might feel like to be a dragon doing a nose dive.

Another time I propped half a ping-pong table up against my couch to simulate sliding down a roof. (In retrospect a shed might have been more realistic).
by ljkuhnley
December 20th, 2010, 2:48 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Fear is killing my creativity
Replies: 16
Views: 6135

Fear is killing my creativity

I've been writing for years and the same problem keeps popping up from time to time. I have an idea, I develop it, fall in love with my story and characters and then, when I've invested a lot of time into my my story, I discover a published novel or movie that has elements so similar to my own that ...
by ljkuhnley
October 8th, 2010, 7:28 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders
Replies: 24
Views: 38612

Re: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders

Thank you Polymath. I understand now.
by ljkuhnley
October 8th, 2010, 5:55 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders
Replies: 24
Views: 38612

Re: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders

Thanks, Polymath. A couple weeks ago Nathan posted a link to an article discussing Phillip Pullman's objection to the present tense as limiting. Perhaps I misunderstood, but to me that implied that there are reasons for shifting tense within a narrative. I didn't necessarily understand why writing t...
by ljkuhnley
October 8th, 2010, 4:57 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders
Replies: 24
Views: 38612

Re: Past Tense & Present Tense Blunders

Polymath,

I've recently become interested in the reasons/methods writers use in regards to switching tenses. I was wondering if you might recommend some further reading on the topic.
by ljkuhnley
March 27th, 2010, 1:25 pm
Forum: Queries
Topic: Query- Isabella Vampirella (EVIL EDITOR response at end)
Replies: 36
Views: 12761

Re: Query- Isabella Vampirella

My understanding is that Junie B. Jones and the Magic Tree House are chapter books and are usually around 6,000 words. Then there are longer chapter books for slightly older readers such as Captain Underpants, The Dragon Slayer's Academy, and the Supernatural Rubber Chicken which are about 10,000 wo...