qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
51,696 | All. I'm looking for some advice. I'm interested in writing a young adult mystery novel, but I don't believe I'm a good writer in the traditional sense. My background is in screenwriting, so my strengths are in conceptualizing, story/plot structure, and character development. While I still enjoy screenwriting, I don't ... | [
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"text": "My advice? Take the plunge, and do the best that you can. Don't assume that because you're used to writing scripts ... | 2020/06/27 | [
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51,708 | I write for myself and have no intention of publishing anything.
However, I still become uncomfortable writing about events in my life because I think about how people who are involved or who know me would react if they ever got the chance to read it. I also feel bad for recording the flaws of myself and others on pap... | [
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"text": "Everyone has regrets. Try writing how your life would have changed if you had taken a different choice, suc... | 2020/06/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51708",
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51,718 | Picturing this in movie form would be easy. I would have the character speak their native language in the scene and place subtitles. But I do not have this luxury in writing.
It would be weird to mention that they're speaking their own tongue as the POV character would have no reason to think about the language they'r... | [
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"text": "The \"subtitle problem\" is an extremely common one in stories with multilingual characters, and there are a few di... | 2020/07/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51718",
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51,733 | My MC is Rxac Konrale. My book includes a magic school which is more like the gurukul system of India. It is called Wanthlers! The school is a castle wherein young wizards go for learning magic. The school has houses wherein wizards are sorted into houses which have different subjects upon their ability. Situated in Ne... | [
{
"answer_id": 51735,
"author": "ArtickokeAndAnchovyPizzaMonica",
"author_id": 44041,
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"text": "To preface this answer IANAL, so don't take my words into account in that vein. However:\n\n... | 2020/07/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51733",
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51,744 | I've been reading a fantasy-novel series where the author cleverly seeds expectation in the reader. This works as a hook to continue reading.
It's an audio-book, so I can't easily riffle through to find an instance. I'll give a rather bland and generic example of my own devising in the hope that you can understand.
>... | [
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"author": "Gwyn",
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"text": "Foreshadowing.\n\nMostly divided into four types (although not everyone agrees on this)\n\n* direct foreshadowing: cle... | 2020/07/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51744",
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51,755 | I've spent several years periodically writing and developing a high fantasy story I mean to turn into a book, or even a series depending on how much material I write. However, lately, I've realized I do not like the plot I was planning at all, and I'm wondering if my work is at all salvageable. I started with creating ... | [
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"author": "JonStonecash",
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"text": "First of all, there are only so many plots. It is unlikely that you will come up with a new heretofore unseen ... | 2020/07/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51755",
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51,757 | I am writing a non-fiction book. I am not writing the chapters sequentially e.g. the first chapter first and then second etc. I have started with the sixth chapter and now writing the second chapter. As a result, the references in the sixth chapter start from 1 to 13 and now the references in the second chapter start f... | [
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"author": "Mary",
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"text": "They will have to be in order when the book is finished -- and that's all the drafts. As long as you can identify whic... | 2020/07/04 | [
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51,768 | I have a problem in that if I ever tell people about my story ideas, I lose motivation and eventually stop working on them. If I do not tell them I feel like I have pressure to get the story "out there", so I will work on them a lot harder.
The problem is this includes things like beta readers and Writing SE. Which is... | [
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"text": "As somebody who has lots of story ideas but really struggles to get them written to completion, I can personally rel... | 2020/07/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51768",
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51,778 | I wanted to intentionally reference a famous Xygug Thumas poem in a poem of my own.
I wondered whether there is a convention for how to do this or if it is 'allowed' at all. | [
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"text": "Helena, you can quote in a poem. Use inverted commas to make sure that the reader knows that they aren't your w... | 2020/07/06 | [
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51,783 | Could you please help me..I have ideas of writings and stories, but..when I come to start writing, I can't find what I need to write the plot and that's leads me to think about giving up | [
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"text": "You already know how to write stories.\nYou've been listening to them your whole life, and maybe telling a few.\nSi... | 2020/07/06 | [
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51,796 | To expand on the title, I am about to finish my engineering degree. However, I haven't really written an essay for the past ten years. The main reason was that I focused all my attention on maths-related subjects throughout my school years (I was one of the kids who would do maths competitions, etc.). I only realised m... | [
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"text": "You should have more confidence in your skills. **Your writing is clear and expressive**. Your thoughts are organiz... | 2020/07/07 | [
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51,807 | As a writer, for authenticity and to avoid distracting errors, I need to portray my story setting correctly. For example, I live in the UK and need to know whether guests can tay overnight at hospitals in the USA:
>
> Character A is in a serious accident and is rushed to the hospital while unconscious. His significan... | [
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"text": "If you can't visit in person, I recommend setting up remote interviews with first-hand participants in the environm... | 2020/07/09 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51807",
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51,811 | I am editing an existing doc, I want to make all my edit as red (or any different color). What I am doing right now, I made edit and then reach out to fonts and change color each time I change something, is there a simpler way so my edit automatically goes in red. Tracking is already ON in word document. | [
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"text": "If you can't visit in person, I recommend setting up remote interviews with first-hand participants in the environm... | 2020/07/09 | [
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51,814 | What should I do when I write an idea, for example a fight scene, but then I find it difficult to write a solution or way to switch from that idea? Should I cancel the whole idea or what, knowing that I have no outline before for that story but I just started writing it. It's kind of a weird question but I hope that th... | [
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"answer_id": 51815,
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"text": "What I do is write the idea itself. By the time I have done that a solution or the next idea usually suggests i... | 2020/07/09 | [
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51,819 | How do I write an outline? And is it necessary for each story? | [
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"text": "Outlining isn't necessarily straightforward, there are many ways of doing it, and you may not want to do it at a... | 2020/07/09 | [
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51,825 | My story includes a magic school wherein students aged 12 learn magic. The sorting Is based on abilities, Meaning that if a student has thirst for dark arts, there most concentrated subject becomes dark arts and so.
The students learn wand and hand magic. The mc and his friends discover the school secrets in book 1.
My... | [
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"text": "**Yes**\n\nLike it or not, there are some stories that have popularized a trope to such a degree that you can't... | 2020/07/10 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51825",
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51,826 | I'm writing a novel in the close third person POV. I want to shift occasionally into first person thought, as in the example below. Does it seem awkward?
>
> He gave up his rent-controlled Los Angeles apartment, put his car in storage, liquidated his bonds and stocks (the corporate world was generous to valuable empl... | [
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"text": "**Yes**\n\nLike it or not, there are some stories that have popularized a trope to such a degree that you can't... | 2020/07/10 | [
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51,851 | I am really struggling to try and cut out repetitive use of the word 'her' and 'she' in action scenes while still trying to keep them short and sharp.
I have read other posts here discussing this issue, but I am still not getting it right. When I try to change things to 'show not tell' and eliminate the overused 'her'... | [
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"answer_id": 51853,
"author": "Jason Bassford",
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"text": "One stylistic device is to use sentence fragments using the present participle. Although sentence fragments ... | 2020/07/12 | [
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51,852 | Can I send a query to agents in non-English speaking country and translated version to agents in English country at the same time? I assume I have to inform them about this upfront. How it will affect my foreign rights in potential publishers' deals? Would it be better to focus on one country and then settle that with ... | [
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"text": "Foreign distribution to a publisher means $$, so yes, you have to be honest when querying regarding your intent t... | 2020/07/12 | [
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51,857 | I have a story that is dear to me and that I would very much want to write about. However, I don't have lots of experience in writing so I'm afraid if I do try to write it, it won't be as good "as it deserves to be" (at best) or I will botch it (at worst). In any case, I would've "wasted" or "spoiled" the chance to wri... | [
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"text": "Write it.\n\nIt may be as bad as you anticipate, but you can revise it. In fact, many writers do advise revision. Just... | 2020/07/13 | [
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51,866 | Specifically, should there be a space after a sentence last letter or directly after the written last letter ? I personally prefer a space (to me, the text is clearer to read) but perhaps (grammatically) I should write without a space ? Please advise. | [
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"text": "You should never leave a space between the end of a sentence and punctuation marks that is what all grammar refere... | 2020/07/14 | [
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51,872 | Lets say that I wanted to write an autobiography but some elements of my life (particularly relevant to certain choice) are illegal and I could still be prosecuted for them if my involvement became public knowledge.
How would I be able to get an autobiography like this published and still remain free from prosecution? | [
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"text": "Isn’t that what pseudonyms are essentially for?\nOtherwise write it as a fiction novel.\n\nB... | 2020/07/14 | [
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51,873 | My protagonist is a first-generation native on a colony world. The general culture of the colony makes it clear that everyone must contribute to the colony in a meaningful way. But instead of following everyone else's lead and finding a conventional role in town, he just starts exploring, causing him to be labeled an o... | [
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"answer_id": 51874,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
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"text": "Because it's such a dramatic moment, it feels like a wasted opportunity to leave it entirely \"off-camera.\" B... | 2020/07/14 | [
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51,876 | I'm starting on my second novel, and my two main characters take two paths that give necessary information for the story. I want to begin a chapter using the male's POV, but his POV is unnecessary for the entire book. Am I able to use his POV for only 3-4 chapters throughout the book? Or should I find a way to integrat... | [
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"text": "For me, while yes there are possible duplicates, they are not exact duplicates questions\n\n... | 2020/07/14 | [
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51,887 | There will always be some amount of luck, some amount of chance and randomness in any story. This is how it is in real life as well, and although stories are not a representation of reality, they do build on it.
So, there's this part in my book that I fear might be a *deus ex machina*, because it is very significant a... | [
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"text": "I'd say this isn't a *deus ex machina* - those usually occur suddenly, *resolve* the story's conflict/dramatic ... | 2020/07/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51887",
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51,898 | As selfish as this sounds, I’m really interested in having my own book printed for myself as the title entails. I don’t intend to sell it or distribute it or anything of that sort, but just something I could read for my leisure with a physical copy.
I’ve started off with writing my stories on Wattpad, and while they d... | [
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"text": "'Publish' is a word with specific meaning and from the context of your question I can tell you're not lo... | 2020/07/17 | [
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51,908 | To save time with world building an focus on the tale, is it justified to borrow heavily from a real world setting and take enough liberties to allow creative freedom?
Can this be done without attracting legal consequences?
Or is it better to build a whole new fictional world for this purpose? | [
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"text": "People habitually base worlds on real-life setting, whether historical or contemporary.\n\nLegal consequences are some... | 2020/07/18 | [
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51,930 | I'm working on my first novel, which revolves around revenge and violent cycles of human nature for more than 1.5 years.
While working on some sections of the book, I feel like how do I add more depth to various issues related to violence that adds a level of depth in the protagonist's characterization. Because sometim... | [
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"text": "I propose a two-pronged approach.\n\nThe first prong is research. To understand what makes your character... | 2020/07/20 | [
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51,933 | So, one of my problems is that I have trouble giving my characters unique voices. They usually all sound the same.
I may say that they have a certain dialect or accent, but it doesn't come through in the dialogue. How do I create a unique way of speaking for each of my characters? Basically, how do I add personalit... | [
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"text": "This is an awesome question and there are a lot of great ways to do this! Here are a few tips I've received from fel... | 2020/07/20 | [
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51,936 | We typically have third person or first person narratives in literature. I have a requirement - to unveil the suspense, I want a non-living thing to share its perspective in the final chapter. Is this permissible, justified and/or sensible? | [
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"text": "Permitted by whom? The Big Book of Writing Laws was abolished in 1849. You can use any POV you feel comf... | 2020/07/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51936",
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51,947 | I've been working on a YA/adult contemporary fantasy novel for a while and I had some questions about sensitivity reading.
The world featured in the novel is entirely new but it's inspired by ours. Namely, the heroine is coded as Arab (as I am, so I drew her experiences as a queer Arab woman from mine) and her love in... | [
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"answer_id": 51956,
"author": "Sarah Bowman",
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"text": "I'm not Korean; I'm a white minority culture inside wider white society in North America. This makes me consci... | 2020/07/22 | [
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51,949 | I want to be clear that I'm asking about this both for the present time, where nearly everyone does everything digitally, and for "back in the day", such as the 1970s or 1950s or 1920s or longer ago. I'm equally interested in both perspectives, and I suspect that they are quite different.
Let's say that Mr. Oithog has... | [
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"text": "Let us first of all note that this scenario assumes a writer who has a contract for the book. For that, the answer is,... | 2020/07/22 | [
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51,957 | (The quote below is from one of Chekhov's letters to other Russian writer, Maxim Gorky.)
>
> Your nature descriptions are artistic; you are a true landscape
> painter. But your frequent personifications (anthropomorphism), when
> the sea breathes, the sky looks on, the steppe basks, and nature
> whispers, talks, grie... | [
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"text": "Well, The sun shone, the grass grew, the waves crashed. It's odd advice from Chekov. The following are from Chekov's... | 2020/07/23 | [
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51,958 | I'm trying to write a character who is shy and awkward and has anxiety so she would stutter or have social blunders etc. but I'm trying to figure out if the way I write her will end up making her like Lesle Swin, a disliked character who has the personality of a tree and people find it hard to believe she has friends o... | [
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"text": "Disclaimer. I have not read *Twilight* and have no desire to. However, I'm familiar enough with the char... | 2020/07/23 | [
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51,961 | How do I write characters that are more grounded, complex and believable so that readers can resonate with them and makes my novel more compelling?
How should I elaborate their dialogues and actions that adds more immersion in the story? | [
{
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"text": "We write best the things we love best. People are the real world model for characters, so if you want to write ... | 2020/07/23 | [
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51,965 | Like in the TV serials, can we have the opening section of the novel relate the ending or some part in between of the chapter (as a **flashforward**) to add suspense and keep the reader guessing as to how events got there in the first place?
How could this be formatted?
Has any author already done so?
Is there a spe... | [
{
"answer_id": 51970,
"author": "JonStonecash",
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"text": "If you can get the reader to go along with your scheme, you can put any scheme into place.\nThe question then b... | 2020/07/23 | [
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51,967 | In a source, I have the sentence:
>
> Trafficking in children from Togo, Nigeria, MawaGB, to Cote d’Ivoire’s plantation and domestic servants in Gabon, and of women from Ghana, Nigeria, MawaGB, and Sierra Leone as exploited sex workers in countries of the European Union has also taken root.
>
>
>
However, for my ... | [
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"text": "**Yes.** You may be putting the information from that sentence into your own words, but you've still taken that in... | 2020/07/23 | [
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51,975 | So I am writing a book in which I want to include gods from different mythologies, like Erebus from greek and Heka from egyptian mythology. but I don't know how I should approach it. Can I like include them as they are, and make it like an open mixed mythology, or like should I make up my own mythology and base the cha... | [
{
"answer_id": 51976,
"author": "Swetha Radhakrishnan",
"author_id": 45212,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/45212",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**Mixing up mythologies is certainly a peculiar idea.**\n\n**Pros:**\n\n* People already know the back... | 2020/07/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/51975",
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51,996 | Someone who wants to be a writer, has a good idea in his/her brain but is not much of a reader. Can that person be a good writer given that he/she has read a few novels but wants to write a great story.
What's your opinion/take? | [
{
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"text": "Ask yourself, what is a successful or even great novel? To begin with, you as the writer have no input on the ... | 2020/07/25 | [
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52,003 | I struggle with a passage in a text that I gave in three translations. In one, the original word is kept, but as it's ancient Greek and I don't speak Greek I had to look it up. In the other two different words with corresponding meanings were chosen, but they carry much different connotations from another.
A similar t... | [
{
"answer_id": 52009,
"author": "Llewellyn",
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"selected": false,
"text": "If translating would lose too much information, consider option 3: Leave the term untranslated, but add a footnot... | 2020/07/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52003",
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52,014 | Love telling/writing stories except I am the absolute worst at both spelling along with punctuation. Normally I care less about these things because I can still read them although many people get extremely angry and dislike that I do this. I currently use the free version of Grammarly for it to fix my writing/texting a... | [
{
"answer_id": 52022,
"author": "JonStonecash",
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "The purpose of writing is not for you to be perfect, it is for your prose to be (close to) perfect. No writer ... | 2020/07/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52014",
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52,030 | Few months ago, in my school, someone checked my writing, and said, “I’m not a big fan of starting a sentence with ‘and’,” and I don’t see a problem with it. Can anyone answer why some people dislike starting a sentence with ‘and’? | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "I agree with the first comment.\n\nYou can start a sentence with anything you like. In writing a story, sometime... | 2020/07/28 | [
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52,035 | I've been writing my first story for almost one year, and I am facing problems in working on suspense and that's why I'm slowing on it..I just present ideas, kind of explicitly and I don't know how to left the chance for the reader to think and to be excited ?
This fact unfortunately make me sometimes give up and think... | [
{
"answer_id": 52038,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
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"selected": false,
"text": "You have to realize that we do many types of writing for a book, and only some of those are meant for the read... | 2020/07/28 | [
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52,046 | I've written a large section of my book. The questions that keep haunting me are: Is this story unique? Will people like it? I think it's becoming repetitive. Will the characters be loved? And a lot of questions. | [
{
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"text": "By showing it to someone and getting feedback on it. Then you will know answers to at least some of your questions... | 2020/07/29 | [
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52,058 | I'm wondering if is it possible to write a romantic dramatic book, and then write a second book that's a sequel but in a completely different genre, like a horror or psychological horror story? | [
{
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"text": "Yes, it's possible. While changing genres *during* a story can leave the audience feeling betrayed - they expected o... | 2020/07/30 | [
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52,065 | I've come to notice I have a very specific manner of writing. Specifically, I've noticed that while I'm writing a book, I tend to pace and set up things more like I'm writing a screenplay than a novel. The way I've often described it to myself is it's like I'm watching an episode of a television show or movie and I'm f... | [
{
"answer_id": 52068,
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"text": "I had a friend a few years back who had a very similar issue. The advice I gave him was to focus less on wha... | 2020/07/31 | [
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52,072 | I want to add a magical newspaper in my novel. In the newspaper, all the images are moving, like the newspapers in Hijrp Potfeq.
Is it copyright infringement for me to include a newspaper with moving images in my novel? | [
{
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"text": "**No.** A newspaper with moving pictures is an idea, and ideas cannot be copyrighted. The only way you would be infr... | 2020/08/01 | [
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52,084 | There's a story idea I've been playing with for years now but I feel like I need to do two time skips one after the other which may be weird for readers. I have a prologue where she talks to her father who's in prison (death row) for the murder of her mother, which he denies commiting. I feel this scene is important as... | [
{
"answer_id": 52085,
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"text": "> \n> Would it be better to have her meeting the guys in a flashback?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYes. Or if it's pos... | 2020/08/03 | [
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52,096 | I am an amateur fiction writer and a key feature in most of my pieces is dialogue. There are often 6-12 characters in the exciting scenes and a lot of the content depends on who said what and how the others reacted. At the moment, I normally clarify that by adding phrases like; "said Hitler", "Putin pointed out," and o... | [
{
"answer_id": 52097,
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"text": "One way to do this (which can be quite difficult to strike the balance on) is to ensure that your characters al... | 2020/08/04 | [
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52,111 | For indie fiction authors, is it true that if one simply writes and publishes regularly, one will begin to see sales (as Diap Wesley Smith proclaims), and that book marketing/promotion is actually completely unnecessary?
[Here](https://blog.karenwoodward.org/2012/10/the-best-way-to-build-writers-platform.html) is an e... | [
{
"answer_id": 52112,
"author": "Jedediah",
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"selected": false,
"text": "I have self-published more than one novel (available on a major online outlet!). I engaged in no marketing.\n\nIt'... | 2020/08/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52111",
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52,116 | I've read [1](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/39237/deus-ex-machina-how-to-identify), [2](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/43585/how-to-use-deus-ex-machina-safely), [3](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/29790/from-a-writing-standpoint-what-is-the-value-of-deus-ex-machina) and of course,... | [
{
"answer_id": 52117,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 15601,
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"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "There is no clear line. If everything else is going well, people won't notice that your coincidence is far fetc... | 2020/08/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52116",
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52,119 | I'm at the point in my story planning where I need to develop all of the characters. I want this character to be just be a complete asshole, but have more than that one trait. I'm not sure how to write her out.
You know what I mean? She's not the protagonist but I still want her to have less of a 2D personality. How s... | [
{
"answer_id": 52120,
"author": "storbror",
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"text": "It is highly likely, that you **either** end up with a **2d** character **OR** a character that people do **not ac... | 2020/08/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52119",
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52,122 | I like using figurative language to lighten up my writing. However, I'm not sure how far you can take some stylistic devices, such as personification.
Please take a look at this example:
*“XYZ is a fantastic writing app that also majored in code editing.”*
(Saying that it is good at handling writing and code editing... | [
{
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"text": "Metaphors and personifications *are* wonderful figures, adding beauty and interest to writing, and often (es... | 2020/08/06 | [
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52,143 | Is it a bad thing if someone writes a story in the third point of view, then he changes the whole story into the first point of view where the protagonist himself tells the story? | [
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"text": "I assume you're talking about the author, while revising their work, making that change.\n\nAnd that's perfectly ... | 2020/08/07 | [
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52,146 | If a story includes a cross country road trip set in the USA in 1970’s, do the highway and city names need to be accurate / real? If she takes a train cross-country, do the routes need to also be real? | [
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"text": "No.\n\nIf you use accurate routes and city names, remember to do your research in detail, but when doing a work of fic... | 2020/08/07 | [
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52,147 | I know this question is inherently subjective, but I'm asking it in the case that there are universal traits of a romantic scene that makes it cringy. Now, I guess this question can be applied to all kinds of romantic scenarios, but my difficulty is with on subset of romantic scenes: the physical ones. I can easily set... | [
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"text": "This is an extremely good question and I would love to offer some advice from other writers I've found helpful! If ... | 2020/08/07 | [
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52,149 | How do you suggest in a poem that the narrator has dementia or a mental illness? I am thinking of using metaphors such as broken mirror and distorted reflections, but more specifically is there anything else you can use? I was trying to think of an allegory, but I can't think of a specific allegory related to mental il... | [
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"text": "are you trying to reveal the character with dementia as like a twist at the end, or do you want it to be in the be... | 2020/08/08 | [
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52,157 | I am currently writing my master thesis in computer science, more specifically on voice activity detection, a sub-area of automatic speech recognition using neural networks. I asked my supervisor if I needed a glossary and he told me that was up to me. I looked at other computer science works, some have a glossary, som... | [
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"text": "are you trying to reveal the character with dementia as like a twist at the end, or do you want it to be in the be... | 2020/08/09 | [
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52,159 | I know this question has been asked before, but I am still confused. That’s why I am asking again, but in a detailed way.
In a scientific work, a master’s thesis for example, you will insert figures and tables. Each figure and each table should be given a caption. For example:
>
> Figure 1.1: This is my first figure... | [
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"text": "You are going to have to check the style that is used by your university for your subject. Normally, a particul... | 2020/08/10 | [
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52,162 | Here are two alternatives, one with a hyphen of `previously-obscured` one without as `previously obscured`:
>
> As our global society becomes evermore connected, we become increasingly aware of the previously-obscured impact of our actions on each other and our environment.
>
>
>
or
>
> As our global society be... | [
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"text": "In the *vast majority* of cases, you will **never** hyphenate an adverb-adjective phrase in the way you're describin... | 2020/08/10 | [
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52,180 | I'm trying to write a **horror** short story about a shape-shifter, but I have trouble keeping it from sounding like a **science fiction** story.
The story starts out with a creepy tone, with a person close to the main character dying/disappearing, but I either have to have the main character run indefinitely, or expl... | [
{
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"text": "I have read It. I've watched Terminator 2. (Not familiar with The Thing.) I think I see the difference which makes... | 2020/08/12 | [
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52,193 | As an aspiring storyteller, I have a lot of stories that I wish to tell. I say storyteller because I am still not sure as to which medium of storytelling I should pursue, be it books, comics, or animation. As of now, I like martial arts and fight scenes that use them. I draw from inspirations like wuxia films among oth... | [
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"text": "Paper is a renewable resource. Trees are usually harvested from farms now that are constantly being replanted and cut... | 2020/08/13 | [
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52,199 | I want some help writing a character.
Her name is Snrastiya and she lived in an underground bunker, in a post-apocalyptic world, so she’s really sheltered. But she has to leave, along with a group of more experienced Wastelanders, and has to adapt to the surface.
In this world the bunker dwellers basically live in st... | [
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52,218 | My friend and I have wanted to write a story together for a while now. But she lives in a different country, so we are just confused on how we can do this over calls. Because I know that we can't call all the time, like we can't just take turns writing and then editing each others work because it would just be confusin... | [
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"selected": true,
"text": "This is a great question! Here are some helpful resources I found when I had this same problem.\n\n[Google Docs](htt... | 2020/08/17 | [
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52,226 | Basically, my story follows a group of 6 people (and 1 mutant human) exploring a barren wasteland of what used to be the USA.
The world they inhabit was created through a nuclear war, that led to a nuclear winter wiping out a good majority of the population and and animal life, and completely collapsing civilization.
... | [
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"text": "Unique Is Overrated\n-------------------\n\nSuperman and Izut Mon are both superheroes who fly, can shoot beams, c... | 2020/08/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52226",
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52,241 | I have the following sentence structure and I am wondering about the best way to phrase it:
"Along with A, B, C and D have been shown to influence the production of E."
What I am trying to convey here is that while it is well understood that "A" influences the production of "E", the reader should also be aware that "... | [
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"text": "The way your sentence is currently worded isn't wrong, but it may cause some grammatical confusion.\n\nYou could re... | 2020/08/19 | [
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52,254 | I know there are general recommendations to improve English writing skills but I wonder if anyone could suggest hyper-personalized ways for me. I studied English as a second language from middle school and also took some serious exams like TOEFL and GRE. I have been working at English speaking environment for almost 5 ... | [
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"text": "The way your sentence is currently worded isn't wrong, but it may cause some grammatical confusion.\n\nYou could re... | 2020/08/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52254",
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52,258 | I've written a few bad stories before, but I post them online anyway. All my past ones have been put on a [fanfiction](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/13032991/ceramicmrno0b) site, but the one I'm working on doesn't go there. It's still a work in progress, and I'm adding on regularly. I would like to keep it as 1 document... | [
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"text": "The way your sentence is currently worded isn't wrong, but it may cause some grammatical confusion.\n\nYou could re... | 2020/08/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52258",
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52,263 | Many literary magazines routinely send out form rejections with the following types of statements:
>
> Thanks very much, bla bla… Unfortunately, the story is not right for
> us at this time. We wish you better luck in placing it elsewhere.
>
>
>
OR
>
> Thanks very much bla bla… Unfortunately, we have decided to... | [
{
"answer_id": 52265,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/10479",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> There is nobody who would write an obviously poor quality story and then throw a tantrum when kindly tol... | 2020/08/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52263",
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52,269 | One of my characters is Russian and speaks English as a second language. I know that people with Russian accents tend to leave out words like “the” and “a” because they don’t exist in Russian.
My question is, would it be annoying for a character to always speak like that? Would it come off as stereotypical or seem moc... | [
{
"answer_id": 52283,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "How about she says it sometimes, but not all the time, because, say, she's taking classes to speak like an american. I ... | 2020/08/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52269",
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52,270 | I'm writing a blog post about the impacts of an autoimmune disease. The sentence I'm trying to construct looks like this:
"The disease importunately follows me around like a god damn..."
I'm struggling to come up with something better than "... Puppy who lost his ball."
Any suggestions? The cruder, the better. A pop... | [
{
"answer_id": 52329,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm not quite getting the emotional effect you're shooting for. The disease follows me around like a:\n\n* bad memo... | 2020/08/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52270",
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52,275 | I have a collection of short stories--48 in total, a word count of 80,000 and 156 pages. Regarding publication, is such a collection likely to be too large? If I were to split it into two collections, is it likely that I would receive a more positive response from a publisher? | [
{
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Publishing a collection of short stories is a difficult matter in general. Usually, if a collection is publishe... | 2020/08/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52275",
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52,280 | I am writing a couple books, but they are for kids, and publishers are all grown up, so will they dislike it because it is mainly for kids and isn't for people their age? | [
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"text": "Publishing a collection of short stories is a difficult matter in general. Usually, if a collection is publishe... | 2020/08/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52280",
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52,290 | I am studying the **third person POV** for my novel. I read about the **third person limited POV**. I don't understand **how can one write a scene when the POV character is not present** in the scene. I have just started reading on POV and have got extremely confused about the omniscient, limited, and head-hopping. | [
{
"answer_id": 52291,
"author": "Anna A. Fitzgerald",
"author_id": 41082,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/41082",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I suspect your biggest hang-up is not understanding it's possible to have a book with multiple third-pers... | 2020/08/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52290",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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] |
52,295 | I just [published a story on fiction press](https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3349910/1/The-Extermenary), and although it only has 9 views, someone from Author Liaison representing Webnovel sent me a PM through the site. Some googling showed that this seems to be a legit thing, but I know that I am not a very good writer.... | [
{
"answer_id": 52324,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/10479",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "My Google search calls this [a scam](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:A6fu4InK5XUJ:https:... | 2020/08/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52295",
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52,300 | I'm writing a story wherein a teenager X gets suddenly and involuntarily enlisted in an sci-fi army. I need to explain certain technology to the reader, and the army needs to explain certain information to X, like how their FTL communication device works, why they don't have AI combatants and the like.
How can I do it... | [
{
"answer_id": 52302,
"author": "Jos",
"author_id": 3976,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/3976",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are a few things you can do:\n\n1. Consider if it is **absolutely** necessary - if not omit it.\n2. Spread the info... | 2020/08/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52300",
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52,301 | Ok, I know this sounds really weird. I just don't know where to ask. Anyway, one of my characters sneaks into the woods and gets bitten by an insect (it's a long story). She has a severe allergic reaction and dies before her family finds her the next morning. What exactly would happen after? Like would her parents have... | [
{
"answer_id": 52319,
"author": "Bryan McClure",
"author_id": 18246,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/18246",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "When my brother died of a drug overdose all my parents had to do was identify the body and make funeral arran... | 2020/08/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52301",
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52,307 | I am using prowritingaid to edit my writing and it keeps flagging all adverbs. They have a post related to it [here](https://prowritingaid.com/art/266/Improve-Your-Writing-Tip--1%3A-Favor-strong-verbs-over-adverbs.aspx).
Yet I feel like adverbs as transition such as *finally*, *additionally* can be useful to connect se... | [
{
"answer_id": 52308,
"author": "Anna A. Fitzgerald",
"author_id": 41082,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/41082",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "They don't have to be.\n\nCompare adverbs to calories: you gorge on pie and chocolate, you become fat. H... | 2020/08/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52307",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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] |
52,316 | In my book series, the various planets of the galaxy are inhabited by different cultures, most of which are based on or inspired by, at least to some extent, by real-world cultures. For example:
* Kangaroo Islander culture is derived mostly from Indigenous
Australian, post-colonial Australian, Incan, and Norse culture... | [
{
"answer_id": 52318,
"author": "Bryan McClure",
"author_id": 18246,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/18246",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Well first, let me say nothing you can do can stop people from accusing you of cultural appropriation because... | 2020/08/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52316",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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] |
52,334 | In my story, I follow a group of characters traveling across a post-nuclear wasteland. I’ve written all the characters (there are 7 of them in the group) their own unique backstories and whatnot, and I want to explore them, but I also want to avoid info-dumps.
So, that’s my question: how do I give out my characters' b... | [
{
"answer_id": 52337,
"author": "Anna A. Fitzgerald",
"author_id": 41082,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/41082",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "In every job interview I've ever had, when asked to tell something about myself I bring up the massive c... | 2020/08/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52334",
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] |
52,347 | I am only plotting my story as of right now, and I'm trying to put together a good climax. So far, A's parents were murdered by C. A is best friends with B, who actually works for C. **Evil reveal #1**: B is finally admits to A that she's a traitor. Then C goes through with her evil plan, but it fails. **Evil reveal #2... | [
{
"answer_id": 52349,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**Very subjective answer:**\n\nThis is pretty much an opinion. If we are breaking any character loyalty to B, then ... | 2020/08/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52347",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,353 | My question is about marketing and using a pen name. Ofc I want to connect to readers, but I wonder if it's possible to be authentic if you're not revealing your 'true' identity. Is this a matter of 'do what feels right to you'?
Edit: I'm not asking about why authors use pen names, or who (known or unknown) or how. An... | [
{
"answer_id": 52354,
"author": "motosubatsu",
"author_id": 24645,
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"selected": false,
"text": "Names are only *one* aspect of \"identity\" - much like writing is only one aspect of your life, and writing un... | 2020/08/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52353",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,368 | I am writing a YA novel in 3rd person limited.
The first scene of the chapter opens in a high school classroom. We don't know the name of the school or where it's at just yet. The character does, but us, the reader does not. The next scene will take place with my main character waiting to go into the principal's offic... | [
{
"answer_id": 52371,
"author": "dorijan5484",
"author_id": 45109,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/45109",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Just like your last sentence mentions, always show and rarely tell. I believe there are some instances where te... | 2020/08/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52368",
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52,373 | I am currently writing my first draft, and also happen to be in a critique group. It's my understanding a first draft is going to have lots of issues. This is where I am confused. While a critique group can offer some useful advice, can it also be a hindrance to just progressing with the story? | [
{
"answer_id": 52374,
"author": "Mary",
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Yes.\n\nWriters vary but some find that submitting a work in progress to a group causes them to be continually revisin... | 2020/08/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52373",
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52,375 | This is part of the story I'm working on:
>
> “Imikagaw” a feminine voice called out as she put her hand on the back of the man in cape. “Usamiakusta ow ihsataw aw amas Inne “Uoyustih ag imikagaw aw nah Usira”, she continued. “Ha…”, the man tears off most of his cape and lays it on the body. “Usamihsiageno”, he said ... | [
{
"answer_id": 52379,
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"author_id": 41082,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Writing isn't like filming a movie. In a movie it's trivial to show detail. Swing the camera over the set... | 2020/08/28 | [
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52,396 | I'm from Sri Lanka. and I'm trying to translate a Leaving Certificate. The Principal of this specific school has a master's degree, and in Sri Lanka we give the degree holder the honor of addressing them using the title of their degree. | [
{
"answer_id": 52397,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could call someone \"Master,\" as my friends jokingly do, but no one uses that title, since it's often consider... | 2020/08/31 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52396",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,409 | I have the following slogan:
>
> I sell, I build
>
>
>
I want to make sure it's clear and concise. I did not add a period, because I know it's not a full sentence. However, I want to make sure it's grammatically correct. | [
{
"answer_id": 52414,
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"selected": true,
"text": "Think of slogans as upside-down kanji tattooed on a non-Japanese-speaking person's shoulder blade: decora... | 2020/09/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52409",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,417 | tldr: Though I've been writing fiction for a long time, I have no real training or experience. I've put a lot of thought into a fantasy novel idea (we'll call it the Hail Mary) and am excited to write it. Should I focus on other projects to hone my writing first, before going for the Hail Mary?
Long:
I started writin... | [
{
"answer_id": 52433,
"author": "Caspian",
"author_id": 39193,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39193",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Write your Hail Mary.\n\nYou're assuming that this one idea will be the best idea you'll ever have. This isn't (nec... | 2020/09/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52417",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,418 | Hope the title is clear enough. I'm also looking for any vocabulary related to the act of writing magic ( 'runes' as a magical writing system for example). | [
{
"answer_id": 52419,
"author": "Chenmunka",
"author_id": 29719,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "To answer your main question. A book containing spells and rituals is a [Grimoire](https://www.wolframalpha.com/i... | 2020/09/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52418",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,435 | I’m writing a story where alien races are in constant communication with humans, but I don’t want it to be awkward or have to use language tags like “...he said in x language.” Maybe I could have a conspiracy event where the evolutions of all the languages converge at the point of first contact, so they are equivalent ... | [
{
"answer_id": 52438,
"author": "Ángel",
"author_id": 13127,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/13127",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "You should first think (even if you don't explicitly tell it to the reader) *how* such communication will happen.\n\n... | 2020/09/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52435",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,443 | My first person narrator is telling his story in the past tense but there are present tense realities too that get me confused what tense to use.
For instance, here are two paragraphs:
>
> When I came into the room, the lady stopped and stared. **I am** six-foot six, burly and bronzed from working so much in the sun... | [
{
"answer_id": 52444,
"author": "Mary",
"author_id": 44281,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Depends on the voice!\n\nYou want the character to sound consistent. First, you want it to be the voice to be consiste... | 2020/09/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52443",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,453 | I put a bit of Arthurian fantasy into a short story I wrote. I originally thought that this was perfectly acceptable, as many books do so, and the original stuff is ancient. But after reading [this](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/8677/is-sherlock-holmes-public-domain-for-use-in-a-story), I'm not so certain... | [
{
"answer_id": 52454,
"author": "Sciborg",
"author_id": 33846,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/33846",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "The Arthurian legends are in the public domain. You can use the names, places and storylines as much as you want.\n-... | 2020/09/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52453",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,463 | I just finished my first draft and I am new to writing. I'm currently researching how to self-edit a novel and came across beta readers. When should I bring in beta readers? After second draft and structural editing, or after line-editing? Or are beta readers even necessary? | [
{
"answer_id": 52465,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "**My experience:**\n\nLots of people handle this differently, so I can only give you my experience. I have had trou... | 2020/09/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52463",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46701/"
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52,466 | I just finished writing my first draft of my novel, and I don't quite know the states of self-editing. Right now, I'm not looking for advice on professional editors/proofreaders, I just want to know how to do it myself. I don't believe I'm going to be publishing this book, either professionally of by myself.
I've read ... | [
{
"answer_id": 52468,
"author": "Sciborg",
"author_id": 33846,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/33846",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I highly recommend [The Paramedic Method](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paramedic_met... | 2020/09/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52466",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46701/"
] |
52,472 | I'm new to writing, I just finished the first draft of the first novel I've written (yay!) and I'm looking for writing groups or communities that I can benefit from. Is there a community that helps people get feedback on their writing, or one that gives advice? Anything really :) | [
{
"answer_id": 52473,
"author": "Zepheriah",
"author_id": 46702,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46702",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Scribes and Scribblers is a good Discord server rife with artists and writers where you can share your works, get... | 2020/09/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52472",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,475 | I'm applying to agents, most of whom want a query letter and most of which want applications via email. I'm confused by the format. Do they want the query letter attached or pasted into the email, and if they want it attached, then what the what do I put in the email? Arrgh. Help! | [
{
"answer_id": 52489,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**Read the instructions to the letter:**\n\nThe ones I've seen are extremely picky and each one will give you very ... | 2020/09/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52475",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,479 | Okay, so I’m writing a post-apocalyptic story, and what’s a post-apocalypse without mutants? So, I decided I’d create a few. There’s just one problem.
So, after reviewing my writing for them, I feel that they resemble *Fallout’s* stuff to much, specifically, ghouls and super mutants.
*Skinless are supposed to be necr... | [
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"text": "One recipe to come up with unique creatures for your world is to start with their thematic role or roles in your story ... | 2020/09/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52479",
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52,487 | I'm having trouble writing a scene in my book where the main character is about to be pulled into an enchantment before her friend saves her.
A bit of backstory- the item that is about to enchant her is an opal necklace, and it's written in the main character's point of view, past tense. I was thinking about writing it... | [
{
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"author": "DWKraus",
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"text": "**Enchant with words:**\n\nNormally, flowery words are over the top used often, but in this case I'd bunch them up. ... | 2020/09/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52487",
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52,492 | Is it correct to write: "Your payment's being processed" ? | [
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"text": "No.. while I see that it *could* be interpreted as a contraction of \"your payment **is** being processed\" apo... | 2020/09/08 | [
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52,500 | **Background**
I've been working on doing nitty-gritty editor revisions of my detective novel in preparation for publishing, going over sentences and picking through details. In the course of the story, the detective visits a variety of locations in the setting of the story to interview witnesses and gather evidence a... | [
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"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I think what you are being asked for is to personalize the settings.\n\nImagine yourself walking into two places — one i... | 2020/09/08 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52500",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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