Recent content by Joyager2

It's a good start, but the one-line paragraphs and barebones descriptions of your setting and characters coupled with every sentence starting its own line makes it a really tough read. It also makes the moral and political arc of your character difficult to get on board with. What does Nazume...

I have found that the best way to write (for me, at least) is to finish the entirety of my first draft before doing any major revisions. If you have ideas about how things could be improved, keep a separate document (I usually label it 'Concerns') that tracks the things I feel could use some...

Can't say I've been in your specific situation, but I think power imbalances are always fertile ground for excellent storytelling. How does it feel to have a power beyond yourself bearing down on you? What do you do when backed into a corner? What does your antagonist do when backed into a...

This is something I struggle with myself, so I won't go too into the weeds with advice, but I find it really helps if you make sure your characters are strong thematic foils for one another. They should represent some outlook of the thematic conflict present in your text so that when they...

Some good advice here, but really, the best way to learn how to navigate these situations is to read a lot and read with a critical eye. How does your favorite author describe the events of their novel without being overly referential to their characters? How does your least favorite author? How...

For the novel I'm working on now, every chapter starts with a short poem. It allows me to experiment with language in a way I otherwise wouldn't, include some extra artistic flourish in my novel, and as a worldbuilding exercise (all of the poems are diegetic).

One day, you will know exactly what you want to say. It will be a thing that claws its way out of you, and there will be no room for insecurity. Between now and then, be insecure. Consider and reconsider and re-reconsider your work. Be critical and introspective of your own work, be curious and...

I’ve never worked on an idea I haven’t loved, but I’ve written many drafts that will meet me in hell, however soft their spot in my heart is.

A Lull in the Ocean (depending on your tolerance for fantasy) or Planetes (depending on your tolerance for sci-fi) might be what you're looking for. Both are mostly concerned with the day-to-day romances between their main characters and the adventures that keep them apart (or bring them...

That’s true. I keep a copy on my laptop, my PC, and the thumb drive that moves between the two. And if I lose it, I lose it. Look upon my works ye mighty etc., etc. I’ll consider switching to Mega. Thanks for the tip!

I haven’t tried that, but I’d imagine it would work. Still, I prefer to have the whole manuscript in a single place. And I also prefer to have my documents local rather than relying on Google’s servers (my use of Dropbox is pretty limited).

I’ve found that Docs gets a bit clunky to use after a certain word count. LibreOffice is lightweight and easy to use and its autosave/backup feature has helped me out more than once. I still make backups of my files from time to time, either in Dropbox or on another computer.

I have this signed copy of Ministry for the Future. I was so excited when I got it—I really loved his Mars trilogy. Unfortunately, it it sucked :\

A lot of good points here about context. That said, I despise single-sentence paragraphs (which aren’t really paragraphs) and am always happy to read something long and meandering. I don’t really understand the sentiment that lots of folks seem to have when it comes to making things as short and...

Le Guin and McCarthy were probably the only ones whose style was immediately recognizable to me. The fantasy AI passage in particular didn’t necessarily feel like AI, but it felt very bland. It was reminiscent of much of the modern fantasy I’ve read, where authors seem to constantly be trying to...