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Dana
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Dec 05, 2013 07:09PM
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I have some weird tips and tricks that actually help me these last 5 years.
Always make sure these three things checked.
1. Music on
2. Phone off
3. Food available.
When you're in writer's block there are some tricks you can use.
1. Take a shower/bath/anything related to bathroom.
2. If you're typing with computer, open a new document and start doing free writing, just write anything that popped out from your head and DON'T even think about looking at the screen and redoing it. Focus on your mind and your keyboard only.
3. Go laying on the bed, floor, sofa, whatever. The ideas usually comes out eventually.
4. Go outside, take a walk, ride a bike, for me I ride motorcycle.
And here's some tips to write a nice story.
1. Make reader thinks. The best book is a book that keeps the reading wondering until the very end.
2. Remember, this is not a book for you. You might like the ideas and how you tell your story but you have to think like your readers.
3. Be spesific. I spend 3 days just to make names for all my characters. Because I want every detail of them to be as real as possible. And never ever put too many characters more than you actually need. You also can't throw everything in the main character's shoulder, that's why we have baddass sidekicks.
Oh I also have some tips to create a main character that is not a Mary-sue/Gary-sue. It's actually pretty simple, know how writers tend to imagine theirshelves as the main character when they write a story? Well, for me, I imagine myself as the sidekick, less important characters, or anything but the main character. When you see a certain person from that point of view, it helps to create more humanity in that person.
gosh sorry for rambling. XP
Always make sure these three things checked.
1. Music on
2. Phone off
3. Food available.
When you're in writer's block there are some tricks you can use.
1. Take a shower/bath/anything related to bathroom.
2. If you're typing with computer, open a new document and start doing free writing, just write anything that popped out from your head and DON'T even think about looking at the screen and redoing it. Focus on your mind and your keyboard only.
3. Go laying on the bed, floor, sofa, whatever. The ideas usually comes out eventually.
4. Go outside, take a walk, ride a bike, for me I ride motorcycle.
And here's some tips to write a nice story.
1. Make reader thinks. The best book is a book that keeps the reading wondering until the very end.
2. Remember, this is not a book for you. You might like the ideas and how you tell your story but you have to think like your readers.
3. Be spesific. I spend 3 days just to make names for all my characters. Because I want every detail of them to be as real as possible. And never ever put too many characters more than you actually need. You also can't throw everything in the main character's shoulder, that's why we have baddass sidekicks.
Oh I also have some tips to create a main character that is not a Mary-sue/Gary-sue. It's actually pretty simple, know how writers tend to imagine theirshelves as the main character when they write a story? Well, for me, I imagine myself as the sidekick, less important characters, or anything but the main character. When you see a certain person from that point of view, it helps to create more humanity in that person.
gosh sorry for rambling. XP
No it is fine Rea!Another tip that I find helps is always listen to instrumental music. If I listen to lyrics then I tend to type them out and i end up with...
As she reached for her sword two meaty hands closed around her neck. Gasping for air, she struggled against them but the death grip grew ever tigher lets see how far weve come lets see how far weve come I believe the wotld is burning to he ground well I guess were gunna find out.
And then i have to rewrite that passage.
Also I get most of my ideas just as i'm about to go to sleep so always have a notebook handy as you'll forget these bestseller ideas in the morning.
Sophia wrote: "No it is fine Rea!Another tip that I find helps is always listen to instrumental music. If I listen to lyrics then I tend to type them out and i end up with...
As she reached for her sword two me..."
Heh, the NOTEBOOK. The one you won't let me read. The one I attempted to steal during Library time ;)
I'm not sure if this qualifies under 'writing tips' and it may be a really stupid question, so I apologize. If I want to write under a pen name, and give copies of my stories to Beta Readers, I feel like I'm 'lying' if I put a fake name on there, but I guess that's what a pen name is...
anyways, how does that work with copyrights and stuff? How do I make sure that some random person with my pen name doesn't claim the story for themselves. (not that i anticipate this happening...just wondering...)
Does that make sense?
okay that's interesting. see, my real name isn't Rea Lidde, that's my penname. when you're dealing with publisher, they're offering you anonymousm, sure you're going to give them your real data, but that WON'T be use in any media.
that means the copyright belongs to you under the penname you choose. there's no need to worry about that, as long nobody claims to be you.
So is ok to just put "MG" on my copies for Beta Readers? I realized I was putting my real name, and while it probably doesn't matter for now, the more people I send it to, I assume the harder it will be later to change the name.
exactly. that's why you gotta pick your penname carefully.
Or should I choose a pen name now and start using that when I offer copies?
it's up to you. I pick my penname after I finished my first book, right before I send it.
'Rea' is anagram from my real name (although it's actually what people use to call me)). Usually, anagram is a good example of penname.
Mod
But that was just because I use my real name for most of my work, and didn't want to confuse readers by suddenly presenting them with drastically different material - I always hated it when authors did that.
But back to the subject at hand, yes you can hold copyright under a pen name. If you're worried about it, you can always add a Copyright 2013 [Enter Real Name] in tiny font on the copyright page - because odds are no one's going to read that anyway.
Also, if you're worried about choosing a pen name that somebody else already has, then just do a quick search for the name on google and amazon, and see if anything comes up. : )
lol this author is basically moving from particular genre into a whole different genre. and I still use one penname.
Mod
true dat. that's why I stick with this penname. I don't care if I gave them heart attack when I went from YA Fantasy to a black comedy Crime Action book, and then moving again to Science Fiction. They're reading my books, nothing is going to be okay with that.
A pen name offers anonymity, but I wouldn't consider it lying any more than going by a nickname would be. It's another name you go by, in a specific situation.
Mod
"You can't just have your characters say how they feel! That makes me feel angry!"
Use it in good health. : )
Mod
ARC: stands for Advanced Reader's Copy. It's an unpublished edition of a work that is not quite finished - it might need one last round of proofreading, and formatting/cover art might not be decided upon yet. An arc is usually submitted to readers to obtain advanced reviews.
MacGuffins: (also called McGuffins or Maguffins) are plot devices, usually simple in nature, that basically serve as an excuse for the story to happen. They are usually pursued with little or no explanation, and are occasionally dropped altogether, also without explanation. The most common is some kind of object that the characters are pursuing.
An example can be taken from the Maltese Falcon. The main antagonist, Gutman, is motivated by greed, but the object that inspired that greed was the macguffin (the statuette).
(On a quick side note, the term macguffin is sometimes thrown around in a negative way, however they are not necessarily a bad thing to have in a story. In fact, it can be difficult to have a story without one, in one form or another. Just make sure that your macguffins make sense with your characters and the rest of the plot.)
Mary Sue: is an idealized character, usually representing the author. Traditionally, the Mary Sue is a poorly developed character, who is too perfect to be interesting. Often used by beginning authors, particularly in fanfiction. (Youngest and smartest and best at everything, usually showing up all of the other established characters.)
Chekhov's Gun: is a rule of thumb that says that any element that is unnecessary to a story should be removed.
"One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep." Anton Chekhov.
In the example above (the loaded gun), the idea is that if the gun doesn't go off, the audience/reader is going to keep waiting until it does - and if it never goes off, they'll walk away at the end feeling disappointed and let down, even if they can't explain why. At the same time, they may have been so busy keeping an eye on the gun, so to speak, that they missed what was going on with the rest of the story.
Deus Ex Machina: is a plot device in which an unfixable or unsolvable problem is suddenly - almost miraculously - resolved by the intervention of some new event or character. Usually both contrived and abrupt.
Wow! Learnt so much.Now I shall go and baffle my fellow writers:)
MG wrote: "How do you pick a good pen name?"I picked my pen name when I realized I didn't want the fact that I'm an author to overlap too much with my professional/job life. It kind of allows me to separate my "two" lives. As for choosing it, my first name is actually Anna. My middle name does start with M. But my last name I chose from one of my favourite literary characters (who just happens to be a lot like me). :)
Writing tip...This is what I've heard in regards to getting reviews from people. "Readers are always right about their opinion of your writing, but they're always wrong about how they suggest you fix it."
Basically, it means you should pay attention to what your readers notice, but if they're not professional writers (and even sometimes if they are), they don't know what the best way to fix something is. I find it helpful to remember this when taking feedback.
Pre-publishing Tips:Prior to even thinking about being published, make sure that you have created something worthy of publication. This requires a lot of time and effort dedicated to writing, re-writing, evaluating, and polishing.
Don't waste your valuable time or that of others. Narrow down your potential choices by finding out which publishers specialize in which genres.
Eliminate publishers in name only. There are books and magazines that provide lists of mainline publishers who can help you achieve your goal and a separate list of those that claim they can, but actually don't.
A mainline publisher is the premiere option, but certainly not the only one. The popularity of electronic books has created a vast opportunity for self-published and independent authors.
Do some investigative research to determine if an organization is truly what it claims to be.
A mainline publisher directly employs or subcontracts personnel who specialize in acquisition, copy & conceptual editing, layout & graphic design, printing, distribution, marketing, and publicity. Some also include recording studio technicians and professional narrators.
The publisher will provide the names of personnel, along with their contact information and sometimes even their picture.
Mainline publishers also have an actual physical location and will provide an address along with directions how to get there.
Eliminate the internet as a search tool for evaluating publishers. 97% of all submissions are rejected.
Some people do not take rejection well and tend to seek revenge by spending hours on websites or blogs defaming publishers who had the audacity to reject their work. The majority of such accusations are false or grossly exaggerated.
Never send a publisher an unsolicited manuscript. Most, if not all, are forwarded directly to the trash bin.
Send a one-page query letter expressing your desire and providing a brief, yet enticing, overview of your book. You will receive a polite rejection letter or a request for a copy of your manuscript, or several pages of it.
If offered a publishing contract, have your attorney review it and point out any concerns prior to signing and returning it to the publisher.
Whether or not you choose to accept this advice is your prerogative. There may be better options. Seek them out.
I wish you success and hope to read your book someday.
I got this from a tumblr blog I follow. It is challenging but great advice.“Writing Advice: by Chuck Palahniuk
In six seconds, you’ll hate me. But in six months, you’ll be a better writer.
From this point forward—at least for the next half year—you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use.
The list should also include: Loves and Hates. And it should include: Is and Has, but we’ll get to those later.
Until some time around Christmas, you can’t write: Kenny wondered if Monica didn’t like him going out at night…”
Instead, you’ll have to Un-pack that to something like: “The mornings after Kenny had stayed out, beyond the last bus, until he’d had to bum a ride or pay for a cab and got home to find Monica faking sleep, faking because she never slept that quiet, those mornings, she’d only put her own cup of coffee in the microwave. Never his.”
Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it.
Instead of saying: “Adam knew Gwen liked him.” You’ll have to say: “Between classes, Gwen had always leaned on his locker when he’d go to open it. She’s roll her eyes and shove off with one foot, leaving a black-heel mark on the painted metal, but she also left the smell of her perfume. The combination lock would still be warm from her butt. And the next break, Gwen would be leaned there, again.”
In short, no more short-cuts. Only specific sensory detail: action, smell, taste, sound, and feeling.
Typically, writers use these “thought” verbs at the beginning of a paragraph (In this form, you can call them “Thesis Statements” and I’ll rail against those, later). In a way, they state the intention of the paragraph. And what follows, illustrates them.
For example: “Brenda knew she’d never make the deadline. was backed up from the bridge, past the first eight or nine exits. Her cell phone battery was dead. At home, the dogs would need to go out, or there would be a mess to clean up. Plus, she’d promised to water the plants for her neighbor…”
Do you see how the opening “thesis statement” steals the thunder of what follows? Don’t do it.
If nothing else, cut the opening sentence and place it after all the others. Better yet, transplant it and change it to: Brenda would never make the deadline.
Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating.
Don’t tell your reader: “Lisa hated Tom.”
Instead, make your case like a lawyer in court, detail by detail.
Present each piece of evidence. For example: “During roll call, in the breath after the teacher said Tom’s name, in that moment before he could answer, right then, Lisa would whisper-shout ‘Butt Wipe,’ just as Tom was saying, ‘Here’.”
One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone. Writing, you may be alone. Reading, your audience may be alone. But your character should spend very, very little time alone. Because a solitary character starts thinking or worrying or wondering.
For example: Waiting for the bus, Mark started to worry about how long the trip would take…”
A better break-down might be: “The schedule said the bus would come by at noon, but Mark’s watch said it was already 11:57. You could see all the way down the road, as far as the Mall, and not see a bus. No doubt, the driver was parked at the turn-around, the far end of the line, taking a nap. The driver was kicked back, asleep, and Mark was going to be late. Or worse, the driver was drinking, and he’d pull up drunk and charge Mark seventy-five cents for death in a fiery traffic accident…”
A character alone must lapse into fantasy or memory, but even then you can’t use “thought” verbs or any of their abstract relatives.
Oh, and you can just forget about using the verbs forget and remember.
No more transitions such as: “Wanda remembered how Nelson used to brush her hair.”
Instead: “Back in their sophomore year, Nelson used to brush her hair with smooth, long strokes of his hand.”
Again, Un-pack. Don’t take short-cuts.
Better yet, get your character with another character, fast. Get them together and get the action started. Let their actions and words show their thoughts. You—stay out of their heads.
And while you’re avoiding “thought” verbs, be very wary about using the bland verbs “is” and “have.”
For example: “Ann’s eyes are blue.”
“Ann has blue eyes.”
Versus:
“Ann coughed and waved one hand past her face, clearing the cigarette smoke from her eyes, blue eyes, before she smiled…”
Instead of bland “is” and “has” statements, try burying your details of what a character has or is, in actions or gestures. At its most basic, this is showing your story instead of telling it.
And forever after, once you’ve learned to Un-pack your characters, you’ll hate the lazy writer who settles for: “Jim sat beside the telephone, wondering why Amanda didn’t call.”
Please. For now, hate me all you want, but don’t use thought verbs. After Christmas, go crazy, but I’d bet money you won’t.
(…)
For this month’s homework, pick through your writing and circle every “thought” verb. Then, find some way to eliminate it. Kill it by Un-packing it.
Then, pick through some published fiction and do the same thing. Be ruthless.
“Marty imagined fish, jumping in the moonlight…”
“Nancy recalled the way the wine tasted…”
“Larry knew he was a dead man…”
Find them. After that, find a way to re-write them. Make them stronger.”
(via 1000wordseveryday)
James wrote: "I got this from a tumblr blog I follow. It is challenging but great advice.“Writing Advice: by Chuck Palahniuk
In six seconds, you’ll hate me. But in six months, you’ll be a better writer.
From ..."
What blog is it? This was a great article and I'd love to read more like it. :)
Ashley, I'm following these on tumblr:http://its-a-writer-thing.tumblr.com/
http://1000wordseveryday.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment.t...
http://beatwritersbane.tumblr.com/
Great stuff!
Mod
For now we'll focus on the three most widely used narrative voices: subjective, objective and omniscient.
Subjective: the story is told through the eyes of (at least) one character.
When you use this voice, you should only describe what your point of view character feels, sees and thinks. It may be in first or third person.
Objective: an objective narrator knows less than the characters. This narrator only describes objectively what's happening, without commenting or being able to tell what the characters are thinking.
Omniscient: the narrator knows everything: what all the characters are thinking, where they come from, their pasts, their futures. The narrator may also comment on the story.
Now, to help you see the differences between these styles, I've written the same scene using different kinds of narrative modes:
Subjective (from Jenny's point of view): "Jenny stood bent in two. She had lost her glasses and she could only see vague shapes, but was quite sure that a man was on the sidewalk next to her. Her breath came in loud, uneven gasps. Her whole body felt cold and her heart pounded in her chest. She started crying and she screamed until her throat felt raw."
Subjective (from Paul's point of view): "Paul stopped walking when he spotted a pale girl, who was standing bent in two. Her breath came in loud, uneven gasps. Then she started screaming, and her cries pierced Paul's ears."
Objective: "A pale girl was standing bent in two in the middle of the road. Her breath came in loud, uneven gasps. Then she started screaming."
Omniscient: "In her haste to get away from her pursuers, poor Jenny had lost her glasses and now she could hardly see. She started screaming, because she had been so scared, all alone in the darkness with no one to hear her cries save for the men who sought to hurt her. She wasn't alone anymore, and she didn't need to be scared, either. Paul, the man who was with her on the sidewalk, was a good, honorable man and he would help her."
Sofia wrote: "POV and narrative voice are things that many inexperienced writers struggle with, so I thought I'd write a short explanation of how the different POVs and narrative voices work. For now we'll foc..."
Thanks! This should really help. I saw your comment about the tips after I'd posted in the writing prompt 2 discussion. :)
PromotionPromotion is a necessary and integral part of selling any product or service. People can't buy something if they are unaware of its existence. Therefore, not promoting your book is not an option.
Most self-published and Independent authors do not have a full-time agent, so it is imperative that they expend as much time and energy as possible to personally promoting their book.
Websites that cater to avid readers and those designed to bring readers and writers together in a continuous communication forum provide the greatest exposure not only for SPAs and Indies, but for traditional authors as well.
When self-promoting on such sites, avoid the "I" syndrome. Over use of personal pronouns - I, me, my, mine - may be a turn-off to some potential readers.
State the title of your book, the author's name (you), and a brief synopsis, available formats (hard cover, paperback, e-Book, audio book, audio download), and related website address.
Avoid the temptation to evaluate your own book. The author's opinion expressed when rating and reviewing their own work in print is akin to a proud new parent's opinion when expounding upon how cute and adorable their baby is.
There is an old adage: "If your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt".
Proofread any contribution you wish to add to a discussion group prior to posting it. If your post is riddled with misspellings, improper punctuation and bad grammar, the reader may wonder if your book may be as well.
Proactively soliciting and scheduling events such as book signings and presentations at book stores, libraries, reading clubs, and literary events are a great way for authors to introduce their books and themselves to the public. Networking is a very effective promotional tool.
For those authors fortunate enough to have a contract with a mainline publisher, the recommended course of action is to allow the publicist and marketing representative, assigned by the publisher to promote your work, to do their job and stay out of their way.
The best way to express your appreciation for the energy and time they expend on your behalf is by following up on all the leads they provide and be well-prepared to act professionally at scheduled events and interviews.
Not all aspiring authors will be commercially successful; but no one who has tried their best can be called a failure.
Sofia - great overview of POV.Those that are new to writing should keep in mind that most modern novels and short stories use subjective points of view. Objective and Omniscient are pretty rare these days. But historically going back to some of the great novelists like Dickens, Austen, Tolstoy, etc. omniscient is the voice they use. Even Lord of the Rings is written in the omniscient voice!
Author Marcy Kennedy has a blog post about omniscient and how to make it work.
http://marcykennedy.com/2013/10/succe...
One point she makes is that there is a distinct difference between omniscient POV, head-hopping, and telling. When you are writing subjective you are deeply immersed in the character's POV. Omniscient POV is not. It's an all knowing narrator with a distinctive voice all their own. It is YOUR voice as the narrator so you are asking readers to invest in your voice and your take on what's going on.
I think most fiction readers these days (myself included) prefer to get personal with the characters and not the narrator. I want the characters voice, thoughts, and feelings jumping off the page at me.
I'm a struggling writer. Very often I come up with a hundred different plot ideas but I never manage to execute them properly... that or it just sounds better in my head than on paper.I do endless research on writing tips and I came across this website some time ago but I never got back to it because I can't remember the name of the website but I managed to save a few notes. I found this very helpful and I use this as my guideline when plot outlining.
Explosion or "Hook." A thrilling, gripping, stirring event or problem that grabs the reader's attention right away.
Conflict. A character versus the internal self or an external something or someone.
Exposition. Background information required for seeing the characters in context.
Complication. One or more problems that keep a character from their intended goal.
Transition. Image, symbol, dialogue, that joins paragraphs and scenes together.
Flashback. Remembering something that happened before the short story takes place.
Climax. When the rising action of the story reaches the peak.
Falling Action. Releasing the action of the story after the climax.
Resolution. When the internal or external conflict is resolve.
Questions if, like me (all the time), you struggle on how to start your story.
1. What does your protagonist want?
2. What unexpected consequences — directly related to the protagonist's goal-oriented actions — ramp up the emotional energy?
3. What details from the setting, dialog, and tone help you tell the story?
4. What morally significant choice does your protagonist make at the climax of the story?
Rea wrote: "2. Remember, this is not a book for you. You might like the ideas and how you tell your story but you have to think like your readers."I like a lot of the tips I see here, but the one quoted above bothers me. I cannot write for anyone but me. I do not know what readers want and cannot think like the reader. When I set out to write a story, I haven't the slightest idea who is going to read it beyond myself. So, I write the kind of stuff I like to read.
And this would lead into a tip: Stories should be unpredictable. If we write what people want to see, then there really won't be any surprises for them. An example from my own writing would be how I deal with ghosts when I write a ghost story. People expect ghosts to be scary and evil. I don't usually write them that way. The antagonist(s) in the story are often the living. Granted, this has upset a couple of readers that expected the ghosts to be violent and evil, but at least they were surprised and didn't guess on the third page how the story would turn out.
I've seen some discussion here about keeping characters from becoming Mary Sues, but no concrete tips. I have a few that I can share. I always apply at least one (often more) of the following things to my major characters:
1. Give the character a name you don't care for. Name them for some jerk you've had problems with in your past.
2. Give them at least one habit that annoys you when people do it in real life. Hate the way people act when they're drunk? Get your character drunk at some point in the story.
3. Do not make the characters physically attractive to you. If you're into tall blondes, make your lead female short with red hair.
4. Give the character a trait you have that you find embarrassing or that you know bothers other people.
5. Conflict. Your characters should always be facing some kind of conflict, internal or external. Maybe both. Push them to their limits and see what they're really made of. Writers must be sadists.
6. DO NOT make yourself the main character. The person that started this discussion hit on this one and I think it's the most important of these tips. Unless you're writing your autobiography, there's no need to make yourself the main character. True, the character may have some similarities with you, that's almost unavoidable, but they should have a great deal of differences, too. This makes it easier to subject your characters to situations you wouldn't want to deal with yourself. In my published works, the closest I've come to breaking this rule is "The Asphalt Carpet". I had my main character taking a bus trip based on three trips I've made myself. But, I gave Daniel a healthy dose of codependency and self-doubt so that every moment he had a chance to turn around and run back home, he seriously contemplated it. And then I'd take away his ways of getting back, just to torture him. As said, we must be sadists.
I know I haven't been around here a lot lately, and I apologize for that, but I wanted to add my 2 cents, if that's alright.I will admit that my main character, Anna, is VERY much based on me and how I think and act, and people love her. Granted, I have no special powers, I've never been a sex slave or abused like she has. But my story of Anna started as a fantasy in my own mind, and she is very much part of me. The way she thinks, her decisions...they are all me. I've made myself very vulnerable in putting Anna's story out there this way, but the response I've gotten has been overwhelmingly positive.
Now, I know I can't do that with every story, and I have to differentiate each main character, but I just wanted to offer my thoughts. Sometimes it can work. :)
What do you guys think about using racist words in a work of fiction? I just had a beta reader take issue with my use of the word "Japs" in my circa 1948 novel where characters are telling war stories from WW II. He's afraid I'll offend readers. I think I'm being authentic. Thoughts?
Brady wrote: "What do you guys think about using racist words in a work of fiction? I just had a beta reader take issue with my use of the word "Japs" in my circa 1948 novel where characters are telling war stor..."I don't find no harm in it. if you're going for realistic, and trying to get certain things across, then it wouldn't really bother me.
I may get shouted down here, but my advice is this:Don't allow ego to get in the way of reality...
Sure, this is your magnum opus, you have spent three years sweating over a roasting keyboard to produce a work that will shame Shakespeare and depress Dickens, but to the publishers it is almost guaranteed to be filed under "A N Other".
I call this Blind Author Syndrome. You are too close to your work, family and friends are more likely to support rather than criticise and even online sites like this will encourage; recognising and appreciating the effort and dedication above the literary content. An agent or publishing house is successful because they know the market.
Ultimately, much work is poor, too poor for commercial consideration. But I have never believed you should write to be published. You should write to create. Publication is a pleasing byproduct of your efforts.
Yes, they will get it wrong. Yes, they will pass up a Harry Potter or da Vinci Code, but on the whole, a publisher publishes and a writer writes. Every rejection is a positive, an indicator that you not yet there. Self-publish if you must, but instead of berating them for missing the next blockbuster, trust the (free) advice of seasoned professionals and hone your skills.
One of the stories I'm working on is Doctor Who fanfic. This story involves time travel and I've never worked with time travel. I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice on how to best write a story with time travel.
