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MorlockP's profile
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
@MorlockP

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ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs

@MorlockP

Two-time Prometheus award-winning hard science fiction author. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6  Learn how to homestead https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093BC3K1T 

Aristillus Crater, Luna
amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6
Joined June 2012

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    1. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      43/ Story telling is a TECHNOLOGY. Stories are CRAFTED. τέχνη is real. We humans have 4,000+ plus years of experimenting, learning, perfecting story telling techniques.

      1 reply 0 retweets 12 likes
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    2. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

      44/ and attitudes like this get it exactly wrong --->https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253010811133534209 …

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

      RobH @RobHaines905
      Replying to @MorlockP
      You care about a standard you have set. So you dont need to read his writing. That's fine. Yet he has found a niche down here among the unenlightened masses so good for him I say. I have nice day and keep finding enjoyment in looking down on people striving to succeed.
      1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
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    3. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      45/ This are not about standards that ** I ** have set. This is about standards that are inherent in humanity, and which we have laboriously researched and started to understand after literally millenia of trial and error, experimentation and research. Humans LIKE plot.

      2 replies 0 retweets 14 likes
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    4. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      46/ Humans LIKE fractal, self-similar design, where details at level N reflect details at level N+1. Humans LIKE Chekhov guns. Humans LIKE twists that they can almost, almost not, see coming. Humans LIKE rising tension. Writing may not be a science, but it also isn't >

      1 reply 0 retweets 12 likes
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    5. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      47/ a free-for-all anything-I-do-is-equally valid as anything-you-do. There is a large body of research, explanation, and instruction. Dedication to a craft, and success at it requires: * an appreciation of the standards * apprenticeship and study to learn the techniques

      1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
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    6. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted That Dubious Cat™

      48/ this is geniushttps://twitter.com/ThatDubiousCat/status/1253016269659439109 …

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

      That Dubious Cat™ @ThatDubiousCat
      Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
      Bad pulp reads like it was written by an author selling by the word. Good pulp reads like it was written for an editor paying by the word.
      3 replies 2 retweets 16 likes
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    7. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      49/ So, folks who like pulp: * that's great! * I like it too * some aspects of writing technique are objective * pulp doesn't mean "bad writing is goodf" * learn to write better * don't read terrible how-to books by a terrible author * read good how-to books by good authors

      2 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
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    8. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

      50/ Well, first of all, not many people are buying what he writes. He brags a lot about how much he sells, but check out the Amazon sales rank on his books. >>>https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253017371494752259 …

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

      RobH @RobHaines905
      Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
      Well if said author is turning a profit apparently some people have a diffrent take then you. What I find funny is that you could be objectively correct and it doesnt matter if the market consumes his work.
      2 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
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    9. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      51/ The book I quoted from earlier has an Amazon sales rank of #183,573 here's a rough guide to estimating sales from sales rank rank ebook sales per day 1 10,553 10 4,028 100 1,074 1,000 200 10,000 26 100,000 2 note that left column is log - each is 10x

      1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
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    10. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      52/ These numbers aren't precise, and are gathered from a few sources, but they mostly check out looking at my own sales and those of fellow author friends. E.g. my first novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6  has a sales rank of #12,769 which predicts around 20 sales/day >>>

      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
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      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      53/ and I sold 30 copies 2 days ago (a very big, outlier day) and 20 copies yesterday so ... reasonably tight fit

      10:52 AM - 22 Apr 2020
      • 2 Likes
      • Alexander Schneer Àdhamh Cynebeald
      1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          54/ B.A. has a sales rank of #183,573 on the quoted book, which works out to ... about 0.9 sales per day. The ebook sells for 99 cents. He gets a 30 cent royalty on that. So he's selling ~25 copies per month and making $9/month of of it.

          1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
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        3. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          55/ so if you're saying "but clearly the market wants this", my response is * no, not really

          1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
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        4. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          56/ I quote tweet so that I can make a coherent thread that is easy for my followers to read and understand. I AM speaking to a room, NOT to an individual.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253018829304860677 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          1, why do you quote tweet like you are shouting over someone to speak to a room instead of an individual. 2, I sayed profitable, meaning he is making enough off it to keep doing it even if it is supplemental income.
          2 replies 0 retweets 16 likes
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        5. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          57/ Dude, people do all sorts of things that pay nothing, or close to it, for all sorts of reasons. If B.A. wants to write terrible books that almost no one reads, and earn $9/month from it, yes, obviously there is no law of physics that prevents that.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253018829304860677 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          1, why do you quote tweet like you are shouting over someone to speak to a room instead of an individual. 2, I sayed profitable, meaning he is making enough off it to keep doing it even if it is supplemental income.
          2 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
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        6. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          58/ On Writing by Stephen King Story by Robert McKee Creating Character Arcs by Weiland There are a dozen others but titles escape me ; maybe later I can take a picture of my shelf. https://twitter.com/CDan1333/status/1253018320464482304 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          This Tweet is unavailable.
          2 replies 1 retweet 18 likes
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        7. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          59/ http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html  https://twitter.com/RedeemedCat/status/1253017887616331777 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          This Tweet is unavailable.
          1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
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        8. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          60/ as I've explained three times already (This is now #4) I'm not bashing him, I'm bashing bad art & bad technique. Why? Because Quality is an objective thing, and it is obedience to God to produce good art, and a sin to produce trash and call it good.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253024897657380869 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP
          Ok so why bash him? That's what I dont understand. Maybe it's me but save that stuff for things that can get people hurt like being a bad mechanic, doctor or even teaching a fake martial art. Those have real world repercussions, bad writing doesn't.
          2 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
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        9. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          61/ well said! https://twitter.com/CDan1333/status/1253024763875917830 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          This Tweet is unavailable.
          2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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        10. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Camping Roomba

          62/ Exactly! One of the many failures of B.A. is that he tries to do action, but doesn't. Hero "repels attacks". Could be describing lawyers in a corporate merger, a space frigate with force fields, or a clash of steel sword against wooden shield.https://twitter.com/ctdonath/status/1253026353210941440 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Camping Roomba @ctdonath
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          Striking: so much verbiage describing static qualities (size, appearance), so little addressing events. “repelled every attack” - that’s it for several minutes of engaging interaction, with exposition of how variety of clever & strong attacks would be deflected. But no, 3 words. pic.twitter.com/bTrtZ8OCrF
          2 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
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        11. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          63/ Contrast BA's terrible impossible-to-picture-because-nothing-is-described writing to that of Charles R Tannerpic.twitter.com/wLHpnREI04

          2 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
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        12. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books

          64/ nicehttps://twitter.com/JASutherlandBks/status/1253028146456248320 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books @JASutherlandBks
          Replying to @MorlockP
          For the record, I had Saoirse throw me into a wall this morning to make sure I got the written steps of repelling a particular attack right. Art requires sacrifice.
          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
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        13. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          65/ how does BA write action? we know what color the dirt is (though that doesn't matter), we know that the torches "gasp" (tho it doesn't matter), we know that the pit reeked (tho it doesn't matter), we know that the hero's footwork "stirred the bones" (tho it doesn't matter)

          1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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        14. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          66/ and when we come to the ACTION - the ACTION which pulprev loudly and proudly asserts is the core of all fiction, what do we find? "the opponents ... clashed" "the demon's attacks ... dwindled" "the knight...counterattacked" thousands of words on lighting, dirt, smell >

          2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
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        15. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          67/ and zero words describing the ACTUAL ACTION this is like porn that spends 50 pages talking about the candles, the shape of the sofa, how it was that the lusty widow happened to be home alone...and then says "he banged her"

          1 reply 0 retweets 13 likes
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        16. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          68/ now, let's look at Tanner: Yakran rushes Tumithak ...a terrific blow, dodged under Tumithak on one knee...another sweep of the enemy's sword .. fall back a step...lunging rushes around the table, close to the pit, now far away a plan! ... forced to the pit a lunge!

          1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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        17. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          69/ This is PURE ACTION. No skulls underfoot being "stirred", no "feathery demons", no "like an iguana head, covered in chitin". It's a STORY, not an excitable 6 year old recounting a scene from a movie.

          2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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        18. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Sunglass 2020 Night Mode Edition  🌑

          70/ there's an old saw that bad writing is * X happened * then Y happened * then Z happened but good writing is * X happened * therefore Y happened * therefore Z happenedhttps://twitter.com/SunglassPri/status/1253030415037878275 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Sunglass 2020 Night Mode Edition  🌑 @SunglassPri
          Replying to @MorlockP
          to play devil’s advocate, simply describing a series of actions in chronological order is pretty awful to read too. What’s your suggestion for hitting a happy medium?
          3 replies 0 retweets 16 likes
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        19. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Sir Gawain of Camelot

          71/ BA has enthusiasm that, were he willing to listen to advice, might let him become a good writer with several years of practice An editor, tho, is not sufficient. It is not merely a matter of removing the bad - he must also be taught to write.https://twitter.com/sirgawain2100/status/1253030722446651392 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Sir Gawain of Camelot @sirgawain2100
          Replying to @notPotus42 @MorlockP
          He needs a seasoned editor. I had to skim alot of it, since there were too many unnecessary adjectives and descriptions. It was difficult to read....
          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
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        20. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books

          72/ side thread from accomplished and actually really good author @JASutherlandBks ; will certainly contain lots of good info!https://twitter.com/JASutherlandBks/status/1253030894752989184 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books @JASutherlandBks
          Okay, I'm going to rif on Morlock's thread - um, more concisely than 66 tweets, I promise. I think it's a POV focus and scene structure issue, for the most part. The lighting, dirt, smell -- these are scene setters, not action things. In a fight, your focus changes from 1/ https://twitter.com/MorlockP/status/1253029585429594114 …
          Show this thread
          1 reply 1 retweet 6 likes
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        21. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Sir Gawain of Camelot

          73/ 1) read many books on writing 2) read many novels, both inside your genre and out 3) cultivate high standards 4) learn to cringe hard at the garbage you generate ; feel burning shame and vow to understand what caused it and not repeat those mistakeshttps://twitter.com/sirgawain2100/status/1253031303664058368 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Sir Gawain of Camelot @sirgawain2100
          Replying to @MorlockP
          Do you have any recommendations on how to improve writing? something that worked well for you to improve stories and dialogue? Does the advice to read as much as you can as a writer help in writing books?
          2 replies 0 retweets 12 likes
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        22. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted May He Be Found Humble And True

          74/ lol that's not exactly how I'd phrase it, but you're not wronghttps://twitter.com/SojoXX/status/1253031322114637824 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          May He Be Found Humble And True @SojoXX
          Replying to @MorlockP
          So what you're saying is that the original subject of criticism is shakey cam compared to a Jackie Chan fight.
          1 reply 0 retweets 11 likes
          Show this thread
        23. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          75/ maybe at some point I'll rewrite that first page from BA there are a lot of different sins: - vidya stats in corner - vidya emphasis on weapon choice - misplaced emphasis on polygons and lighting, not action but even stuff as simple as word choice is terrible >>

          1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
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        24. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          76/ Words must be correct, and also precise. Technically, and emotionally. The fight is in a "pit" - an indentation or hole. And yet it has a ceiling. So - a cave, not a pit. The demon is feathery (light? soft?) yet covered in chitin (a hard shell).

          1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
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        25. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          77/ The demon's attacks "dwindle" ( "slow" is a far better word here). The demon "heaved for breath". Heave means "lift" or "rise". The demon's shoulders may heave, or the demon may struggles FOR breath, but it does not "heave for breath".

          2 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
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        26. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          78/ The knight steps back and the power armor "gave the backstep a reach of fifteen feet". "Reach" is all wrong here. The backstep is achieved, not attempted or measured. A .50 caliber bullet "ripped through the air". I've shot a .50. It was concussive. It was loud. But ...

          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
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        27. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          79/ it didn't "ripe through the air". Bullets are, from a human PoV, instanteous. Ripping has a time element. Clothes rip. Sails rip. A roof might rip as Godzilla tears through it. A collapsing crane could rip through an office. But bullets do not "rip" air.

          1 reply 0 retweets 5 likes
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        28. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          80/ "The heaving combatants stirred the bones at their feet". "Stirred" implies intention, but not much of it. I stir tea. I stir pasta. Bones, though? The writing implies attention - that the hero is taking care that the bones are well distributed in his chai.

          1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
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        29. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          81/ The hero TRIPS over the bones. The skulls are SCATTERED. Shards of bone SPLINTER, unseen, under the hero's boots. A dust of crushed bone RISES from where the demon is thrown back into them You can call READER'S attention to the bones while not implying the HERO's focus

          2 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
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        30. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          82/ "with an earth shaking roar, the gleaming demon charged" first, we can shake the earth once or twice, but let's save it for when the bulk of the demon crashes down into the earth, not when the demon makes noise second, "gleaming" ?

          2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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        31. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          83/ we've established that we're in a pit (with a roof), so there's no sunlight All the light comes from two "gasping" torches. And the light from just those two torches is doing a lot of work >>>

          1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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