If your characters are falling into the same patterns, perhaps you can try switching up the traits? Maybe a character can be extroverted, feminine and ambitious all at once, which I think is not a combination often seen among female leads. You can also try flipping things up and seeing how all these traits would play out if the…[Read more]

Ooh your story reminds me of one of my favourite shows, Psycho-Pass, which is a little similar in premise (a science-fiction psychological thriller featuring a seemingly perfect society with the main characters being the defenders of the status quo). I’ll just put the synopsis here for reference in case it is useful. From what I…[Read more]

I think it’s not bad. You’ve got the situation and problem of the main plot there but I would recommend providing more details and context to give more clarity as to the type of story this is and catch the reader’s interest.

From the blurb, it seems to be an adventure story. I would not have known that it is a sci-fi because to…[Read more]

Personally, I think that the large focus on war and combat in popular, mainstream genres like action/adventure and fantasy led to the idea that strength = physical prowess because otherwise your character, female or otherwise, would not have much agency or relevance in the plot. Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet, who you gave as examples of…[Read more]

This is a very relatable problem. 😛

I think main characters are the ones that are central to the plot and the most fleshed out by the events of the story. Supporting characters may have complex motivations and personalities, but these are usually developed in relation to the main characters. While supporting characters…[Read more]

This sounds like a fun topic 😀

I think characters one can personally relate to do not necessarily correspond to characters one find interesting, but I’ll just share my thoughts on this.

Characters I love

I love a good redemption arc, so I love characters that get redeemed and enjoy character development such as Edmund…[Read more]

As @princess-foo said, it will depend on what kind of setting you have. If it is fantasy, you will have more leeway in the numbers.

Instead of our current BC and AD system, you may want to also consider different ways other cultures and civilisations have kept track of the passing of time. For example, for my current story, since…[Read more]

Hi 😀 You’re always welcome to help me beta read Queen of Drama. The links can be found here.

I’m still working on Part 4 but you can take a look at the first 3 if you wish. 🙂

A “clean” book can deal with mature topics but I suppose it depends on how they are portrayed and how much they dwell on the “details” as opposed to the consequences.

We learn something new each day I guess. 🙂

While this whole situation is very interesting, I do feel bad for the Hong Kong people because I don’t think democracy and/or independence is feasible for them. They don’t even have their own army and it is not as though they have a foreign power willing to back them up a la…[Read more]

Hello again. I was away for a few months as well so I’m afraid I do not have much to update but it’s good to see you back. 🙂

Wow from January? 😮

I like your explanation for Taiwan’s situation. 😛

Yes, I’m from Singapore, though I was in Hong Kong until recently (managed to make it out before the airport sit-ins). 😀 I must say, the Hong Kong people truly know how to protest. I am very impressed by what they are doing.

Personally, I think there is a link between…[Read more]

The situation in Hong Kong is very complex so you may wish to read some news articles and do your own research on the matter but I will try to explain what I know as best as I can.

First, a little background… The Hong Kong island is technically a part of China. While China’s Communist…[Read more]

The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.

– William Faulkner

Hey guys. Has anyone been following the Hong Kong protests?

Whether one is for or against the protestors aside, having a group of rebels/revolutionaries rising up against the authorities is a common trope in fiction and I think the events in Hong Kong are making a great case…[Read more]

Austen, Doyle and Dickens 🙂

Generally, I think stories should begin close to the “moment of change” so there is some time showing the “ordinary world” before your main character goes into the adventure of the plot. Backstory can be sprinkled in bits and pieces throughout the story. There’s nothing set in stone, of course, but rule of thumb for me is that if…[Read more]

This is a late welcome but hello 😀 Sounds like you are working on quite a few different projects. And those are some very interesting time periods! I’ve looked into the Elizabethan Era a little too, though that was mostly because it was adjacent to what I was researching on. The American Civil War was indeed a very intriguingly tragic…[Read more]

Sounds like you’ve got quite an interesting setup. I am not sure if this is completely applicable but I live in a multiracial society where people tend to conduct themselves professionally in a Western secular manner but may adhere to cultural and religious traditions at home. Here are my thoughts:

#1: Distinguishing…[Read more]

I haven’t read DoJ in a while but I think I get the idea. Two other options come to mind:

(1) If you do not wish to give Kashti a more personal connection or investment with the traitor… well that just means he’s the historical equivalent of the keyboard warrior ranting and hating on Public Enemy No. 1 even though it has no real l…[Read more]

I will need a better idea of the context. How important and impactful is the betrayal? What is the traitor’s reason for betraying them. Is it for purely selfish motives or does he think he is doing the right thing by changing sides? Do all the characters have an equal stake in the outcome or does your angry character have more…[Read more]

Ugh no I’ve never heard of them. That’s horrible.

Praying! My own country historically has had very liberal abortion laws (due to outdated and currently irrelevant population control reasons) that I wouldn’t wish in another place. The most frightening thing is that (according to what I have heard) the majority of the abortions here are done by married couples.

@ericawordsmith…[Read more]

I love such characters, usually when written and contrasted well with another equally compelling positive change arc. 😀

I believe you what you are asking about is a “corruption” arc where the character starts in a world that already believes the Truth, has the chance to embrace it, but is tempted away. That means there is something…[Read more]

I don’t possess the necessary qualifications and I won’t be able to meet the deadline regardless. But can I still read the new draft? I am dying to know how it turns out. 😣

Welcome to this thread on all things historical.

Just know that somewhere out there, there is someone whose job is to scoop up and collect nightingale poop. 😛

Nightingale droppings were and still are being used as face cream in Japan.

I think I’ll need more context regarding your story to form an opinion. So far it seems like there are lots of things going on. There’s the exploration on indentured servitude, the plotline regarding the girl getting the land, the guy’s conversion story etc. It sounds like it’ll take more than 10 pages to do everything justice. Or…[Read more]

When Steve said that to Bucky, you knew what was coming, I knew what was coming, Bucky knew what was coming but the others clearly did not know what was coming. They were expecting Steve to return five seconds later. It came across as though Steve did not care about them.

In-universe, it made no sense for him to not tell everyone and say…[Read more]

I am very confused by the plot holes and paradoxes involving the whole time travel but I suppose that just comes with the…[Read more]

Sure. Thanks for your comments so far. Things are busy now but I’ll take a look at them and get back to you as soon as I am able. 🙂

Sure. Glad you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave comments if any and let me know what you think 😀

Glad to see that you’re back! I really missed the discussions on this thread. 🙂

Hoo boy. Since I am definitely not a purist regarding historical fiction, I do not mind most ‘small’ inaccuracies (e.g. whether this type of fabric would have been available in this place at this time). What I am more interested in is how the people of…[Read more]

Is it just me or is the KP site up again? 😀

Sorry for causing the misunderstanding. I could have made myself clearer. Since my stories are so deliberately historically inaccurate, I had to ask for permission to be here. 😛

I searched out the book. It sounds interesting! 😀

… I am writing fantasy. Historical fantasy, that is. I have never claimed to be an honourable historical fictioner 😛 In my stories I have never used the names of the real societies or even referenced the real names of the religions or philosophies practised during those times. I do get your point though. I have started and t…[Read more]

I don’t think there needs to explicitly be a God figure in every story. My goal in my writing is more of to write stories that challenge the many common assumptions people have about life in this world (i.e. that money/romance/science/whatever idol they have will make them happy or solve their problems) to encourage non-believers to think…[Read more]

Haha I actually love writing female characters! I think it’s because I like stories that are differently-heroic and female characters offer lots of variety to show strength in different ways.

I agree with @the-fledgling-artist in that so far, your character sounds obnoxious. In general, when I try to create characters that I h…[Read more]

I care for neither historical accuracy nor modern sensibilities. The settings of my stories are versions of history that are as horrible, fantastical or sanitised as I need them to be. They exist only to provide a place for my characters to live and for the plot to happen. Story is king. 😛

OK, basically, from what you have read of…[Read more]

Yes, I love it when love triangle are used as a vehicle to present a moral choice than merely having it be about ‘feelings’ and superficial attraction. 😀 Though I am surprised since I thought you didn’t like Austen. 😛

For the A likes B but B likes C sort… I would usually only like it if B’s feelings are reciprocated and B and C…[Read more]

I love romance! And love triangles. Provided that all the parties involved behave like sensible adults.

I agree that there has to be more at stake in the story than whether the couple gets together or not.

@seekjustice

What do you mean by “a certain kind of love triangle”?

Historical fantasy: Of course I would read this, since QOD is a historical fantasy (or at least a misappropriation of Korean history. I justify this by saying that modern Korea’s obsession with celebrities, appearance and plastic surgery makes their society a perfect vehicle for my story themes) 😛

Steampunk: My view is that this is…[Read more]

Sounds great 😀

Haha ok. I don’t know how much I will be able to help since it doesn’t sound like the kind of things I usually read but I can give it a shot. 🙂

I’m confused. A historical? After 9/11?