qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
44,339 | I have been intending to create a book for toddlers with basic scientific notions in it. Most books for this target readership that I have seen present whatever content in the form of a story, quite often with fictional characters. I was intending instead to go for the dry science, and write it down as easy-to-remember... | [
{
"answer_id": 44344,
"author": "Monica Cellio",
"author_id": 1993,
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"text": "It's been decades since I was a kid watching cartoons on TV, and I can still sing some of the *Schoolhouse Rock*... | 2019/04/03 | [
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44,341 | I have two female characters, one who is lesbian, and the other bisexual. However, I am male. So not only am I to write the opposite gender, which I actually feel more comfortable doing, for some odd reason, but also a homosexual relationship, which I attempted once. So, how do I write it to prevent flak? | [
{
"answer_id": 44342,
"author": "user49466",
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"text": "You might be overthinking it.\n\nWhat I mean by that is not to avoid or whitewash the differences implied by gende... | 2019/04/03 | [
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44,358 | In my plot, there are these 2 characters who were originally close to each other. However, they had an argument and broke up. In the end of the book, though, they get back together again. What I need help is for smooth transitions in their relationship. Every time I try to write it out, the flow of the story gets broke... | [
{
"answer_id": 44361,
"author": "GGx",
"author_id": 28942,
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"text": "I suggest breaking the story into **smaller scenes which you approach individually** one at a time. Make each scene a c... | 2019/04/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44358",
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44,360 | I am translating a religious book from language A to language B and have hired a student worker to help me. He is a native speaker of language A but does not speak language B at all. What I ask him to do is, whenever a Bible verse (for example, Mark 16:16) is mentioned in the book, he will find the corresponding name o... | [
{
"answer_id": 44367,
"author": "Cyn",
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"text": "Your student worker sounds like a valuable assistant. But he is not a translator.\n\nEven if he were doing actual trans... | 2019/04/04 | [
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44,368 | In a lot of books, at the beginning, the authors include quotes from poetry or songs that are relevant to the theme of their story or to their characters' situations. Obviously I would have to ask for permission to use these works, but do I have to pay the authors or writers if I publish? (For clarification, I am askin... | [
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"author": "Cyn",
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"text": "**You sign a contract with the copyright owner.\nThe contract specifies the arrangement.** \n\n* Permission to use the q... | 2019/04/04 | [
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44,376 | In my case, my character is literally a spectator. They're at a sporting event. There will be a *major* event which ramps up their plotline that occurs at this event, but I'm finding the event itself (while a part of the normal life) is a set piece right now. My POV's interest and those around her is entirely on the sp... | [
{
"answer_id": 44379,
"author": "Community",
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"text": "\"Maybe the answer is to go back and seed that these games, when they happen, are important?\" This sounds like your st... | 2019/04/04 | [
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44,378 | I have found a company called Writer’s Relief. Their service is to write compelling submission and query letters to genre appropriate agents and publishers.
They ask for a synopsis, fifteen pages of manuscript and, assuming it is a work they can get behind, they find and query twenty five agents. This service costs ab... | [
{
"answer_id": 44381,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Trying it yourself is free. Don't send out fifty queries!\n\nTypically, the advice from agents is to find the agent... | 2019/04/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44378",
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44,383 | I have two versions of a pivotal scene in my novel (both already written).
My SP is a rather impulsive young woman who is learning to be a bit less of a hothead. She saves the MC by literally taking a bullet for him.
In version A, she intuits the situation and, suppressing all fear, reacts almost instinctively. It is... | [
{
"answer_id": 44387,
"author": "KaiGuyMBK",
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"text": "It would depend, I think, on what you were trying to accomplish with the scene. Is the main purpose of the scene ... | 2019/04/05 | [
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44,391 | This is more for my own curiosity than anything else but I was wondering if when reading about a character with no specified gender and no description of their looks, does the choice of words used to describe their personality affect what your mental image of who you think they are?
I ask because I have been working o... | [
{
"answer_id": 44392,
"author": "motosubatsu",
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"text": "> \n> This is more for my own curiosity than anything else but I was wondering if when reading about a characte... | 2019/04/05 | [
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44,403 | In the UK, the [Guardian style guide](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-t) and the [BBC style guide](https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133591) say to report temperatures as "25C" or "90F", with no degree symbol.
The NYT style guide says to "Avoid the degree symbol and the ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44409,
"author": "TheLuckless",
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"text": "There are two parts that impact issues like this.\n\n1. The style guides you link are in use for documents that ... | 2019/04/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44403",
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44,412 | So, in a story, I have a girl who has been ritually abused and raped by her father for being born, as he wanted sons to continue his bloodline. Thing is, this sort of thing has never happened to me. Feeling worthless every day? Yes. Trying and failing to measure to impossible expectations? I can do that. But the emotio... | [
{
"answer_id": 44415,
"author": "Bento",
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "I suggest you research what victims go through. I'm sure there are online support fora where people talk about their exp... | 2019/04/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44412",
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44,413 | Is Sentence A an acceptable and clear way of shortening Sentence B?
* Sentence A:
>
> A firm outperforms (underperforms) the industry when expression (1) results in a positive (negative) value.
>
>
>
* Sentence B:
>
> A firm outperforms the industry when expression (1) results in a positive value, and underperf... | [
{
"answer_id": 44414,
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"text": "It is acceptable, this kind of thing is done often in academic papers (to save space, there is often a page-limit in... | 2019/04/05 | [
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44,418 | Be it Mowgli and balu singing *Bare Necessities* or Enviqea singing *Somebody's Me*, each song (or poem) has their way of being sung. Were such songs written after selection of musical note, tone, and form?
What is the order? First music is created or song is written or vice versa? What if I want to write a song but ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44428,
"author": "Cyn",
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"text": "There are multiple ways to write a song.\n\nSometimes a composer will pick up already written lyrics.\n\nSometimes a ly... | 2019/04/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44418",
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44,419 | I've read somewhere that there is this writing rule stating that, for some superpower, it would be less believable if two completely different settings are present in order to obtain the same superpower. In the article, I remember it mentioned in the movie Spiderman (which I've not watched), the protagonist and another... | [
{
"answer_id": 44421,
"author": "RoboticArchangel",
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"selected": false,
"text": "First, welcome to StackExchange!\n\nNow onto your question: there aren't any enforced rules when it comes ... | 2019/04/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44419",
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44,425 | I am playing around with cover art ideas and have some that are quite interesting. I have added a brief tag line, not quite a subtitle, to the cover to indicate the genre. Frankly, the artistic photo of the guns that I am thinking of using should clue people in to the fact this is not a kid’s book and they ought to exp... | [
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"answer_id": 44429,
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"text": "I don't think the tag conveys the fact that there is violence, as Cyn's comment says, it sounds \"old fashioned\". ... | 2019/04/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44425",
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44,432 | In [How to write strong female characters](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/3539/how-do-you-develop-a-strong-female-character), Standback says that the best way to write a strong female character is to make her uniquely female, the type of character that can not possibly be male and isn't a stereotype.
Late... | [
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"text": "To me, uniqueness is not found in any one trait, but in the combinations of traits. You avoid writing a stereotype ... | 2019/04/06 | [
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44,450 | Increasingly often, if you Google for a recipe your search results will be full of long, image-rich blog posts that, somewhere in there, have the actual recipe you were looking for. Many of these have a "printer-friendly version" link to make that easier; I can get the stuff I need in my kitchen on paper easily, but th... | [
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"text": "You use `@media` rules in your CSS style sheets to define which html tags you want to print and which are only visible ... | 2019/04/07 | [
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44,456 | I am writing a science fiction story (actually a screenplay for a film, but I imagine that for the purposes of this question the same rules apply) and I have been told that it isn't really science fiction. It's a series of vignettes with an overarching plot about the snowball effect, and is *designed* to not really hav... | [
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"text": "It isn't science fiction, it is just Contemporary fiction, aka Realistic fiction.\n\nA Science Fiction story must re... | 2019/04/07 | [
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44,462 | Recently while doing some world-building for a role-playing game with a friend we were seriously struggling with naming character consistently.
By consistently I mean make the names feel as though the belonged to the same culture or race. We had a particular theme or structure in mind but struggled to create names tha... | [
{
"answer_id": 44464,
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"text": "**Use the same process online name-generators use**\n\nI'm not sure of the protocol for providing answers that ... | 2019/04/08 | [
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44,485 | My intention is to write a novel that falls into the "contemporary fiction" genre. Also, maybe, the *"family drama"* subgenre, if such a thing exists. I have a plot point that puts one of my characters in legal trouble, in turn, this affects the protagonist and requires a large portion of her attention. She does not ne... | [
{
"answer_id": 44486,
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"text": "The information you are gathering can simply be used to color how you write the scene where she hires a lawyer fo... | 2019/04/08 | [
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44,487 | I'm writing a scene in which four characters play a high-stakes poker game. So far my narrator has been an omniscient third person, who just does not wish to enter into the characters' heads.
I started going around the table. I have the fingers fumbling with the corners of the cards, the tapping of cigars on the greas... | [
{
"answer_id": 44490,
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"text": "You don't need to show the characters thoughts to know what they are thinking. Well written body language shou... | 2019/04/08 | [
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44,497 | I live in the publishing hinterlands. I was reading some query letters that worked and one thing they had in common was mention of attendance at a conference.
What benefits could a membership give one that would be worth the price of admission?
Do they also have agents and editors checking their membership list for l... | [
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"author": "Community",
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"text": "The major benefit is *information*.\n\nProfessional guilds inform their members about trends and changes in their indus... | 2019/04/09 | [
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44,499 | **Writing.**
------------
There comes a time in my daily routine. I get a striking idea. A topic to write in my blog. A pondering about a specific event that happened hours ago. As a working professional (not as a writer) I didn't get time to reflect on these thoughts on a daily basis. I do keep a journal of such even... | [
{
"answer_id": 44505,
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"text": "What keeps me motivated is I like writing for its own sake, it is my hobby, it can make me laugh, it makes me feel ... | 2019/04/09 | [
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44,502 | Most authors use dialogue in writing, especially when writing fiction. Now, if I remember my first grade primary school correctly, dialogue can be directly separated from narration in a number of ways.
Either quotation marks,
>
> "Murder," she said.
>
>
>
dashes,
>
> -Murder,- she said.
>
>
>
or angle brac... | [
{
"answer_id": 44506,
"author": "S. Mitchell",
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"text": "I haven't heard of or seen dashes or brackets being used to indicate dialogue. Primary teachers make up a lot o... | 2019/04/09 | [
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44,528 | When we speak sometimes we draw out certain sounds for emphasis. We also see this technique in song, for both emphasis as well as expanding the meter to make the words fit a certain rhythm.
One way I have seen done, and I don't want to use, is simply a repetition of the vowel in question. Like so:
>
> This example ... | [
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"text": "I don't believe there is any punctuation to accomplish what you want. I have seen it done as you have done it, but I... | 2019/04/09 | [
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44,529 | In 3rd person limited, when the protagonist is present in a scene, can the narrator describe something in a scene that the protagonist cannot see? | [
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"text": "No. In third person limited the narrator can only see what the POV sees. There may be things outside his line o... | 2019/04/10 | [
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44,530 | I was recently updating some of my Stack Exchange profiles and I remembered how much I hate writing about myself. It isn't just Stack Exchange profiles either. It's resume cover letters. It's college application personal statements. It's blog and book jacket blurbs. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to come up wi... | [
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"text": "I personally struggle a lot with writing about myself and worrying about coming off as arrogant as well. But, I d... | 2019/04/10 | [
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44,547 | I love accessibility, so any show that is 100% scripted, my script = the transcript, and I'm happy to share it.
For podcasts with a cohost, there's no easy transcription software, and fiverr is actually a bit more than $5 for a 40+ minute show.
Some podcasts I know have had their listeners collaborate to transcribe,... | [
{
"answer_id": 44560,
"author": "April Salutes Monica C.",
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"text": "It appears I'm hearing votes for **Fiverr** (or Amazon Mechanical Turk) - basically paying humans,... | 2019/04/10 | [
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44,549 | How can I smooth the transitions in this text? I feel like the POVs are changed quite a lot which makes it fairly confusing for readers to understand.
To elucidate your points, please feel free to criticize the attached piece. I'm looking to learn some strategies that I can employ to refine an amateur's writing.
If... | [
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"text": "The main thing to remember about critiquing somebody's writing is to not critique the person. What the piece is **a... | 2019/04/10 | [
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44,552 | Faith is defined as a belief in God based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Religion and science can be seen to oppose one another due to conflicts between people of those practices. In my world, I have a technocracy that has joined those opposing forces. Rather than religion competing with science, religion... | [
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"author": "Rasdashan",
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"text": "You might want to read some Greek myths. Their pantheon represented deities, great and small, and each brook had ... | 2019/04/10 | [
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44,563 | I'm trying to show that the narration (third person limited) is being interrupted by the character's thought process, and I'm not sure what punctuation is best for this situation.
So far, I've tried two approaches: dashes and parentheses. I'm not a huge fan of either. **Is there a better way? Alternatively, is there a... | [
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"text": "I use a double-dash, and specifically a double-dash (not an em dash), on both sides of the interruption.\n\n> \n> T... | 2019/04/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44563",
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44,569 | As somewhat of a follow-up to my previous question: [How to create a consistent feel for character names in a fantasy setting?](https://writing.stackexchange.com/q/44462/33442)
Once I have named the characters in a given setting, how do I create place names for towns, roads, rivers, mountains, countries, etc...? I wan... | [
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"answer_id": 44570,
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"selected": false,
"text": "It depends on different aspects of the culture. What type of society are the people living in? What's their gover... | 2019/04/12 | [
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44,574 | This is inspired by a few things that have been breaking my immersion when reading *[Worm](https://parahumans.wordpress.com)*.
The main protagonist is a teen, and most chapters are first-person POV, so grammatical casualness fits. I don't expect her to use subjunctive, and her use of "anyways" was (I thought) a great ... | [
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"text": "Some thoughts, in no particular order:\n\n**1. Educated people may speak in a more casual way than their education... | 2019/04/12 | [
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44,578 | I generally use PowerPoint for outlining my scenes (prose, not script). I put a general description of what the scene is on the slide, and then give more details in the notes section. I like that I can see all the scenes and the flow of the story in the slide sorter view. I can then easily move scenes around to better ... | [
{
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"text": "At the least, just the ones I know about are Scrivener and Organon. More generally, these are called \"plot mana... | 2019/04/12 | [
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44,587 | I'm currently writing a report where I have a table stating certain parameter values and their errors. Obviously I want the report to look nice, but since the errors of certain parameters vary by **orders of magnitude**, I'm not sure how to write it.
To provide more context: this is a computational physics report, and... | [
{
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"text": "You really should look at the style guide relevant to your field.\n\nThe APA Manual, for example, has an extensive secti... | 2019/04/13 | [
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44,589 | Many recommend the Hemingway app, which pushes simplicity and the lowest possible reading level. Where I live, an illiterate person is defined as any person who reads below a grade nine level. The Hemingway app would have us writing for the semi-literate. It encourages such by designating a grade 6 reading level as goo... | [
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"text": "**Precision is not the opposite of simplicity or clarity.**\n\nAs you mentioned, Hemmingway is known for his amazin... | 2019/04/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44589",
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44,596 | A friend and I are writing a story based on our characters. We brainstormed some ideas and now we know what the basic idea of our story is going to be. But I'm having a little trouble with the prologue, I was going to make it the backstory of the main character so that if someone reads it they'll understand what's goin... | [
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"text": "It can, but there are other ways you might want to handle it. The risk of making a prologue a backstory is you mi... | 2019/04/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44596",
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44,609 | In the point-of-view culture in my story, all of the women in priestly families have two-syllable names beginning with vowels. (There are reasons for this, but they're completely unrelated to my question.) I've gotten feedback from a beta reader that the character names look/sound too similar, even with my attempts to ... | [
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"text": "You wish to maintain the brevity of the names, so I would suggest inserting silent consonants at the end of some,... | 2019/04/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44609",
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44,621 | I ask as somebody who loves Writing Excuses (<https://writingexcuses.com>), and relies on the podcast heavily as an educational resource. My writing ambitions are well aligned with their stated scope -- "mainstream commercial creative writing" and, mostly, fantasy and science fiction as genres. I also have a fundamenta... | [
{
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"author": "icanfathom",
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "I'm a fellow Writing Excuses lover. I discovered their podcast somewhere during Season 11 and then decided to bac... | 2019/04/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44621",
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44,625 | Recently, I've begun on my journey to create the skeleton of a book I plan on writing; The 888. Anime has been a large inspiration in the way I consider composing my characters along with their backstories. This gave me the idea that I would like to create a group similar to anime's "akatsuki" AKA a group of scary bad ... | [
{
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"selected": true,
"text": "Make each character three dimensional and interesting - essentially real. The interesting villain is the one who i... | 2019/04/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44625",
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44,635 | I know that it breaks the general format of essays and that you should generally not include diagrams in essays. I just find it hard to keep clarity for parts that can be misunderstood, if interpreted differently. In the context of my essay, is it ok to use diagrams?
The essay is an analysis of the factors that contri... | [
{
"answer_id": 44637,
"author": "Liquid",
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"selected": false,
"text": "I think that in this case you may want to keep both ways open. \n\nDiagrams are usually allright in academic and tec... | 2019/04/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44635",
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44,638 | In the modern world, english is a well-estabilished technical and scientific language. Some terms have become so commonly used that they are accepted in my native tongue (words like "computer", "PC", "network" being examples).
I'm currently writing a science fiction novel in my native language. I deal a lot with them... | [
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"text": "Seems totally fine to me. However, what really matters is your actual audience. This sounds like a case where... | 2019/04/16 | [
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44,640 | I'm **planning** for my next podcast to do an episode-by-episode tv show analysis. (Actually two are in development, but they'll be about different shows.)
I'll be the main researcher/outline-assembler for these, and I'll have a co-host to bring in their background info.
One show is mega-popular and perennial -- but... | [
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"text": "Seems totally fine to me. However, what really matters is your actual audience. This sounds like a case where... | 2019/04/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44640",
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44,650 | **Question :** In my screenplay, the main character occasionally suffers quick flashes, like visions. I have been unable to assert if I am formatting these correctly. Please also note the single and double line spaces, where I have tagged my 'QUICK FLASH' and 'BACK TO SCENE's as Scene Headings in my software (Amazon St... | [
{
"answer_id": 44771,
"author": "Jon",
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"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "I think you're correct in that there isn't necessarily a right or wrong way to do it, what matters is that someone readi... | 2019/04/16 | [
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44,651 | As I understand it, when considering the Three-Act Structure, the first half of Act One prior to the Inciting Incident is used to show the reader the 'Ordinary World'.
In the story I am working on, I spend that first half of Act One to develop characters, and introduce the setting, showing the reader who the protagoni... | [
{
"answer_id": 44652,
"author": "SFWriter",
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"text": "My advice is to be certain these characters show up again, either as characters **or as something else** --like an... | 2019/04/16 | [
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44,660 | Our documentation set includes some diagrams where text is integral and can't be handled in callouts, like flowcharts and entity relationship diagrams. Our documentation is translated, so these diagrams need to be translated too. But diagram design is informed by the amount of text we need to include -- this box needs ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44671,
"author": "cmm",
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"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would design the charts with generous space allowed for the original language. I would also allow for a section at th... | 2019/04/17 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44660",
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44,661 | I am in the process of the writing a book. It is not my first attempt.
My goals for the book are:
* Naturally, appeal to my target audience and with work and luck, sell well.
* Invoke the same emotions, that I enjoy having while reading a good book, within my readers.
* Invite them into my custom world etc. etc.
So ... | [
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"selected": true,
"text": "**A message and a theme are not the same thing**\n\nA story need not have a coherent message to be successful. Look... | 2019/04/17 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44661",
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44,682 | I watched a presentation called *Your First 10k Readers*. It explains a marketing course that will build an audience for your book prior to release - even prior to completion. It sounds sensible and the idea of offering a small teaser or a such for free to build a mailing list of likely buyers makes sense.
It explain... | [
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"answer_id": 44683,
"author": "raddevus",
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You asked:\n\n> \n> Will I be shooting myself in the foot by doing this? Would it preclude\n> the agent to publis... | 2019/04/19 | [
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44,687 | [Not a native english speaker]
I am currently writing a novel, told from the 3rd-person POV, with several characters being followed in different scenes.
Will the following confuse the readers?
Scene 11: POV-Character Joe, in the scene, the reader can see/hear/smell etc. everything that Joe does. But to his thoughts... | [
{
"answer_id": 44689,
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"text": "**To answer your question directly, possibly yes.** \n\nIf I understand correctly, you have the same scene occurri... | 2019/04/20 | [
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44,691 | At around the 26:50 mark of House of Cards S02E13, Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) signs a document. What make/model is the pen that he used?
Could be insufficient to answer, but here's the image:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jrWuv.jpg) | [
{
"answer_id": 44703,
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"text": "It's a Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 fountain pen\n\nTook me less than a minute on Google to find this...\n<http... | 2019/04/20 | [
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44,692 | I've written poetry since I was nine, and I would say I'm pretty good at it. I also really like music, and I can create simple melodies that I hum to myself. But whenever I try to write a song, my attempts fall flat, and I don't understand why. I'm good at rhyming and metering and I've written poetry before that, with ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44743,
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"text": "For your specific case, I would suggest starting with the thing you're least flexible at.\n\n> \n> I've written po... | 2019/04/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44692",
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44,693 | I have been hired as a Technical Writer at a firm who needed multiple types of writers: A few people were hired to write content for the average website reader interested in our product, such as a Product Manager, and user documentation, such as user guides. However, I was hired to dig down into the code and actually w... | [
{
"answer_id": 44698,
"author": "Community",
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"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "The conventional term is \"programmer writer\" or, sometimes, \"programming writer\". It is generally used to describe ... | 2019/04/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44693",
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44,695 | A person is born with a certain amount of mana, which increases with age and peaks at a certain point. Individuals are born with all the mana they will ever have, but it can be refined with practice and training. This will determine how well it can be controlled and used to perform spells. However, there is a way to ch... | [
{
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"text": "Less is more.\n\nThe reader will imagine enough horrors if you give them broad\nbrushstrokes to work with.\n\nIf ... | 2019/04/20 | [
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44,711 | In the story, these fantasy creatures are everyday animals that most people in the story already know. How can I introduce them in an natural way that instantly makes readers remember their names? The story is in comic book form, so that might open up a few more options. | [
{
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"text": "The easiest way is to have someone say the name while looking at the animal and having a frame in your comic wher... | 2019/04/22 | [
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44,713 | I'm currently on the fourth draft of a novel I'm writing, which features two protagonists. One of them, is, in my mind, black. I say, "in my mind" because at no point in the story do I ever explicitly state her race, although there are some hints if you know where to look. There are several reasons why I haven't reveal... | [
{
"answer_id": 44715,
"author": "Rasdashan",
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"selected": true,
"text": "Welcome to Writing SE - great first question.\n\nThere is nothing wrong with being silent on race. You have a char... | 2019/04/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44713",
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44,718 | I currently have a set of characters in which two of them have had (and still do have) history together, however I do not intend to drop the ball on the reader and write down their backstory because it does not seem to fit the narrative. They're side-characters that aid the true protagonists and due to their relationsh... | [
{
"answer_id": 44721,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "I'd fall back once again on the [Iceberg Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_theory). **Go ahead and ... | 2019/04/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44718",
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44,719 | I have a character who is a Syrian refugee to Canada. His first language is Arabic, but he's lived in Canada long enough that he's learned English and uses this as his primary spoken language. On occasion he'll use Arabic words in his speech, such as when he's not sure what the English translation is, but I'm unsure ho... | [
{
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"text": "As you are mainly writing in English your target audience is probably from English speaking countries without a l... | 2019/04/22 | [
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44,732 | I'm writing a script that shows a speaker interacting with their audience. The speaker finishes speaking and the audience reacts. I wrote it like this.
Loud CHEERS from the audience.
I'm wondering if I have to capitalized the word "cheers" for a sound effect. | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "In a script, yes, capitalize anything the LoseySV artists (makers of common sound effects) would be interested in. ... | 2019/04/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44732",
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44,738 | In my story, a homicide takes place. I want to describe this homicide at the start of the story, through the eyes of the victim, to foreshadow what's about to come. But victim and suspect are both unknown and unrelated to my protagonist. Should I put this homicide in chapter 1? Or is it wise to start chapter 1 with my ... | [
{
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"author": "Han",
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"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Starting with a story or event(s) that directly affect the protagonist would make the reader sympathize for the protago... | 2019/04/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44738",
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44,757 | Situation:
----------
* 5 year comic book series (by my spouse; I do marketing, website, etc)
* 4 issues a year (in theory...it's been slower)
* Issues are available as e-comic only
* Every 4 issues is collected into a book
* Books are available as e-books *and* as trade paperbacks
* Traditional (small) publisher (in ... | [
{
"answer_id": 45005,
"author": "Ville Niemi",
"author_id": 11425,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/11425",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You are over thinking it. Do not optimize based on assumptions. Optimize based on data. The marketing focus sho... | 2019/04/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44757",
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44,760 | I'll admit I haven't read the books, but I've seen in subtitles and other things that knights in Game of Thrones are addressed as "Ser".
It seems to me that fantasy works like this have similarities to medieval Europe and have aristocracies, knights, kings, queens, lords, ladies and so on.
The Kings, Queens and Lor... | [
{
"answer_id": 44761,
"author": "Jimmery",
"author_id": 10949,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "[The answer given on the Movies and TV site could be useful to you](https://movies.stackexchange.com/a/21577/30280).... | 2019/04/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44760",
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44,764 | I want to publish an English language book in the USA as a foreigner. Someone told me that the USA is mainly interested in American subjects, so anything else is quite hard to sell. Besides the fact of what America does towards non-American books written by a foreigner, how can I, out of the buttload of literary agents... | [
{
"answer_id": 44766,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/10479",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I highly recommend <http://agentquery.com>. It's free, searchable by category and oriented towards North Ameri... | 2019/04/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44764",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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44,769 | I'm writing a research paper in one of my math classes about the P vs NP problem. I feel the introduction to my paper sounds like a cliche. This is my intro:
>
> In the field of mathematics, there are problems that present an
> exceptional level of difficulty.
>
>
>
**How do I avoid such cliches in my writing an... | [
{
"answer_id": 44770,
"author": "Cyn",
"author_id": 32946,
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"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "The best way to avoid overly general openers is to write them.\n========================================================... | 2019/04/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44769",
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44,776 | For example, I'm rewriting a sex scene and my current dialogue and subsequent dialogue tag is:
>
> Almost reluctantly, he said, “Okay, I'll pull out now.”
>
>
>
**"Hinted"** is a bit too straightforward, and I was hoping to find a similar word that is a tad more subtle.
I also don't want to keep the modificatio... | [
{
"answer_id": 44780,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
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"text": "I'm not sure what \"hinted\" means.\n\nNevertheless, to get rid of \"he said\" tags and \"-ly\" adverbs, preface th... | 2019/04/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44776",
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44,777 | Can someone take a story that happened to you, without your knowledge, and publish it? Using your name and specifics, and take the copyright for it?
A person, whose mother lived in our small town, heard a story about our father. This person wrote a children's book based on the story, using his name and other specifics... | [
{
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"author": "Cyn",
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"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "No one can copyright an event\n=============================\n\nThe events that happened to your father don't belong to... | 2019/04/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44777",
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44,791 | I'm just curious. I don't know anything about screenwriting and I see scripts online have only one format and they are all plain text. Why don't they use LaTeX or Word? It will look nicer and the screenwriter can add images that sometimes can't be described by words. | [
{
"answer_id": 44794,
"author": "TheLuckless",
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"text": "There are a number of reasons why plain text is still fairly common in a number of industries. \n\n1. Portabili... | 2019/04/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44791",
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44,796 | I wrote a lengthy novel using a program I wrote.
This produces a suitable LaTeX source I can use to generate a nice-looking PDF.
Markup, beside customary division in Part/Chapter/Scene, is used to put emphasis, to handle direct-speech (which I use a lot, sometimes even nested) and to output certain phrases in "strange... | [
{
"answer_id": 45044,
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"text": "My bestie, when converting Ebooks, is Calibre.\n----------------------------------------------\n\nI use it main... | 2019/04/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44796",
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44,801 | The person in question, though this is yet unknown, is not actually a person. Instead, they are some form of eldritch being of which we cannot comprehend. Though, they seem for all appearances and seemingly all mannerisms to appear as human, they are not.
The human eyes, but not mind, are fooled. Something is very off... | [
{
"answer_id": 44802,
"author": "Rasdashan",
"author_id": 32423,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/32423",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Instinct warns your other characters that there is something other about this one. He has never been observed to ... | 2019/04/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44801",
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44,805 | I've written a book.
My question is if it is in bad {taste, karma, policy} to use an analogy that is disrupting to the reader's stream of consciousness. The quote in question is this:
>
> Like a banana at an ice cream party, we decided to split up.
>
>
>
This sentence is funny, yes, but it potentially distracts ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44806,
"author": "Cyn",
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"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/32946",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your question is a bit all over the map but, ultimately, it's about tone.\n\nYour silly example would be fine for a fir... | 2019/04/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44805",
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44,833 | This question may have already been answered, but I'm just making sure.
So, I'm just making a silly book for fun. It's short (compared to other books) but I'd say it's decent. However, let's say I wanted to publish it. Would it be too weird to publish?
The book I've been writing is about a boy who wakes up one day an... | [
{
"answer_id": 44843,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/10479",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are some very odd writers with passionate fans, and sometimes critical acclaim or even fame and fortune.... | 2019/04/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44833",
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44,835 | I seem to be having trouble finding any readers. I have my work in progress on Wattpad right now, but I only have 527 reads.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong with my promotion.
I post my story on *Wattpad* (as stated above). But I also try to send a link to as many people in my contact list as possible, and tell t... | [
{
"answer_id": 44857,
"author": "Standback",
"author_id": 1046,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/1046",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are dozens of different paths and strategies to gaining a readership. Listing all of them would take some ser... | 2019/04/29 | [
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44,836 | Is it possible to contact USA publishers directly? If so, can I find publishers by genre, like I can find literary agents by genre?
Or do publishers have no interest in genre? If so, what's the best way to search for USA publishers online?
If I can find USA publishers online, do they have submission guidelines? If no... | [
{
"answer_id": 44841,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
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"selected": false,
"text": "Yes, you can contact publishers directly. They DO care about genre, but most publishers publish in a wide rang... | 2019/04/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44836",
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44,850 | I've come across podcasts and internet articles about self-publishing in which they basically say that books with fantastic covers and interesting blurbs tend to sell lots of copies even if the actual writing is substandard.
And there is also [this article](https://nicholaserik.com/packaging/) I recently stumbled upon... | [
{
"answer_id": 44860,
"author": "GGx",
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"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/28942",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm not sure it's the ebook buyers who are the silly ones here.\n\nOf course people judge a book by its cover, as they ... | 2019/04/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44850",
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44,852 | When you write in a modern day setting, you research the culture, climate, location and history of that setting. You can do the same for historical fiction or low-fantasy settings based on real places.
When you write for a high-fantasy setting none of this information exists. The history, culture, environment and peop... | [
{
"answer_id": 44855,
"author": "Bella Swan",
"author_id": 36972,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36972",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "When making up a fictional story setting, there is always something that you have seen or read somewhere else th... | 2019/04/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44852",
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44,858 | I am trying to write from multiple points of views with my first fiction book. I need to handle backstory (part of the overall plot) where all those multiple characters were involved in the events of the backstory, however in the same time frame but from different places.
What care should I take when I write such a b... | [
{
"answer_id": 44862,
"author": "SFWriter",
"author_id": 26683,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26683",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "**SIDENOTE**: Most writers seem to agree that writing the backstory for yourself is important, and this can be an ... | 2019/04/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44858",
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44,861 | My book has a few place names that are also present in other pieces of media, for example, one of my cities is called "Manalin" and I just found out that there is a planet in Star Wars also called Manalin. The capital of one of the kingdoms in my book is called Pokrovka, but I've also recently discovered a video game s... | [
{
"answer_id": 44882,
"author": "David Siegel",
"author_id": 37041,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/37041",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can't copyright individual words, such a city names. You could trademark them, but unless it is a major ce... | 2019/04/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44861",
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44,864 | I am writing a mystery with multiple endings using John Truby's 22 steps. Originally I thought that I could do it like so: The playable character is not the hero but still has a narrative drive. There are two other "Heroes" who I'm banking on the player's interest in them being the narrative drive. These heroes are who... | [
{
"answer_id": 44867,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "When structuring your branching narrative, try to separate your character arcs from \"stuff that happens\". Allo... | 2019/04/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44864",
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44,879 | I am editing a book for a writer who has quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The first chapter has a quote of her own. It's weird, but it's what she wants. Do I just treat it like the other quotes with her own name after it?
Is this something people do in their own books? | [
{
"answer_id": 44880,
"author": "ashleylee",
"author_id": 36087,
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"selected": false,
"text": "to quote the great ashleylee..... \"a quote from oneself is to cite one's own words.. which begs the question how... | 2019/04/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44879",
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44,883 | Someone suggested that I should make a question on this. I am making a book with multiple authors and we're all under 18 and I'm wondering how to make contracts with them. Just to say I'm trying to get this on the Kindle store. If that information helps. Also I live in the UK. | [
{
"answer_id": 44884,
"author": "Cyn",
"author_id": 32946,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Adapted from my answer to [Can I self-publish a book on the Kindle store when I'm under 18?](https://writing.stackexcha... | 2019/05/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44883",
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44,885 | This is a sort of follow up to my [previous question](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/44850/is-it-true-that-a-great-cover-is-enough-to-sell-many-copies-of-your-book). It is generally understood that covers matter a great deal in terms of getting people to click on a fiction eBook and check out its blurb and... | [
{
"answer_id": 44887,
"author": "GGx",
"author_id": 28942,
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"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "It depends. \n\nUsing Amazon's book store as an example:\n\nIf your book is in an **Amazon category that has very few bo... | 2019/05/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44885",
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44,889 | We human beings have no control over our destiny, and it is arrogant and foolish to think as such. Our fates are decided by a group of dark gods who control the strings of time. It is they who design a destiny for us, molding and shaping it to suit their purposes. No matter how hard we resist or what actions we take, i... | [
{
"answer_id": 44899,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You have a logic problem. If humans have no control over their destiny, then why does this human need to \"make a c... | 2019/05/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44889",
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44,891 | So I usually use stackexchange as a last resort, but I'm completely stumped. If this question is inappropriate here, I will gladly delete it.
None of my teachers say that anything is wrong with my writing, but I suspect it's because I'm still young. I feel that my writing is incredibly... off? I feel that I try too ha... | [
{
"answer_id": 44892,
"author": "ashleylee",
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"text": "Got to be honest with you. I hate it.\n\nIt is choppy. Disjointed. fragmented. \n\nUnless you are describing a fi... | 2019/05/01 | [
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44,902 | Yes, you read that correctly. My villain character is literally a virus. He thinks and behaves just like any other character does, mentally and
personality-wise, but his body is best described as a wispy, dark cloud. He enters people's bodies and takes over their minds and actions. No, I haven't lost my mind. It's a s... | [
{
"answer_id": 44903,
"author": "ShadoCat",
"author_id": 37232,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/37232",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "First, it appears that your character is a parasite, not a virus. Viruses are mostly about replicating and spreadi... | 2019/05/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44902",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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44,912 | If I am making a text box for an online document, how many characters should
I leave for things like names and dates? | [
{
"answer_id": 44913,
"author": "Donny",
"author_id": 39016,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39016",
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"selected": true,
"text": "For a date, it's pretty easy once you have chosen the format.\n\nThe format YYYY/MM/DD requires a minimum of 10 charac... | 2019/05/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44912",
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44,922 | I'm getting ready to start submitting a book I've written. I copyrighted an earlier draft of it a few years ago (as in submitted it for official registered copyright). The final draft has not changed much from that draft. I know from submitting poetry to publishers that publishers don't usually want work that's been di... | [
{
"answer_id": 44923,
"author": "Monica Cellio",
"author_id": 1993,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/1993",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "If you live in a country that is a signatory to the [Berne Convention](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Conve... | 2019/05/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44922",
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44,924 | I've seen this question asked before but many years ago and no doubt much has changed in terms of software.
I find that a book comes together much faster and with a more coherent structure if I outline it.
However, I find outlining a dull and laborious chore and usually end up distracted, procrastinating, and then fi... | [
{
"answer_id": 44926,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "[This is the question I have asked four and a half years ago](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/11142/outline... | 2019/05/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44924",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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] |
44,925 | Arguably this might belong in worldbuilding.stackexchange.com, but the question has to do with a fiction story and its relation to other fiction in the real world.
I have a plot which involves an alien race. This race needs certain characteristics (biological, social, technological, etc) to make the plot work. Call th... | [
{
"answer_id": 44928,
"author": "Cyn",
"author_id": 32946,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/32946",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I say, ignore it. Sort of.\n==========================\n\nI think you're right that the primary characteristics aren't ... | 2019/05/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44925",
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44,936 | I am rather a very amateur writer, who is trying to write a thriller/fiction novel for a class, and I find myself absolutely dumbfounded as to how to write into my story the action of a character reading a piece of text. Can anybody please help me? To provide context for a more specific answer the main character notice... | [
{
"answer_id": 44937,
"author": "Levi C. Olson",
"author_id": 36699,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36699",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think the best idea would be to simply tell the story within the story. Something like this:\n\n> \n> He op... | 2019/05/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44936",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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44,945 | I wrote a very compelling science fiction short story. I am currently writing a book about an entirely different universe, not related to this short story.
I made this story rest for a long time, had beta testers, and I am sure of its value.
I would like to submit it anywhere (publishers, competitions etc.) where it ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44983,
"author": "Standback",
"author_id": 1046,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/1046",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "Alas, no.\n---------\n\nAs an unpublished writer, you absolutely should not submit anything less than **a complete n... | 2019/05/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44945",
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44,947 | I'm a novice writer working on my first book. I've made the story 1st person from the perspective of the main character. The way I've been writing dialog goes as such:
C1: "So, where are you guys eating today? I said."
C2: "We're probably going to the Italian place down the street", C2 responded.
Is this the correct... | [
{
"answer_id": 44954,
"author": "matildalee23",
"author_id": 37750,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/37750",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Since the only thing I notice wrong with this example is the punctuation, I assume this is what you are asking... | 2019/05/04 | [
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44,948 | When an agent/publisher limits manuscript submissions to your first 50 pages, and goes on to say it should be double-spaced as an attachment, does that mean your first 50 pages from your *single*-spaced document converted to a double-spaced submission (with standard formatting requiring the half-empty first page), *or*... | [
{
"answer_id": 44949,
"author": "J.G.",
"author_id": 22216,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/22216",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "To me, the answer has always been pretty clear: fifty pages that happen to be double-spaced, i.e. an amount that would... | 2019/05/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44948",
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44,953 | I'm starting to write a book and I am considering to use the [iBooks Author](https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/) app since I tend to like Apple products. Through my research, I learned I can publish it into iBooks, [export it for iBooks or in another format](https://support.apple.com/kb/PH2809?locale=en_US), which al... | [
{
"answer_id": 44955,
"author": "Ricardo",
"author_id": 39112,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39112",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "[This discussion](https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8636443?answerId=34186520022#34186520022) may convey that it... | 2019/05/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44953",
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44,959 | I've read many books where the main protagonists are described as good looking people with Greek god looks, plenty of sex appeal, the perfect figure and all that. As a reader, how important would it be to portray your main characters as good looking? Does it increase the prospects of people buying your book? | [
{
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"selected": true,
"text": "It'll depend pretty heavily on what type of story you're telling and what type of readership you're aiming for. Gene... | 2019/05/05 | [
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44,966 | When I write I often don't have any great meaningful moral to share. I don't have a message that I want to convey to the reader. I often don't write about the nature of the battle between good and evil. Or what constitutes good. Or coming of age in a society that devalues adolescence. In fact I am often just along for ... | [
{
"answer_id": 44967,
"author": "Cyn",
"author_id": 32946,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "A theme isn't a \"meaningful moral\"\n==================================\n\nOr even a regular moral.\n\nA theme is the ... | 2019/05/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44966",
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44,968 | I encountered a source text that had two authors, Paul Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich.
And I want to use the proper APA method to cite them.
Should I use this one:
>
> As Ehrlich and Ehrlich underlined, ... (2015)
>
>
>
or this one:
>
> As P. Ehrlich and A. Ehrlich underlined, ... (2015)
>
>
> | [
{
"answer_id": 44971,
"author": "Jason Bassford",
"author_id": 30561,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In your case, you have a single book authored by two people with the same surname but different initials.\n\... | 2019/05/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44968",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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44,978 | Science fiction has been defined as a genre where the "incredible" elements are "recognizable as not-true, but also as not-unlike-true, not-flatly- (and in the current state of knowledge) impossible" (According to Darko Suvin, from Wikipedia [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction#cite_ref-metamorphoses_7-... | [
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"text": "\"Scientific plausibility\" can be tempered by **exoticism**, **time**, and **distance**. It can also be flatly ... | 2019/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44978",
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44,981 | I've noticed a lot of platforms (blogs and such) list how long they estimate for a specific essay/post/article to take for the average reader. **How is this calculated?**
I always read fast, so I can't just time myself -- plus, if adding a time-estimate to my *own* works, I'm going to know what I mean to say, and my ... | [
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"text": "\"Scientific plausibility\" can be tempered by **exoticism**, **time**, and **distance**. It can also be flatly ... | 2019/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44981",
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44,984 | I wrote a book in Spanish. I translated the book to English, French, Arabic and Italian. I want to publish the book in these five languages simultaneously but there are some problems.
I live in Spain; most of the citizens speak Spanish, a few speak the other four languages. Therefore the number of books I will sell in... | [
{
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"author": "Ash",
"author_id": 26012,
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"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "I would suggest that to reach an international audience you need a publishing house with international reach that is us... | 2019/05/06 | [
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44,986 | I'm writing a novel focusing on a single character POV. For many aspects, it can be considered a **coming of age** story; along with the usual tropes of the hero's journey, my protagonist gradually learn something of the world she lives in, acquires more confidence, agency, and the respect of her peers. In other words,... | [
{
"answer_id": 44989,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
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"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "**It's rare, but not unheard of for a series to shift genres** as it progresses --with *Hijrp Potfeq* perhaps ... | 2019/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/44986",
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45,006 | I am trying to write a magical system, and I love the way that wands are like gunfire and how you flick and attack and it's instant. No weird hand movements or long unwieldy staffs or canes to use.
But I'm stuck at the *Hijrp Potfeq* series, as I fear that at this point wands have pretty much been copyrighted (not li... | [
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"answer_id": 45007,
"author": "Cyn",
"author_id": 32946,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Wands have been a feature of magic for decades and perhaps much much longer. Tinkerbell in Disney's version of *Petod D... | 2019/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/45006",
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