Category Archives: quora

More questions and answers from Quora

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will edit for food

Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

This time, I’ll be showing a few questions with some short answers. All of the questions revolve around some facet of reading, writing, or editing, but if you find that you have some questions about the editing process, please ask right here or leave a comment.

Question 1: Can you give me some good advice before I attempt to write my first novel?

Answer: Practice writing short stories to get a feel for the process. Write a fanfiction novel so you already have a great foundation while you find your voice. Then, write your novel.

Relax, just get all your thoughts down, and then hire an editor. Feel free to visit my blog posts for more in depth information regarding the processes through which a writer can improve the quality of their writing. You can also learn what it is that makes an editor competent.

Finally, the most important aspect of writing a novel is, well, to just write. Nothing can be said about a novel or writing a first draft. A first draft is just that, a draft, so just write it all down.

There is nothing to worry over because no one else is reading the draft, so a writer needs to just relax and focus on getting down all their thoughts. Only after the first draft has been written can a writer go back and search for discrepancies.

Question 2: How can you say this in a better way?

Addendum: “even a guy good looking like that… doesn’t look handsome anymore when he’s next to Tom Cruise”

Answer: As handsome as Bill is, he looks like a toad next to Tom Cruise. There are numerous variants, though. What’s important in such situations during the writing process is to suspend judgment. Just write the phrase, scene, paragraph, or whatever as it comes to mind.

Only after having completed the novel, or perhaps the chapter, should a writer go back and find better ways to say something. However, that better way must be pertinent to the scene, the writer’s voice, the intent behind the phrase.

A writer must ask: is this dialogue? If it is, how would this character speak? Is this character sarcastic? Stuffy? Old? Young?

If it isn’t dialogue, what genre is the story? If it’s scifi then a writer might write: All the scales and tentacles in the world didn’t make Bill any hotter than Tom Cruise.

In the end, there’s no right or wrong answer, and it becomes totally up to the writer, so long as the writer keeps in mind their audience.

Question 3: What are a writer’s and editor’s strengths?

Addendum: Another word might be personality types, but I don’t want to limit it to that.

Answer: Conviction. We believe in what we do. Passion. We love what we do. Determination. We will keep doing what we do. Fear. We are afraid that one day, we will no longer be able to do what we do, so we make what we do count.

Whether we are writers or editors, our goals are the same: to produce a product that our audience will enjoy. To this effect it becomes imperative that we exude conviction, passion, determination, and even fear.

If you’d like to learn more about writing and editing, visit my Editing Services tab.

Questions From Quora Regarding Editing part 2

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

This time, I’ll be showing a few questions with some short answers. All of the questions revolve around some facet of editing, but if you find that you have some questions about the editing process, please ask right here or leave a comment.

Question 1: If I can omit the comma after “today,” can I do the same in “Fortunetly I don’t have work tomorrow.”?
Addendum: I’m able to omit the comma after “today” in the sentence, “Today I went to school,” but am I able to omit the comma after “fortunety” in the sentence, “Fortunetly I don’t have work tomorrow.”

Answer: You do not need the comma after fortunately. In this case, using the comma is optional, but make sure that you are consistent in your writing and punctuation. Also, be sure to correct spelling mistakes.

To expound a bit, the reason a comma may be placed after today, yesterday, at this time, fortunately, etc., is due to the fact that those kinds of words at the beginning of a sentence set up a sort of restriction.

For example: Today, the heat was excruciating.

The reader knows right away that the frame of reference is “today”, but there is no need for the comma because the frame of reference still exists without the comma.

Remember, commas do NOT indicate a pause in speech; they are used to clarify information, and if they are not clarifying the information they do not need to be there, but if they are used in such a manner, they must be used consistently.

Read more about commas here.

Question 2: I do not come to school. It’s passive voice?

Answer: No. It is active.

You are the subject and not coming to school is what you are doing. However, I do not go to school, or I did not make it to school, or I have not been to school, are more appropriate ways of phrasing such an idea in the English language.

One does not generally come to a place; they go.

Now, an example of passive voice is the following: The milk was spilled by the cat.

There is nothing wrong the sentence. It makes perfect sense, but the main noun, the cat, the thing that actually did the verb, has taken a secondary role in the sentence, thus making it passive.

The active version of that sentence is the following: The cat spilled the milk.

There is a time and place to use either passive or active voice, but that is up to the writer/editor, and what they wish to provide the audience. Generally, an active voice in the narrative forces the audience to accept at face value to events of the story, whereas the passive voice is a bit more suggestive in nature, perhaps even surreptitious. Both have their roles.

Question 3: Why do shorter paragraphs in a novel create the feeling of a faster pace?

Answer: First, it is imperative to understand that each paragraph should contain a single idea. A short paragraph means the idea is explained in fewer sentences, so numerous paragraphs of fewer sentences provides a barrage of ideas, which gives the pace speed, so long as each paragraph and their supporting sentences are structured properly.

If they aren’t, instead of a quick pace, the reader feels a jumbled confusion. Long paragraphs are still a single idea, but due to more sentences of a more complex nature being presented, the pace is slowed because less information is thoroughly explained.

So that’s three, little questions from Quora, and as you can see, editing is really a great deal more than correcting misspelled words, bad grammar, and incorrect punctuation.

Please visit my editing services tab for more information.

Also be sure to read through all my posts if you intend to become a better writer. Thanks, everyone, and stay tuned for more info.

Questions from Quora regarding editing

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

This time, I’ll be showing a few questions with some short answers. All of the questions revolve around some facet of editing, but if you find that you have some questions about the editing process, please ask right here or leave a comment.

Question 1: Is “I am unlike he” or “I am unlike him” grammatically correct?

Addendum: My teacher says only “I am unlike he” and “They, unlike he are smarter…” as opposed to “I am unlike him” and “They, unlike him are smarter…”. I have always heard people say “I am unlike him”, so which is grammatically correct?

Answer: I am unlike him is correct, but it’s an awkward way to speak. More appropriately, one says: I am not like him, or I am not like he is, or I’m different than he is.

Similarly, one doesn’t normally say: I, unlike he, am smarter. One says: I, unlike him, am smart. I am smarter than he is. I am smarter than him. He is not as smart as me. He is not as smart as I am.

Question 2: Is this correct ” dealing and connecting with others demands some efforts” how can I improve ir[sic]?

Answer: Dealing and connecting with others demands some effort.

Effort is not plural in this case. It doesn’t really need improving, though. You might, nevertheless, try:

Dealing and connecting with others requires effort.

It requires effort to deal and connect with others.

It can be difficult to deal and connect with others.

Question 3: What’s another way of saying “in my opinion”?

Answer: There are numerous ways to “say” the same thing, and this is a great question because many times, what makes or breaks a story, a scene, or a chapter can boil down to the way something is phrased.

In this case, in my opinion, can be rephrased as:

What I think. What I believe. My thoughts are. I have heard. I have been taught. In my experience. It seems to me.

The list is practically endless, but I think you guys see where I’m going.

So that’s three little questions from Quora, and as you can see, editing is really a great deal more than correcting misspelled words, bad grammar, and incorrect punctuation.

Please visit my editing services tab for more information.

Also be sure to read through all my posts if you intend to become a better writer. Thanks, everyone, and stay tuned for more info.

How do writers practice writing?

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

Question: How do writers practice writing?

Addendum: I can’t wrap my mind around what this means. When I sit down at my desk to try and ‘practice’ writing I fumble over what that actual looks like. I have a lot of vague impressions on writing in general so it would be great for me to start improving.

Answer: There are numerous ways to practice writing, however, it depends on what specifically you’re trying to improve; scene setting, world building, character interaction?

Are you writing fiction or nonfiction?

Are these private thoughts or entertaining ideas for others?

If I may suggest, visit my Quora blog where I break down how to edit. Knowing the appropriate way to edit work is what actually improves one’s writing ability.

Anyone can jot down a sequential account of events; anyone can describe what something looks like, how it sounds, what takes place, but transforming those thoughts into a story requires editing. This is precisely why mainstream publishers employ their own editors. This is why the best writers have the best editors.

First and foremost, the best way to begin to practice writing is to just write short stories and focus on a single area to improve.

Short stories don’t require in depth world building, management of numerous characters, a great deal of versatile dialogue, or all the nuances, which make novels a work of art, which means you can just focus on a single concept and build your story around it, like an exercise rather than a title you intend to present to an audience.

Obviously, you can present short stories to an audience if that’s your wish, and there are many reasons to do so, but even short stories require editing.

Like anything else, or perhaps, like everything else, writing is best practiced through writing. A writer doesn’t have to keep everything they write. A writer doesn’t have to publish and present everything they write. Some writers spend a ton of time just writing simple thoughts, character descriptions, pieces of dialogue, they way an object looks or sounds; writing is writing, the transfer of a thought or observation from the mind to paper.

Naturally, the more one writes, the more comfortable one becomes, but being comfortable isn’t the same as improving one’s writing ability, so I go back to short stories as well as editing.

A writer, when writing a novel, essentially has to link together numerous, correlated, short stories in a sequential order. Then, the writer must edit, or hire an editor, in order to make certain that each word supports the sentence, each sentence unveils the idea within the paragraph, each paragraph sets the scene, and that overall, something is happening throughout the book, which drives the story forwards.

All in all, it is not a simple task to release a perfect book, and perhaps no amount of practice can prepare a writer for such a task, but hey, that’s why editors exist, and if you can hire a competent editor, one who understand what you need, you should also be ready to work with them and really dissect and understand both the writing process and the reading process.

Please also visit my Editing Services tab.

Do editors have to be better writers than writers?

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

Question: Do editors have to be better writers than writers.

Answer: First of all, that’s a great question, but the answer is no, editors do not have to be better writers than writers.

It’s important to understand that editing and writing while complementary are two different skill sets.

A writer provides a sequential account of events. An editor transforms that dry account into a story. Generally, one cannot work without the other.

This is precisely the reason that all mainstream, publishing presses employ so many editors, and every editor ends up working with numerous authors. It’s also important to understand that there are different kinds of editors. There are copy editors, who basically proof the story or title to be sure there are no typographical, grammatical, or punctuation errors.

Yes, some errors still go unnoticed. I have never purchased a book from any press that has zero errors. Errors happen.

There are also editors who read the story, searching for the best use of words, proper sentence structure, creativity, character depth, plot holes, consistency, and just about everything readers try to find when they read; these editors are readers, basically, and their job is to help the author make sure they are providing their very best.

I have talked and blogged extensively about editing. You can certainly search this website, and just about every post that isn’t about one of my books is about how to properly edit a manuscript.

I strongly suggest that all writers, and even editors, search this site for hints, tips, and the proper way to edit a manuscript. I also recommend visiting the Editing Services tab.

Finally, I will add that one who possesses both skill sets–writing and editing–can go far. Both skills require a degree of creativity, but a writer has to create characters, a world, interactions, reactions, a plot, a twist; the editor just ensures that all of those concepts are provided in the most succinct, cogent, and entertaining forms.

This is kind of like saying that an artist who can both draw and animate has two, complementary, skill sets. One does not preclude the other, but neither is better than the other. An animator does not have to be a better artist than a penciler or inker. Feel me?

self aggrandizing aaron

Do plot holes matter?

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

Question: Do plot holes matter?

Addendum: … noting, of course, that some works of fiction are wonderfully, intentionally plotless.

Answer: Yes. Unequivocally, yes.

Now, I’m not sure exactly what the person who asked this question meant by adding that some great stories have no plot. I don’t know about that. Every story has a plot, but regardless, the point in contention is not the plot itself, but whether plot holes matter.

Yes, plot holes matter.

Nothing says, the author is a dumbass, like a plot hole.

Okay, let’s first consider what a plot is. The plot is nothing more than the main event around which the story is constructed. This means no matter how flimsy or banal, every story that has a beginning, middle, and end has a plot.

What is a plot hole then? A plot hole is an issue which nullifies the reliability and consistency of the plot.

Let’s look at Cujo for instance. I never read the book, but I saw the movie. Yeah, it’s an alright movie, but it’s actually really stupid because the first time your dog acts out the way Cujo did, any sensible human being, who is worried about their family, is going to either put the dog down, take it to a trainer, or let it go, right?

If that monster went to a trainer, what would the trainer suggest? Putting it down, right? End of movie, right? Dumbass plot hole, right?

Cujo has a major plot hole. The story doesn’t make sense in spite of the events that follow.

Yes, plot holes matter. No, they don’t matter at the same intensity for everyone. Yes, plenty of people can get past a plot hole if the other elements of the story are absolutely astounding, and when it comes to movies, often times, especially in the cases of horrors and slashers, we can give the plot a little leeway.

I love the Friday the Thirteenth movies. They are completely stupid, though, but hey, I’m rooting for Jason to kill ’em all.

When it comes to novel writing, however, a plot hole can totally kill the story and force the reader to put the book down and never read another story by that author, especially if the plot hole is blatant and simplistic.

At this point, it becomes important to make a distinction between an actual plot hole and a suspension of belief.

For instance, if I write a story about a zombie hunter, and in this world, the zombies can turn others into zombies with a bite, and I never have the zombie hunter get bitten, it’s a suspension of belief.

Being a good author, if I need to have such a thing happen, I’ll have the zombie hunter wear some protective gear to help with the suspension of belief.

However, if the zombie hunter does get bitten in this story, and he doesn’t turn into a zombie, that’s a plot hole. Wouldn’t you stop reading at that point? Wouldn’t you think I’m an idiot?

Now, there are some cases where such a thing can be repaired further in the story, but here an author has to be intelligent and creative, and all without insulting the intelligence of his the audience.

If, for example, in my zombie hunter story, the hunter is bitten, but doesn’t turn into a zombie, I can then add, a little ways into the plot, that he used to a be chemist, and he knew about the impending, zombie threat, and he actually found a way to immunize himself.

Do you see what I’m saying?

An author must force his characters into untenable situations in order to make them grow and develop, certainly. While writing, and then during the editing process, the writer needs to keep an eye open for holes in the story, though.

You see, readers are supposed to ride beside the protagonist, and learn, and grow, and feel what the characters feel, but a plot hole means the author didn’t take the time, didn’t give the audience enough respect, to properly direct the story. Yes, a writer must also be a director!

What’s worse is that often times an author, a writer, doesn’t hire an editor. An editor, a competent editor, will catch such a plot hole and at least make a suggestion on how to fix it.

When a writer chooses to both ignore the hole, and not hire an editor, and then release the poorly written story to the public, it becomes an insult to readers. This is not a problem specific to self publishing or indie publishing; numerous titles released by the mainstream publishers also have plot holes, so this is appropriately a publishing problem.

This isn’t a problem specific to novel writing, either; numerous movies, T.V. shows, and video games also have plot holes. The publishers of these media are called producers, though, so this is also a production problem, but whatever….

All I can add at this point is the following; readers, read the reviews of whatever it is that you’re buying, not just the 5 star reviews, go and look at the 1 star reviews, too.

Writers, hire an editor, a competent editor. Editing is extremely important. You can learn more about editing here.

Is Star Wars considered American science fiction or British science fiction?

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

This is another instance where the question seems like it has nothing to do with reading, writing, or editing, but hold on to your speeder!

Question: Is Star Wars considered American science fiction or British science fiction?

Answer: Well it’s the abortion created by Spielberg and Lucas, so it’s American.

Now, allow me to dive headlong into the Rancor’s pit.

Star Wars is hardly science fiction. What constitutes science fiction? High tech? Aliens? Space battles? Sure, but don’t those things usually require some explanation? How do the aliens’ bodies work? What kind of engineering is involved in a death star? Don’t different planets with different atmospheres have differing gravity? Doesn’t anyone require a space suit? Even while piloting their ships in the far reaches of space, no one wears a helmet with breathing apparatus, do they? I just don’t think Star Wars qualifies as science fiction.

Star Wars is about a guy who uses a sword and casts magic spells with his mind. If it’s anything, it’s sci fantasy, kind of like the Final Fantasy video games. There’s nothing wrong with the concept or genre, but I’m not done bitching yet.

If Luke could, theoretically, use the force to lift a ship “only different in your mind” then why not use the force to knock Vader into that duct in cloud city?

Why not use the force to blow the emperor into that other duct?

The whole franchise is rife with poor writing, poor, poor writing.  It’s so totally uninspired, and filled with plot holes, and I don’t understand why people like Boba Fett.

He did nothing. Han was already frozen in carbonite when Boba Fett took him aboard the ship, and then blind Han hit him in the butt, and it killed him.

Boba Fett was utterly useless.

All of this ties into the principles of story telling, whether we’re discussing a movie, a show, or a book; what’s important is that whatever happens throughout the story is both logical and consistent.

Does it make sense that storm trooper armor can be destroyed by primitive, teddy bear arrows?

Is it logical that when Luke is chasing the scout troopers on the speeder, he doesn’t use the force to hold the speeder in place, or fling the scout trooper off the speeder?

“Different only in your mind, Luke”

The force is wielded so inconsistently, it is a severe problem, a detriment to story’s reliability.

It’s extremely important for both writers and editors to be able to recognize these kinds of instances, because if a story has these issues, readers will find them, and they will be very, very upset to have spent their money on dreck.

Now, I know, everyone’s going to get their panties in a wad because I’m badmouthing Star Wars. Everyone’s going to point out that if I’m right, why then was the trilogy such a success?

Well, people like what they like. The movies do look amazing. The first three had a terrific cast, great music, and the whole concept behind Star Wars is the eternal struggle of good against evil, the underdog against the immovable empire, so, okay, Star Wars isn’t the worst trilogy out there, but all the points I made stand on their own.

YOU are not writing Star Wars. YOU are not Spielberg and Lucas. YOU most likely don’t have an entire corporation backing you, helping to market whatever it is that you’re writing, so YOU need to be certain that your story has no issues of inconsistency, suspension of disbelief, or plot holes.

This is especially important for new writers, because they don’t have a solid fan base yet, and there’s no more direct road to failure than starting out by selling a crappy product.

Always consider editing. Always consider hiring an editor. Visit my editing services tab.

 

 

 

What did Tolkien add to the fantasy genre that weren’t already elements of mythology?

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Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

Question: What did Tolkien add to the fantasy genre that weren’t already elements of mythology?

Addendum: It seems that preexisting mythologies such as Norse mythology had a lot of the same elements as modern fantasy and inspired Tolkien.  What were Tolkien’s contributions that made him the father of modern fantasy?

Answer: I agree with the whole premise.

Tolkien just mished-mashed it all together, and the readers made it a success.

Frankly, I think Tolkien is a crappy writer and Martin, too, for that matter.

They added no elements that weren’t a part of the Arthurian Tales or tales of Vikings. I think both writers suck, but until now, no one has offered anything of value. That’s the problem. Readers need a new writer to rally behind.

Now, after my seething answer, allow me to elucidate.

There are no original ideas. There are only original presentations. I’ve said it before, and I won’t tire of saying it.

No writer out there today, be it Tolkien, Martin, King, or anyone else has new ideas, original concepts never before presented in stories of any genre. Yes, there can be new elements.

If, for instance, someone writes a new novel today, a sci fantasy along the lines of Final Fantasy, but in novel form, and they include something like social media, yes, that’s a new element you won’t find in Germanic Folklore, or even most current novels, but it’s a new presentation of an existing idea–communications.

See what I mean? A writer needs to find something new, but it’s a new presentation, not a new idea.

What makes a writer great, or a story great, is the presentation of the correlated ideas, not the ideas themselves.

Yes, there are readers of fantasy who consider Tolkien and Martin great writers, but compared to whom?

What other writers are there of that genre for average readers? Le Guin? She’s actually underrated, and many die hard fantasy fans prefer Le Guin to Martin or Tolkien when it comes to fantasy books. Then, there’s Jordan, who is also widely underrated.

Also, don’t forget that before the Harry Potter movies, The Lord of the Rings movies, and The Game of Thrones T.V. series, none of those writers were as popular as they are now.

There was time when only nerds and dorks read The Lord of the Rings, but after the movies came out, everyone went back and read the books.

There was a time when only children read Harry Potter, but after the movies came out, everyone went back and read the books.

There was a time when only nerds and dorks read A Song of Ice and Fire, but after Game of Thrones came out, everyone went back and read the books.

Unfortunately, the Earthsea miniseries ran Le Guin into the ground, and now she’s begging people for a kickstarter campaign to help her fund her documentary.

Are you kidding me? Is she not a successful writer?!

There are two things to take away from this post.

  1. There really are no new ideas.
  2. People will only be able to enjoy that which they find.

It has become increasingly difficult to find material worth reading, especially in the fantasy genre. Truthfully, there are numerous unknown writers like Barnitz who are far and away better than Tolkien and Martin, but if no one is making movies or shows out of their short stories, novels, and series then few people will find those great books without a great deal of leg work.

Sure, everyone thinks Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and A Song of Ice and Fire are the best of the best, but are they? Or are they just the most popular?

Why didn’t Sauron simply place some guards over the access to Crack of Doom?

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plot holes editor

Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

This one sounds like a strange question, I know. It doesn’t really sound like it’s on the topic of writing and editing, but it really is.

Here’s the whole question: The Lord of the Rings (creative franchise): Why didn’t Sauron simply place some guards over the access to Crack of Doom?

My answer: The creator of the series wasn’t bright enough to see it’s flaws.

That’s the truth of it right there. There’s a lot of writers–screen writers, novelists, journalists, all kinds–living and dead, past and gone, and those coming up now–either they aren’t bright enough to see their flaws, or their editors aren’t bright enough to catch the flaws.

Now, specifically, in Tolkien’s case, he croaked, and subsequently his son was so amazed by the story that he missed the obvious.

Look at the movies, though; there’s a reason 90% of the books’ content didn’t make it into the movies–Tom Bombodil and a whole bunch of other characters and events–the books suck, they’re written by someone with a colorful but limited imagination. They’re a cliched good versus evil match up with the underdog coming out on top by just walking somewhere, and in the mix, there’s some Germanic Folklore, but Tolkien didn’t invent elves, dwarves, or anything else; even hobbits are really just gnomes. There are better books….

The thing is is that a great many writers, stories, movies, franchises, etc., have tons of flaws or plot holes.

One of the movies I hate the most? Prometheus

Why? It’s filled with plot holes!

I wasn’t even able to finish the movie, but here’s why.

The geologist tosses his flying, spherical devices into the air, remember? They’re scanning for molecular makeup, and hey, they don’t pick up any DNA–as if living molecules aren’t also made of minerals or metals, but that’s alright; I got past that.

Then, the storm hit, and everyone’s rushing back to the ship, remember? The groups get back to the ship, and they can’t find the geologist and his partner, and they’re worried, and they’re all scrambling, and then they see them on the camera, which the captain was monitoring…….?

Okay, first of all, they were all in communications, so when the other groups started freaking out, the geologist and his partner would have said: “Don’t worry guys, we’re coming.” At the very least, their scrambling commotion would have been heard by someone else, but that’s not the point: the other groups called for them, questioning their absence, and they would certainly have replied.

Furthermore, the captain was watching the screens the whole time, so he must have, at some point, witnessed the geologist and his partner trying to make their way from the caves.

PLOT HOLES=BAD WRITING/BAD EDITING

Maybe this kind of stuff doesn’t bother you. Maybe you don’t catch this kind of stuff when you read or watch movies, but I do, and so do lots of other people.

If you’re going to be a writer, it becomes imperative to catch this kind of stuff. It also becomes important to try to figure out how to solve these issues–plot holes. In the end, you may just need an editor to make certain you have no plot holes; avid readers do hate them, and you don’t want your story to fail because of a simple oversight, right?

Hire an editor. It can’t hurt. Hire me as your editor. You can find my services here.

When writing a novel, should I create a fantasy world or just use the real world?

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self aggrandizing aaron

Since Quora likes to collapse my answers in an effort to keep me quiet, I’m copying and pasting some of the Quora Q and A’s in which I’ve participated. Here’s a question from Quora.

Question: I am writing a novel with elements of fantasy including cloaked figures of murdered victims. Should I create a fantasy world or just use real world?

My answer: There is no simple answer, but there are some simple questions.

What do you want?

What do you enjoy?

How much thought have you given your new writing project?

How original or authentic do you want to be?

I’m also a fantasy writer, and I like to include a handful of brand new concepts, but also include some of the tried and true ones. It works for me, and I enjoy my work.

When writing a novel, short story, anything at all, the first and most important question is: for whom are you writing?

The answer must be: for yourself.

Yes, you must also have a target audience in mind, but that comes about much, much later. First, a writer must consider what they want to do, what they enjoy, and then it’s time to put the thoughts down. In the end, those thoughts might not create a novel, but a story of a different length. In the end, that story may not truly be a fantasy or any other genre, but a blend, which can always be referred to as speculative fiction.

Often times, things don’t go according to plan anyway, and the great thing is; your story is not a finished product out to the public until you’ve decided it’s done. It is a first draft until you publish; it is not etched in stone.

So, let’s assume, you start off with a cloak and dagger murder story within the confines of the current world when suddenly, you feel like including fantasy elements. No big deal; include those elements, and just keep going.

Later, in the editing process, you can either add all of those same elements throughout, or you can cut them if they didn’t pan out.

Whatever you do, write for you, edit for your audience, and just try to have fun. You can change all kinds of things during the editing process, and then, if you feel you need an extra pair of eyes, or maybe you feel that your book just isn’t everything it can be, hire an editor.

Hire me as your editor. I’ll help you transform all of those sequential thoughts, ideas, and scenes into a story your audience will enjoy.

My editing services can be found here.