Search found 66 matches

by tameson
May 11th, 2010, 7:43 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: the "passive voice"
Replies: 9
Views: 5002

Re: the "passive voice"

Just a note- scientists are moving away from passive form. Older scientists still use it out of habit, but in general, active is becoming more popular.
by tameson
April 14th, 2010, 10:39 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: What are your pet peeves about your own writing?
Replies: 27
Views: 11771

Re: What are your pet peeves about your own writing?

wildheart- I have a similar problem. I edited in over 20k words in the my first draft (57k to 84k) and I imagine it will get longer as I go through and focus on adding descriptions. Plenty of time to edit and add more stuff.
by tameson
April 14th, 2010, 4:56 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405237

Re: Ask Nathan

Sending out sci fi short stories, manuscript formatting seems to be pretty strongly enforced (Centered # for line breaks, italics should be underlined, only courier 12 point font, etc). That is probably more an issue for short stories than novels, but with a short, I just assume manuscript formating...
by tameson
April 14th, 2010, 11:03 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Young Adult Fiction
Replies: 15
Views: 5726

Re: Young Adult Fiction

Have you hung out with young adults recently? They are so old at 16 now. Sex, drugs, jail, violence- for a lot of them that isn't edgy, that is life.
by tameson
April 14th, 2010, 11:00 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Show Don't Tell
Replies: 11
Views: 5109

Re: Show Don't Tell

Stealing a quote from Daniel Abrahams: 1) "Show, don't tell" is a beginner's strategy. Dramatize when it's time to dramatize, summarize when it's time to summarize. Knowing the difference is the job description. He has his ten rules for writing up on his blog (he is published with an amazi...
by tameson
April 13th, 2010, 1:57 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: New Ideas Interrupting Current Work
Replies: 19
Views: 10768

Re: New Ideas Interrupting Current Work

I second the idea of a notebook. I also think short stories are a good way to break up the monotony of one story all the time. And in theory, those shorts can get you some pub credits (mine haven't but I keep hoping). Shorts don't require querying or anything, so you just go to duotropes, put in e-m...
by tameson
April 13th, 2010, 10:19 am
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: What is meant by first five pages?
Replies: 3
Views: 1982

Re: What is meant by first five pages?

I wonder about the prologue more because a lot of agents have said they skip them. My prologue is under 300 words, but it is a good 300 words. :) The epilogue and prologue are from the same POV character, a character who plays an integral part later in the story but has no POV chapters except those ...
by tameson
April 12th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: Question about manuscript readers
Replies: 17
Views: 6663

Re: Question about manuscript readers

Last time my husband read my work, he asked if I know what he does at work. I said harass the real engineers. Apparently, his job includes proofing all the engineers reports, protocols, etc and finding every spot where they are vague, imprecise and use improper language. So, he might have more train...
by tameson
April 12th, 2010, 11:28 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: Critique Groups vs Online Writing Workshops
Replies: 9
Views: 3715

Re: Critique Groups vs Online Writing Workshops

I just sent out a story that I thought had good ideas in it. I would not feel comfortable outlining the things I thought were cool about my story online, but I had no problem sending my story out to a bunch of people online I barely know. Before they were just cool ideas, now they are an integral pa...
by tameson
April 11th, 2010, 7:12 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: the Agent you came to the dance with
Replies: 19
Views: 6695

Re: the Agent you came to the dance with

I think Nathan also mentioned that sometimes he likes to see how the two actually work together. By not pinning you on the exclusivity, agent A gave you a sign of respect- she was not going to tie you down unless she was 100% willing to represent you. If during the edits, you two did work together, ...
by tameson
April 10th, 2010, 7:53 pm
Forum: Books
Topic: Start with THE HOBBIT or FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING?
Replies: 85
Views: 37361

Re: Start with THE HOBBIT or FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING?

I suppose I am an outlier here, but I first tried to read Hobbit (8th grade) and tossed it aside as stupid. I was later convinced to try Fellowship and I fell in love. I was warned that it started slow, but I devoured it, finding every part fascinating and interesting. Afterwards, I was able to make...
by tameson
April 10th, 2010, 7:42 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: Question about manuscript readers
Replies: 17
Views: 6663

Re: Question about manuscript readers

While some non-writer's are pretty bad (I have a good friend who pretty much just gives me "that was great" feedback and another who will try to rewrite things which sounds extremely awkward because our voices are very different), some can be excellent. My husband gives great feedback. He ...
by tameson
April 2nd, 2010, 1:55 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Retelling vs. Plagiarism
Replies: 3
Views: 5553

Re: Retelling vs. Plagiarism

My current novel is the retelling of an old Chinese myth, which was written in the 1500s and is a classic in that part of the world. I changed names, made it somewhat less mystical and created my own, somewhat Asian world. With the first attributed author (and before that it was a folk tale) being d...
by tameson
April 1st, 2010, 5:23 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Are you appealing to your target audience?
Replies: 26
Views: 9259

Re: Are you appealing to your target audience?

Supposedly, young adults like to read up, so 17-18 is good. A 15 year old is more likely to read that then they would about a 13 year old, or even a 15 year old.
by tameson
April 1st, 2010, 5:21 pm
Forum: Writing
Topic: Novel Length
Replies: 17
Views: 7598

Re: Novel Length

When looking at comparison books, you should only look at debut novels within the past 2 years to see what is currently acceptable. Even for fantasy, which is allowed to go long, I was told 120k is the longest a new author can get away with.