Writing Advice Megathread!

[Navarro]

So what is everyone's preference about scene POV swapping? As in when you're doing limited third person and mostly focusing on one character's perceptions and feelings, do you sometimes swap to third-person unlimited and show another character's thoughts or perceptions? Do you prefer doing just third-person unlimited? Or stick strictly to the POV character in a scene?

Mostly one character per scene, with clear delineation when a POV switch does occur, like so:

-*-

And actual scene changes being:

==*==

 

[Vyor]

*nod* I admit I try to stick to one character per scene, but sometimes slip. OTOH, I've been reading Dan Brown, and his bestsellers will swap perspectives in scenes, sometimes.

He's an extremely experienced writer. I've never read his stuff, but I'd imagine he can do it better than I can.

 

[Laskar]

So what is everyone's preference about scene POV swapping? As in when you're doing limited third person and mostly focusing on one character's perceptions and feelings, do you sometimes swap to third-person unlimited and show another character's thoughts or perceptions? Do you prefer doing just third-person unlimited? Or stick strictly to the POV character in a scene?

I stick to limited third person, and one POV per scene. I find that the story flows much better when I'm not juggling characters around.

Off the top of my head, I can remember two exceptions. One is a scene of a warrior being hunted, who was killed by a stab through the back. I immediately cut to the person who murdered him, and the reaction from my readers was pretty negative. The other example would be some of the more complicated firefights I've written, where I sometimes cut between POVs with line breaks, even though it's all the same scene.

 

[GoldRanger]

Advice I wish someone had shared with me ten years ago:

1) You are here to entertain the audience. That is your primary objective. You can lecture them, insult them, or bore them, but only if you're looking forward to an early retirement.

I disagree with this one. I believe it is best to write for yourself first, your audience second. If you try to tell a story that you really hate but you think your audience will love your frustration will reflect in your work and it'll just be bad all around.

 

[Laskar]

I disagree with this one. I believe it is best to write for yourself first, your audience second. If you try to tell a story that you really hate but you think your audience will love your frustration will reflect in your work and it'll just be bad all around.

Yes, granted, but the general direction of my advice was to be mindful of why you are writing what you're writing. Sure, you can write for yourself and yourself alone, but I find that leads to the literary equivalent of masturbation.

When you write, you should write for the purpose of telling a story that you want to tell and your readers want to read. Infodumps and soapboxing don't just detract from the story, they abuse the reader. If you're going to make a political point or write entire scenes for the sake of worldbuilding, it had better be in service of the story.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Question, when it comes to writing fight scenes, how detailed should the moves be? Particularly if they are melee attacks?

Like these

Spoiler: All Karate Moves

Because I don't think people would know all these aside from the usual punch or kick and they may not be able to imagine in their heads how this "Bent Wrist" for example works

And I'm not sure even how to describe the movements of these techniques myself

 

[SableCold]

Easiest way is to identify what part of the attacker's body is hitting the target and where it's hitting. Add the intended effect for flavor and as a way to segue into how successful the attack was.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Easiest way is to identify what part of the attacker's body is hitting the target and where it's hitting. Add the intended effect for flavor and as a way to segue into how successful the attack was.

You sure that’s enough of a description for an in house or round house kick?

 

[SableCold]

You sure that’s enough of a description for an in house or round house kick?

As you've noted, only somebody in the know(i.e. has studied martial arts) would actually care to understand the difference.
Compare these two:
Jack executed a textbook right roundhouse kick and hit Bill in the face.

Jack twisted, his right foot twisting up and sweeping around to impact on Bill's jaw.

Edit:
Ok, that's probably a bit more descriptive than my original advise. Try this:

Jack twisted, the top of his right foot slamming into Bill's jaw.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

As you've noted, only somebody in the know(i.e. has studied martial arts) would actually care to understand the difference.
Compare these two:
Jack executed a textbook right roundhouse kick and hit Bill in the face.

Jack twisted, his right foot twisting up and sweeping around to impact on Bill's jaw.

Somehow the latter sounds complicated and I myself can almost explain the motions of Niko Style: Demonsband....but I think people would lose attention quick when describing how a guy puts one foot firmly on the ground, sways back, grabs the opponents arm to drag them towards them and then hit them with a real powerful punch or kick

 

[SableCold]

but I think people would lose attention quick when describing how a guy puts one foot firmly on the ground, sways back, grabs the opponents arm to drag them towards them and then hit them with a real powerful punch or kick

Bill attacked but Jack was waiting. Planting a foot firmly in the ground, Jack swayed back, caught Bill's arm and pulled. Caught off balance, Bill stumbled forward. Right into Jack's kick.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Bill attacked but Jack was waiting. Planting a foot firmly in the ground, Jack swayed back, caught Bill's arm and pulled. Caught off balance, Bill stumbled forward. Right into Jack's kick.

Thanks, this works

Anyway, need some other advice.

I’ve been reading Robert E. Howard’s stories for awhile, loved his “Badass Normal” ones like Conan The Cimmerian, Kull The Conqueror, Bran Brak Morn and Solomon Kane

They all feauture guys who can go berserk and have hot blood and yet think before/during/after fighting

Problem is, I don’t think NOT being a physical or supernatural powerhouse counts as a flaw, especially if one’s willing to use their wits and even be prepared

It’s like Goblin Slayer, guy’s flaws are less in combat and more in-terms of social interaction and even then that doesn’t bite him the ass hugely

I guess what I’m saying is, if I wrote those sorts of Badass Normal(strong and hotblooded yet Thinkers)would they count as Mary Sues?

If whatever personality flaws they have or lack of them, don’t bite them in the ass in combat

 

[SableCold]

I don't actually consider them badass normal. Sure they're normal in terms of not having supernatural powers but they're still several steps above normal Joe.

 

[Comrade Clod]

Always double check your work. Speaking as someone writing both semi-proffesionally as a hobby and for university, typo's can wreak hell on an otherwise orderly work.

 

[SableCold]

Always double check your work. Speaking as someone writing both semi-proffesionally as a hobby and for university, typo's can wreak hell on an otherwise orderly work.

You mean semi-professionally?

 

[Comrade Clod]

You mean semi-professionally?

I'm on a mod team for a HOI4 mod, specifically I write events and focuses.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

I don't actually consider them badass normal. Sure they're normal in terms of not having supernatural powers but they're still several steps above normal Joe.

Yeah, it becomes sort of questionable if they’re normal humans or not if they can survive having very deep wounds for longer than a few seconds and make relatively quick recoveries as well as fight through multiple opponents in melee while having reflexes that look to have little questioning.

Guts could fight through multiple opponents and even killed a hundred guys whilst focusing on every single way to kill them for an entire night. That’s inhuman stamina and endurance to even swing that sword through an armored opponent

 

[Laskar]

I guess what I’m saying is, if I wrote those sorts of Badass Normal(strong and hotblooded yet Thinkers)would they count as Mary Sues?

If whatever personality flaws they have or lack of them, don’t bite them in the ass in combat

Not really. It depends on how it's handled, but it's perfectly alright to have super-proficient fighters whose flaws manifest outside of battle. The best example I can think of offhand is John Reese from Person of Interest. Give him a gun, and he is a clear and present danger to every kneecap in the room, but he was an excellent character to follow.

One thing that can tone down a Badass Normal is to throw random events into the fight, stuff that he can't predict. Maybe that stone banister is a lot weaker than it looks and breaks under his foot. Maybe he plans to fight three guards, but then a fourth guard walks through a door five seconds into the fight. It shows that he's not perfect, but he is capable of adapting on the fly.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

It shows that he's not perfect, but he is capable of adapting on the fly.

Yeah, I think it also helps provide a real sense of danger, whilst showing both strength and weakness in that character.

I'm no writer, but I'd like to point this one out, I don't believe simply "Using your wits" or "Fighting Dirty" is always or should always be enough to win a fight.

Going off to try and shoot a guy in the back may not work so well if the guy's got skills to detect, understand and react on things like hearing the quick drawing-out of a pistol

Spoiler: Though that sorta means if you fight dirty, you have to also not fight "Directly"

Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight, won't always work so well if a guy is THAT good with knives

Like laying traps or trapping the extremely dangerous person or being in a place where they'd be blown up as fighting them with guns or swords may not be a good idea.

Or how Warden Morgan from Dresden Files beat a Skinwalker by luring it to a Nuclear Testing Site as fighting it directly with magic, his Warden Sword and even guns were not enough.

 

[GoldRanger]

Another advice is that if your process and approach for writing works for you and someone says it's wrong and you're not doing things the "right" way, you should punch them in the face. Well, not really. Just ignore them, preferably. While there are universal tips and common methods shared between authors, if you have something that works well then keep doing it.

Some people use outlines, others write without ANY planning ahead, some keep notes on paper and others on a digital device and others solely in their head. some people use complicated writer-oriented word processors and others use notepad or even physical paper. There's no such thing as "you're doing this wrong".