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[besada]

You're awesome. <3 Every sale has a huge impact and the support means a lot to me. It started on GAF, and if I do get to go physical, it's definitely going to be because of GAF at this rate. Cheers. Hope you like it, and can't wait to see your devilish abecedary up next.

I told all the other mods to rewteet, but they're horrible people, prone to ignoring sensible life instructions. But my co-worker retweeted you into the beating heart of PETA.

 

[show me your skeleton]

I think they can work, if used at the right ratio. Either use very, very sparingly (once or twice), or incorporate them as part of the overall story style. It makes sense those ways, I think, otherwise it feels like a cheap tool a lot of the time.

Yeah, I think I just wasn't clear on how you were framing the question. In my view:

Flashback: Story is established in a given time frame -> Narrative cuts back to an earlier time frame -> Cuts back to the established time frame.

Time skip: Narrative occurs in chronological order, though significant amounts of time have passed between one section and another.

So in your case, starting the story with the train ride to the city and then jumping forward in time to where they're settled in and have a life there would be a time skip. Starting the story with them living their life in the city and then cutting back to their arrival would be a flashback.

In general, I think flashbacks should be used veeeeeerrrrry deliberately and carefully, or not at all. They can be useful for a reveal of the solution to a mystery or something (I.e. a character disappears and you later reveal what happened from their view or something), they can be part of the structure (each act starts with a flashback or something), but I think just randomly throwing them out there almost never works.

For point of reference, The Republic of Thieves is literally 50% flashback, so it's not like there's no precedence for published books using flashbacks extensively.

thank you both. i think i underestimated the effect a poor flashback can have on the pacing and enjoyment of a story, perhaps because i've been getting my fix of flashbacks in media through games and films, both of which seem to use them a fair bit more liberally. i blame once upon a time for me thinking they're a-okay to use willy-nilly.

 

[timetokill]

Awwww, thanks, man. Word of mouth like that is gold, so I really appreciate it.

The Amazon link is short and sweet: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OEK0HQE/

Wish I had a few more reviews up there, but it seems to be the preferred buying site for the book.

Oh hey, you have one review up there, I wonder whose it could be....


<3

 

[H.Protagonist]

I told all the other mods to rewteet, but they're horrible people, prone to ignoring sensible life instructions. But my co-worker retweeted you into the beating heart of PETA.

Haha. With all the delightful booze in DE, you'd think EatChildren would champion the cause. I'll send him a spider in protest.

Regardless, many thanks for spreading the word. I certainly favorited it. I had a definite uptick in sales yesterday, too. My Amazon rank this morning was the best it's ever been since the release.

thank you both. i think i underestimated the effect a poor flashback can have on the pacing and enjoyment of a story, perhaps because i've been getting my fix of flashbacks in media through games and films, both of which seem to use them a fair bit more liberally. i blame once upon a time for me thinking they're a-okay to use willy-nilly.

No prob. Good luck with it!

Oh hey, you have one review up there, I wonder whose it could be....


<3

Aaaah! That was you? My sister denied responsibility, but I thought it still might be a family member. Reviews are tougher to get than sales much of time, so thank you with a shot of LaFrog on top.

 

[ShamelessOpportunist]

A question for all of you writers(consider myself one, too): how do you imagine George R.R Martin's face when he writes sex scenes?

I go all red and not because of shame.

 

[timetokill]

Aaaah! That was you? My sister denied responsibility, but I thought it still might be a family member. Reviews are tougher to get than sales much of time, so thank you with a shot of LaFrog on top.

I hope it nets you a sale or two! And it was an honest review.
I could go for some LaFrog though! I'll probably have to go with the Four Roses in my cupboard instead.

 

[show me your skeleton]

funny how much you 'learn' about your characters just by thinking about them for more than ten seconds and filling in the old snowflake method sheet of:

• description

• short summary

• motivation

• goal

• conflict

• epiphany

• long summary

 

[toddhunter]

funny how much you 'learn' about your characters just by thinking about them for more than ten seconds and filling in the old snowflake method sheet of:

• description

• short summary

• motivation

• goal

• conflict

• epiphany

• long summary

I was just thinking that I'm not a big fan of epiphanies

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Okay, I've tried my hand at a new thread.

 

[Master Milk]

Unless the stuff in this OP is outdated, you should probably add it to the new thread. Like, just copy and paste the whole thing over, and take out what's outdated. Opening a thread just to be told to go to another link for a lot of the useful info is annoying. Right now the most prominent thing in the OP is the list of book covers

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Unless the stuff in this OP is outdated, you should probably add it to the new thread. Like, just copy and paste the whole thing over, and take out what's outdated. Opening a thread just to be told to go to another link for a lot of the useful info is annoying. Right now the most prominent thing in the OP is the list of book covers

Okay I'll get it moved over. Thanks for the input.

 

[Shengar]

So it's fine to post there then? Have the mod gives permission?

 

[morgtheborg140]

I love fantasy
I love interesting characters
I am trying so hard but can never get a good starting idea
I know once I get that I will be set
Please help

 

[Mike M]

I love fantasy
I love interesting characters
I am trying so hard but can never get a good starting idea
I know once I get that I will be set
Please help

A world set in the canopy of enormous, continent-sized trees where the most durable substance they have ever known is the heartwood of their arch trees contends with with an invading force weilding a seemingly invincible material: metal.

Go.

 

[besada]

A world set in the canopy of enormous, continent-sized trees where the most durable substance they have ever known is the heartwood of their arch trees contends with with an invading force weilding a seemingly invincible material: metal.

Go.

I would actually read that book.

 

[morgtheborg140]

A world set in the canopy of enormous, continent-sized trees where the most durable substance they have ever known is the heartwood of their arch trees contends with with an invading force weilding a seemingly invincible material: metal.

Go.

Thank-you thats amazing, I think I can really expand on that.

 

[Mike M]

I wasn't going to write that one anytime soon anyway.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

So it's fine to post there then? Have the mod gives permission?

That's a great question. I'm a noob at being an OP, so I'll PM besada to see how to go about locking this thread and having that one triggered at the OT.

 

[Shengar]

I just was about to give general ideas, but specific one would work I guess
Mine was too mundane anyway

 

[besada]

New thread open at http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=918295

 

[Cyan]

Wait, why is there a new thread.