Ask A Writer

1. When writing children's books, do you need to elaborate the background of the story in one book, or can you do it in a series? Does the series necessarily have to answer everything about the characters? (ie. continuous story telling or similar to unconnected episodes in a cartoon series)

2. What are your thoughts on using flashbacks to drive a love story? I noticed that K-dramas tend to use a lot of flashback in their stories, but I read in a few 'how to write' books to avoid flashbacks as they get in the way of the forward movement of the story.

3. I get ideas and inspiration from existing characters, because sometimes other authors write side characters and antagonists/villains with such delicious backstories that they could have their own stories. But whenever I try to plug them into the 'logline' I can't seem to make them work? If you wanted to base a story around a character that isn't normally the protagonist how would you go about it?

What books on writing do you recommend for beginning writers?

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King - Amazon | Fully Booked

• Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande - Amazon

• How to Grow a Novel by Sol Stein - Amazon

• On Writing by Sol Stein - Amazon

• Personal by Rene Villanueva

• Impersonal by Rene Villanueva

• The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker - Amazon

• How to Write A Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish - Amazon

• Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase by Mark Forsyth - Amazon

• Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose by Mick Short - Amazon

• An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski - Amazon

• Treatise on the Love of God by Francis de Sales - Amazon

• The Empty Space by Peter Brook - Amazon

• The Fourth Dimension of a Poem by M.H. Abrams- YouTube

• exesanonymous.com by Joem Antonio - website

1. After writing the book, what are the steps we can take in order to get published?

2. Which publishers can we ask to publish our book? Who should we talk to or pass our manuscripts to?

3. How can we make sure that our manuscript is publishable? What do publishers expect from our work?

1. Is posting one's written projects on websites like Archive Of Our Own, Wattpad, etc. a great way to showcase one's work?

2. Should I go with self-publishing or traditional publishing?

3. What is your personal experience with non-traditional publishing?

1. Do you have any tips about adapting a written work into visual form? For example, I wrote down a story that I think would be better for the visual arts like comics and manga. How do I make my story appealing to artists?

2. Do you have advice about including music related to a written scene in a novel? For example: Play -insert Song- from 1:20-2:30 or -Insert novel's written fight scene here-

3. I have been thinking about T.S. Eliot's essay "Tradition and Individual Talent" and can the ideas there be used to gauge the adaptations of previous works like a novel adapted for film?

1. Is writing fanfiction a good way to put into practice one's writing skills, especially as a teenage/young adult author)?

2. Is it possible to use non-original characters for a story in an original world with an original novum? An example would be a non-original superhero transported into an original fantasy world as the story.

3. How important is originality in writing stories?

1. What are your tips when it comes to character creation in a SpecFic?

2. When does SpecFic become an allegory or can they be the same thing?

3. Can you write a specfic without a human question, or with it taking a backseat? For instance, a story that focuses more on the wonders of new technologies in a far flung future. Or that scene when Harry entered the wizard world for the first time.

How do you get past writer’s block?

1. How did you know you wanted to write?

2. How do you know if your story idea is good/worth writing?

3. There will be a time when we lose the spark. How can we get the inspiration back to continue?

1. Would you write a main character or characters you can empathize with or characters completely foreign to you? 

2. How do I make a character memorable or avoid making a "flat" character?

3. How do I make a character relatable?

4. How do I make effective relationships between the main character and the other characters in the story (adult, non-human)?

1. I noticed that in Crime Fiction, Criminals are considered Evils, and in Horror Fiction, Evils can be considered as Criminals. For example, the Saw franchise is Horror Fiction but it also gives off Crime vibes since it includes the Criminal's process or story and the Detective's Story (together with its sub-genres). Where do you draw the line between Horror Fiction and Crime Fiction? Or is there a line to be actually drawn?

2. When writing a criminal's backstory, is it necessary for them to have a certain trauma in order for the audience to empathize with them? 

3. Are all suspects who don’t end up being the criminal red herrings? If not, what makes a red herring stand out / different from other suspects?

1. With all the love stories out there, how can we keep our story original or at least refreshing?

2. In the course material of How to Write Love Stories, it said, "The Romantic Relationship and the mutual explicit acknowledgment that comes with it is geared towards a commitment to fulfill each other’s personhood or humanity." How can we practically show in our story, that is, this fulfillment of each other's personhood that comes with a good relationship?

3. I remember reading Wuthering Heights, an English classic, and it was discussed that the writer, Emily Brontë, was spot on with how she understood and portrayed love. This is despite living a secluded life. How would you say it is possible for a writer to accomplish such?

1. Do you have tips about doing research for your writing? How much is needed? How do you tell what needs to be researched? Is there a correct way of going about it? 

2. When it comes to handling a historical fiction piece, at what point do you know it's time to stop researching and start writing?

3. What are possible sources we can look at when researching about the mundane/ordinary things, which may enhance the authenticity of a period piece, during a specific historical period? Or what kind of approach can we take in researching and incorporating these details? (e.g. What people ate, how they cursed, what social cues are followed).

1. How can you say your logline is good?

2. Are there any instances where loglines are not necessary? And at what instance should a writer consider scrapping a writing project altogether?

3. Where do your best lessons or loglines stem from?

4. Do you keep all your old Logline ideas and go through them sometimes and find inspiration in Loglines you didn't like before?

1. How do I know the age appropriateness for my story?

2. I’m concerned about the language I use. I think it's too grown-up, but at the same time, I don't want to make it sound "dumbed down" for children or condescending. So how do I tweak the language to make it engaging enough for the target age group?

3. How do you make historical events understandable by children?

4. How do I write magic realism for children?