Jayna Baas

Thanks, @freedomwriter76!

@acancello

1. I am looking for book recommendations (I like action packed and super exciting, also sometimes a bit of romance)

You should give The Scarlet Pimpernel a try. It’s an old book, so quite longwinded, and there’s mild cussing throughout, but it’s a really fun adventure story. You’ll probably notice that I mention either the book or the 1…[Read more]

@freedomwriter76

Everyone already said the stuff I was going to say (other than the Game of Thrones part; I wasn’t going to say that). Mainly that it must be vital to the story. But another thing I would mention is that it helps if it doesn’t completely, totally blindside readers. You know, where everything’s going great and it looks like this…[Read more]

@freedomwriter76

Yikes. But a good bit of drafting. Go Riker!

One thing to check—did German military officers wear wedding rings in the WWII era? That’s when wedding rings for men started to catch on, from what I’ve read, but I’m wondering if a non-wedding ring would be more accurate. Sorry, that’s my editor brain pinging.

Yep, I probably should have done that. 😀 Ill just tag some here 🙂 Sorry I didn’t tag anybody sooner. I didn’t quite know how to do it 😀

@acancello It took me a while to figure out, too. For the first few tries I used the profile names instead of the usernames.

To answer your original post, I don’t usually use writing prompts to get past write…[Read more]

Hey there, @acancello, you may get more responses here if you tag some people. 🙂

Thanks for the insight! That’s a really good idea! I’ll have to do that. (I’ve actually never read dystopia before… 😐 So… XD)

Reading in your genre is one of the first “rules” of good writing, partly so you’ll understand what readers expect and partly so you’ll know what’s out there (major themes, tropes, etc.) and avoid repetition. So yeah…[Read more]

@esther-c I know nothing about dystopia, and it looks like you’re getting some good answers already. But one thing I would suggest regarding Len’s title is to take a look at other books in your genre and see what the standard practice seems to be. If fans of dystopia are used to this type of character having a title, they’ll probably expect it. I…[Read more]

Thank you so much! This is awesome 🙂 By the way, has anyone ever heard of Cloudways? Is it any good? I’ve heard it’s similar to Bluehost or more secure or…something. I think it’s the same price as Bluehost after Bluehost’s prices go up the second year.

@soleilnaia Sorry it took me so long to respond again. I haven’t heard of Cloudways. Actually, s…[Read more]

@sarahsmile

Welcome! I’m also a historical fiction author, with one book out in the world and more on the way. (my website is in my post signature if you want to take a look.) I haven’t read all the Mrs. Pollifax books, but I love the first one, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. I was extremely happy to get my own copy and mark up the language to m…[Read more]

@soleilnaia Yeah, for some reason the quote function doesn’t work correctly, so I do as Esther said and use the quote mark button in the reply box.

But historical fiction is AMAZING! I’m glad you’ve found your niche

Thanks! If you like historical fiction, I’d love for you to check out my website or newsletter (my website is in my signature at the…[Read more]

@freedomwriter76 Thanks for tagging me! I have also heard the spark of goodness/something likeable theory. As some others here have already mentioned in other ways, I think it’s far more important that the villain have some relatable aspect. Not good or likeable necessarily, but relatable. We understand a little of where he’s coming from, even tho…[Read more]

And I don’t share excerpts a lot because they change so much as I go. But right now I’m about to dive into the scene where my hero really loses it and hits bottom. It’s been a little tough because this scene has been in my mind and in my outlines forever, but I just had to change whose POV it’s in. So it could be a little challenging!

I did a retelling of the story of Philemon once. It hasn’t seen the light of day yet. 🙂 Basically, it was a retelling set in the Old West, with the runaway servant Onesimus cast as a trusted ranch foreman who runs off with his boss’s money and ends up in jail next to a circuit rider. It was kind of fun.

Okay, question, so you mentioned that the whole ‘brainwashing’ thing isn’t that realistic, so would you stick with that even in a fantasy story? Where brainwashing could be very realistic? Or not?

@euodia.vision. I didn’t realize you were talking specifically about brainwashing. I’m not a fantasy reader, so I can’t tell you what works in your wor…[Read more]

@euodia.vision.

Just don’t show too many positive thoughts toward the protagonist while he’s in full-swing villain mode. That could seem a little creepy. And be careful of a victim-villain setup where he’s not really responsible for his own choices. As the others said, it’s all in the execution, but it may fall flat if his transformation comes a…[Read more]

Hello, @soleilnaia, I don’t believe I’ve actually greeted you here despite answering one of your questions elsewhere on the forum. Welcome!

Does everyone write dystopias here?

Not everyone. 😉 I’m a hisfic girl myself, Revolutionary War era to be precise, though I have some contemporary ideas up my sleeve. The difficulty being, it’s general…[Read more]

@esther-c I’m not a fantasy reader, so you don’t want me on your list, but I do have a bit of advice. Joy is right that you don’t want too many beta readers, so keep it to six or fewer, but focus on picking beta readers who (1) already read in your genre, (2) are willing to answer specific feedback questions, and (3) are part of your target audie…[Read more]

@esther-c I’m glad it was helpful. One thing I forgot to mention—when you write descriptions, focus on evoking an emotion rather than just narrating details. You can often do this with simile or metaphor. For instance, compare “He was a little weasel of a man” with “He was thin and not very tall, and his face looked pointy and kind of sneaky.”…[Read more]