qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
51,023 | Hello everyone I'm having issues on writing a scene about death. My character just died and I want to set a scene were she is falling in darkness. I'm having trouble about this . Could someone help me ? Thank you. | [
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"text": "**Nothing should be in your writing unless it serves the larger story**. It doesn't matter how cool a concept ... | 2020/05/04 | [
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51,028 | I'm writing a story centered around a protagonist trying to live a normal life while suppressing his evil impulses and the temptation of giving into those dark desires. *Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hmdobr* is my inspiration, but that book was written from a third person perspective, a friend of the character looking into his life f... | [
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"text": "I'm not sure making this un-creepy is either possible or desirable. Your premise is deliberately creepy, why f... | 2020/05/05 | [
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51,030 | When I make a hilarious joke on social media it's easy to put an emoji/emoticon/smiley on the end.
But sometimes I want to set the context and make a more reasoned argument over a paragraph or so. I might put something funny in the middle . **Should I put the emoji before or after the full stop?** It seems no matter ... | [
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"text": "There is no real grammatical rule for this and the very fact that you are using emoji shows that grammar probably isn... | 2020/05/05 | [
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51,044 | The following extract is from a screenplay I'm writing. I could really use some advice on how to format it, particularly around referring to groups of people and an unnamed person from a group.
>
> Bob watches as a group of YOUNG WOMEN dance.
>
> He turns his attention to a group of MIDDLE-AGED MEN talking at a t... | [
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"text": "When I was in theatre in high school this was the way it was done.\n\nThe people, if nameless or in a group li... | 2020/05/06 | [
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51,049 | I'm writing a help document for a website that tests people. In much of the copy for the website, I've referred to "multiple-choice" questions with the hyphen.
Now, I have to write about multiple response questions, which is a slightly different type of question. I was thinking of hyphenating this too, since I already... | [
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"text": "It honestly doesn't matter, as long as you keep all the \"multiple-choice\"/\"multiple choice\" and \"multiple-respon... | 2020/05/07 | [
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51,055 | I have a sentence with a structure similar to this one:
"When advertisers try to influence the beliefs of consumers about the effects of products they face a tradeoff."
I cannot decide whether I should put a comma after 'products' or if I should omit it. My intuition tells me that I perhaps should, but the first part... | [
{
"answer_id": 51056,
"author": "JonStonecash",
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"text": "My first reading of the sentence grouped the words \"products they face\" together. By the time that I encounte... | 2020/05/07 | [
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51,063 | I've got a character that mumbles, and I'd like good advice on how to write his dialogue. He isn't a POV character, and I won't give him too much dialogue that would make the reading tedious, but it's important that I show his mumbling through his dialogue, when necessary.
What sounds would the character have difficul... | [
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"answer_id": 51064,
"author": "Captain Phoenix",
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"text": "Words are less clearly pronounced, because the mouth movements required for clear speech are \"lazier\". So... | 2020/05/08 | [
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51,066 | I'm trying to find the right word to use in a (serious) comic I'm writing.
The character is an eighteen year old American girl, talking to some older women who she's just met. Suddenly, in mid-sentence, she sees someone entering the room who surprises and scares her. What does she SAY?
At the moment I've got her sayi... | [
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"answer_id": 51068,
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"text": "Why have her say anything at all?\n\nA large part of human communication is also based on body language. May... | 2020/05/08 | [
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51,074 | I'm writing a crime/mystery fiction novel.
The main plot involves a murder at the start, a case that my protagonist, a police detective, has to solve. He faces conflict and difficulties along the way, until solving who did it and making an arrest. At the inciting incident, he discovers that the homicide victim (who wa... | [
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"text": "I think that the two plot lines must be related if the novel, taken as a unit, is to make sense to the reader.... | 2020/05/09 | [
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51,078 | I'm writing a story where my character meets some of the world's greatest philosophers in a dream. He meets Nrobg Xufka, Dostoevsky, and Freavcicz Neetzrphi in dreams. Xufka only speaks in quotes from his books. Nieztscche and Dostoevsky argue with eachother for several minutes.
I'm wondering now if this is illegal, ... | [
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"text": "People have done this before in fiction (Midnight in Paris, for example), so I highly doubt it's illegal. \nOf cou... | 2020/05/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51078",
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51,090 | How do you look for words that are related to a certain culture? For example, when I want to look for all items that existed during Ancient Rome, how do I do this as efficiently as possible. Is there any book you would recommend, what about items during the Meiji Era? Clothes such as chiton and palla are hardly ever re... | [
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"text": "As far as I can tell, there isn't any book or website with a complete list of what you're looking for. You ... | 2020/05/12 | [
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51,092 | >
> "Clouds soared high into the sky like raging horses."
>
>
>
Horses don't soar, but is it ok to use "like raging horses" after "soar high into the sky"? I am wondering if this kind of comparison is permitted. The direction is "wrong" and the verb is "wrong", so I am wondering if the use of like would be warrant... | [
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"answer_id": 51093,
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"text": "There's no law against it, so of course it's *permitted*. (In fact, poetry tends to include \"illogical\" metaphor... | 2020/05/12 | [
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51,103 | As a computer programmer, I comment my code. For example:
>
> The following lines are dependent on "source 1" and "source 2".
> "Source 2" is a user login and password. Overall, the purpose is to
> retrieve an AWS token The ajax call to an AWS Gateway requires a
> token.
>
>
>
I double quote "source 1" and "so... | [
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"text": "If you are using double-quotes to indicate the entities, then the full-stop (or comma, or question mark) goes *... | 2020/05/13 | [
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51,107 | Is it acceptable to switch to present tense when writing in third person POV past tense? (Not only within dialog.)
For example:
"They marched in two perfectly formed lines. Their footsteps **echoing** through the hall."
The above version seems more appealing than:
"They marched in two perfectly formed lines. Thei... | [
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"text": "It works, but only if you do it within the same sentence. So your first example needs to be corrected to:\n\n> \n> T... | 2020/05/13 | [
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51,120 | I have asked friend and relations a question and want to publish the answers with their name by the answer. If I ask them if they mind it being publishes is that enough? | [
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"text": "You can always write about your experiences, including things other people tell you. However, don't try to pass off... | 2020/05/15 | [
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51,123 | I expected this simple, but cannot find any good source. Assume there are two sources, source A and source B. Both are different from each other, that is A provides some info on a problem, B provides other info. I would like to cite the combination. Something like: I do ... because ... (And, 2008; Byl, 2012). I realize... | [
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"text": "It depends on what style (MLA/APA/Chicago) you are using but this is how my school teaches it:\n\n(*intext citation 1... | 2020/05/15 | [
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51,126 | So I have a question concerning punctuation. Let's say that Character A is talking to Character B. Character A, like most people, doesn't always speak in complete sentences (think about when people interrupt themselves out of confusion, or a sudden realization, etc). A has a question for B, but A doesn't get all the wo... | [
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"text": "It depends on what style (MLA/APA/Chicago) you are using but this is how my school teaches it:\n\n(*intext citation 1... | 2020/05/16 | [
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51,127 | So I have been trying to write a character that is oblivious to romantic advances because they mistake them for normal, platonic reactions. I know how they act in my mind, but I can't convey it enough to readers.
A little background; The love interest is a stubborn nihilist. They don't *not* like romance, but they ar... | [
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"text": "One thing you can try would be to write out a possible argument or scene with a bit of tension surrounding ... | 2020/05/16 | [
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51,136 | The Lord of the Rings has been criticized by actor John Boyega for having every character be white. I don't believe Boyega understands the background of the series (i.e. that it's based on medieval England).
If I were to write my own epic fantasy based on medieval England, would I also get in trouble for discriminatio... | [
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"text": "**You Bet You Will — Welcome to Writing!**\n\nI agree with @JasonBassford, there will always be someone who thinks you ... | 2020/05/17 | [
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51,139 | I had an idea for a setting. I don't know if it has been done before. What I thought of is that a government would collect children. I am not sure if I should have the children be distributed to other families or if they are to be raised by government workers. Maybe the children are raised by people, assigned by the go... | [
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"author": "Simon",
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"text": "Your short description makes me think of ways real world governments, that tried (and still try) to force people to a... | 2020/05/18 | [
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51,144 | In the writing, I was doing recently, a character is locked up in a wagon and dragged across the country by rich slavers. How could I show the reader that time is passing when the character wakes up only occasionally, seeing very little of the outside world, and is drugged to unconsciousness whenever they are seen awak... | [
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"answer_id": 51145,
"author": "Chronocidal",
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"selected": true,
"text": "What sort of time period are we looking at? Hours? Days? Weeks? *Months*?\n\nOver a period of hours, it's going ... | 2020/05/18 | [
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51,159 | I'm writing a new story. The main character is male. I know how to write from the viewpoint of a male (I am one), but I'm lost on writing him.
Here's the story so far: His family was killed, he ended up in the court of a royal family, and then he ended up in the position to save a kingdom.
I'm lost on how to write hi... | [
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"answer_id": 51161,
"author": "TMuffin",
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"text": "**Roll some dice.**\n\nCreate tables for sexuality, race, possible personality traits, etc. For example:\n\n1. strai... | 2020/05/18 | [
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51,186 | My story is raring to be put on paper. But the first paragraph, indeed the first chapter, is stiff as a board. Way too much subject, verb sentence structure (clean and safe).
Basically, I’m so worried about striking the correct chords that I’m strangling the opening of my story and it has no flow. I’m strangling the ... | [
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"text": "Start two chapters early\n------------------------\n\nIf it takes you a couple of chapters to get into the f... | 2020/05/19 | [
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51,192 | So, I had a dream about this demon character named Sin (I physically saw his name in my dream) that goes to church. I wanted to make this into a story, but I feel like it's too similar to Rin Okumura from Blue Exorcist. I decided to change my characters name to Sihn, but I feel like it's still too similar. Any tips on ... | [
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"text": "Start two chapters early\n------------------------\n\nIf it takes you a couple of chapters to get into the f... | 2020/05/19 | [
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51,212 | So, there was a time when I could finish a book in 2 days. All I did was read books and sometimes I took some time out to write something as well.
For the past few months though? Nothing. When I sit to read, I can't finish a single page even if my life depended on it.
And writing? I mean I chose to make a career ou... | [
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"text": "I've experienced something very similar, in fact I still have it. But I have gotten to the point where I can re... | 2020/05/20 | [
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51,218 | I've been writing a book for almost a year now. But it takes so long because I have to wait for "inspiration".
Sometimes I will get an idea that makes me excited and want to write. Mostly it's a piece of scene or dialogue. I don't know if this is an inspiration, but I call it that way, because out of nowhere the idea ... | [
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"answer_id": 51228,
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"text": "I understand the feeling. However, the way to write better is to critique. Write a full scen... | 2020/05/20 | [
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51,229 | This is one area of writing that I find myself struggling a lot. I usually divide my chapters into scenes and each scene has a goal(s) that I have to achieve. And I have found that even though I know what the goal of a dialogue between certain characters is, I am not able to convincingly pen it down. I get lost in writ... | [
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"text": "I can understand how your dialogue would come across as unnatural, because... well, it isn't. You're trying to forc... | 2020/05/20 | [
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51,231 | A character in my book is a (small g) goddess, who has limited knowledge of all her worshippers and the natural world. She and a group of others were raised to godhood by their friends many years ago, and they rule a world of their own design.
Now, in an attempt to save their world from an invasion of evil she and ano... | [
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"text": "You have to answer a few questions first:\n\n1. What power did she have before?\n2. Was she immortal?\n3. How ... | 2020/05/20 | [
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51,259 | I want to have a book (or multiple) have a suicide in it, and I want to write the suicide. I don't know how exactly to go about that.
I know that very descriptive details or very graphic images/video/movies/media can cause some people (especailly teens, if I'm correct) to commit suicide. It can be a trigger, if in gre... | [
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"answer_id": 51276,
"author": "Tau",
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"text": "This is indeed a real danger if you write about suicide. The effect is known as [copycat suicide](https://en.wikipedia.o... | 2020/05/21 | [
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51,261 | In my writing, a goddess is removed from her position as a god and reduced to a human. ([See my previous question](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/51231/how-would-a-god-like-character-react-to-losing-their-godhood)) At the moment of the loss of power huge amounts of energy would be released into the aether,... | [
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"text": "It depends. Answer these questions first:\n\n1. What kind of energy is it?\n2. How is it released?\n3. Does th... | 2020/05/21 | [
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51,266 | I'm writing a book right now. I want to get beta readers for it, but at what point in the story should I get beta readers?
Should I get them early?
In the middle?
Near the end?
After the book?
I'm wondering when I should get beta readers. And how should I pick those beta readers? | [
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"answer_id": 51267,
"author": "Mary",
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"text": "Writers vary enormously in when they have beta readers read their work. Some people have others read the work while th... | 2020/05/21 | [
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51,273 | I'm really trying to understand the difference between the abstract and the introduction in academic writing.
In my opinion, the abstract just talks about the aim of the article and the structure of the article. And the introduction discusses the background of the topic and the central sentence of the whole article.
... | [
{
"answer_id": 54811,
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"text": "The fields in which I've written papers (Computer Science, Psychology and Theater Science) the abstract is a compressed... | 2020/05/22 | [
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51,274 | I am writing a text (following MHRA style if that makes a difference) that refers to several images throughout, but I am unsure how to include them in my body text in terms of writing style.
Does it have to be written as 'In figure 3 we can see that ...' or does it just sit in brackets (see figure 3) while the sentenc... | [
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"text": "Speaking from a technical writing standpoint (since I have little experience with scientific writing), I think th... | 2020/05/22 | [
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51,286 | I am writing a story in which two children, ages 12-14 years old, discover a portal to another dimension. The portal is roughly the size of an average door and has existed for five years prior to their discovery of it.
The location of the portal must fit all of the following:
* It must not be in a private home
* It ... | [
{
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"author": "Mary",
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"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "Accessible through a crawl space that only the children can fit through. Possibly because it was used for storage for ... | 2020/05/23 | [
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51,303 | I'm planning to write a book and eventually self-publish it online through Amazon (I haven't decided which platform on Amazon yet, but Segdle seems reasonable). The book will contain mostly texts, but a few diagrams, Mozh symbols written in, and possibly some codes in the format `a=0`.
Now, I've used ShareLaTeX/[OverL... | [
{
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"author": "MattAllegro",
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"text": "Yes, it is!\n\nLaTeX provides several standard `documentclass`es, [`book`](https://ctan.org/pkg/book), [`report... | 2020/05/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51303",
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51,309 | I have a character that I really like. They were originally intended to be the main villain for a particular story arc and then get killed off for good at the end, but I felt they were really interesting and had a lot of potential that wasn't being utilized and tried penciling in a redemption arc for them. The characte... | [
{
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"author": "Mary",
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Try beta readers. You are too close to the story to judge. It's possible that your character is stealing the show by b... | 2020/05/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51309",
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51,310 | I have a character in my story for whom being computer savvy is supposed to be a major personality trait. The character works with computers for a living (even if their side job they do as part of the plot is almost purely physical) and considers being a white-hat hacker as one of their hobbies. However, I have noticed... | [
{
"answer_id": 51312,
"author": "Stephen Daddona",
"author_id": 44171,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44171",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "My best guess would be to hang out with computer-savvy people for several months. Make friends with the tec... | 2020/05/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51310",
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51,322 | I am writing a short book. What is the best font size to use with Times New Roman: 12 or 14? | [
{
"answer_id": 51323,
"author": "S. Mitchell",
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"selected": false,
"text": "I don't think there is one answer. However, I would definitely caution against using 14 point unless it is for ... | 2020/05/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51322",
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51,331 | It's my first attempt at trying to write a long length story of my own and so far what I've come up is a story that is to be centered around child abuse (sexual abuse) (the psychological and emotional impacts of it on the child's mental well being ). But I personally haven't experienced such an issue and it made me ref... | [
{
"answer_id": 51332,
"author": "motosubatsu",
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"selected": false,
"text": "There's no need for you to have personally experienced this sort of abuse in order to write about it, so long a... | 2020/05/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51331",
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51,335 | I'm trying to express the idea of a character undergoing a realisation, thus feeling an idea along the lines of a "fire being ignited inside of him".
However, I was wondering, are there any better ways to express this? (I feel like the fire metaphor is slightly overused)
Thanks in advance :) | [
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"text": "This one is not much different, but I might write, \"[Some thing or event] ignited in him a burning desire.\""
... | 2020/05/27 | [
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51,345 | I am finding it difficult to create fictional characters with personalities that are not a copy of myself. I'm having trouble trying to understand what others a character would do in certain situations and why. Does anyone have any tips to help create realistic characters with distinct personalities different from my o... | [
{
"answer_id": 51347,
"author": "Naomi",
"author_id": 44352,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44352",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Think about other people that you know, and how they would react in a certain situation. Think about memories that yo... | 2020/05/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51345",
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51,349 | What according to your understanding liberates a writer from the constraints of a restricted imagination and a restrained style arising out of naïve reverence and limited cognizance of the aesthetics, design, style, and composition of celebrated fiction to emerge with his own style? | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "I have three suggestions:\n\n1. Read. Read. Read. Especially read stuff you don't normally read. Get out of your ... | 2020/05/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51349",
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51,351 | How can you express sadness without using any word non-figuratively related to sadness? I have been told that in poetry you need to "Show, but not tell" instead of saying thing literally, so I am seriously wondering how you can express sadness without using any literal word related to the concept of sadness. There are ... | [
{
"answer_id": 51352,
"author": "Stephen Daddona",
"author_id": 44171,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Posture: He drooped, head bowed, shoulders forward, back bent, silently dragging his feet as he went...\n\nG... | 2020/05/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51351",
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51,354 | I have a sentence I am trying to write that just doesn't feel right. It currently reads "It is commonly said that X, but the truth is that Y." The second part feels okay, but the first part feels like something you have to climb over to get to the point.
I've tried a couple other approaches but I'm not quite happy wit... | [
{
"answer_id": 51355,
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"author_id": 22977,
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"selected": false,
"text": "\"It is commonly believed, that \\_\\_\\_\\_. However, \\_\\_\\_\\_\"\n\n\"It is a common misconception, that \\_\... | 2020/05/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51354",
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51,360 | I was there for 45,400,000 (forty-five million, four hundred thousand) seconds
I was there for 45,400,000, forty-five million, four hundred thousand, seconds? | [
{
"answer_id": 51398,
"author": "Charles Gull",
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"selected": false,
"text": "For a scientific work, I would go with something more like scientific notation:\n\n4.54 \\* 10^7 (four point f... | 2020/05/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51360",
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51,362 | I'm currently writing, or starting to write, a book that discusses misandry and the such. I'm going to try to use as much evidence as I can without it seeming harmful.
For example, I want to add in a statistic about domestic violence, but I don't want to downplay the domestic violence women face or make it seem like I... | [
{
"answer_id": 51363,
"author": "JonStonecash",
"author_id": 23701,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "I suspect that there is no way to touch this subject without causing pain and anger. \n\nWe should all hope tha... | 2020/05/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51362",
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51,364 | Recently, I've developed a habit of writing he/she/him/her and overusing the character's name at the beginning of sentences. For example:
>
> Pandora ran through the snow, following the coughs to a small building that barely qualified as a house. There were huge holes in the sides, and embers danced on wood left behi... | [
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"answer_id": 51367,
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"text": "It does seem like a couple too many of pronoun usage, but using them most of the time wouldn't necessarily hur... | 2020/05/30 | [
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51,372 | So, one of my story ideas involved werewolves. In the setting, they were a minority, much like most non-human races.
Now, of these werewolves, turned (as in a human who became a werewolf) ones only go through the transformation once, later generations (werewolves can reproduce) are born as werewolves. The whole beast-... | [
{
"answer_id": 51381,
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"text": "I can see several problems here. One is that your conflict *is* utterly one-sided. Your monster-hunter group ha... | 2020/05/30 | [
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51,374 | I have a piece of non-fiction to write that I'll be doing by telling a story. It's somewhere between a news report, op-ed, and historical lesson, but told as a short story.
In this story there are no good guys, nobody who fell from grace, and nobody to save the day. It's just a bunch of bad guys doing a bunch of bad g... | [
{
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"text": "Is it similar to \"And then there are none\"?\n\nAnd Then There Are None is classified under:\n\n* Mystery\n* Crime... | 2020/05/31 | [
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51,379 | I'm ten years old and writing a book series. I have trouble writing about older characters, and that's especially the older kids that are already dating. I don't know any people that could help me write for those characters. Do you have any advice on making those characters more realistic? | [
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"text": "Is it similar to \"And then there are none\"?\n\nAnd Then There Are None is classified under:\n\n* Mystery\n* Crime... | 2020/05/31 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51379",
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51,388 | I’m writing this fictional story and based a character off this guy I saw in a documentary. He isn’t well known at all (other than being in the documentary). I did not use his name. His appearance is the most similar. I actually looked at a picture of the guy while describing his face. The personality doesn’t match at ... | [
{
"answer_id": 51389,
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"author_id": 23927,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23927",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think you're worrying a little too much about this. If their faces are the only things that are similar, then you... | 2020/06/02 | [
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51,396 | I am writing a story that takes place in a period of heavy political tension. It is a fictional world, but based off reality, especially American history. One of my main characters is a POC who joins a political movement protesting the tyrannical government, specifically focusing on women's rights. The more research I ... | [
{
"answer_id": 51413,
"author": "Sarah Bowman",
"author_id": 43102,
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"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm not sure how you can write a person's point of view and plot line without telling their story. Obviously, ... | 2020/06/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51396",
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51,403 | I am watching and translating TV shows to practice certain languages.
I was watching a tv show where the main character speaks English but occassionally make mistakes. For example, "That person really drives me up the hall". I believe the proper phrase is, "That proper drives me up the wall."
How do you translate the... | [
{
"answer_id": 51404,
"author": "SF.",
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"text": "> \n> So, do you translate the idiom into the language you want and then make a mistake that may not be the same but simil... | 2020/06/03 | [
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51,409 | In a series I am currently writing, the protagonist grew up in a big detective family, causing her to know a lot about the detective's world.
How can I write her dialogue to show she's a knows it all?
>
> **Example -** "Loopholes are taught in Lockery class because finding a loophole is figuratively picking a lock. ... | [
{
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"text": "You could write arrogance into her dialogue in many different ways.\n\nYou can go with what you have in your ... | 2020/06/03 | [
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51,410 | I'm writing a scene where the skin tone of an adult person of color (POC) is brought up in conversation.
The POC has the nickname "Gqoht" and another character asks if it's ironic like "Tiny" etc. (we later find out it's because of certain supernatural abilities.) The character who brings up the topic is made out to b... | [
{
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"text": "Very interesting story. I'd say that you're pretty fine.\n\nYou can make the coffee comparison. It's perfectly... | 2020/06/03 | [
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51,416 | If an Australian writer writes a story based in America or another country that uses American English, should you change your spelling to American English, or continue using British English? Is this more of an editing technicality, or is this something that the writer needs to be mindful of? | [
{
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"text": "Write your book that feels natural for you, and the differences between American and British English is really trivial,... | 2020/06/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51416",
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51,418 | In the book I am writing, the first seven chapters are from the POV of one character. In chapter 8, I am planning to add a second POV character. I will probably also add a third POV character in chapters 15 through 20 (I hope for the book to be around fifty chapters). I will switch between the characters after I introd... | [
{
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"author": "Mary",
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"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "One thing you could do is divide the book in Parts that encompass several chapters and possibly even label them by the... | 2020/06/04 | [
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51,426 | I have read many novels and found that the writers do not follow basic phrase structure rules while constructing a sentence. For example, they may write a sentence with only one word like "Fear" And sometimes, they may come up with a compound sentence made up of imperative and interrogative.
Is this allowed, or should... | [
{
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"author": "JonStonecash",
"author_id": 23701,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23701",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "*The purpose of all writing is to communicate.* The target of the writing may be the author (to write is to th... | 2020/06/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51426",
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51,435 | I want to write a story about a place called Kingdom Come, where you can come in but you cannot go (i.e. you are not allowed to leave). Has this idea already been taken? It really sounds like the sort of idea that has already occured to some writer. If so, can I considered a plagarist? | [
{
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "The answer to \"Has this story idea already been done?\" is always yes, regardless of what the idea actually is. Ev... | 2020/06/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51435",
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51,437 | One of my POV characters is an overthinker. Partly because she wishes to stop thinking so much, and partly because of peer pressure, she gets super drunk... and ends up doing something that she would never do in her normal overthinking state.
The reader has become accustomed to reading every one of her excessive thoug... | [
{
"answer_id": 51442,
"author": "ArtickokeAndAnchovyPizzaMonica",
"author_id": 44041,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44041",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "A few options(Some taken from @Sciborg in [this question](https://writing.stackexchange.com/q... | 2020/06/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51437",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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51,438 | My question is similar to [How to best pace information reveals to the reader](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/34514/how-to-best-pace-information-reveals-to-the-reader) and in the same general vein as [When to finally reveal plot twist to characters?](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/46603/when-t... | [
{
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"author": "Mary",
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You want the drama to build. And the bigger a reveal, the more dramatic it is, so they should be withheld for later.\n... | 2020/06/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51438",
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51,444 | My character is about to fight someone that really strong but he believes that he is still weak. So how can i force him to fight. (For plus note: i make a fantasy story like magic and stuff) | [
{
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"text": "I think you might be focusing too much on a plot device and not enough on character development.\n\nAs Artichoke me... | 2020/06/07 | [
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51,451 | [It is an *extremely* common trope that white/light means good and dark/black means bad/evil](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodColorsEvilColors).
I thought that - contrary to the appearances - the black/white symbolism is *not* racist. I believe it has nothing to do with an unfortunate period in histor... | [
{
"answer_id": 51456,
"author": "rolfedh",
"author_id": 15838,
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"selected": false,
"text": "I'd like to answer by presenting seven assertions followed by a question:\n\n* Symbols have no inherent meaning; we... | 2020/06/07 | [
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51,452 | When writing face-to-face dialogue, I like to give clues as to what the non-POV character is thinking and feeling through their actions. Not all the time, but whenever it feels appropriate. They might be pacing or go completely still. Maybe they're scratching their chin, sipping at a drink, or tugging at a frayed threa... | [
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"author": "rolfedh",
"author_id": 15838,
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"selected": false,
"text": "You've already solved part of the problem by having the first-person limited POV character tell us what they hear, ... | 2020/06/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51452",
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51,455 | New to the web. I just recently started to write again. I won a few highschool prizes writing short stories. Around the same time, I began to play Roleplaying games and to write different stories for different games.
Lately, I have been thinking about a few ideas. Instead of creating a story for a Roleplaying game, I ... | [
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"text": "> \n> El ver mucho y el leer mucho avivan los ingenios de los hombres. (Seeing much and reading much sharpens one's... | 2020/06/07 | [
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51,458 | Many pieces of writing are succinct, but they are not rhythmical, giving no pleasure to the ear of the reader. The reason for that is likely this: The writers themselves either are unmindful of rhythm when they write, or possess a poor ability to formulate rhythm. So the question I want to ask is this: How does a write... | [
{
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"text": "Paying attention to rhythm (i.e., caring about it) is the first step. After that, I recommend reading some instru... | 2020/06/08 | [
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51,467 | I'm writing a master's thesis in English, which is my second language. I have understood that I should capitalize Section, Chapter, Figure, etc., but should I also capitalize other elements that refer to specific items?
For instance, in which of the following, if any, should "class(es)" be capitalized?
1. >
> Consid... | [
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"text": "Capitalize proper nouns\n=======================\n\nIf you are referring to something by its name, it should b... | 2020/06/08 | [
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51,479 | My story mainly takes place in the present, however, it begins and ends about 20 years into the future. (The main character is reflecting on events in their youth.) Given that this is not science fiction, how "futuristic" should these beginning and ending scenes be? Also, as the main character narrates the story, shoul... | [
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"text": "> \n> how can I show that twenty years have past?\n> \n> \n> \n\nSince you're only intending on using the +20 y... | 2020/06/09 | [
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51,482 | In my novella trilogy that I am writing, *Of Aliens and Men*, the leader of the main antagonist faction, an alien organization called the Empyre (pronounced: Em-peer) Empire, Empress Erika II holds nigh-limitless political and military power. I am concerned that she may come off as a Miry Kae-esque character.
Is a cha... | [
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"text": "An extremely powerful character (be that magical, physical, political or any other kind of power) is not automa... | 2020/06/09 | [
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51,485 | I'm only 9 and I started writing a few books, but I didn't even finish them all. I don't know if I should keep writing different books, or focus on one. I sometimes find old books of mine that aren't finished and I don't even know what they are about. I need a quick idea on how to fix this... | [
{
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"text": "Welcome to the Writing Stack, Alayna.\n\nWhen you write, it's usually more effective to focus on one project at a ... | 2020/06/09 | [
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51,496 | I have a very well-built up world with politics, religions etc, that I've built up over the course of my writing. But I have recently realised that *I care more about the world than the character.*
I have no cares for my character at all. He is fleshed out, and deep thinking, and I understand him well. Yet I spend lot... | [
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"text": "You and your readers will only care about your story if it contains a character who is instrumental in protecting o... | 2020/06/10 | [
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51,498 | 'He tracked and updated 182 patient statuses' OR 'He tracked and updated 182 patient stati?'
I believe "statuses" is correct. However, the originator is claiming some sort of Latin derivation as to why this is not acceptable. | [
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"text": "In the scenario you've given, only a pedantic character would use Latin. Ordinary people such as medical staff and ... | 2020/06/10 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51498",
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51,506 | I have a technical document which consists of the following sections:
```
1. Assignment statements
2. Concatenation
3. Data types
4. To check whether key exists
5. To retrieve value
6. To check whether variable or function is True or False
7. Regular expressions
8. Guard statements
```
What is the best way to name t... | [
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"text": "Typically, the title of a procedural topic uses the gerund of the verb. For example, \"Checking...\" However, this c... | 2020/06/11 | [
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51,511 | I am aiming to change POV in the middle of my book, based on my [previous question](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/51418/how-can-i-introduce-a-new-pov-late-in-my-book) and I have yet to decide where to start the second POV. The first POV and the second meet during one event - a midnight dropoff/chase scene... | [
{
"answer_id": 51515,
"author": "Alexander",
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"text": "If you are revealing new facts by using a different POV, then sure, use it. Many works of fiction use that approa... | 2020/06/11 | [
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51,512 | I have created a world, and one of the cultures has mainly apostrophe names - Vax'Ildan, Vex'Ahlia, Soih'Ym...
How would this work grammatically - possessive and nicknames, in writing?
(To forestall any comments or answers, no I cannot change their culture, or names - for argument's sake, say I'm writing fanfiction w... | [
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"text": "As far as possessives, nothing should change provided the apostrophe that is part of the name does not appear as t... | 2020/06/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51512",
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51,520 | How could I say the equivalent of "A pouring wave of humanity," when there are more than one species in the scene being described? | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "You'll have to answer some questions.\n\n1. What species are there?\n2. How many?\n3. What do they look like?\... | 2020/06/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51520",
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51,521 | I'm planning to start a blog where I write about sexual abuse, sexual harassment and also domestic violence. I'm worried that people don't usually read or want to read such heavy stuff. Honestly, I can't read for long too because I feel I'm not doing much to help the cause.
Being a victim of child sexual abuse I feel ... | [
{
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"text": "Ok. So I've written some stuff on my laptop but I haven't published it yet. I've written stuff like: what would I... | 2020/06/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51521",
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51,534 | How do I create a mysterious character? What personality traits and ways does he need to be mysterious? What attitudes must he have to be so? | [
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"author": "Mio",
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You'd be surprised by how many people think you are mysterious if you:\n\n1. do more listening than talking\n2. Don't t... | 2020/06/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51534",
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51,553 | So I'm writing a science fiction story, with more fantasy that actual science. When I say "sci-fi" I really mean space opera. There are intergalactic companies, entire planets dedicated to slaver miners, empires that stretch across solar systems, urban and rural communities that span between extreme poverty and insane ... | [
{
"answer_id": 51573,
"author": "Reed -SE is a Fish on Dry Land",
"author_id": 11110,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In SE we try to avoid opinion-based questions, but it is sometimes hard to avoid, so I will ... | 2020/06/16 | [
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51,555 | In my story, there is a certain man in his late twenties, who is one of the commanders in a war against a great threat for a medieval-like kingdom (this kingdom is also in such an unstable state that a civil war can break out at any moment). Now, he is fighting for a certain branch of the royal family and he is loyal t... | [
{
"answer_id": 51556,
"author": "JonStonecash",
"author_id": 23701,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "The concept of friendship covers a lot of ground. As you note, the twenty-year difference would be a much diff... | 2020/06/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51555",
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51,558 | There is a scene in which my main character is hiding from the villain while they are both in the same room. I want this to be a suspenseful and agonizing stretch of time, but I’m not sure how to show how long it feels for the character without it becoming boring or using cliche phrases like “every second felt like an ... | [
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"author": "Derek Liu",
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"text": "**1:** \"Every second was one second too much.\"\n**2:** \"Every second was passed in agony.\""
},
{
"ans... | 2020/06/16 | [
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51,560 | I had a colleague today point out that the use of *well* in the following sentence is a typo. I think it makes sense but now I'm second guessing myself. Is this correct? If not, what would be a better way to say this:
>
> Well these rules have been in place for a while, shipping companies and businesses are experienc... | [
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"text": "The sentence *is* a little off. Here's how you could fix it:\n\n> \n> Well, these rules...\n> \n> \n> \n\nOr y... | 2020/06/16 | [
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51,564 | I am writing a story that is based on mythology. I have my own characters which have their own voice. One of those characters, the wise old man archetype, has certain qualities and has a background which is very similar to one of the characters from mythology. The more I thought about it the more I am convinced that it... | [
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"text": "Does it *need* to be built upon?\n\nIf your character bumps into an old legendary hero, and they give a useful ... | 2020/06/16 | [
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51,583 | I've been planing out a sequel series to my trilogy, which has a secret society called *Nukui-Paub* spearheaded by the sequel trilogy's primary antagonist Ma'dtuth, who draws inspiration from [Vandal Savage](https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Vandal_Savage), [Apocalypse](https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Apocalypse_(Marve... | [
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"text": "Does it *need* to be built upon?\n\nIf your character bumps into an old legendary hero, and they give a useful ... | 2020/06/18 | [
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51,590 | "The meticulously placed masses of skin under her eyes were captured involuntarily by the customary light fixtures of the hospital ward, sufficiently polluted with the indistinct clamour of her deranged relatives." | [
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"author": "Chronocidal",
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"text": "Does it *need* to be built upon?\n\nIf your character bumps into an old legendary hero, and they give a useful ... | 2020/06/18 | [
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51,596 | To preface this, I have seen the question [multiple personalities characters speech in text](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/18957/multiple-personalities-characters-speach-in-text) and I feel that my question is different enough, to warrant a separate question.
---
In my book, a character has multiple per... | [
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"text": "I would write...\n\n```\n\"My name is Obep - who are you?\" inquired the old man.\n\n\"I'm Suoti,\" the youn... | 2020/06/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51596",
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51,597 | How would you describe a facepalm in a more formal sense?
For example, he rubbed his head with his hand. Or, he rubbed his temples.
Basically, my character here is really annoyed at the stupidity of another and so he's sighing and 'facepalming'.
Just something better than 'he facepalmed'. | [
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"text": "I came up with this: [character name] sighed, and rubbed his [temple/forehead], thinking of all the reasons of w... | 2020/06/18 | [
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51,603 | I am writing about my local airport which has had two other names which name should I use through out the writing about it? An example is JFK in New York was originally called Idlewild Airport would most people writing use John F Kennedy (JFK) through out their story? | [
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"text": "When you're writing, the goal is to say something. Preferably, more than one something:\n\n1. When discussing a re... | 2020/06/19 | [
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51,611 | In many formal letters, the first word after the salutation (e.g. "Dear Sir or Madam,") is the pronoun I, which is always capitalized.
However, I recently wrote a letter for which this is not the case:
>
> Dear Xxxx,
>
>
> thank you for ...
>
>
>
A proofreader warned me that I should capitalize "thank", which l... | [
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"text": "**In English,** \"thank\" needs to start with a capital. The logical rationale is:\n\n> \n> Despite the precedi... | 2020/06/20 | [
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51,614 | Can we omit "the" in poems even if it makes the sentence nonsensical?
For example:
>
> They remembered the taste of fruits they enjoy.
>
>
>
instead of:
>
> They remembered the taste of the fruits they enjoy.
>
>
>
and
>
> They love the light of kerosene lamps
>
>
>
instead of:
>
> They love the li... | [
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"text": "Basically you can do anything in poetry. Some would say that's the definition of poetry. Much poetry isn't Stand... | 2020/06/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51614",
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51,625 | When I describe hand-to-hand combat, I include EVERYTHING that's going on, EVERY action and motion the characters make. I know this is exhausting for readers. However, if I'm not descriptive, the result is too brief and lifeless. How can I solve this dilemma? | [
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"selected": false,
"text": "The way I've heard it said is as follows...\n\n* Only show blows that are important. Gloss over unimportant par... | 2020/06/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51625",
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51,631 | So, basically, how do you name side characters? I get that you should give the main characters meaningful names, but finding suitable names for all of my characters is distracting and time-consuming. Then again, I want the names to fit because I can't be sure I won't use some characters again later.
How can I quickly ... | [
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"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "My experience has been to concentrate on the story - first and foremost. That is what drives the success or failure of... | 2020/06/22 | [
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51,635 | Anyone know of a definitive online resource on formatting a story collection for submission to publishers and agents? One knotty question in particular: does one use the title of the book throughout the manuscript in the page headers or does the header change with each story to reflect the name of that story? Oddly, I ... | [
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"selected": false,
"text": "William Shunn's [Proper Manuscript Format](https://www.shunn.net/format/2009/03/story_collection_format.html) websi... | 2020/06/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51635",
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51,642 | I'm writing a horror short-story, and at the end the main character dies and his partner is whisked away forever. I had intended to write it in first-person, because the narrative becomes more personal that way and you can really get into the head of the main character. [This answer](https://writing.stackexchange.com/q... | [
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"text": "William Shunn's [Proper Manuscript Format](https://www.shunn.net/format/2009/03/story_collection_format.html) websi... | 2020/06/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51642",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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51,651 | Let's say the story was introduced as a romance, then somewhere in the middle it becomes a horror/thriller, would you immediately think it's bad?
Would you feel like "This is not what I came here for, I came for the butterflies, not for this bull" would you drop the story/ get mad?
What are your thoughts on this styl... | [
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"author_id": 44041,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think that without proper foreshadowing - even through the title or the cover - a story th... | 2020/06/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51651",
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51,660 | As a person, I'm a bit of a people-pleaser. I tend to bend over backward to avoid conflict and make people happy. I've reached the point in my writing process where I've started to send out drafts of my work to beta readers to get feedback. However, I've started to notice a bit of a problem in that, when I get feedback... | [
{
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"text": "I'm fond of the following quote from Neil Gaiman:\n\n> \n> Remember: when people tell you something's wrong o... | 2020/06/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51660",
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51,668 | In this book I'm making, there is a religious conflict that happens. Here's the base of my plot so far:
>
> Adrian lives in the dragon tribe Sa'fwan. Foreigners came to his land, coming across his tribe first. They befriended him and his tribe. One particular foreigner, an 18 or 20 year old by the name of Gallan, bec... | [
{
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"text": "There seem to be many different ways that the conflict could work. These are my examples:\n-... | 2020/06/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51668",
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51,681 | How do I resolve the conflict between:
* Being interested in what I write about
* Ignoring my inner critic, pushing past writer's block, starting writing, maintaining a writing habit, etc.
When I find an idea interesting, I usually hit a roadblock like discovering that someone else has done it well already or that th... | [
{
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"text": "* *If someone else did it well, I shouldn't write it*\n\nThis statement is very easily dispr... | 2020/06/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51681",
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51,686 | My first language is Arabic. Please ignore the grammatical mistakes.
I've published a novel about 6 years ago, and most of the critics who read it thought that it was too descriptive.
Now I'm worried if my second novel to be published has the same mistake. It is a fantasy novel. I keep thinking whether it is too desc... | [
{
"answer_id": 51687,
"author": "Anna A. Fitzgerald",
"author_id": 41082,
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"text": "Unfortunately, an objective answer is impossible without first reading your book. But if you suspect you... | 2020/06/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51686",
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51,690 | Apparently, greed and greedy are weak words in poetry, so you can't use them, but what other words would you use?
>
> The pirate greed for their gold.
>
>
>
>
> And the adventurers are greedy
>
>
>
>
> In their quests for adventures
>
>
>
>
> Until an arrow in the knee they take.
>
>
>
I can't thin... | [
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"author": "Anna A. Fitzgerald",
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"selected": false,
"text": "Many.\n\nConsider consulting a thesaurus:\n\n<https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/greed>\n\n<https://www.th... | 2020/06/27 | [
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