qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
52,503 | I'm putting together an editing plan for myself for my novel, and someone said something that made me think of chapters. For my first draft, I hadn't ever thought about chapters that much, only working on the writing itself. When I came to a natural break in the text, I would put a pound sign ( # ) to signal to myself ... | [
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"text": "Quick challenge: *should* you start thinking about chapters? It is entirely possible to write the entire book w... | 2020/09/08 | [
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52,510 | I'm writing a book series that involves people with various superpowers. One of these characters and is more or less the mentor of the protagonists. This character is the leader of the "good guy" superhuman faction, have a great deal of experience and wisdom (in their eighties, but biologically immortal), and is the mo... | [
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"answer_id": 52511,
"author": "Jedediah",
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"text": "Your protagonist is not the only iron the mentor has in the fire\n------------------------------------------------... | 2020/09/09 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52510",
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52,540 | I am going over my writing and found that all of my scenes where my main character is in physical pain are dull. There is one scene in particular, when she drinks a power-awakening potion. It's supposed to be super draining and it makes her pass out, but in the space where she is conscious, there isn't enough "oomph" i... | [
{
"answer_id": 52541,
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"text": "Your extract is a good attempt - you use a simile (\"felt like my body was on fire\"), and you give a g... | 2020/09/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52540",
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52,546 | English is not my first language, but as an English student, I'd always like to write in that language... I have many story ideas but my skills are not that good to be a novel writer where I usually face grammatical mistakes, any advice? | [
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"answer_id": 52552,
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"text": "Maybe you can write a story narrated from first person perspective from someone like yourself, a non-native Engl... | 2020/09/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52546",
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52,551 | I am working on an urban fantasy series. The series is currently divided into a number of episodic chapters that follow a "[monster of the week](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MonsterOfTheWeek)" format. Each one is projected to be about 30-45 typed pages and somewhere between maybe 10 to 15 thousand words ... | [
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"answer_id": 52558,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
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"text": "A collection of episodic stories is not a novel, nor should you try to make it into one. **Publishing these as... | 2020/09/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52551",
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52,569 | The one writing guideline that has altered my writing the most is the Show vs Tell guideline. I was probably far into the "tell" territory before, but sometimes I feel like this guideline is restricting my writing, as I sometimes opt to just give up when met with challenges like showing complex and nuanced emotions ins... | [
{
"answer_id": 52571,
"author": "Tau",
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"text": "My question is: why are you trying to show complex emotions solely with facial expressions? In fact, solely with *a sin... | 2020/09/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52569",
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52,572 | I want to keep a file for each of my editing stages throughout my self-editing process. Should I use track changes when I am editing so that I can see what I have changed, and then when I am on the next stage of editing should I accept those changes? Or is there a better option? (This is for a novel if that changes any... | [
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"answer_id": 52573,
"author": "Ángel",
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"text": "Note that you can compare to versions of a document, one a \"descendant\" of the other to view its differences. \"Tra... | 2020/09/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52572",
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52,575 | I am currently writing a short story that has two intertwined narratives told in inverse chronological order from each other. The two narratives meet/converge at the moment the protagonists receive information about the consequences of a particular action (the main conflict of the narratives), and diverging from each o... | [
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"answer_id": 60953,
"author": "NofP",
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"text": "[Indirect dialogue.](https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/what-is-indirect-dialogue)\n\nIn one narrative ... | 2020/09/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52575",
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52,581 | I'm writing a travel memoir and have come across a dilemma of sorts. Yes, I know that a memoir is usually written in the past tense -- since it happened in the past. But certain facts remain true as I write.
For example:
"Beijing **is** the capital of China. I **enjoyed** my time there. Her wide boulevards **are** fla... | [
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"text": "[Indirect dialogue.](https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/ask-writer/what-is-indirect-dialogue)\n\nIn one narrative ... | 2020/09/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52581",
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52,589 | I am writing a YA fantasy series, and I'm wondering if the first book should end in a major cliffhanger. Right as the book ends, the main characters get trapped by the enemy. I'm wondering if this is too much of a cliffhanger-- would anyone want to read the next book if this one ends at such a climactic moment? | [
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"answer_id": 52590,
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"text": "***That Depends:***\n===================\n\nI think you can get away with it, especially in the very serialized YA ... | 2020/09/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52589",
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52,592 | When writing a book manuscript, what is the proper way to write something like Main Street? Is it OK to use Main St? If I use the abbreviation, is there a period after it? | [
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"answer_id": 52595,
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"text": "In a manuscript, you generally don't want to use common abbreviations (i.e. 'w/' for with, 'add.' for additiona... | 2020/09/15 | [
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52,608 | I'm a terrible writer. I know I am and it's totally ok though. Well, it's not totally ok but I have no other choice to deal with it till I die. I'm a little embarrassed by it but what can you do? It might be due to the fact that I'm slightly mentally dyslexic. I sort of think backwards. When I write freely, you'll noti... | [
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"answer_id": 52656,
"author": "samairah nagpal",
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"text": "Honestly, I think the best way to improve your writing skills is to read. This helps with vocabulary, punct... | 2020/09/15 | [
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52,611 | In one of the answers to a question of mine here, someone said that cadence does not depend on the sprung rhythm of a text, but on making emphasis fall on the right words. Well, I would like to ask for some elaboration on how to control my writing style. Exactly how do I write in a certain kind of voice?
I tried atten... | [
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"author": "Mary",
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"text": "The first thing to note is that making prose style sound too much like poetry doesn't make it sound right. It still ha... | 2020/09/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52611",
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52,614 | I'm editing my book currently and I have a basis for a love triangle.
Should I add one?
I feel like it would add another subplot to my story and make it more interesting, but I've never been romantically involved with someone (to any extent) so that part of the book might feel awkward since I have no real-world exper... | [
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"answer_id": 52615,
"author": "Sciborg",
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"text": "Writing SE often gets a lot of questions in this vein:\n\n* *\"Should I include [thing] in my story, since so many ... | 2020/09/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52614",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
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52,616 | I am 40 years old, returning to college a second time. I have just been informed by my teacher that a thesis statement must always list your upcoming points in the exact order that you present the arguments, and that this is a practice called "Highlighting."
1. I have never heard this before. Is this correct? I did no... | [
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"answer_id": 52625,
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"text": "Reading what you've told me, I can understand why you might be confused. First \"Parallelism\" is a grammar t... | 2020/09/16 | [
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52,618 | Generally it is preferred that one use present tense with POV, or at least it sounds organic.
Are there any ground rules I can make use of to exploit third person present tense to the fullest without making it sound a bit off for readers of the typical third person past tense novel? | [
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"text": "The biggest pitfall I find with third person present tense is that it can start to sound like a movie s... | 2020/09/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52618",
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52,628 | When writing prose, I noticed that certain words flow smoothly when placed next to others, while other words do not, but I can never be too sure exactly how smoothly they flow, or whether my cadence is rich enough. Right now my words do not flow too well, as you can see. But I want them to flow perfectly.
Must I depen... | [
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"answer_id": 52629,
"author": "EDL",
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"text": "Ursula K Lequin said in her book, Steering the Craft, to produce lyrical prose you should read your work aloud.\n\nThen... | 2020/09/16 | [
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52,635 | Books I have read and people have said that imitation of a great author is a good way to learn writing style. Well, what I want to know is whether I can actually internalize a writing style by direct imitation, so that later, when not looking at the model, I can write in the same style using different sentence structur... | [
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"answer_id": 52636,
"author": "dmoonfire",
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"text": "Writing is fluid and dynamic. And, like most characters, you are a sum of your experiences. This means if you kee... | 2020/09/17 | [
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52,640 | I am thinking of writing a character that possesses the psychological phenomenon of erotophonophilia (or lust murder, or sexual sadism as it is more commonly known).
I am making sure to do my research to represent it accurately and I believe it is an important part of this character's arc and the context they provide t... | [
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"answer_id": 52642,
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"text": "***Respectfully, yes:***\n========================\n\nYou aren't writing for Hallmark or the Lifetime Channel, are ... | 2020/09/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52640",
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52,641 | I want to write under an identity that is not traceable back to me, so that people may not scrutinize me from my writing - neighbors, employers, coworkers - you know. Is there any foolproof way in which I can maintain two separate identities, so that I need not skip on the marketing part of the publishing process? | [
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"author": "Community",
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"text": "No guarantee that you can be untraceable. \n\nThere are ways that you can mostly hide your identity.\nGoogle for books... | 2020/09/18 | [
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52,643 | I am working on a story from an 'Igor'/lab assistants' point of view. They work for a modern day 'Evil scientist', Dr Levo.
Igor has a good working relationship with Dr Levo.
I want the audience to like/root for Dr Levo, however I still want them to be Evil and live up to their stereotype.
**How can I portray my Evi... | [
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"text": "Depends on what route you want to follow.\n\nThe **Pre-Emptive bad guy** route for example.\nTake X-Men's Magneto,... | 2020/09/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52643",
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52,658 | What do you call the act of "misusing" metaphors or using it in a way that's not accepted or considered wrong by most authors. I am trying to find the word, because there are no clear rules of how to use metaphors, except some people often agrees that metaphors used in a certain way is bad or improper or bad style. | [
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"text": "I've typically heard the word \"malaproper\" or \"malapropism\" are the correct word to use for a misuse of a m... | 2020/09/19 | [
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52,668 | I have a Wattpad account and I've been entering contests... I've been using the fantasy genre to describe my novel, but I just saw descriptions of fantasy and sci-fi and now I'm wondering if my novel is actually science fiction. The characters in charge are scientists, and they created basically a different realm? It's... | [
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"text": "To find out if your novel is sci-fi vs. fantasy, we must establish the rules of the world your characters live in... | 2020/09/19 | [
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52,678 | I think that in order to give the reader a pleasurable experience, prose needs to be harmonious at minimum, and rhythmic at best. The best expository prose flows smoothly; and in my opinion, the best speeches move the audience with a powerful cadence, which, although poetic, still sounds like a human’s speech. Many of ... | [
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"answer_id": 55650,
"author": "Artemis Silver",
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"text": "Being born with the talent might seem magical but it actually a learned skill that your heart is invested in... | 2020/09/20 | [
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52,680 | What I mean is, does my story have to start with my main character being introduced, or can I start with their parents and then ease into the main character after a time skip? | [
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"answer_id": 52683,
"author": "Spencer Barnes",
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"text": "That depends how you define 'main character'. Usually a main character in a story is the one the narrator wo... | 2020/09/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52680",
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52,695 | In the fictional book I'm writing there are the institutions, Focs Schools and Focs Net. These institutions greatly distort history, science findings, etc. Can I get sued by Fox News for the fictional name, when pronounced, sounding like the real life counterpart? | [
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"text": "Personally, if I were you, I would ask a lawyer versed in defamation and civic law more so than a fiction writ... | 2020/09/21 | [
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52,704 | So I'm writing a screenplay and I'm not sure if I can hide my character's name. Do I have to say it in the screenplay but just mention that we don't get their name until later. I've heard I should just use a nickname, but when their "name" is revealed it already comes as a nickname. | [
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"text": "You have several options at your disposal:\n\nYou could use a descriptive name: main character, maid, angry customer.... | 2020/09/21 | [
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52,706 | There are many style guides that urge writers to use the active voice and to avoid nominalizations. But many good books I've read often violate these rules.
So when should we break the rules that we find in style guides? | [
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"text": "Whenever it improves the style of a piece.\n\nStyle rules are only guidelines; when it is incorrect usage, it would be... | 2020/09/21 | [
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52,708 | I'm sorry. I know I've been posting a lot of questions lately.
Many times in the past, when I tried to write words with cadence and showed them to people, they said that I had poor command of the English language. They said my sentences were unidiomatic, improper in word order, and verbose. They also said that I was u... | [
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"text": "Gibberish is an achievment. Don't be ashamed of your lack of English use. Clarifying is easy if you try to ... | 2020/09/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52708",
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52,712 | More than 10 years ago, I wrote two books for Manning Publications, a publisher of technical non-fiction books. I didn't need to search for a publisher, I was offered a book contract, first by O'Reilly, then by Manning. I chose Manning Publications.
Now I've written a completely different book. If I had to write the t... | [
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"selected": true,
"text": "You have a solid platform, an existing audience, and you've already given out first copies of the book and had peopl... | 2020/09/22 | [
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52,716 | I'm beta reading a book with a lot of chopped sentences. I understand that this writer would like to make their sentences short and punchy. But it is disturbing when sentences are either lacking in a subject, object or verb.
Here are a few examples:
>
> Zotn looked away. ***Removed the cigar from his mouth and spat*... | [
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"text": "In fiction writing, grammar *can* be fast and loose. It's not as though there's a grading board that must rubber-stamp a... | 2020/09/22 | [
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52,733 | I'm about to self-pub my first novel, a domestic thriller with a time-travel twist, and in the story, one of my main characters abducts a child (he's not a pedophile).
He owns a 1970 Barracuda--the car that he uses in the abduction--and I'm wondering if I'll run into any libel/legal issues with that. I don't mention t... | [
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"text": "CAN he? Yes.\n\nShould he? Depends what your IP lawyer tells you about your chances of being sued if he does; and your ... | 2020/09/23 | [
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52,741 | Is this couplet in iambic pentameter?
>
> Sir thou are in love, take Cupid's wings
>
> fly to acquire the source of that feeling.
>
>
> | [
{
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"text": "Close, but not quite.\n\nA line in iambic pentameter is made up of five iambic feet. An iambic foot is made up of a... | 2020/09/24 | [
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52,746 | Although I'm not that convinced with this idea but I'd like to take your advise.
Can it be a good idea to skip a chapter when having writer's block? | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "Skipping a scene, section or chapter that I'm struggling with is one I've used in the past and had some success... | 2020/09/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52746",
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52,750 | This is more of a general question, but I am wondering what is the proper way to create character flaws, without it being too forced or annoying to read. For example, in my story one of the main characters comes from a higher class background than the other characters, and this makes him act a little arrogant and douch... | [
{
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Don't treat them as flaws but as qualities from a different point of view.\nOne of my favorite \"Flawed\" character... | 2020/09/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52750",
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52,754 | I've never been sure what the problem with 'overusing' the word 'that' is. It seems to me [that] someone made the rule one day and everyone else followed it. The [online source](https://www.bkacontent.com/avoid-overusing-word-writing/) I was reading equates overusing 'that' with overusing 'like' in sentences in her ear... | [
{
"answer_id": 52756,
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"selected": false,
"text": "You are being irreverent but that does not mean you are wrong. Using the word \"that\" in every sentence becom... | 2020/09/25 | [
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52,759 | I'm currently writing a novel in my spare time, though I like how it's going. The main character is a non-binary young adult, I try hard to make sure it doesn't sound off when people are using they/them pronouns. I like to think the character is relatively strict when it comes the their pronouns, so I dislike the idea ... | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "***The Rules of Attraction...***\n================================\n\nKudos for choosing a character outside the bo... | 2020/09/25 | [
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52,762 | Okay, the title is dumb, but let me elaborate.
When it comes to scenes in books or movies, show me a character's family, or part of their family getting killed and you've successfully immobilized me. Like show me THAT scene from Vuk (you'll find it as [*The Little Fox*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Fox) in... | [
{
"answer_id": 52769,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 15601,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's your story. There are plenty of great stories that have no murder, no torture, no natural disasters. Roma... | 2020/09/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52762",
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] |
52,772 | >
> [Everyone has a book in them, but in most cases that’s where it should
> stay](https://interestingliterature.com/2015/04/who-said-everyone-has-a-book-in-them/)
>
>
>
I'm not an author. I'm retired. The last time I wrote fiction was probably an essay when I was 10 years old.
For years a fictional story has bee... | [
{
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"author": "Sciborg",
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"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "Write it. Even if it's just for you.\n------------------------------------\n\nI think this is an incredibly importa... | 2020/09/25 | [
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52,802 | For me, planning takes all the fun out of it - by the time I've planned my novel, I'm bored with it and don't want to write anymore. I'd rather just sit down with a character and write what they do, and what obstacles they face, and it all just comes together. Then, when I know where I'm going, I can always look back a... | [
{
"answer_id": 52804,
"author": "Mary",
"author_id": 44281,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I outline my works because otherwise I have no way of ensuring that the characters will, in fact, go somewhere. It doe... | 2020/09/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52802",
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52,811 | There is a specific kind of scene that I want to write, where the protagonist has just killed his brother and he starts to cry. But I don't want to explicitly state that he's crying, either by stating it, or alluding to it, like saying: *Hot tears roll down his cheeks* What I specifically want are the 'sounds' of cryin... | [
{
"answer_id": 52822,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
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"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "How would you do it if it were a screenplay?\nYou would not! \n\nYou would indicate actor crying and let the actor & d... | 2020/09/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52811",
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52,812 | I have written a fiction novel about an adolescent who commits suicide. The story explores the childhood abuse from her father that pushed her to suicide, what she and her mother have done to try to overcome her trauma, and why those attempts failed.
In the story, I explained why psychotherapy repeatedly failed and ma... | [
{
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"text": "The obvious problem you will run into here, and a big pitfall with including technical details in a general fiction ... | 2020/09/27 | [
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52,816 | **The setup:**
We have a fantasy world. A while back (like, 30-100 years; not really sure yet) a prophecy was given that basically outlined a chosen one. More specifically it outlines a reincarnate of a god who would do an important thing.
One of the characters in my story believes that he is the chosen one (he's wro... | [
{
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"selected": true,
"text": "There are several writing tropes oriented around misinterpreting prophecies or signs of \"Chosen Ones\" that may giv... | 2020/09/27 | [
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52,827 | I am just about done writing the first book in a series. I have an idea for the next book in that series (let's call it "book a"), but I also have another idea brewing in my mind which takes place in another universe (let's call it "book b"). I want to write "book b" badly, but I feel I should get my first series over ... | [
{
"answer_id": 52828,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Of course you can do that.\n\nMany top authors have several series going at once.\n\nSome authors may write 20+ ... | 2020/09/27 | [
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52,844 | I just need help with writing my short story, I don't want to make it too long and I don't know if I'm over thinking this. Help? | [
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"text": "It depends.\n\nMagazines will give you a range for short stories they buy.\nIf this is for a class then your tea... | 2020/09/29 | [
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52,853 | In high school and even college most students are told to aim for around 5-6 sentences per paragraph. I am now trying to write fiction, fantasy specifically, but am hitting a wall when it comes to paragraph length. Most of my paragraphs are around 2-3 sentences, sometimes more, sometimes less. I feel like I'm violating... | [
{
"answer_id": 52854,
"author": "Sciborg",
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "[Purdue OWL gives a great definition of the concept of a \"paragraph\":](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing... | 2020/09/29 | [
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52,864 | I'm rereading my draft, and there is a part in the book where when the main character is helping others escape prison, she accidentally reveals herself to the prison guards who chase her down and kill one of the people she was trying to rescue.
Is this too brutal? I don't want my reader to hate the main character for ... | [
{
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"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "Yes, absolutely. Protagonists aren't perfect.\n---------------------------------------------\n\nIn many ways, **prot... | 2020/10/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52864",
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52,899 | I am often hearing / reading that the main character of your story should be likable or even if flawed should be something about them to get the reader behind them or to "root" for them, or they should learn and be redeemed by the end - whatever happens, the reader should get behind them at some point - at least that's... | [
{
"answer_id": 52902,
"author": "motosubatsu",
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "You *can* do this, but I think you have to ask what you're hoping to achieve by doing so.\n\nWhen you say:\n\n>... | 2020/10/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52899",
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52,900 | Can I mix science-fiction and history in a story? I mean a story that is based in historical events with a touch of science fiction, is that possible or am I trying to invent something "ridiculous" | [
{
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"text": "It's called Alt-History and it's not something new.\nJust make sure that if you write it over a longer time frame ... | 2020/10/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52900",
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52,906 | I am not very familiar with "point of view". From my understanding, (correct if I'm wrong, but I looked it up so I think I'm right) 1st person is from the perspective of "I ate ice cream" sort of thing. 2nd person is "you eat ice cream," and 3rd person is "she eats ice cream."
I don't know which point of view is right... | [
{
"answer_id": 52907,
"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "***Kudos for bravery:***\n\nWow, I'm personally not sure that if I got the whole thing written 1st person, I 'd be a... | 2020/10/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52906",
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52,915 | In my story the MC joins this pseudo-militia. The process for every new person is to sign up, go to training, and then be sorted into teams and wait to be assigned a mission.
I have started writing when she is on the way to headquarters to be assigned to a team, but I feel like I need to start earlier to properly set ... | [
{
"answer_id": 52920,
"author": "Llewellyn",
"author_id": 27572,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could add a **prologue** that tells the backstory of what made her decide to join the militia, then skip dire... | 2020/10/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52915",
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52,916 | So there was a novel that had some cool ideas and I really liked, but also there were many parts that made me annoyed mostly due to the genre, plot holes and inconsistencies and how they were done or used which affected the overall quality of the story. So while the ideas and story was good, there were clear parts that... | [
{
"answer_id": 52929,
"author": "Chris Sunami",
"author_id": 10479,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/10479",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "There's a name for what you're proposing. It's called \"fan fiction.\" Authors and publishers usually ignore i... | 2020/10/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52916",
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52,927 | The story is written in 3rd person POV, close. But I feel like the very last end feels jarring.
>
> He trailed his hand along the railing as he climbed the stairs so he could catch himself if he fainted or if his legs gave out from under him. He was so close to having his chance to fight for the title, it wouldn’t do... | [
{
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"text": "I don't know if \"Not now\" changes the depth of the POV, but I would argue that both of those last two sentences ... | 2020/10/07 | [
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52,940 | I'm currently writing a story based around a human subject with superpowers who escapes out of a lab after like 12 years of excruciating pain. The forced mind control not working anymore, then tries to get their former life back.
Basically starting with their 15 year old son who barely even remembers what his parents ... | [
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"text": "I don't know if \"Not now\" changes the depth of the POV, but I would argue that both of those last two sentences ... | 2020/10/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52940",
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52,946 | There was this story I was writing, when I was a little kid, that I found. I called it "Rage." I liked the story, and also liked a lot of the plot points. I want to continue it.
However, should I continue it, because a) I wrote it a while ago and b) I can't really remember that many plot points that I had been plannin... | [
{
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"text": "**Found Gold**:\n\nOf COURSE you should finish it! Is the young version of you going to do it? Is the young version ... | 2020/10/08 | [
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52,953 | I'm writing a story about a woman driving cross-country in search of her childhood home. There, she discovers the small town has grown to a suburban sprawl, and she's surprised to find that she can no longer navigate it's roads.
I'm not quite pleased with my opening paragraph. From a technical point of view, it doesn'... | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "Total rewrite?\n\nSomebody without a GPS these days whether built in the car as most are now,\nor an on the das... | 2020/10/08 | [
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52,962 | I'm writing a story (I think a bit long to post here, but I could if someone would like), which is a metaphor for depression. In the story (from a 3rd person past-tense POV, if that's helpful), an adult man seeks out his childhood home to visit a room where the time "stops" (i.e., he is sinking back into depression). I... | [
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"text": "Reflection, as Alexander says in the comments, is a good one. There are a million different standard negative thou... | 2020/10/08 | [
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52,970 | I am new in this site and I hope to convey my question in a correct manner.
>
> Any employee is also entitled to receive a reference letter. This document must contain an assessment on the performance of the employee in their post(s).
>
>
>
My question is, should I write "their" or "his/her".
As far as I underst... | [
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"text": "Generally speaking, \"their\" is viewed as a more modern gender-neutral pronoun and a more elegant replacement for ... | 2020/10/09 | [
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52,978 | I am closely reading/editing (for my own benefit) the text of *Dubliners*, the collection of short stories written by Gamev Zokce.
In some stories, such as *The Dead*, there are many instances of what you might call run-on sentences, with little or no commas. Here's a shining example (taken from *The Dead*):
>
> Mar... | [
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"text": "I would say it was his quirky style. \n\nDo not know of any official English department position on that usage ... | 2020/10/10 | [
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52,982 | At first my protagonist was going to be a female role, until I started having an inclination for male characters and the fact that I am a total BL (“boy’s love”, stories about male homosexual romance) lover. So, I decided to make my character's gender up to the reader to decide since I know some people have different t... | [
{
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"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "***Several Options:***\n\nSo I assume you aren't a well-established author, and people don't have preconceptions ab... | 2020/10/10 | [
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52,988 | I'm thinking of writing a fiction novel. The plot I've outlined so far centers largely around one possible path the future of our world could take over the next several decades. In doing so, the story revolves largely around the politics and policies of the United States and China. It may also connect to certain pseudo... | [
{
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "***People are People:***\n\nGovernments are not going to come after you for portraying them in a negative light unl... | 2020/10/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/52988",
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53,001 | My current WIP involves a deliberate miscarriage of justice.
I started out with three main characters:
J - a young girl who is effected by both the crime committed and the injustice delivered
D - a clever detective with an interesting past and a dear friend who is a career criminal
N - a career criminal who is taki... | [
{
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"author": "DWKraus",
"author_id": 46563,
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"selected": true,
"text": "***Problems make Great Drama:***\n\nAs a person who's life has been affected closely by murder of/by family, I want/... | 2020/10/12 | [
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53,007 | For example, how could I write the following sentences in an academic way?
>
> After I have contacted Dr. .., he has accepted to be on my supervision panel, he told me that he can contact you and ask you if you are interesting in being on my supervision panel. Then, he informed me that you have you are interested. Th... | [
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"selected": false,
"text": "Generally, when I had to write grant proposals and other professional scientific materials for my administration, ... | 2020/10/12 | [
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53,013 | In a fiction novel with a strong historical foundation, can you replace a public figure with a fictional one? For instance, replacing the mayor of a city during a specific time period with a fictional character.
There is plenty written on how to incorporate real people into a fictional work but not on replacing a real... | [
{
"answer_id": 53017,
"author": "Ángel",
"author_id": 13127,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is a fiction novel. Other than the restrictions you put upon yourself, there is no problem in changing some hist... | 2020/10/12 | [
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53,016 | So, I'm writing a few books at the moment. I really want to become an author when I'm older, but I'm much too shy to email a proper author about what to do or show it to many people. I really feel like people would mock me for aspiring to be an author, but I'm really tired of people ignoring me, especially people I wan... | [
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53,024 | In this world, there are mortals (human beings) and divine beings (gods/goddess). The gods and goddess have personalities, limitations, and what is commonly called "human nature" (they don't know everything, they screw up, etc.), with one rather notable exception: Whatever their particular "area" is, they are good at i... | [
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53,028 | I have been pondering on a novel idea that would likely utilize a large chunk of a premise of a novel that I read several years ago.
To be clear, the elements that I would want to use are the premise (Magical detective solving magical crimes) and the configuration of the three main characters (The magical detective, h... | [
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53,052 | It's said that to be a good writer you ought to ***"Write what you feel and feel what you write."*** While this sounds logical, I sometimes find that being too attached to my work cramps my writing style and stymies my ability to think critically and analytically.
But at the same time, I cannot write about topics whic... | [
{
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"text": "You can (must, really!) be passionate about what you write, which inevitably ends up with you being emotionally atta... | 2020/10/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53052",
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53,063 | I know "omnibus" to be a term describing multiple novels put into a single book, but I've never really heard or read the term anywhere else. Because of this, I'm curious: how widely used is the term "omnibus?"
Context: I am writing a piece where I am considering the use of the word, but am unsure of whether I should u... | [
{
"answer_id": 53065,
"author": "raddevus",
"author_id": 10723,
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"text": "Here you go...\nGoogle Trends and \"omnibus\"\n\n<https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=omnib... | 2020/10/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53063",
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53,077 | I am in the beginning stages of writing what might be a space opera. The story starts in a society that consists of three planets that all fall under one governmental domain. The problem I'm running into is the way I've structured these planets is they are all home to multiple species of aliens. Is there a way I can de... | [
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"text": "In this context, these aliens are probably going to be very domestic and familiar to this character, just as familia... | 2020/10/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53077",
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53,090 | When writing a list of items, should they be alphabetical?
>
> The late Jurassic periods are Tithonian, Kimmeridgian, and
> Oxfordian.
>
>
>
better?
>
> The late Jurassic periods are Kimmeridgian, Oxfordian, and
> Tithonian.
>
>
> | [
{
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"text": "There's no rule about the order of listed elements, so this is not a question of grammar, but of **style**.\n\nTh... | 2020/10/17 | [
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53,094 | I am a freelance author consultant and have ran into a unique problem. My customer happens to share a similar name with a famous author and she is concerned that there might be potential problems if she publishes under her own name. I would like to know if there is any possibility that she could find herself in legal t... | [
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"text": "As for legal trouble, you should ask the lawyers about that, not the writers. But I doubt she'd get into *trouble*,... | 2020/10/18 | [
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53,095 | when I say "reader", in the context of my particular scenario, I actually mean the "player" as this story is for a videogame.
I start the game off with the player/main character (first person POV in the game) falling in a malfunctioning elevator which comes to a safety stop station within some unknown part of the mass... | [
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53,096 | I am currently writing a novel where I use "It was all just a dream" (IWAJAD) plot twist, just because the main character needs it to change his personality and train his power to save the world when he wake up.
But then, I heard that "IWAJAD" is too cliche and may ruin a good novel. Should I continue that plot twist ... | [
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"text": "Your big problem is probably convincing people that his personality actually changed, and his training was actually ef... | 2020/10/18 | [
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53,104 | I'm working on some literary translations. I want to use a proper font for my work, but it is a little out of my area of expertise. In the past I've always just kept the default Calibri font and never thought anything of it. I'm increasingly hearing graphic artists moan about how people didn't even bother changing the ... | [
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"text": "Your big problem is probably convincing people that his personality actually changed, and his training was actually ef... | 2020/10/18 | [
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53,108 | This seems like a vague question but it is not. What is good writing?
Does it have simply be concise and clear? Obviously, not. Writing that sounds beautiful is considered good writing? But, what is beautiful writing? That is a hard question. It could be writing in which words are put together in a different way than ... | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "To begin with, writing is a form of communication. The writer has something to say. The written word conveys t... | 2020/10/18 | [
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53,132 | I am writing a fantasy series. I am a new writer. I am almost done with the first draft of the first book, I have about 400 pages. Everyone who has read my work, even complete strangers that I have emailed to get honest feedback, have said it is amazing. I’m not so sure. Upon self-editing for the seventh time, I notice... | [
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"text": "To begin with, writing is a form of communication. The writer has something to say. The written word conveys t... | 2020/10/19 | [
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53,136 | I am an extremely young author. I don’t mean to sound like I’m bragging, but I think I am very good. They say the best readers are the best writers, in a single day I once read a 700 page book. I read every book in the house. Twice. I got bored. I was staying up late because I couldn’t sleep the night before seventh gr... | [
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"text": "It's certainly possible to be published as a very young author. [Nancy Yi Fan published her Swordbird series at ele... | 2020/10/19 | [
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53,140 | My bad guy is very very very complicated.
My entire story exists because for thousands of years (no one knows why) regular people from everyday life have been showing up in a magical forest filled with elves, Cyclopes, giants, dragons, gryphons, and humongous forest creatures.
But there was a first.
This is the vill... | [
{
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"text": "When a character is a tad insane and want it all they can only do one thing, find a loophole. A story I heard befo... | 2020/10/19 | [
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53,147 | Ok, I know this question might seem a little bit weird. But I really need to know. How do I write from a girl's POV? I'm a 13 year old boy and I'm trying to become an author. I'm currently working on one book, and I'm about to start writing a second one. That's how I always do my business. I write one book until I'm ab... | [
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Just write her like a person. There's really not much else to it.\n-------------------------------------------------... | 2020/10/19 | [
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53,159 | My problem here is that I have two main characters, who, in the future, will end up dating. I’m trying to create friction between them at the beginning of my series so that they gradually fall in love. The best way that I see to do that is making them have arguments.
The only problem:
Arguments are out of Phihactor f... | [
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"text": "**Everybody is flawed**\n\nCharacters who are similar in worldview/behavior can still come in to conflict due to t... | 2020/10/20 | [
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53,164 | I know similar questions have been asked.
But also, consider that I want to publish a book in countries other than the US or UK. | [
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"text": "**No.**\n\nSince Hijrp Potfeq has not been around nearly long enough to be public domain, and copyright law is a th... | 2020/10/20 | [
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53,171 | I am a new writer writing a fantasy series, and earlier today I found myself thinking “Yay! I’m almost done with the main plot of my first book!”
Then I realized I was nowhere near done with the underlying plots, and if I finished the book in a few chapters there would be tons of loose ends.
What are some tips to kee... | [
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"text": "Keep rereading your own work, for one thing. You might trip over some untapped source of a subplot, or notice a sub... | 2020/10/20 | [
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53,178 | I have this main character who is very academically gifted but has a bunch of problems.
For example he is: Anti-social, paranoid, ignorant of the people around him, very violent, short tempered, and has a certain disdain to life in general, human or otherwise.
Now throughout the story he is shocked and surprised to s... | [
{
"answer_id": 53179,
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"selected": false,
"text": "**The event needs to be major to the character and thus to the reader who is emotionally invested.**\n\nWhy did... | 2020/10/20 | [
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53,184 | I’ve recently been writing my book when I got stuck. I think it’s safe to say that this has happened to everyone. This has happened a few times in the certain book I am writing, and I’ve noticed it is always after a fight scene with my main characters and the antagonists in my story. After an action-packed scene, I am ... | [
{
"answer_id": 53188,
"author": "Mary",
"author_id": 44281,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44281",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I hit this problem many times when I began writing. The problem was that I was losing interest because I didn't know h... | 2020/10/20 | [
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53,196 | I am a young author writing my first series. I’m not writing my books simply because I want to or that I am frustrated with other books, but those are some reasons.
The book I am writing is pure fantasy, with underlying genres of romance, tragedy, politics, and post-apocalyptic. But mainly fantasy.
I am targeting an ... | [
{
"answer_id": 53197,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 46418,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**The marketing, and the age of the main character**\n\nPicking some popular YA books, many don't sound very fa... | 2020/10/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53196",
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53,199 | I am a young author writing a fantasy series. I started this book with a light bulb idea late one night while reading Petod Dan.
I didn’t know anything about writing, but I ADORE reading, so I pulled out a notebook and let my mind flow. I started with a Prologue that I ended up deleting, because it gave away to much i... | [
{
"answer_id": 53200,
"author": "Bridgebot101",
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"selected": false,
"text": "Heck yeah, you can kill a main character. If you've read the Hijrp Potfeq series,\n\n*Spoiler alert if you hav... | 2020/10/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53199",
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53,207 | I'm having some issues with balancing the world in my story.
My story is centered around a magical world where the people are brutal. There is political corruption, arguments over the use of magic (practical use vs harm), regular massacres, war-filled history (surprisingly more than our history), regular family separa... | [
{
"answer_id": 53231,
"author": "Leila",
"author_id": 47304,
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"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Maybe make magic the punishment.\n\nMaybe the government hoards all the magic, and punishes people with it."
},
{... | 2020/10/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53207",
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53,217 | This story is about a person in a sort of technologically advanced secret government organization that is basically SCP.
The organization is very advanced and, in most cases, can revive dead people.
I haven't yet published a chapter in which any character dies and is revived, but plan on doing it a lot later on.
How... | [
{
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"text": "Bring them back as much as you want, just make sure that they have other conflicts, motivations, things they ... | 2020/10/22 | [
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53,220 | It's been two months and I haven't completed one book, and [this OP](https://writing.stackexchange.com/q/53136/47342) has read **700 pages** in one day. So how can I increase my reading habits? Compared to this person, I did nothing but just wasted 2 months. | [
{
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"text": "I average around 100 average paperback pages an hour, so I could do 700 pages in 7 hours, which could strictly speaking... | 2020/10/22 | [
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53,237 | Not to make this a post complaining about my inability to write, but I'd like to understand the universal challenges people face when writing and overcome some of these common challenges. Maybe understanding how others approach these barriers to write will help me develop as a better writer.
A little bit of context: S... | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "I know this seems weird, but I only ever had one barrier. My arch nemesis. Evil on paper. Worse than my antagonist.\n... | 2020/10/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53237",
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53,242 | I need some basic grammar guidelines to follow regarding how to punctuate dialogues where people go on forever, like in the example below:
>
> Now I've edited the whole series all five books which means I have seen every single page I have read every single question and recent hundreds, thousands-hundreds of tips to ... | [
{
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"selected": false,
"text": "You break them up into shorter stand alone sentences.\n\nI recall that I once wrote a sentence that was one page long.\... | 2020/10/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53242",
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53,243 | I am a young author writing a fantasy series, and while browsing writing prompts and trying to better my writing yesterday, I got an idea for another, totally different series. I am in love with the one I am writing, but the one that I thought of is also very exiting.
Should I stop the one I am writing to write the ot... | [
{
"answer_id": 53245,
"author": "Ceramicmrno0b",
"author_id": 46506,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I do this a bunch and i just move around, write a chapter or two of one and then go back to the other one. I ... | 2020/10/22 | [
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53,260 | I was about to print my manuscript when a sudden thought occurred to me, do publishers require a certain font?
I didn’t want to print out 50,000 words only to discover it was useless, that costs a lot of money. Is there a certain font I need to use? | [
{
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "First off, congratulations on finishing your manuscript. To answer your question, I'm going to quote an excellent wri... | 2020/10/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53260",
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53,261 | So I’m writing another series. No surprise there, at least not if you know me.
I wrote my first series on an idea, and let it reveal itself to me as I wrote. That was a good a method for the specific idea I was writing, because I was completely creating my own fantasy world. In that world I came up with a villain so d... | [
{
"answer_id": 53262,
"author": "DWKraus",
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"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46563",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "***Opposites Oppose:***\n\nI think this will likely get migrated to writing, so I'll answer it like a question ther... | 2020/10/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53261",
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53,293 | Nyarlathotep, the Black Pharaoh, seeks to enter the realm of Earth to rule over mankind. Unfortunately, he is prevented from doing so by a barrier that blocks eldritch deities from crossing over. To get around this, he breaks his soul up into thousands of pieces and seeds them into thousands unborn children. These kids... | [
{
"answer_id": 53298,
"author": "Sister Student",
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"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/47330",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "**DISCLAIMER:** This is going to be more of a way to help you understand how other places have a blue and or... | 2020/10/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/53293",
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53,299 | Now my case is not novel-wide; I have to do this in one part of the novel, but I extended the question to a more generalised one, so that anybody else with the same question will find it useful just in case.
Suppose this scenario - I am following one person's POV, in first-person or third-person through this narration... | [
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"text": "**DISCLAIMER:** This is going to be more of a way to help you understand how other places have a blue and or... | 2020/10/25 | [
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53,312 | This is oddly specific and I'm not sure this is the right place for it but I'm writing something set in a contemporary American setting and I need a typical American food a grandma could cook for a family dinner that would spoil if left outside the fridge over night. Basically in what I'm writing a character steals foo... | [
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"text": "What about something like chicken pot pie or shepherds pie. Both of which I could imagine an American grandmot... | 2020/10/25 | [
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53,313 | (not sure if this question belongs here, let me know if there's a better stack exchange category for it and I will happily take it down)
I'm currently working on a story that involves a main character who's biggest flaw is her self-doubt, low self-esteem or lack of self-confidence. Whatever you want to call it. I'm th... | [
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"text": "When writing a romance novel, A way you might think of a character who is developing feelings for another, one mi... | 2020/10/25 | [
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53,319 | I have a sentient AI in a story. He sentience aspect is mostly an unexpected result and some characters in the story do not believe it. When they refer to the AI, should they use the "it" pronoun to do so?
There are also characters who believe that the AI is sentient. The AI is not gendered. Should those characters use... | [
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"text": "I think 'it' or 'AI's name' is probably the best bet. If you reference AI's name once in a conversation, you ... | 2020/10/26 | [
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