qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
49,521 | I have a scene where my character has to feel scared, sad and alone. I'm good at describing her surrounding but describing feeling are a bit harder for me. I also have scene where she has to be heartbroken but I feel like it sound stiff and simple. | [
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"text": "Well, to be honest, this is a perfect example where you want to show how the character is feeling. So hav... | 2020/01/01 | [
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49,522 | So, as I'm writing, I noticed something I've been subconsciously doing for a while:
>
> "Oh, you're concerned about something, guess this is a red-letter day" Irux smirked at Two, well as much as a hooked beak allowed her to. Irux was one of the genetically engineered troops at the Foundation's disposal, basically a humanoid avian.
>
>
> Her irises were bright yellow. Without visible sclera, they were like
> a golden rim around the eyes. She was covered with a soft, fur-like
> plumage, white on her head and neck, where it was bushy enough to hide
> away the fact, she indeed had a neck.
>
>
> Her vest only had a plate carrier in the front, even that had to be
> enlarged to nearly twice the normal size to cover the chest that
> housed the massive muscles, needed to fly. The back had a pair of
> slits below the shoulders, where Irux' wings sprouted from. The wing
> feathers were larger, more rigid and dark brown in coloration. The
> arms were covered with brown feathers, abruptly ending around the
> wrist. Thick, orange hide protected the hand. Ebony-black claws stuck
> out at the end of each digit.
>
>
>
In short, I want to give everyone the "Mephistopheles Experience", aka: What I think I'm writing, the values, the morale of the story, the atmosphere, all that stuff.
According to the Reader-Response theory (and [Poe's Law](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PoesLaw)), different camps of people interpret literature differently. They have different needs and different buttons (you shouldn't push), and most importantly, different expectations, in terms of tone and so on.
I know it sounds misanthropic and dumb, but I'm afraid of the readers. What if they misinterpret things. For me every detail is important in establishing and reinforcing the atmosphere.
For instance, why mention the plate carrier? Well, because it lines up with the world that's established as realistic, these humanoid avians need large pectoral muscles to be able to fly, and they also have an extra set of limbs on their backs, so I adapted the armor to it by making it directional and a bit lighter.
Worldbuilding camp digs this stuff, but I'm unsure about others. **So, is it possible to write-as-intended and deliver my "experience" to others, or should I give up?** | [
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"text": "Ultimately, you are always going to go against someone's reader response. \n\nAre you aware of 'The Death... | 2020/01/02 | [
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49,525 | I'm trying to write something like an essay for a blog. I'm clear about what central topic I want to write about. The problem is I have a lot of scattered notes about that subject-matter which I have no idea how to arrange. I don't know where to start from.
Is there any method you could suggest me to organize these notes in order to make a coherent essay?
How should I start?
Is there any recommended structure to follow?
I'd appreciate any kind of advice. Kind regards! | [
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"answer_id": 49529,
"author": "JonStonecash",
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"text": "The point of an essay is to make a point. Sorry about that. It just slipped out.\n\nStill, it is a valid state... | 2020/01/02 | [
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49,536 | Im trying to show the fact that in a picture my character is smiling, but I don't want to say
"we were smiling"
this is the sentence im trying to fix: **"We were both smiling foolishly, he looked so handsome in his tuxedo and honestly, I looked pretty good in my dress."**
I can't think of any other way of saying it, but I know it can be worded differently. Can anyone help? | [
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"text": "One alternative is to describe the apparent feelings of the people in the photo.\n\n> \n> \"He looked so handsome i... | 2020/01/02 | [
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49,539 | How can we distinguish good metaphors from bad ones? I feel like a lot of figurative languages can border nonsense, but how much nonsense is too much nonsense? Are there rules or standards that writers or some writers use.
For example, consider the following sentences:
>
> I am dancing in your heart.
>
>
> I am seeing bright stars in your heart.
>
>
> The night sky in your heart is filled with my stars.
>
>
>
All these sentences are weird and sound ungrammatical, but figurative languages allow us to write illogical sentences. What do you think? | [
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"text": "Metaphors are complicated. \n\nMetaphors are the DNA Primers which bind to fragments of memory and draw the full memory... | 2020/01/02 | [
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49,542 | I want to right screen play, but every time I think about writing, the first question that pops in my head is which one to choose: my native language or English? | [
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"text": "Do both\n=======\n\nSome of the most beautiful prose was written the authors' second languages (Nabokov, Ker... | 2020/01/03 | [
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49,549 | I'm editing a technical text about autonomous systems. I feel the following sentence is anthropomorphizing a machine and also introduces some confusion because it can be easily misread as talking about the machine operator knowledge:
>
> A clear separation of control and protection is possible if the safety-critical protection function can be specified and implemented without having any **knowledge** of the workings of the control function.
>
>
>
It might just be coming back from a holiday, but I can't for the life of me think of a suitable alternative to talking about the machine having knowledge. Does anyone have any suggestions? Or... am I overthinking it, since now we have fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning that constantly use these terms?
(Note that there is also work to be done on the rest of the sentence since it is wordy, but I want to address this issue first!) | [
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"text": "I don't see a problem with the use of the word \"knowledge\" in this context, but I do agree that there's some ambig... | 2020/01/03 | [
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49,552 | I'm trying to figure out the correct formatting for multiple supers for the intro of my film. I imagine four separate superimposed lines, one appears, then fades away, until they are finished. How do I indicate this in the screenplay? Do I write each one individually, like so?
`SUPERIMPOSE: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
SUPERIMPOSE: GRANITE PEAK
SUPERIMPOSE: 2048`
Or do I put it all under one superimpose? If so, are there commas or hyphens? | [
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"text": "Just write what you mean clearly and expect intelligent people to understand it. In a recent script I indicated... | 2020/01/04 | [
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49,554 | I'm writing a screenplay. The main character has suffered a major tragedy, but we don't know that yet.
This, of course, hugely affects the way he acts, due to this tragedy he is now a broken man, looking for revenge.
A big part of the conflict of the story comes from this trauma. As of now, the major tragedy he suffered is revealed close to the midpoint of the story. Should I reveal the information when the story begins so that the viewers know exactly why this character is acting this particular way and can empathize with him from early on in the story? Or in other words:
**How should I reveal information in my story?**
More specifically:
**How do I determine what is the proper moment (and pacing) in which I reveal information key to the viewer's understanding of the character's actions?** | [
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49,555 | Is it appropriate to use phrases such as "by my understanding" in a formal setting? If I can't, please suggest alternatives. | [
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"text": "Typically you don't include any first person pronouns (such as \"my\") in formal essays. So instead of saying\n\n... | 2020/01/04 | [
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49,562 | I write short stories in Chinese, and give a new page to my teacher to correct every few days. This is the story I'm thinking of writing:
1. **We have a male main character.** His wife is devoted to him, but he's needy and kind of an asshole. His personality changes wildly and unpredictably. In particular, he does not want his wife spending time with her friends.
2. ***Plot twist***: he died two years ago: the male protagonist only exists in his wife's imagination. He's not only not an asshole, but he died rescuing his wife.
3. **We now have a female main character (his wife).** She has not managed to come to terms with his death; she imagines he's alive, and projects her feelings onto him. His wild personality changes stem from her uncontrolled grief-motivated mood swings. Her friends want to help her, but she's not ready, so her (imaginary) husband blocks her. She blames herself over his death, and tries to find redemption through satisfying his (imaginary) needs.
I'm not sure how I can do this, or even if this is feasible. I'm worried that the reader will become "disconnected" because of the change of protagonist.
I'm wondering if the Writers.SE readership could highlight some precedent, i.e., prior stories along these lines, where there was a major shift from the original protagonist to a second protagonist.
**Question**: How can I successfully change main character half-way through the story? | [
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49,580 | Two of the MCs in the novel I'm working on are half-sisters, and also great friends. Currently, when referring to them, I alternate between using "sisters" and "friends". A Beta-Reader pointed out that it doesn't seem clear whether they are siblings **or** friends.
I want to make sure that the average reader understands that both are true.
It's not about me trying to *tell* their friendship instead of showing it, but it's about variety of words.
Note: I'm writing in German and I often have to use the word "sie", which translates to both "she" and "they" and can also be applied to objects. It is used very often by necessity, but I still want to keep the count down.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
The fictional girls share a biological father, but not a mother. Girl B was adopted by another man, but she grew up closely to Girl A, and was effectively raised by Father A, too. So for all intents and purposes, they are *like* full-sisters. Being half-sisters is more a technicality than something to be focused on. | [
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"text": "**You’re using unequal terms interchangeably.**\n\nImagine Aluke is Bob’s sister and also does his taxes. The for... | 2020/01/07 | [
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49,607 | One of my favorite parts of writing is naming my people/places/systems. I look up synonyms of common words and add prefixes, or base things off of Latin roots, or just pull some cool letter combination out of my butt. For some reason, it is very enjoyable for me. But when others read my story, it seems like the names might go too far, crossing the line from creative to overly complicated, and they get confused in the person's head.
If you read fantasy, or sci-fi, or any kind of fiction where there are creatures/places/systems with creative titles, which things are pros for you and which are cons? Are interesting, unique names cool and interesting, or too confusing to use in a story? Any suggestions on how to make names easier to follow?
*For example, some of my names have to do with the elements, so I took Latin roots (aero, geo, ect.) and incorporated those roots into deity names to differentiate between them. I found that idea* okay, *but I could still use work.*
Thanks for reading! | [
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"text": "I've had to do some research into this myself - especially for the fantasy/sci-fi genre it's easy to want to create ... | 2020/01/09 | [
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49,609 | I'm writing a book centred on loss and heartbreak and I keep getting stuck at a point where the main character has to give an eulogy at a funeral. I'm hoping I can get some help or tips maybe? Thanks | [
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49,611 | I am working on ebook that is a collection of poems. I want to create illustrations according to poem (similar to something shown in below image). But I don't know which tool to use. I tried Amazon Create but it doesn't have option of adding illustrations. Please recommend tools that a novice can use (I am not a graphic designer and no experience for adobe indesign and photoshop)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6c1zA.jpg) | [
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49,631 | I am very new to Stack Exchange. I want to ask a question I had on my mind for some time. I am considering writing a horror story with fantasy and military-like elements inserted into it, and I want to add a werewolf transformation into the story. The story is in third person, however, I want the perspective of the person watching this transformation to be conveyed in a sort of limited perspective. These werewolves are thinner than a human, and only transform when breathing in the fog that comes from the area. Can you help with conveying this feeling of horror to the audience through the perspective of a Sargent who is witnessing this during a stealth mission? | [
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"text": "I think that is a very interesting idea! What you could do is use descriptive words to really implant horror in the rea... | 2020/01/10 | [
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49,633 | One of the aspects I love about fiction writing is doing research. When I settle on an idea, I tend to go look for similar historical themes, stories that I can weave into my novel. I get excited about finding an inspiration that introduces a new character or overall enriches my story plot. The problem is that I can't get out of the research stage.
Every time I try to focus solely on writing my novel, I find myself besieged with anxiety. What if I missed something that would've made my novel better, richer?
For example, right now, I'm very comfortable with the plot of the novel I'm working on. I arrived at it after reading multiple primary texts covering an important period in American history. As I write, I can't shake off the idea that if I expand my research and continue reading from different sources, I might find more intriguing, complex narratives that could transform my novels.
Is this healthy? How should I treat the research part? And how can I overcome my anxiety? | [
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"text": "First: I apologize if anything I say makes light of or dismisses mental/emotional distress. As someone who struggl... | 2020/01/10 | [
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49,651 | If I'm given a choice, to put "the" or leave the word with no article, what's the better answer?
* The world helps in boosting young confidence.
* The world helps in boosting the young confidence.
Thank you. | [
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"text": "I cannot explain the reason. But, intuitively, the second choice, ie 'The world helps in boosting the you... | 2020/01/13 | [
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49,654 | I am wanting to write a short story in the fantasy genre maybe genre blending. but I'm not sure if my idea is still considered fantasy. an example of what I was kind of thinking is:
a man is walking along late at night and sees a bright flash of light coming at him its moving around erratically but just when he thinks its about to hit him its gone. just when he starts to think he's gone crazy and imagined the while thing he catches some movement out of the corner of his eye. he then sees a mystical creature and has this whole interaction with it blah blah blah… then long story short it turns out it was kind of a dream? and he was actually hit by a car that was the bright light and the mystical creature represents the after life. and there will be things he sees in the "dream" that point to or symbolize what is really happening to him outside his mind so the reader isn't all confused by the switch to him being hit by a car but.....
as long as the creature and things that happen while he's "dreaming" are fantasy fulfilling does the over all story count as fantasy or does it fall into a different genre? | [
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49,656 | I have a scene that I'm working on. The character in the scene is an actor who's black wearing a black face. At the end of the scene I have him wiping the makeup and resolving not to wear it again. Here is the closing paragraph.
>
> Things were bubbling inside of him. Bizarre feelings that he shouldn't have. Feelings that belonged to a figment of an imagination. The image staring back at him was studying him and he thought he caught a glimpse of an expression of contempt. He closed his eyes shut trying to squeeze out the copious amounts of tears that refused to oblige earlier and were now flowing unhindered. He heaved a breath in, trying to avoid deteriorating into a sobbing fit. He didn't know what was happening to him. This was not the pain from the cigarette burn. This emotion overtaking him now was something else. Something much deeper. ~~He felt betrayal.~~ Moses felt betrayal. *The actor picked up a cleaning cloth, wiping the tarnish from his face, vowing not to hide his true face ever again.*
>
>
>
**Notes:**
* Moses is the name of the character the actor is playing.
* I wrote the last few sentences, shown in *italic*, are for the sake of this question. They may not be in the final piece.
* **Clarification:** It appears that my original question didn't clarify my intentions for the scene well enough. The time period is early 1900s. The place somewhere on the East Coast (I'm considering Philadelphia). The Actor (MC) is black. Wears a blackface makeup. This behavior is historically accurate. Black entertainers used to wear blackface to meet the expectations of the audience and requirements of the industry. [Qart Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qart_Williams), one of the most prominent black performers at the time wore blackface makeup often.
The question is: how to reveal the fact that The Actor is black at the end? I hint at his true race to the reader by building up conflicting emotions within the MC. I hope I confirm their suspicions at the end in a surprising but "makes sense" kind of way. | [
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49,657 | I'm writing a novel which essentially has the main character go from place to place and retrieve a single object from each person they encounter.
My problem is that while I can think of possible conflicts within each chapter, an overarching conflict seems to elude me. Were it not for the fact that the main character is undergoing character development, the chapters would almost be able to be published as stand-alone segments.
Similar to TV mystery series where the main characters (detectives, coroners etc) are the same every episode but there's a new problem.
Is there a name for this kind of novel? Is this structure feasible/ engaging enough? | [
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"text": "I think I understand your problem and I don't have an answer to your question about a name. However, I do have ... | 2020/01/13 | [
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49,661 | Currently I have a very uncomfortable sentence:
>
> '#####' announced Gradun behind himself, turning his head away as he knelt towards the window.
>
>
>
I just don't know how to phrase this. He's addressing someone who's behind him, while looking in a certain direction through a window. | [
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"text": "I have questions.\n\nFirst, does the positioning of the players and the direction of the gaze have any meaning... | 2020/01/14 | [
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49,692 | So I have this idea for two girls that ultimately are going to get into a relationship. One of them is proudly gay and open about her feelings from the start, cracking jokes and sly compliments about the other one all the time and constantly making her uncomfortable. She finds it enjoyable to mess with the other, and is attracted to her, but doesn't take things too seriously.
This other girl is logic-over-emotion and is slightly annoyed by this, and is heterosexual (as far she is aware). She tends to dismiss these jokes. But over the story, I want her to end up liking the first one back and have them do some things together. The idea is that it's a slow burn thing - First girl wears down the second girl until she gets a bit of a soft spot for her teasing, and then suddenly BOOM - they kiss. It's a sudden realization for the second girl, but I want it to be clear that the affection has developed over getting to know this person.
This story would most likely be in first person and the reader would get to experience events from both girls' POV.
So I guess my question is: How does one convey a character warming up to/developing an attraction to another character when that character doesn't realize it themselves? | [
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49,693 | I’m writing a fiction novel set in the future where a dictator creates an act that sets the laws and punishments of the land. Part of that act, a title of it, is a dress code.
I’m interjecting portions of it into the narrative of the story as different subjects and violations come up, but I’d like to give the readers a look at the entirety of the documents.
Since it’s a bunch of legalese, if I put them at the beginning no one would read past them. So would I be better served to include them somewhere in the middle or attach to the end where after reading the story the reader might think they’d like to read it and it would put the entire “world” in a better perspective?
Each is about a page to page and a half.
Thanks for your thoughts! | [
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49,700 | I'm writing a book about the hidden wizard world that spread and broke because of the fear of being shown up and it's the first book that starts the series, the adventure is about one guy lead the whole wizard world to get together and to establish a ministry and schools to develops the wizarding world. There's a villain as well. The start of the story and the villain is a bit similar to the start of the Hijrp Potfeq series and to Voldemort as well. But they are not the same. Just touch and go one. Any comments? | [
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49,709 | >
> A would always lie about B. He told everybody he was weak. Furthermore he told all the adults how he enjoyed travelling, even though he did not. Furthermore he told people how much he enjoyed good food even though he never considered fancy food a thing of great importance.
>
>
>
I want to give multiple examples about A lying about B. Now I am aware that I could change the last furthermore with a synonym like moreover. I am not sure just randomly distributing different synonyms is good writing.
What other tips would you give about how to structure this sentences? | [
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49,712 | I don't want to use my own name when publishing my book - my pseudonym is the name of a German actress. Is it ok to use it? It's not a common name, but my book is in English, and the actress is German, so I doubt that she is very well known in the English-speaking world. Where do I check if the name is trademarked? | [
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49,714 | I've read a lot of such phrases, but that one in particular doesn't make sense to me. Physically, what is supposed to be described here? How long is the moment? I've personally tried to make my eyes "flash" as quickly as possible and it's not nearly so quick. Perhaps I am unique in my lack of abilities, but most of the time when I read this in fiction I get the impression that the expression is so fast as to be just barely noticed.
Perhaps a better question is: what is a more descriptive way to explain this act in fiction writing? | [
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"text": "**Writer At Work**\n\nWith the phrase...\n\n\"...his eyes flashed anger for a moment”\n\n...you've stumbled upon \"... | 2020/01/17 | [
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49,720 | I have a series idea that I am toying with that has one character who becomes a bit less reliable mentally than her usual for a section of the story (this downward spiral is brought upon her largely because of events, once those are eventually dealt with things improve). There will be times where readers experience events from her perspective early, before the big turning points occur. As she falls into becoming an unreliable narrator, I want to show that change over time through things like thought patterns and word choice. But even without any specifics, I'm wondering -
What are some tools you have used or seen (these could be writer's craft related, text format/appearance, anything) that effectively convey a character with an unstable mind? | [
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"text": "I think that would be interesting! About the insane character... Stick with her for the first few chapters then, even i... | 2020/01/18 | [
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49,727 | There are tons of places I don't know how to make it sound like the present. Here's a sample.
My nerves continued to grow at full throttle. Every step me and my team would make from here on out would affect the future of everyone. Along the hallway there was a door left ajar, with a light seeping through. I went first, peeking through the door. A gun shoot barely missed my head as I ducked back. I turned my own gun off safety and fired back. Suddenly, bright flash erupts from the room beyond. “NO!”, I yelled, “GET DOWN!” My team went diving to the floor just in time, but I was too late. I was blown back, and as I faded away my last thought was, "I failed."
See how some this seems like some happens in the past and some in the present! What do I do? | [
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49,743 | I have a research article (not really an article with academic standards, but display my analysis nevertheless) and I would like to submit it to a journal (not an academic one either, but has reputation). I wonder if I should attach the article as an attachment or a link?
* **Attachment:** more trustworthy and convenient. But I would argue that opening a Word document is a pain in mobile, and isn't better than opening a link in computer
* **Link:** can introduce other articles in it, and can have tracking tail to know whether the link is opened or not
So it seems that submitting it as a link has more pro than as an attachment. I foresee that there will be a concern that including the tracking link is not respecting the readers, but I suspect that if they are running a website already, they also do that to others as well.
A side question: how to get much feedback for my article, if it's rejected? | [
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49,755 | So, I was writing a book with my best friend, and half way through - at 70,000 words - she decides she doesn't want to write the book anymore; but I still can. And we didn't have any agreements or anything because we - or I - thought that she wouldn't just quit... like we're best friends and put so much work into it. But since we first started I had decided I was going to publish... but now I'm not sure how I can. I have written 20,000 words since she quit (which was about a week or two ago) and at first she said that basically she should have her name on the novel too, if I get it published, because she wrote half of it with me... but I can't do that because she can't have the credit for the whole novel if I wrote one half by myself. So, after we had a big fight she said that I can just publish it... but I don't know if that means I can just have my name on it... and maybe just put hers in the acknowledgements? But then, I was wondering if this would make it more difficult for me to publish as there has been... well problems with ownership. And I am going to have two more novels going off this first book... so they would just be solely mine, right? | [
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49,764 | I am working on a scene in my novel I am writing and have a question about the style of wording in a drunk character’s speech. I have included the character dialogue below. The character is drunk and is slurring. When my wife looked at this, she did not get my character slurring. She asked what type of language he is speaking. Should I italicize his dialogue to emphasize the slur?
>
> “H-h-h-hey baebae!” slurred Brock. “Where ya fuckin’ been?” The buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned from the neck down to the middle of his pecs. He was perspiring profusely; it showed on his forehead. His pupils were dilated, and white powder lined his nose. He grabbed Iyabolge’s forearm and growled, “Whada hell you doin’?”
> “Ouch! Brock!” cried Iyabolge in a hushed whisper, “you’re drunk and you’re hurting me!”
>
> “Hey!” Yiufaf shouted. “What is your problem? Do not grab her like that!”
>
> Brock released his grip and stumbled towards Yiufaf with a reddened face. He glared at him and said, “Boy, I know you! You the boxer, right? Well you gerring close t-t-to gerring your ass beat. I-I’m a street fighrer and c-c-can k-k-kick yer ass!”
>
>
>
How can I make this clearer? | [
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49,780 | In the second (not yet written) book of my novel series, the ending is a cliffhanger. A very hopeless one. The very hopelessness of it is deliberate. Not only am I signing them up for the next installment, but I'm shocking them in a way as to leave them traumatized and scared for the rest of the series (the books are generally quite hopeless and unforgiving). I want to create an everlasting suspense and fear for the characters by killing off a very narrative and plot important MC. Not only is his dead also instrumental for the plot, but as said, it serves to put the readers in the right mindset, and to contrast it with the first book's more hopeful ending.
But I am a bit scared of cliffhangers. Seeing the outrage over The Walking Dead's cliffhanger, I'd like to know the do's and dont's when it comes to creating one. Whereas The Walking Dead's cliffhanger centered around **who** a certain act was done to, my cliffhanger centers around **what** they're supposed to do next, in the coming book. What I suspect TWD did wrong is leaving the viewer with an annoyingly intense curiosity, and perhaps the lack of resolution factored in too. But with my cliffhanger, I feel like the death itself serves as a lot of resolution. And there are no annoying details left unanswered. The only question present is simply, **what do we do next?** In this way, the characters are as clueless as the readers.
But for all I know, this is an arbitrary difference, and the distinguishing of good and bad cliffhangers lies somewhere else. Perhaps there are no good cliffhangers? Or perhaps getting annoyed at cliffhangers is the issue itself? | [
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49,788 | *First of all, sorry, english is not my mother tongue*
My novel runs on a sci-fi universe and my main character (MC) has been infected by a virus that infects others that breathes the same air.
Synthesizing the virus antitoxin is the main objective of the plot. But he would need to move from one planet to another in order to find the scientific that is able to create the antitoxin for him.
How could I make him (MC) to go from one planet to another without infecting all people around him?
Would it makes more sense that he (MC) order someone else to find the antitoxin and send it to him?
Please, feel free to post any idea you may have to help me with this!! :) | [
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49,793 | My mother is a celebrity in a small niche world. Her contribution and experiences are wonderful and should be told. She says she can't write a book, so she has settled on a book that is something else, including anecdotal stories from her co-workers and peers over her historical career. Her idea is exceptional, and it will make a great book because she is mixing it into something a little ingenious.
She has never read a book from cover to cover except research books, which she has decades of that experience. She has no patience for words, so she tells the little stories as simply as she can, and breaks every rule of writing possible. I am not a writer, and have a formal style, but tried to show her how important it is to paint the picture for the reader so they can see the event as it was happening, and imagine the people as the story is unfolding in her telling of it. She is 88 years old, so it is difficult anyway, but she thinks she knows her audience, and that they are just like her, very country and informal with an average education. She can't imagine how people like to read books for anything other than researching something.
I am losing my mind. This is probably the last thing she will do professionally, and I don't want her to end on a sour note. In her world, music, she is a master. Her low self-esteem, however, is preventing her from being able to admit she doesn't know everything about everything. Any ideas on how to get information and guidance to her from people in the field? Anything from me is wasted because she has never been able to allow that I know anything she doesn't because of being plagued by low self-esteem. She has had this amazing life and I just wish someone else could do it for her, but I don't know even where to start. | [
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49,808 | I write scripts. Right now I'm writing a feature. I'm kind of a beginner, so I wanted to ask, is it a bad idea to write two screenplays at once? Sometimes, I sit down to write and start having all these ideas for other screenplays. Would you advise against writing those ideas down?
Thank you. | [
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49,813 | In my novel, I am writing a scene where my character digs up a memory of a song a lady sung to him in the past. He runs into the lady again, several years later and he is recanting the song to her.
Would the song be a new paragraph and in single quotes/double quotes or italics?
Example below:
“Yousif, what did you just say?” she asked with a puzzled look.
He stood from the seat before hoarsely muttering the song again, “And you live a life worth living and you make my world—”
She scooted up in the bed and quickly straightened herself up.
So the songs is, "And you live a life worth living...."
I've seen places where a whole song starts in a new paragraph and formatted in the center of the script.
Thanks in advance. | [
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49,819 | Would you consider a worldwide vote on if the character succeeds to be a tacky ending to a story? The means for the vote to occur are in place, but is it a satisfactory climax to have the protagonist win or lose because of public opinion? | [
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49,821 | How do you write a character that only the protagonist can hear and/or understand?
I'm writing a story with this doll as the antagonist, but the doll is only a figment of the protagonist's imagination. So we don't see what she says but the girl responds with comments because the girl thinks she is real.
I'm having a hard time writing in this way, but I think it is important to make sure that the reader doesn't hear the doll speak. The way I'm thinking about it is like R2D2 in Star Wars, where we always know what he said but we never understand him upfront. If anyone has any ideas, I would be grateful if you could help me out. | [
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49,822 | Is there an accepted order in which "List of"s should appear in the document?
For example, I have a section dedicated to "List of (Code) Listings", another for "List of Figures", and another for "List of Symbols". Is there a preferred order in which these should appear in the document? | [
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49,829 | I had an idea for something like a light novel of some sort, but I have a creeping concern. If I published a fantasy book series, each book has 100 pages each, would it be considered a children's book for being too short? | [
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49,831 | Suppose someone is suddenly exposed to a barrage of media attention today, they might say something like "I feel like a Kardashian".
What if I have a character (in Europe) experiencing something similar in the 1850s, who are some of the analogous public figures that they might reference - "I feel like \_\_\_\_"? | [
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49,835 | So I want to write a scene from a teenage girl in 1st-person present tense. She's drunk. I've never been drunk before, so I can't tap into personal experience to make this relatable and/or realistic. I want to show that the alcohol is affecting her way of thinking, but I'm not sure how to go about making that clear.
How would drunk perspective differ from sober perspective in this context? Would sentences be shorter and simpler? Run-ons with a bunch of commas? Odd structure?
How to write in the first person showing that someone is drunk? | [
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49,843 | **Background**
I am currently working on a short science fiction story, and need some advice about writing a pivotal scene for the main protagonist.
The main character of the story is a biologist and alien ecosystem specialist who works on board an Enterprise-style exploration ship, and as part of his job, he works in the ship's biology lab and takes care of the ship's menagerie of animals and alien critters. He is especially fond of the entomology lab that houses the bugs and beetles they are studying, and he visits it every day to care for them. The care of these animals is essentially one of the pillars of stability in his life.
This character is autistic, and one of the major climactic scenes of the story is when he comes into the lab one day and finds all of his beehives and insect nests smashed and all of his beloved creatures killed. He is an incredibly kind-hearted person and cared deeply for these animals, and the murder of his creatures is too much for him to handle; it causes him to have a breakdown.
I am not on the autism spectrum myself, so I don't know firsthand what it is like to have a [meltdown](https://www.autism.org.uk/about/behaviour/meltdowns.aspx) - i.e. what kinds of things an autistic character would be feeling and experiencing in this moment. I suffer from sensory processing disorder and have had many experiences with sensory overload, but I don't know how similar the experience would be. A few of my friends who have autism have described it to me and I have a general idea of what it is like; one of my friends put it as, "you feel like a computer who has too many processes trying to run at once, and it just makes your whole system crash." But I don't feel I have enough knowledge to write it convincingly, hence my question.
**Question**
How would you go about writing a scene like this from an autistic character's point of view? What kinds of things would a person having a meltdown be thinking, feeling and experiencing? If you have personal experience or know someone who does, it would be a great help. | [
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49,857 | I decided to ask this question after finding no other similar questions to mine. But anyway, I have a portfolio of unpublished novels that have been thoroughly edited. One is a piece of Christian literary fiction + suspense, a literary suspense while the others are the following an adult speculative novel based in an afterlife, a coming-of-age novel based in an afterlife, and a YA fantasy based in a Jewish afterlife. The word counts for this novel are as follows:
1. About 65k to 70k for that literary fiction piece,
2. about 98k for that adult speculative piece,
3. about 56k for that coming-of-age story,
4. and 60k for that YA fantasy.
Are these acceptable word counts for a debut novel? I plan on networking with acquisition editors and agents this year, but am worried that my novels are too short. | [
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49,860 | How do you successfully transition from a first-person narrator, who is present only for the first few chapters of a book, to a different narrative voice that will continue for the rest of the book?
I start off my novel with a boy setting the stage and a few chapters in I have to leave him behind and narrate chapters that he is not a part of. How do I transition from him speaking to me (as the author) doing it? | [
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"text": "Plenty of books just switch narrators, no real transition, but I'm not a fan of that approach. A more elegant ... | 2020/01/29 | [
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49,866 | I need some help. I am already deep into 2 stories that involve composers and in both stories there is a character based on Ludwig van Beethoven. Here is what I have trouble getting across:
Friendly and stressed at the same time
This is the typical way my Beethoven character feels. He sounds friendly and he is. He would save his best friend from a disaster. At the same time though, he is stressed out like very often. Sometimes it comes out as an angry tone. But often, this comes out as him tearing up letters. Also, people who know him well see him differently than those who have just met him.
People who know Beethoven well:
>
> Beethoven would do anything for me, I just know it. He will understand what I'm saying and won't lash out simply because of what I said.
>
>
>
People who have just met Beethoven:
>
> What the? I asked him politely and what I asked him wasn't even that hard on him, and yet, he is yelling at me and it looks like he might hurt me severely. Why did I even agree to meet this Beethoven guy when he gets so angry at every little thing I say?
>
>
>
As you can probably tell, my Beethoven character has a bipolar personality. But I'm having difficulty making the angry speech and the friendly speech both sound like they are from the same person. Angry Beethoven sounds completely unrelated from friendly Beethoven, yet, it is the same person speaking. I don't want to have to mention Beethoven's name every time he speaks. I already mention things like "Beethoven tore up letters in anger" in the narration, but it doesn't seem to be enough to make the dialogue from this particular character sound like it is coming from the same person regardless of emotion.
If you need to know what triggers him to suddenly lash out in anger at a friendly person, there are 2 known triggers in my stories, acquaintances and letters asking him to write another great symphony. There are probably other anger triggers as well, but these are not known in the stories because they aren't relevant to the stories.
**So, how can I make Beethoven's speech more cohesive while also getting across the extreme emotional swings that he experiences, going from calm and friendly one minute to suddenly lashing out in anger the next?** | [
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49,873 | When you write an online review (for instance, of a restaurant) is it appropriate to include information about the hosts that isn't directly related to the service provided?
Recently I bought a dinner with a social eating app. It was a pleasant experience, and as usual I would like to write a review about it. Here's the problem: Should I include the fact that the hosts have light physical disabilities?
Probably there's no need to mention it, and I shouldn't be protecting anyone from anyone, but still... Could it happen that someone doesn't feel like they have the sensitivity to deal with these hosts? And should I warn them? For example, imagine someone who has never seen a hand that is missing a finger, and this person keeps looking at it, which is kind of rude. | [
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49,876 | I am a little confused and need some help in clearing things up. In writing dialogue and the speaker pauses how do you show this. Now, from my understanding you use ellipses(...). If this is true, how are they used? A space after the last word with the last word being "going" ("We are going ...but I think,") or no space after the last word but space before the next word ("We are going... but I think,") or no spaces before and after the last and first words? ("We are going...but I think,") | [
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49,888 | In my story, my characters live in the wilderness, and they have no modern technology. They do see ruins from the past (from now) but other than that they have no idea how advanced other parts of the world might be, or of technology of the past. However, they often see the plane of a more advanced civilization (they are monitoring them to stop them from getting better technology) flying over them. It is thin and grey, very efficient but not too hard to see. I don't want these people, after seeing the plane for hundreds of years, to look up at it and go, 'it looked like a metal bird' because that seems so cliche. I want it to be clear that they have become so used to seeing it that it has been incorporated into their vocabulary. What word could I have them use for it instead? Honestly I would take anything that sounds like a real word and isn't super cheesy.
They're British, if that helps. | [
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49,894 | I've seen answers that are just AHHHH! or AAAHHHHH! if the character is frightened, but what if the character is excited? I've also seen people put an exaggerated "SQEEEEE" for excited but I don't really think that's appropriate for the story I'm writing. | [
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"text": "Excitement could be **\"WHOOOO\"** or **\"HELL YEAH/F\\_\\_\\_ YEAH** (you get the picture - *cuss words*)**\"** or ... | 2020/01/31 | [
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49,903 | I am struggling trying to get one of my characters to display disdain for someone. I've tried him "snorting", "twisting his lips", "rolling his eyes" but it isn't coming across well.
Can anyone give me better suggestions?
Thanks much! | [
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49,907 | In my post-apocalyptic story, my narrator keeps a journal, and each new chapter starts with a journal entry of hers that's relevant to the events of the chapter. How often is this done, and is this a good idea to do? I'm actually overhauling the story and reconsidering whether or not I want to continue to write her little entries. | [
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"text": "These are called [epigraphs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigraph_(literature)), and they're perfectly fin... | 2020/02/02 | [
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49,924 | I feel that the following example from Rosa Luxemburg is good at describing my goal. Despite using "complicated" words it doesn't come off as pretentious or edgy, but it still manages to give off the feel of being said through gritted teeth.
>
> Violated, dishonored, wading in blood, dripping filth – there stands
> bourgeois society. This is it, in reality. Not all spic and span and
> moral, with pretense to culture, philosophy, ethics...
>
>
>
My problem is that I always end up writing everything like... fanfiction. It sounds like I'm trying too hard. Are there rules of thumb or great examples to learn from?
edit:
example1
>
> Hands awash with blood, guilt smeared upon their faces. Any vestige of honor they might have had was swept away by the tide of war. They sent these men to die and the dying made them rich. They called out to the men with cries of victory, but their words were hollow and their "victory" was bought.
>
>
>
example2
>
> Entering the square I heard nothing but tired footsteps and the occasional clop of hooves. Idle chatter was held in whispers and smiles quickly faded. The few cars that weren't scrapped for parts lay abandoned; any viable fuel had been used by the military. The statue still stood, a shining symbol of hope the city once had.
>
>
> | [
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49,936 | I am writing a middle-grade series where a character is introduced early on as a supporter of the protagonists. He is enthusiastic at first, but grows more and more pessimistic as he realizes that the protagonists have basically no chance of winning and have a good chance of dying. Due to an incident in his past, he cannot accept taking deadly risks, thinking of people who do as a mixture of brave and stupid (but mostly the latter). Eventually he gets so fed up that he joins the antagonists, figuring that it will raise his chances of survival.
The thing is, I don't want his change of allegiances to be obvious to the readers before it gets revealed. I'm trying to make him seem pretty harmless: he's very nerdy, quite a bit cowardly, pretty nice (albeit sarcastic), may have a little crush on one of the protagonists' allies (well, until she dies), and has a habit of talking a lot at a very fast pace. However, he is a geneticist, which might make some readers suspicious, even without the name. And I don't want readers to think I don't approve of genetic research: I think it's pretty cool.
Now, onto my main concern: his name. Since he's Icelandic, I went through the list of approved Icelandic male names and picked Sindri. I really like the way it sounds, but I'm afraid that readers might read the name a little too closely, realize that it's spelled **Sin**dri, and realize that he is not a trustworthy character. Should I change the name? I'm getting all attached to the name, and I don't want to change it, but at the same time, I don't want to be one of those authors who thinks they've done a surprising twist, only for the readers to have seen it coming from miles away.
(Y'know, like Callaghan being the bad guy in Big Hero 6. Did anyone else go, "Yeah, he's evil," five seconds after he was introduced? XD) | [
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49,946 | This is a common problem I have writing fantasy. Most of the trouble comes from revealing a monster, but for the characters who have never seen the monster before, they don't know what it is. One example is a minotaur, to describe it as a minotaur lets the reader know what it is straight away, the problem is if i write 'minotaur', a following scene with a character discovering it's a minotaur becomes redundant, and though there are monsters I have a character introduce before their encounter, this seems convenient after a while. It takes away the drama, and after a while writing ' a bull with legs' gets repetitive. Any tips, rule of thumb?
Cheers. | [
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49,947 | So, I'm trying to write a book in first person, but have trouble when there's any form of action involving in groups. After all, it's about multiple people, and I want to make sure each get their time in the spotlight. This is extremely difficult to do, especially when you're trying to change people instantaneously for the reader to experience the multiple viewpoints of the characters.
So, my question is, how do I efficiently transition characters in first-person view? | [
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49,950 | I am having a bit of trouble getting into the head of one of my characters. He isn't one of the main protagonists, but he is allied with them. He is the husband of the leader of the group the protagonists are in, and the group is currently staying in his house near Seoul. Unlike the rest of the group, he has no powers, and so some people in the group feel that he isn't truly one of them, as he has no problem fitting into normal society. The character works very hard for the group as a result, working with finances and documentation, and is strict about the rules to the point of being inefficient. He is very self-conscious about his powerlessness (not that he'd ever admit it).
I know this is a fair bit of characterization, but I feel like he's a bit flat right now. I want to show more positive personality traits so that it would make sense that someone would marry him. Any ideas on how to show these?
(P.S.: I have no idea what to name this guy. He's Korean, and I don't really know how Korean names work. I tried combining bits of Korean names I read in the news, but his name always wound up sounding a bit too similar to those of various Korean politicians. Any suggestions?) | [
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49,952 | So, I am very naturally a nice person. I respect everyone unless they have well and truly wronged me. I go out of my way to help those who need it. Stuff like that. I am naturally a helpful and nice person.
However, the character I am writing is fundamentally a hateful person. She is angry and everyone, and makes sure you know it. Naturally, she has her reasons like a painful upbringing/harsh development, but how do I portray that character when what I want to do is make them help. How do I get over myself to do that? | [
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49,953 | I have an idea for a series, but I want the protagonist to die at the end of the first book, and make it seem like all hope is lost, and then in the second book others (one of his other relatives) rise up and finish what he started. I was wondering if this would be okay? And how could I make it work in such a way that all hope seems lost yet there's still space for a sequel? | [
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49,954 | Usually, when I read my old blog posts, one thing I evidently observe is that my posts are affected by my temper at that time. I feel like I could have written them in another way (maybe due to my current temper). This leads to my next question: how do I ensure that my current mood is not changing the blog post's plot and reducing its quality? | [
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49,972 | Is a story about the Hindu gods being real inherently copyright infringing on the Peryy Yiwfsan series? Is a story about a plague causing the apocalypse, then a street gang trying to restore order and government (without time travel) copyright infringing on 12 monkeys? | [
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"text": "Every idea in fiction has been used to some extent a bunch of times. I've thought of ideas and had them be in Peryy Y... | 2020/02/06 | [
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49,973 | I just decided to use the Flesch-Kincaid metric for all my unpublished novels, and they all have a 5th Grade Reading Level. Is this good? I remember doing some final revisions of them all and I think the reason for the low grade level is because of my shortening of sentences. But my question to you all is this, should authors strive to edit their works so they can be understood by 5th and 6th Graders? | [
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49,992 | This is particularly aimed at those who have written/published a series. So, a lot of my ideas involve serious commitment over several short volumes, To make one ultimate story. However, while much of the story is up to my whim, there are certain points I want to hit that are crucial to the story. For example, the main antagonist of one of my ideas is a demon queen of questionable age. Her bodyguard is always by her side, and, well, in any fandom, shippers be shipping.
Since I don't want to cave into my fan's pressure like Rooster Teeth and their RWBY fiasco, I want to know how you guys take fan input. | [
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49,993 | I have been thoroughly editing four unpublished novels during the fourth quarter of 2019 and in January 2020. I think I finally got my books to where they need to be. I even decided to go on UpWork and pay for a thorough review of my work. I got this from script coverage sites common for screenwriters who want their work to be professionally evaluated. But anyway, I am so tired of editing my works at this point in time, and have accounted for everything I needed to account for, including for having more shorter, tighter sentences. But my question to you all is this, at what point does a writer need validation that they've done something right? When it's published, by a friend? When? | [
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49,995 | I read the very helpful discussion of using brand/company names in fiction ([Use of real organization in fiction](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/30082/use-of-real-organization-in-fiction?newreg=2aa03b46432d40eeac168ade398c051b)) and have read other resources on the internet but have not been able to find one question answered:
My story involves an evil travel agency that abducts its clients. Since the travel agency supposedly operates in the Balkans, I gave this fictitious company a very generic name: **Balkan Tours**.
However, it now occurs to me that somewhere out there is a company called Balkan Tours (several, in fact— it's like calling an Indian restaurant "Taj Mahal"). There is no likeness drawn between the companies except for the use of the name. Moreover, we've created an original visual identity for the Balkan Tours in our story (it's actually a computer game production): a business card appears at one point with a logo of my creation.
*How concerned should I be that one of the tiny little Balkan Tours operators out there will bring a defamation suit against me?* At a certain point, it becomes impossible to guarantee that there is no company in existence with the same name as one's fictitious company, so I would hope there's some common-sense standard around this.
Thank you. | [
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50,002 | In the middle-grade series I'm working on, there are two organizations: one led by the antagonist, and one that opposes them, which the protagonists join. In the setting of the series, a very small percentage of the population are born with genes that enable them to develop powers after exposure to a solar eclipse. Since eclipses are so important in the books, I decided to give the two organizations eclipse-themed names: the antagonists are in a group known as the Umbra, while the group the protagonists are in is called the Corona.
I was all set.
And then the Wuhan coronavirus broke out, even coming to the town where I live. I don't think naming an organization the Corona would be a good idea anymore.
Do you guys have any ideas? I'm looking for a name that has something to do with a solar eclipse.
Update: Thanks for answering! Most of you have reassured me that I'll be fine, so I'm going to keep the Corona as it is. However, when someone suggested the name Prominence, I found that I really liked that. I've decided to rename the Umbra the Prominence, as it fits with the solar theme while also fitting with their ideology of people with powers being put on this world to "fix" it. | [
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50,019 | I wrote a really, really, good short story recently, with an amazing main character. I want to use her again, but it doesn't feel right to put a character from a short story into a long series! should I write a series of short stories about her? | [
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50,027 | So I have an article and one person comments that it is excellent. To make sure that they just don't skim it I ask "thank you. Have you read all of it because I'm afraid it's long", and they say "yes of course". What can I ask next to have a more detailed feedback? Or perhaps asking them to share without being perceived as needy? | [
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"text": "**\"I really want to make this better; please could you tell me *just one thing* I could improve?\"**\n\nThis h... | 2020/02/09 | [
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50,030 | I am a Japanese student learning English, and one of my current goals is to learn to write texts in such a way that no reader will realize I am not a native speaker. I am humbly seeking advice on how to reach that end. To clarify, I do not intend to become a great writer, but I want to write research articles, short stories, and news articles like a native speaker. There may have been somewhat similar questions on this SE, but the focus of my question is on avoiding exposing myself as a non-native speaker rather than on merely writing good.
Sure, the most important thing is to avoid making mistakes that no native speaker would make, but that's the easiest part. After all, I can simply use only those expressions and grammatical constructions that I am sure about. In case of doubt, I can always check things in Google. I know that I should take utmost care about prepositions, which are my Echellim heel at the moment, but that's manageable.
So my question is about what is beyond merely ensuring that no mistake slips in. To clarify, I find that practically all articles written in English by the academic stuff of my university in Japan read quite differently from articles and books written by native English speakers. Being a non-native English speaker myself, I see the following differences:
* Expressions. Texts written by non-native speakers often abound in non-standard lengthy expressions that could be worded simpler as well as in repetitively used grammatical constructions. Native speakers, in contrast, are much more effective and versatile in expressing their thoughts and use idiomatic expressions more frequently. They manage to express complex things in very few words. To write like native speakers, I strive to recall and use expressions seen or heard by me before rather than to construct my own expressions.
* Word choice. Many non-native speakers either always use very simple words or sometimes make weird word choices, choosing rare words for no reason. Native speakers mainly use simple words, but occasionally insert rare words whose flavor perfectly fits the context and the intended meaning.
* Style and structure. Native speakers tend to carefully structure their texts, breaking them into small paragraphs and starting each paragraph with a new idea, which is then explained or commented on in the paragraph itself. Furthermore, native speakers tend to express their thoughts very precisely. In contrast, many non-native speakers choose a somewhat chaotic (or, to put it differently, more complex) text structure and often write somewhat vaguely, not caring to sharpen the picture, so to speak.
My question is primarily addressed to native English speakers and is this: What else should I pay attention to? Apart from the things listed above, how do you recognize whether the author of a text is a native speaker? I would be grateful for any advice that could help me reach my goal. | [
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50,031 | When I am writing a very intense and dramatic scene, I often become overwhelmed by it and have to stop writing. Any tips on avoiding this and on focusing on writing. | [
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50,032 | I read the post about referencing real and fictional characters but would like to know what you think about this. I am writing a book where the character is looking back at his childhood toys and I mentioned a Lego Millennium Falcon he put together as a child. Is it all right to reference this or should I just leave it out altogether?
Thanks | [
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50,034 | Is there any issues with writing a book and publishing it that is based on topics and concepts that the technical industry previously coined? Several books have been written on the topics, I just wanted to add my view and expand on the topics.
This would be my first book, so I don’t have much understand...
Or do I just need to cite them in the works cited references? Do I actually need to contact them and get written permission to reference their concepts in my book?
Sorry for all the newbie questions. | [
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50,043 | While I absolutely agree, that descriptions should be experienced through the narrator's / protagonist's eyes in terms of personal involvement, I oftentimes find myself puzzled in describing the basic shapes of objects.
There's spheres, toruses, cylinders, cones, cubes, cuboids, pyramids, cylinders, prisms. But for me that all sounds too mathematical and sometimes doesn't even describe the shape at all.
I wonder if someone has come up with technical descriptions of objects (esp. in sci-fi) that makes it easy to make the object become visible in the reader's mind. I.e. how would one describe the space station Babylon 5, a plain and simple screwdriver or a hammer.
I know this sounds like a simple question and 3D shapes seem to be part of the answer, but something eludes me. Maybe you have an idea. Thanks so much! | [
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50,050 | **Background**
I am currently working on a small science fiction story (as referenced in a previous question of mine). The main protagonist of the story is an autistic biologist who gets stranded on an alien planet when his shuttle's landing system is sabotaged, and has to use his wits and knowledge of ecology to survive until the main ship can find him. The plot is heavily inspired by *The Martian* and uses a lot of similar science concepts, i.e. he figures out how to chemically produce water from shuttle fuel and grows plants for food from the seeds that his crashed shuttle was carrying.
However, the story does take place in the distant sci-fi future, a la *Star Trek*, and there are some bits in the story where characters use science-specific lingo or "technobabble" in dialogue to explain things that are happening on the ship, i.e. referencing the concept of ion acceleration to explain how the ship's ion propulsion works and why it went wrong in the protagonist's crashed shuttle (I referenced [this NASA webpage](https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html)). The protagonist is also a scientist and references biology and chemistry concepts frequently in his inner monologue.
**The problem**
I've received some criticism from my beta readers that I use too much of this unfamiliar lingo when I'm describing the science of the world, and that not everyone will understand the chemistry concepts that the protagonist explains to the reader through his internal monologue, such as the chemical reaction he uses to make water from jet fuel. I worry that some parts are coming across as too information-dense and want to make it easier on the reader as a whole.
I've been trying to solve this by making the explanation more casual and conversational, and avoiding using specific terms, i.e. instead of using the word "ion," the engineer could just say "charged particles." But I'm not sure that is the right approach, hence my question today.
**What is the best way to avoid or mitigate dense "technobabble" and scientific lingo in a science fiction setting, and make it easier on the reader in general? How should I explain a possibly unfamiliar science concept to a general reader in a way that's engaging to read?** | [
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50,052 | Well long story short I have been writing a fan fiction for a while (The fan fiction takes place in the 'please don't tell my parents i'm a supervillain' universe) and some of my readers asked how they could support me. I want to give them something as a reward so I was thinking of earlier access(Before I finish proof reading.) however I am afraid that this might be considered monetization and be considered a copyright infrigement.
As such what I wish to ask is that is it copyright infrigement or can I give early access to my readers? | [
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50,068 | I'm trying to find a believable reason for someone to open a clearly cursed tomb for my short story. I'm finding myself between the silly-but-different and believable-but-boring spectrum. For example, a historian or researcher might open it just for scientific reasons. But that's not too exciting. On the other hand, a completely farfetched but cool reason wouldn't feel real, and this is supposed to be a mystery/horror story.
Any ideas come to your mind? | [
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"text": "Wealth. Digging up tombs to loot them is a time-honoured human activity.\n\nIn trying to explain any kind of... | 2020/02/11 | [
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50,070 | As some of you might know from my other question, I'm writing a middle-grade book (hopefully the first in a series). In the setting of the series, a very small percentage of the population are born with genes that enable them to develop powers after exposure to a solar eclipse. The gene, while having existed for a long time, has only started affecting people ten years ago (the story is set in 2020), and people with the gene are only eligible to get a power if they are exposed to an eclipse between the ages of 3 and 18. The heroes of the books aren't really going around saving people (they leave that to the authorities); they are mostly trying to remain undetected, contact others like them (known as Eclipsed), and stand against a much larger group of Eclipsed who believes that they have been chosen to "fix" the world.
When I asked a question about something related to this, I was told that an NBC series called Heroes has a similar premise. For those who are familiar with these series, do you think I need to make some changes to be less similar to this show? | [
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50,080 | I'm quoting a sentence from Carl von Clausewitz' On War. He has part of the sentence italicized though:
>
> Obstinacy *is a fault of temperament*.
>
>
>
Is it necessary to maintain his formatting? Ideally, I would like omit the formatting so it's consistent with the rest of the sentence that the quote will be placed in.
I know if I was *adding* italics/bolding for emphasis, I would need to indicate that the formatting was my own by saying something like "Emphasis mine". Is there a reverse of this though to indicate that I've removed emphasis (which seems to be his intent)? | [
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50,086 | I am a lifelong writer, who was also born without an ability to smell. I have been trained to engage the reader by applying the five senses, or as many of the five as is practical without becoming excessive. My problem is that I am straight up missing a sense.
Think of a writer who was born blind, and has created stories by dictating them to software or a person. But they're writing characters who aren't blind. How would that person write vision, so that the readers can really feel it?
Or a writer who was born deaf, totally alien to any concept of sound, but none of their characters are hard of hearing. Obviously, they could write one or more characters who are, and would present a really interesting perspective on that. But how do they describe sounds to people who know what that is like?
I have tried for my entire life to interview people and gain an understanding of this missing sense. Unfortunately, it's just not part of my cognition. I know garbage and armpits and rotting meat smell bad. I know baking bread, fresh cut grass, and many flowers have pleasant odors. But I struggle to do more, and most often forget entirely to add smell to my story. As though everyone in that world shares my disability.
What can I do, beyond just using words like "good, bad, strong," or "sweet," words that carry over into other senses, to give readers an experience like they are there? | [
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50,097 | I am a freelance translator, and once received a request from a client saying that they were supposed to translate a chapter of a book, but had to outsource this task as it was difficult.
I declined this request, but assuming that the client was to translate the chapter so it could be published, how would authorship and copyright work? Can I expect to receive credit and royalties from the publication? If not, does the client take all of the credit and the royalties? | [
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50,104 | I am a lifelong writer, who was also born without an ability to smell. I have been trained to engage the reader by applying the five senses, or as many of the five as is practical without becoming excessive. My problem is that I am straight up missing a sense.
Think of a writer who was born blind, and has created stories by dictating them to software or a person. But they're writing characters who aren't blind. How would that person write vision, so that the readers can really feel it?
Or a writer who was born deaf, totally alien to any concept of sound, but none of their characters are hard of hearing. Obviously, they could write one or more characters who are, and would present a really interesting perspective on that. But how do they describe sounds to people who know what that is like?
I have tried for my entire life to interview people and gain an understanding of this missing sense. Unfortunately, it's just not part of my cognition. I know garbage and armpits and rotting meat smell bad. I know baking bread, fresh cut grass, and many flowers have pleasant odors. But I struggle to do more, and most often forget entirely to add smell to my story. As though everyone in that world shares my disability.
What can I do, beyond just using words like "good, bad, strong," or "sweet," words that carry over into other senses, to give readers an experience like they are there? | [
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50,107 | I am wondering if there are any rules for misdirection like how would you tell if a misdirection was done right or wrong in a story? Are there do's and don'ts or a point where you can over do it when misleading readers and if so why? | [
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"text": "Kurt Vonnegut is famous for saying,\n\n> \n> Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on,... | 2020/02/13 | [
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50,118 | I am in the process of writing a book with many of the characters discovering that they have supernatural powers.
I am trying very hard to find 'original' powers that have not yet been created and explored, however a lot of my ideas (which I thought were my own!) have already been explored in other works.
How can I write my book and have it published if the characters have powers which are similar to those in other books out there.
I am not copying anyone and want to put my own spin on this.
Shall I waste anymore time with this idea, or will I be sued for copying people?
Please help!
Thank you :) | [
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50,122 | How can there be suspense if the reader knows the conclusion from the beginning?
I am writing an apocalyptic survival story, and I chose to write it in a non-linear style. So, the reader will know who survives and who dies at the start of the story.
Usually, a lot of writers create suspense by hiding who lives and who dies until the end. And yet, we still read books and watch movies where we already know the outcome from the beginning. For example, in *Apollo 13*, most people know that
>
> all of the astronauts survive
>
>
>
in the ending decades before the movie started production! But that did not make that movie any less fun to watch.
So, how do writers pull off this feat? | [
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50,134 | I have had about two beta-readers who had pet peeves with respect to the use of certain words in fiction. I was wondering if these pet peeves are valid. For instance, is the use of the word, "then," considered annoying for some readers? I have looked and edited my manuscripts and have concluded that I was not in anyway excessive on my use of this word. I just don't understand why some readers still find annoying. It is a very useful word. But anyway, what is considered a pet peeve when it comes to writing? | [
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50,158 | So I am attempting to write a book, the first I have attempted yet.
My current method has been to just write scenes that come into my mind and I have over 40 pages of 'scenes' so far and have developed 4 characters. It is spontaneous but I do write everyday.
I go back to each scene after a while and find new inspiration, and add to them as well as edit them and they are always evolving.
Is this a method others use? I know everybody is different and have different approaches.
I am not a professional writer by any standard but enjoy writing very much and have read thousands of books! But I haven't had specific creative writing training so am wondering if this is how most books are intially formed or if you guys have any advice on structuring the book and how to develop it further?!
Thank you :) | [
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50,172 | I am writing Historical Fiction for Adults.
What is the acceptable word limit.
Some places say 80K to 100K
Others say 150K
If it matters, I plan to submit to publishers who accept manuscript WITHOUT agent. | [
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50,176 | So today, some of my friends challenged me to write a short story and gave me a number of prompts from which to write, most of which were admittedly *not great*.
There was one, however, which worked for me. It is a nice, short story about a dude who has a crush on his roommate but doesn't have the know-how of romance to tell him, so he goes on a world tour deal to try and understand romance. There's also a nice twist ending but that's not relevant.
The problem I have run into is that, well, a lot of the story revolves around LGBTQ+ people and romance, two subjects which I am not well versed in at all. As such I worry that I may write things which are, accidentally on my part, offensive, an issue made quite serious by the fact that at least half of the group identify or have identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
This story is quite a tough subject for me to crack, so I really want to get things right with it. How can I write this story without offense? | [
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50,183 | I am working on a series where one of the intended primary draws is character drama and growth. I have an ensemble cast of five characters who more or less share the role of main character equally, though there is a clear viewpoint character. I am trying to avoid making any character exclusively "comedic relief", so what I have done is give them a mixture of serious character arcs that provide drama or flaws that either provide levity or conflict, though obviously some characters end up skewed towards levity or drama. The story is heavily, heavily character-driven.
The problem arises with character development. The story is one where part of the intended appeal is watching the characters grow over time, become more mature, and overcome their flaws. **However, I am finding that with positive character development the characters are losing the traits that make them funny, appealing, and likable as distinct entities.** I find their immaturity makes them do or say stupid things that make the audience laugh. Their flaws cause them to make mistakes and create tension in the plot. **As they learn from their mistakes they seem to be less spontaneous, less interesting, and overall less proactive.** Taking this to the extremes if the characters were perfectly mature in a Platonic sort of way they would never say stupid things and always make the right decisions, but of course no human being is like that.
A good example of this in my case is one of the protagonists who has a fatal flaw of frequently neglecting to look before they leap. This character ends up going from being the effective deuteragonist at the beginning of the series to being a little more than a sounding board for the other lead characters by the end of it because they lack agency due to character development. If I try to get them to do the same things that made them entertaining at the beginning of the story it comes off as them being uncaring about the needs of the people they care about around them and being unable to learn from their mistakes. There is a subplot in the first book where 90% of the conflict was driven by this character exacerbating the problem with their arrogance and lack of forethought, but applying a comparable plot in, say, Book 3 wouldn't work because that character isn't the same person who would make those mistakes anymore.
Two other, smaller examples show additional ways how this is a problem.
* Another character lacks confidence, and part of what is supposed to make them endearing is them learning to act in spite of it. Gaining confidence is always a good route for long-term character development with insecure characters but gain too much confidence and they have now lost the core part of the character that made them endearing. I remember this was a problem with Samun in *Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann*, the character’s development came off as interesting up until episode 11 but I couldn’t help but feel that after that they had discarded all of Samun’s prior character traits that made him interesting and just made him blandly cool rather than compartmentalizing it as part of a multi-faceted character.
* A third character has a core personality trait of “lovable jerk”, which is a major factor in their personality but is also their greatest flaw. If they were to develop such that they lose the jerkiness they now cease to have a personality.
**The problem with this is that with sufficient character development it is no longer these quirky, distinct, memorable characters interacting with each other and having adventures, but a bunch of generic heroic self-inserts for the reader, and the plot is no longer about internal character development but external conflict.** This is a particular problem with teenage or young adult characters that are expected to grow over the course of the story such that by the story’s end they come off as archetypal and messianic rather than a three-dimensional character. Older adult characters (in which the main characters older than the age bracket represented by protagonists) I’ve noticed in fiction in general have a similar problem: either they come across as being too world-wise or else come across as having deep-seated issues that are presented as a red flag to the reader that they are stuck in their ways and will never change.
[I remember thinking the Ben 10 franchise is the perfect example of this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnc22F3zy7Q) The original *Ben 10* series was popular because the main character got into stupid, immature antics that the audience could laugh at or created tension in the plot. Fast-forward to the sequel series, *Ben 10: Alien Force*, and in the first two seasons the main character lost all the character flaws that made him well-rounded and interesting and became blandly heroic. I remember dropping the series for exactly this reason. Fan outcry over this extreme change in character led the writers to try and bring back elements of Ben’s original characterization in season three of *Alien Force*, but this resulted in a lot of viewers complaining that this made Ben annoying and immature.
**I have often heard it said that “we never learn to overcome our flaws, we just learn to compensate for them better”. That was one thing I was thinking about aiming for, the characters get *better* at dealing with their flaws but they don’t always completely overcome them and they have their ups and downs.** For example, the character who fails to apply forethought, never manages to completely kick that habit and become a thoughtful person but instead merely manages to improve their “batting average” when it comes to such situations. However, one thing I’ve noticed is that readers hate watching characters backslide, they claim that it’s “character regression”, even though in reality people typically have ups and downs when it comes to a flaw. Hirohiko Ariku actually wrote about this in *Manga in Theory and Practice* where he says the reader wants the protagonist to be “always rising” even though that's not how it works in reality. However, this is also the same Ariku who throws his cast out the window every four years or so to avoid this exact same problem.
This is also the same reason why having the characters develop *bad* habits instead of *good* habits can be a bit difficult.
The characters also have multiple flaws that aren't always highlighted with every decision, the difficulty with that is you have to forecast it ahead of time or else it comes off as the author/writers creating new flaws wholecloth because they've run out of previously-existing character flaws and dimensions to explore ([viewers of serialized television will know what I'm talking about](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CompressedVice)). And even then that is only delaying the problem because as the character learn to deal with multiple flaws they start having the same problem again.
**The big issue with this is it creates diminishing returns.** Case in point.
* Book 1 - The characters are great because their flaws are at their most pronounced and their clashing against each other creates drama and narrative tension
* Book 2 - A little less interesting because some of their flaws are being compensated for and the character's edges have been sanded down
* Book 3 - The plot tension driven by character growth and inter-personal issues is at its minimum and the story is less interesting as a result
Some might say "well that's why you end the series there", but the broader issue is that...
1. It cheats the audience of seeing the characters profit from their personal growth (audiences *like* seeing characters profit from long-term character development, I've found)
2. The characters have to be interesting enough to carry the series to the finish line where it can wrap up its overarching plot
3. The characters have to stay interesting enough for the author to want to finish the story.
So, given all of this, **how do I balance character growth and immaturity to keep the characters memorable and entertaining, progress the plot, and avoid them from becoming "blandly heroic"?** | [
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50,186 | I have been BLIND QUERYING agents for nearly three years to no avail, and I am wondering if this approach is a realistic one. I have used countless templates in crafting my query letter and all my queries were catered to the agents needs. Is this how most authors find agents realistically speaking? Or do most authors find agents through some kind of a referral or conference request? I mostly write Christian fantasies. | [
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"text": "Don't know about stats as far as most, but yes, it happens:\n<https://twitter.com/samroebuck/status/122991999008370... | 2020/02/20 | [
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50,190 | The deuteragonist of my trilogy, *The Ragnarǫk Sequence* is heavily implied to be Juopne d'Arc (whose characterisation takes many cues from [Artoria Pendragon](https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Saber_(Fate/stay_night))) and serves as the [protagonist's moral compass](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheConscience), criticising him for his less than heroic acts.
The series suggests that the deuteragonist is even more messed up than the protagonist and has Major Depressive Disorder, [but hides it better](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MaskOfSanity) (which says a lot, given that the protagonist suffers from severe cases of Borderline Personality Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder and sex addiction). Such mental instability stems from the trauma of the Hundred Years War, struggling to conform to modern society's values where religion is outright mocked, everyone she knows being dead and having no human contact for over six centuries.
Things get worse when the deuteragonist learns that the various visions of Angels and Saints she had in life were attempts by an [aeons-old, serpentine monstrosity](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EldritchAbomination) with omnicidal tendencies called Jǫrmungandr to manipulate her into freeing it. This revelation is a crucial factor in making the deuteragonist abandon her religious views, as he comes to believe that she died for a lie and another is when Jǫrmungandr's "father"/"messager", Lomo reveals that he [killed and masqueraded](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KillAndReplace) as a priest giving her emotional support to destroy her sanity and render the protagonist susceptible to influence from Jǫrmungandr.
All of this insanity ends with the deuteragonist masturbating to a memory of the protagonist having sex with his former love interest, [showing that she has hit rock bottom](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DespairEventHorizon) and leaving her wanting to commit suicide. And yes, it's as bad as it sounds.
The problem is that I want to write in a manner where the deuteragonist's sanity slippage occurs in a gradual and believable fashion, rather than some contrived, implausible way.
**How should I accomplish this?** | [
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50,201 | I'm an artist and I want to illustrate some of my favorite poems in a book. The poems are mostly from before 1900.
Question #1: **Is it alright to illustrate them?**
Question #2: **Would it be alright if the compilation is published?** | [
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50,205 | I would like to venture out into present tense, but it is so hard for me to do. How can I work on this to be able to actually write a full book in the present tense? | [
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50,223 | I've been wanting to write a book in my spare time for a long time now, and while I've tried to start a couple times already, I've usually stopped again after a week or so because I get stuck micromanaging minor details like the moment to moment events in a scene or the wording of individual sentences in dialog, while in the meantime I have large sections of the story and elements I'd like to incorporate rotting away in my brain.
I've been thinking about using Agile planning or elements from Agile planning in order to make it easier for me to deal with these issues, because it's commonly done in my work sector and I've found that at work it really helps me to keep an overview of what I can do for progress and how long I normally should take to do so.
The elements in particular I'm interested in using:
1. Dividing my book into small pieces of work that I can feasibly do in a single sitting, like writing a chapter outline or doing some world building;
2. Planning the pieces I'll be working on in weekly sections that if necessary can be finished later on;
3. Turning blockers into new pieces of work that I can plan to do after finishing the current tasks instead of getting stuck on them;
4. Being able to delay more detailed pieces of work to later drafts without losing track of them.
I'm wondering if this planning methodology is feasible to use for the general writing process, especially the elements mentioned above. Does anyone have experience with using Agile planning to better organize their writing schedule? | [
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50,225 | I frequently experience a specific type of writer's block and am looking for strategies to work around it.
I lean toward discovery writing but with some need to understand my story in advance, enough to give me a general direction to head in my storywriting.
I frequently struggle with not being able to write because I don't understand what should be going on in the immediate moment. Because of this I try hard to end writing sessions in the middle of something going on in the story, so I can pick back up the thread later. Non-linear writing helps some, as does switching writing projects opportunistically, but they don't fix the underlying problem of finding myself drawing a total blank at knowing what comes immediately next in my story. I now have three stories sitting at chapter breaks, and I just can't see what comes immediately next in any of them.
Do others experience this, and, if so, how do they handle it? | [
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50,230 | I have one POV character who is not too important to the story. He is an Elf soldier who keeps a important prisoner captive, and then captive runs away, and this Elf soldier then is hit and faints. When main character's POV appears and he comes to the place, he sees this Elf soldier lying on the ground and his friend bringing him some help. That is their only meeting together.
This Elf is not important to the main story and he does not affect it, he is just one of the soldiers in war. However, I really want to make him interesting and alive. Yet how can I accomplish this altough he is not part of the main story. I don't want to put him there just to a filler for pages, but to show an ordinary soldier's view of war.
So how to accomplish this?
Thanks in advance! | [
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50,232 | I am not a professional poet. A few years a poem of mine was published and reviewed by the South Asian Ensemble journal. This journal no longer exists, I cannot find it online and neither in print. I wrote to the former editors, and did not hear back from them either. Neither could I locate the issue of the journal with my poem on Google on miscellaneous websites.
As a result the published poem is lost.
When I try to submit to a new journal, it asks me if the poem was published elsewhere. How should I submit the poem for review again? | [
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50,244 | I write a lot of horror, and I notice that my characters use "Oh my God!" when they're frightened in my scenes by a demon, ghost or murderer. How can I make them seem terrified without being so cliche and using "Oh my God!"? | [
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"text": "Try writing their thoughts of the moment, and how their body reacts (ex: heart beating fast). Also keep in mind that th... | 2020/02/24 | [
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