qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
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54,689 | The SCP foundation is an world wide organization given the task of protecting the world from dangerous anomalies. These artifacts or individuals pose a threat to the normalcy of our reality, and are contained at specially designed facilities to be studied. This research usually requires prisoners, referred to as D-class. These prisoners are considered disposable individuals who are used in experimentation with SCPs, in order to determine the extent of its abilities and powers, and how much of a threat it poses. D-class are taken from various countries around the world with ties to the foundation, who send them death row inmates and individuals scheduled for execution, or simply undesirables who these countries would consider convenient to disappear.
Foundation members are the good guys of the world protecting it from the horrors not seen by normal society, but their methods are often atrocious. Researchers often force disposable people to participate in dangerous experiments, which often end in a slow, horrific death or at the least permanent injury. D-class are often subjected to prolonged torture and suffering depending on the SCP, and are made to undergo other experiments if they are lucky to survive. They are given no sympathy or mercy from staff, who see them as easily replaceable stock. Its one thing for people to not empathize with a John Wayne Gacy or Hitler-like characters, but many of these prisoners come from nations with various ethical standards. This can include a woman who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for an affair, or a student revolutionary from China, and other people who would be protected under human rights laws, or even children. At the end of the year, the foundation routinely executes all surviving D-class in order to make room for new batches, as these people would be an inconvenience to release into society after their sentenced term.
The callousness of the researchers and other staff members seems odd. These are people who can ruthlessly send a man or woman to a horrible death, and then go home to their families to maintain a normal life without any side effects. They can take part in regular society and seem decent, good people while at the same time work for an institution that practices industrialized murder. While one can justify to themselves that it is done in the name of world security, its hard not to portray this as psychopathic behavior. How can one rationalize this contradiction while still maintaining the good guy image? | [
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"text": "Keep in mind that SCP is at it's core a black comedy series, with the various articles getting a very clinical scient... | 2021/01/27 | [
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54,692 | I have a character that falls into a particular character archetype. Specifically the [genki girl](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenkiGirl). I remember seeing characters with that sort of personality in other works and wanted to try writing a character with that sort of personality.
The character was explicitly not supposed to be a shallow stereotype of the trope and nothing else. Their personality and character design was drawn from several sources of real life and fictional inspiration and I have tried to flesh out what the details of their personality are actually like and why they think and act the way they do. However, I was reading some reviews of other fiction and I noticed that the reviewers listed several character traits I thought were unique (specifically, the character being athletic and a bit spacey) as stereotypical of the genki girl archetype. My concern is that even if I am deliberately trying to avoid writing a shallow stereotype, I might be subconsciously biased towards putting in cliche character traits because that is what sounds familiar. I have also been struggling with giving the character a decent character arc, and I am wondering if that is related to this.
A lot of authors often draw upon well-worn personality archetypes, either totally or in part, when designing their characters. Some might argue that it's impossible to completely avoid personality tropes because they are so widespread (e.g., Luku Htyqalnef being the naive, hopeful chosen one, Han Solo being the lovable rogue). However, given that these archetypes are so well worn and risk falling into cliche when done poorly, how does one make their characters distinct and not cliche when they are influenced by a particular archetype? | [
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"text": "Characters are interesting because of their personalities and how the specifics of those personalities interac... | 2021/01/27 | [
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54,695 | The system of writing in my work contains eight basic shapes that get a number of permutations each. One of my viewpoint characters is learning this system of writing for the first time, and I want to give the reader at least a good feel for what these glyphs look like.
As prior to this, the character in question is wholly illiterate, I cannot make comparisons to other letters. At the same time, they are complicated enough that comparisons to basic geometric shapes will not do them justice.
I am discussing with my printer what it would cost to just add images in-line, but what strategies can I use to describe such abstract symbols in future? | [
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"text": "I think there is a clever way to set this right without the tedium of price inserting glyphs even for this work of ... | 2021/01/27 | [
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54,701 | So basically I'm writing two books right now, and there's something that's been bugging me since day one, when I wrote the very first word of the very first chapter of the very first book, and that is, should I really be using "ok" in professional writing, like a book or novel? Or should I be using OK? Which one is correct to use in a professional setting, and if it is one of the two, than what exactly is "Okay" for? This honestly always confused me. | [
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"text": "\"OK\" is definitely **not** used in professional writing, with the obvious exception being for character dialogue i... | 2021/01/28 | [
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54,706 | I'm writing a children's novel, and after handing it to my younger sister for her feedback (my sister's seven, the targeted age range is 8-12), she said it was very easy for her, but she appeared to like the plot and characters.
I must have been trying too hard to make it fit into my target age group, but I probably overdid it (oops). What can I do to make my book level more difficult and challenging to readers? | [
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"text": "There are a few things you can do:\n\nJust use bigger words. This will probably be the most obvious solution,... | 2021/01/28 | [
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54,707 | I always struggle with making introductions and conclusions.
* How can I write a good hook that attracts my readers?
* How can I conclude effectively at the end of a literary essay? | [
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"text": "There are a few things you can do:\n\nJust use bigger words. This will probably be the most obvious solution,... | 2021/01/28 | [
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54,714 | Would the word **and** be omitted before the last item in either of these two sentences?
>
> Maximum tree-ring counts for species sampled are as follows: American beech (50), tuliptree (125), white ash (221), sugar maple (80), red maple (~240), chestnut oak (180), sweet birch (250), **and** eastern hemlock (314)
>
>
>
>
> More steep slopes north and south of this grove included trees with the following maximum ages: tuliptree (145), chestnut oak (~314), American beech (155), **and** sweet birch (199)
>
>
> | [
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"text": "I believe that this is a matter of style. Some presctiptivist grammar texts used to insist that the \"and\" (or... | 2021/01/28 | [
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54,726 | Typically an exposition is a few sentences or paragraphs to clue the reader into the time and place, and maybe set a bit of the mood for the core of the story. However, I would like to dedicate 100 or so pages to the exposition. The target length of my book is roughly 500 pages, and so a 100-page exposition would constitute a hefty portion.
The 100-page exposition would allow me to avoid *describing* the time and place with a few sentences and allow the reader to assimilate hundreds of sentences in an attempt to achieve a more organic exposition.
Inside the 100-pages:
* No rising action
* No main characters will be introduced
* There would be some random encounters of "extras"
* Sensory embellishments (Thursday was sunny // In the winter, a faint pine scent clung to the air)
To be clear, the first 100 pages would have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Nor would there be any main characters or anything to anchor the reader even if he/she attempted to interpret the lengthy exposition as a narrative with a story arch.
Question
--------
Would this be too taboo? Would publishers / readers be reluctant to read 100 pages that serve only as an exhaustive exposition? If this formula has been used already, I would also be curious to see how much success it has achieved in terms of readership. | [
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"text": "My son is an attorney. On his desk is a brass plaque that reads, \"Legal but Stupid\". He has need to point to ... | 2021/01/29 | [
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54,740 | I am not an author. Occasionally I have an idea for a story but I've never been inspired to invent and connect ideas to make a convincing tale.
Recently; however, possibly because of some medication I have to take\*, I started having long involved dreams that subjectively go on for hours. They have logic, surprises, and interaction with individuals all wrapped up in a mini-drama. I can remember them in detail when I wake up and even recall conversations with NPCs.
1. I am puzzled how my sleeping imagination is so much more productive than my waking - even to the point of surprising me with the events that occur (How is that possible?).
2. One of the dreams was quite Lovecraftian. Some are concerned with my breaking the law and being on the run. Others are of adventures such as going on a road trip with no resources other than a damaged phone that is hard to operate.
**Question**
Is it known whether some authors regularly draw inspiration from their dreams? Is this a recognized 'technique'?
---
\**Spare me the jokes about illegal substances! Requests for information on this drug will be ignored. This is a necessary and prescribed medicine for a genuine condition. As far as I know, it is not thought to be hallucinogenic. I could even be wrong about this being the cause of the dreams.* | [
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"text": "I don't believe there are many authors who do this on a regular basis, but it's certainly not unknown for authors t... | 2021/01/30 | [
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54,742 | I am writing a scholarship essay and one of my sentences is:
>
> "Although both of my parents have bachelor’s degrees now, they were not **as** well educated or stably employed when I was growing up."
>
>
>
When I asked someone to read it over, they suggested that I use *so* instead of *as*. I looked it up, and I found that generally negative comparisons use *so*, so it would be correct in this context. Since both *so* and *as* could work, which is more grammatically correct? | [
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"text": "Ok so neither of them sound right. if you were to write ¨Not as educated as¨, that would be better. Hope this ... | 2021/01/30 | [
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54,744 | I was recently sent a document to beta review, so I transferred it to Google Docs and started making suggestions. Once I'm through the four pages, there's about thirty miscellaneous spelling/minor plot errors, plus a page of feedback on the bottom about larger plot, personality, description, and word repetition issues, as well as a bit of overall feedback and advice for moving forward.
I should probably tell you that this was a new writer, and as far as I know this was their first story.
With my current suggestions, it's a bit overwhelming but is mostly fixed by clicking 'accept' and then reading the extra page at the bottom. I don't think this will make them stop writing, but it raised a good question in my mind.
**How harsh is too harsh when reviewing/critiquing?**
By too harsh I mean it offends or hurts them in some way and makes them discouraged when writing in the future. Any guidance on this would be appreciated, thanks! | [
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"text": "No such thing:\n--------------\n\nBy saying you are going to beta-read someone's work, you are promising them help ... | 2021/01/30 | [
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54,765 | Just some background: I'm writing a story centered around a boy who is not special. As in, there is nothing too defining about him physically. The thing is, he isn't in a realistic setting. He is trapped in something of a hellhole, but it's highly unlikely he will survive on his own. He has to make a lot of deals, take plenty of gambles and trust those he wouldn't trust. There are no other 'normal' people around, per see.
However, whilst creating the plot, world, and characters, I noticed that my character could come across as somebody to sympathize with. Not because of the situation, but because everything else put inside this abomination seems to be creatures of sorts that couldn't be met to the average human eye, yet he's here as well.
I don't want people to get the theme that 'normal people can do things too'. That's not what I'm going for at the slightest. However, the more I'm writing about this world, the more I'm thinking his character is coming across this way.
How do I refrain from making people sympathize with this character mainly because he doesn't have any physical abilities as other beasts do in the story, and instead with his other traits? | [
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"text": "### **More Normal People**\n\nHere's the thing, if your protagonist is [the only normal person in a world full ... | 2021/02/01 | [
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54,767 | I'm writing a book and I was wondering how I could expand it? My chapters feel like they have 500 characters while 1 chapter should become 3000 - 5000 words.
Is there a way to expand it?
Note:
I'm writing a first-person ghost romance story in which I'm a ghost and buried in a graveyard and then I meet my love. | [
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"text": "A chapter should be exactly as long as it needs to be, no longer, no shorter. I’ve seen chapters as long as a si... | 2021/02/01 | [
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54,780 | I was taught in my childhood that an **ampersand** is not supposed to be used in a formal context and it is best suitable **between abbreviations.**
Do experts agree with this?
Looking forward to getting a reply soon. | [
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"text": "Formal writing like legal documents, newspapers, research papers for publication, have their own style guides that defi... | 2021/02/02 | [
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54,784 | For example, if one might describe themselves as an "occasional writer;" or, identifies as a writer, yet only "writes occasionally." Would "sometimes-writer" be a more laconic way to express this? | [
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54,792 | During the lockdown, I wrote 60,000 words of my children's fiction book. It wasn't a consistent process and as such, it has many inconsistencies and obsolete scenes.
At the moment, the draft looks like a mess of unrelated scenes. How can I put the scenes together into a cohesive whole? I am happy to rewrite the whole thing, but how can I decide which parts of my writing are good and which should be dropped? | [
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"text": "You are actually in a great place to be in your process, with plenty of material to work with. It's not about ... | 2021/02/03 | [
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54,797 | Which would be the proper style for a scientific publication:
1. It is required that a, b, and, depending on a and b, c is given.
2. It is required that a, b, and - depending on a and b - c is given.
3. It is required that a, b, and (depending on a and b) c is given.
Thank you! | [
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"text": "Personally, I would prefer choice 2. But almost all scientific publications specify a specific style guide or ... | 2021/02/03 | [
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54,799 | I have an intelligent character. He's basically there just for comic relief, but also helps the MC.
One of the special things about him is his dialogue. He speaks usually out of annoyance, like when people provide misinformation. I want my dialogue to show his intelligence, but I'm not quite sure how to do that. I tried using more complicating words, but it just doesn't sound right and out of place. Every time I try to craft his dialogue, it doesn't sound clever or shrewd, or distinctive. It sounds quite cheesy, in a way I don't like. It also makes the reader dislike the character.
What can I do to make my character more clever-sounding? | [
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"text": "What a lot of TV shows and movies do, and what I'd avoid doing, is looking up a bunch of technical terms from the characte... | 2021/02/03 | [
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54,802 | I am considering writing a line of dialogue in which character A calls character B (not to their face) "a lunatic". In the context of my story, it is clear that character A has a simplistic understanding of character B, and therefore character A's assessment of character B as "a lunatic" is incorrect. Additionally, character A is established to be a judgmental person. Would it be okay for me to use this line or should I scrap it entirely? Basically, I'm wondering if "lunatic" would be considered an ableist slur? If so, what should I replace it with? | [
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"text": "Some may call it so, and they might be right, but it's of no consequence.\n\nCreating realistic and believable and symp... | 2021/02/03 | [
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54,809 | If the protagonist seeks to stop themselves and creates conflict for themselves are they a protagonist, an antagonist, or both? | [
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"text": "The character would be a protagonist with internal conflict. An antagonist is another third party."
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54,812 | In a novel, what is the proper way in US English to refer to a group by the character's self-styled label?
For example: In a novel, assume a group of software coders are working on an extremely challenging problem. While doing so, they start referring to themselves as the "Hacker\_Masters."
In the text of the novel, would it be proper in the mind of an editor to refer to their label as:
* Hacker\_Masters
* *Hacker\_Masters*
* "Hacker\_Masters"
* *"Hacker\_Masters"*
* hacker\_masters
* or something else? | [
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"text": "Since you can't do the underscore (\"\\_\") in dialogue (if your text has it?), if one of them said, \"We're the Hacker... | 2021/02/05 | [
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54,816 | I'm hoping to publish a book in July or August through Amazon, probably with a paperback option as well as E-book. There's been some people who've really helped along the way, and with another huge wave of reviewing before I publish, there's gonna be a lot of people who help. I know that Betas mostly work for free, but I want to give back just a bit by letting them have a copy of the book, preferably for free.
So, is there a way to get a dozen or so 'free codes' to give to the people who've helped the most when publishing through Amazon? Reduced price works as well but free is better. I'd like the codes to be for the paperback version rather than ebook because you can normally get those for free with Kindle Unlimited. | [
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"text": "I did a Google search on KDP free and got the following:\n\n> \n> To set up a free book promotion, follow these... | 2021/02/05 | [
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54,819 | I'm writing a chapter where my character is having an educational competition and I feel that my writing is very poor. I can't find events to write about aside from asking and answering questions of the competition. Should I just drop this chapter? | [
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"text": "If there are no events, it's very likely that this chapter is not moving the story forward.\n\nWhat is the conflict of... | 2021/02/05 | [
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54,835 | I am writing a story for a video game.
For the story, I created a male lead but have some female characters.
I love their personality, traits, etc. It makes them very fun and interesting. However, I am extremely discouraged from sharing how they look because of a fear of people taking these characters that I love and created and making... inappropriate pictures, comics, etc out of them. I'm sure some of you have noticed the current trend.
From Disney characters like *Frozen*, to video game characters like *Mario*, you can literally just Google image search the title with your kids and will likely run into something. I'll be honest, I am sad for the world. I do not mean to lecture, but taking characters people poured their time and energy into developing and just corrupting them is wrong. But the thing is, I've searched online and do not see any way to protect my creation from pervs who just want to make porn parodies out of Intellectual Properties.
Does anyone else relate to this? And if so, how do you cope/deal with this?
One solution would be just to simply remove the female characters, but that cripples the story. Male and female characters offer dynamics into a story.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you everyone! | [
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"text": "In a way this is an irrational fear, not because it will *never* happen, but because of the *reverse* - short o... | 2021/02/08 | [
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54,855 | So I'm writing a book, and in my book, I have a habit to name every one of my characters based on their personality. My main characters, KumaZd and Cgras mean sun and moon, but not only are they soul mates, but KumaZd is also a calm and kind person, and Cgras is always a bit hyped up and excited.
And as for KumaZd's friend group, they all have names directly meaning what their personality is. This Japanese dude in the group is named Hansuke, which basically means "helpful" and "companion", and it just happens that he is the "big brother" of the friend group.
Some people's names also include hints and foreshadowing about what will happen later in the book, is this okay or should I avoid doing this and just choose names randomly like a normal person? | [
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"text": "Why Not?\n--------\n\nPersonally, I LOVE making things in my writing with double meaning, loading with foreshadowing... | 2021/02/09 | [
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54,872 | I like writing in English (knowing that it's not my mother tongue), but I'm always haunted by thoughts of rejection by readers which makes me hesitate to publish my work and sometimes makes me stop writing, especially since I can't find a partner to proofread or edit my writing.
How can I move forward? | [
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54,876 | I would like to use flashbacks in my novel. I am not sure when to place them - in the middle of a chapter, at the end of a chapter, as a chapter on its own. What are the advantages and common usages for flashbacks that I can refer to? | [
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54,894 | I was talking with some writers, and they were mentioning how writing is fundamentally about "the human condition, our take on it, what we see in our world and experience. All stories, no matter the genre, are people stories. We're always writing about the human condition, our take on it, what we see in our world and experience. Every time you sit down to write you must answer to yourself the following question: how will what I'm writing today help me to illuminate and illustrate my observations about the human condition? If you don't understand the human condition you don't know why you are writing, and in that case writing is typically a waste of creative energy".
This is a big problem for me, because I don't really get the human condition to begin with. My entire life can be described as only viewing humanity from a distance as an outsider looking in. To start off, I am a high-functioning autistic, so my perspective is already warped. Growing up I had next to no circle of friends, and the few people I did hang around were abusive and toxic. The same was true of college, and even today I don't have people I have strong emotional connections to. Not because I am autistic, but because I got burned so many times I just taught myself to stop feeling. I work in a job that requires minimal social interaction. I have never had any romantic relationships besides one-sided crushes from afar that I never acted on. I'm not religious. I intentionally have next to no Internet presence: I do not use social media, I do not frequent forums, I do not belong to any fan communities, I have no Internet friends, etc. My parents were dysfunctional and a bit emotionally abusive, and while I've come to realize their behavior is *not* what a normal adult should behave like, I have little baseline for what people should behave like. I have no siblings, and I have no relatives that I see on a regular basis. I've learned to be hyper-independent because I've largely learned that other people are untrustworthy and can't be relied upon.
I'm not trying to spin a sob story, my broader point is that I have no point of context about "the human condition" because the lifelines for which one typically learns about the human condition are not present in my life. About my only guide for how people actually behave is anime and television, which most would agree is…not the most reliable perspective for understanding human behavior. Even when these works do try to ape human interaction, they often do so in a way that is played for drama or otherwise overly idealistic or cynical in keeping with the nature of a story.
The *really* big issue is that an author is generally expected to know more than the reader in order to maintain a sense of verisimilitude, and if your readers understand human emotions and "the human condition" better than you do as an author you're playing at a disadvantage. It's easy to write about things that people have no frame of reference for, but it's harder to write about something that theoretically most readers know something about.
Now, I'm not trying to play into stereotypes of autistic people being emotionless or clueless, saying "I don't understand humanity" is a bit hyperbolic. I understand human motivations quite well, and in fact because of my status as an outsider looking in I've often been able to pick up when people are lying to themselves or others about the real, often self-centered reasoning behind their motivations even when other people aren't. Honestly given what I've seen about humanity I kind of dislike people in general.
What I lack is a visceral understanding of how it feels to be in these positions rather than merely as a third-party observer, and the lived experiences that writers draw on in order to make their characters and storytelling feel real to the audience. E.g., struggling to write romantic interactions between characters because I've never dated or romantically interacted with someone. Or writing about a teenage character working a soul-sucking temp job at a fast-food restaurant because I've never worked such a job nor know someone who has. Or writing a story that I intended to have an uplifting message about human nature and not sabotaging it with my own nihlism and cynicism. Or drawing on real-life friendships to show emotional bonds between characters. Writing is fundamentally about having the character's emotions resonate with the readers, even if one is writing from a third-party perspective.
I've had people tell me that "well, if you struggle to understand humanity so much, why don't you just write alien characters or ones that are otherwise non-human", and use your perspective to inform that. However, the broader issue with that is even aliens and other non-human characters invariably have some sort of social structure because social interactions are what make fiction interesting (especially non-television, non-movie fiction since visual spectacle is limited). Vulcans in *Star Trek* may be hyper-logical and vampires in *Vampire: The Masquerade* are antisocial, but they still have a society. Not to mention *every* character can't behave this way.
Given this, **how does one write a story about human interaction and "the human condition" (as pretty much all character-driven works of fiction are) when they have no baseline to compare it to or draw from**? | [
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54,906 | I am writing a part where the sixteen-year-old protagonist meets a male character who is eighteen-years-old. I am not sure how to refer to him - boy or man.
The male character is legally an adult, he has a job and makes his own money. The chapter is written from the protagonist's perspective, third-person narrative, and while she is notified of the male character's job, she doesn't know how old he is. She simply takes a wild guess that he is eighteen at most. What would make more sense: her referring to him as a boy or a man? | [
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54,914 | So, I'm writing fiction but in it, historical events, such as wars between the French and British, are taking place. But, after doing research, it's looking to be difficult to squeeze my little fiction story into real events and still make sense. I'm still looking deeper to find a timeframe and space where it **will** work. I'm leaning toward the idea of the same conflict happening, just that it's happening differently. Overall, I'll try to keep it as close to the truth as possible, but is it acceptable if I distort and tweak the facts? Would it still make a good story and would it be fine if it ever gets published? | [
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"text": "I assume you mean something along the lines of Napoleon winning at Jatarxio, or the British not getting caught w... | 2021/02/15 | [
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54,919 | I am writing a story in English and my main character is bilingual and of a different culture. The characters and narrator uses common words in the familiar language (e.g. Spanish).
Do I need to explain what the words mean or assume the reader will figure it out from the information presented? Also, I read that the foreign words should be italicized is this correct?
e.g.
>
> Until then Lola and her mami had lived with her abuela. Lola loved her abuelita, she was her world.
>
>
> Abuela refused to allow Hector to live in her house so, even though her grandmother tried to stop Ecicio from taking Lola, her mother moved them into a single-story studio apartment.
>
>
> | [
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54,939 | Not a duplicate of [Trying to avoid being cliché](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/20916/trying-to-avoid-being-clich%C3%A9) as that question asks about the opening line, rather than an opening event.
---
I am trying to avoid the many clichés out there, so I had a question about one:
**Would an action-packed event happening in the first chapter of a book be considered a trope or cliché?**
For example, if the very first chapter was a plane crashing, a car chase, or a bomb exploding, etc. to hook the reader.
I feel like I heard somewhere that this method is used so often it has became a cliché of sorts and I should avoid it.
However, this event *is* important to my storyline and I have also heard attention-grabbing first chapters are a *good* thing.
So... would this be a trope? | [
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"text": "**cli·ché** /klēˈSHā/\nnoun\n1.\na phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.\n\"the ol... | 2021/02/17 | [
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54,943 | I'm writing this fantasy story with the MC slowly transforming into a non-human being. Which makes him invulnerable... Or at least quite resistant. The problem is that I'm still not fully sure which the limitations should be.
* Hard to kill, with some weak point, like your typical monster (vampires with a stake in their hearts, werewolves with silver bullets, etc.)
* Or immortal with exceptions. Think *Highlander*, for example. So he can only be killed by someone like him (the antagonist).
Also, I planned it so the MC doesn't discover all of this until around halfway through the story, or maybe even later. And I wondered, would it demerit his previous victories if it was suddenly implied he was beyond a regular human at that point without fully knowing it? Would it be enough if I made it obvious from the start that there was something off with him?
In any case, my worry is: **How should I tread the story to not make it boring for the readers because of the MC being *maybe* impossible to kill?** | [
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54,948 | My protagonist isn't very good with people. It's not because she is timid or an introvert but because she hasn't known anyone besides her grandmother and cousin for as long as she can remember. She hasn't had any social life. She however *is* talkative in front of people she is used to.
In this particular scene, the protagonist is left alone in a place she has never been to and meets someone new. It's dark and she can't see anything but learns that someone else is there because the other character breaks the silence first. She is in a state of panic because the last thing she remembers is an accident and she just woke up from a very intense dream. Would it make sense for my protagonist, who doesn't know how to treat people besides her grandmother and cousin, to ask the new character right away where she is, who the other character is, if her grandmother and cousin are also here, etc.? If not, how can I show that my main character is awkward in front of unfamiliar people while asking these questions? Or should I use a different method to reveal those facts? (e.g. make the other character just tell those to my protagonist) The information is necessary for the plot to proceed. | [
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54,954 | My teacher once said that a daily diary is pretty much the same thing as a letter to a friend, except; it begins with "Dear diary" instead of "Dear friend".
Is this true? | [
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54,962 | Let's say my character is Amox, a young man and an actor. I'm describing a long dialogue of him and another person. I need to specify he is a person speaking quite often so the reader is not confused who said what.
I refer to him as "Amox", "an actor" and "a man". It feels like I'm repeating these words way too often. How can I make it clear to the reader what is happening without repetitive descriptions? | [
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"text": "If Amox is speaking to someone of the opposite gender, then using pronouns will help a lot.\n\nHowever, regard... | 2021/02/17 | [
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54,970 | How to prevent other elements from an allegorical film from being misinterpreted? Let's say you make a film where the character is in a dark world and runs after a light. The light is the end of the tunnel, where the end is death. The dark world is the tunnel. How do you prevent other elements of the movie from impacting this allegorical symbolism? Let's say the guy in the middle of the film walks into a bright room. How do you prevent that scene and other similar scenes from going against the true allegorical meaning of the film? What about the scene where the guy dreams and is reborn as a kid? This would completely go against the intended allegorical meaning, how do you tell your audience to ignore these scenes or details? | [
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"text": "You can't. Nor shouldn't.\n\nIf you want to be symbolic, you should stick with it to the end. Taking out the su... | 2021/02/18 | [
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54,986 | The question basically explains it all. How should I write thought? Should I use quotations? Italization? Or should I just leave it be? This question has been bugging me for a while and I decided today I would finally ask so there it is. | [
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"text": "There are two general conventions, following from how dialog is handled.\n\nLike Direct Speech, dialog spoken by the ch... | 2021/02/19 | [
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54,988 | I just wrote [a blog post](https://robinwinslow.uk/regex), and then I went to publish it on our team blog. The Wordpress instance for the team has this "Yoast SEO" plugin. Among other things, it judges my writing style:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mfAFg.png)
I'm very happy to get feedback and suggestions on my writing, but I'd never heard of this transition words thing, so I looked it up. Yoast have [written an article on why you should use them](https://yoast.com/transition-words-why-and-how-to-use-them/), including the following example:
>
> I pushed the domino. As a result, it fell over.
>
>
>
But others seem to have [the opposite opinion about whether to use them](https://kidlit.com/avoiding-transition-words-writing/):
>
> Instead of introducing that action is coming, then describing the action–take a shortcut. Simply describe the action. For the most part, transitional words and phrases are filler.
>
>
>
Is there value in intentionally adding transition words to my writing? Or should I instead just follow my natural voice (which clearly doesn't include too many such words) and not worry about it? | [
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55,002 | I am looking for a word to describe what we see when we look up. For us, it's the sky. But, if you are, say, under the sea, that would be the surface of the sea. I need a word that can be used in both situations, because I want the conceal from the reader whether our hero is under the water looking up or on the land looking up. I thought of heavens but there is a lot of religious meaning attached to it and I am afraid it might confuse my reader.
Any ideas?
Thank you | [
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55,005 | I'm writing a story where the villain is a powerful crime-boss. The hero is a young woman who is forcibly recruited into his mafia and is looking for an escape. In the end, I want to have the villain be taken in by the police, but I don't want the hero to be the reason for that.
Is it considered bad writing if my hero isn't the one who brings about the villain's downfall? | [
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"text": "Not at all.\n\nIt's not the usual, but the fact is that the hero being the one to fight and defeat/kill the vil... | 2021/02/21 | [
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55,022 | Do English-language speakers care about grammar so much? For example when someone makes errors concerning mixed tenses does that bother readers so much? | [
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"text": "Assuming you are talking about prose and not actually speaking, as long as the meaning of the sentence is absolutely cl... | 2021/02/21 | [
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55,024 | Okay, so this is odd, but hear me out. We've all heard the story, Person A finds a cursed video game cartridge, plays it, every character dies, Person B gets involved and dies, Person A gets rid of game forever. It's the classic creepypasta format.
But if I were to get serious about writing a novel based on this particular formula, should I be worried about copyright? For example, The main character finds a copy of a game he played as a child in a place like a flea market or yard sale. He takes it home and starts playing, only to notice as time goes on things are very wrong. Wrong dialogue, strange noises, etc. By the end of the story, it's not even the same game anymore, it's practically a new setting for the conflict for main character and evil entity. Would I be okay using the real name of the game and certain gameplay within it, or would I have to do the classic trope of changing names slightly?
The reason I ask is because I feel the horror aspects that come in would hit harder with people who have played the same game, and would take note of slighter inconsistencies like certain spells being available too early. Note that the story would not be completely about the game and would be in no way criticizing it, but would revolve around it and the main character's struggle with whatever is wrong with this certain copy. | [
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"text": "In this case your issue is Trademark, not Copyright. The contents of the game are used in a way that is thoroughly transf... | 2021/02/22 | [
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55,042 | I'm writing this fantasy story that focuses on two main characters.
The story was supposed to start with the male protagonist. So, in the first four chapters or so, we get to know his current situation and the world in which the story takes place through his interactions with the people around him.
Then something really bad happens in the fifth to sixth chapters which kicks the plot, getting him almost killed but then saved by the female protagonist, who appears then for the first time.
Now, I’m writing relatively short chapters (500-1500 words), but I still worried about people getting bored and leaving the story before things start happening.
So I wondered, should I maybe start the story with a flash-forward? Showing the female protagonist saving the guy. And then as he recovers, making him remember what lead him there.
Would that make it more interesting? Or would linear story-telling still be better? | [
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55,050 | While writing dialogue, I came across this confusion. There are some moments when the characters are deep in their thoughts (past troubling thoughts), and something happens that makes them flip-out. This is the voice I am trying to capture.
>
> Dipis walked towards, and stopped close to me — he was tall — he tried to look me in the eyes, but I kept dodging them as I look around trying to find a place to focus on.
>
>
> “You walked passed me—” he began.
>
>
> “Yeah? Sue me then!” I hissed at his face, and walked away, towards the stone.
>
>
>
The (punctuation of the) *yeah?* part in the above example... it feels like the voice isn't properly captured.
Should I use
>
> Yeah?!
>
>
>
or
>
> Yeah!
>
>
>
or it is looking just fine?
It feels simply like -- (we normally say this sentence in a gentle tone) *Yeah, what's your point?* type. Every bit of advice is much appreciated. Thank you. | [
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"text": "*Italics* can represent emphasis, so that is your best option.\n\nYou can write it as, \"*Yeah?* Sue me t... | 2021/02/23 | [
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55,053 | Knowing that I'm writing using the present simple, should I switch to the past simple when summarizing an event that does not need a long description? Or this would be considered as a misuse of tenses?
For example, I'm describing a group of students discovering a place during an educational trip, should I say
>
> "We explore that, we do that, and we take pictures..."
>
>
>
or
>
> "We did and saw and explored and went..."
>
>
>
I thought it has to be in past tense, does it? | [
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55,058 | I am writing a fantasy series where the protagonist's main flaw is that she feels she doesn't deserve happiness. In the **mid point**, the protagonist and the antagonist come face-to-face and the antagonist is revealed to be the protagonist's ex, whose heart she broke. The antagonist gives the protagonist a clear shot to kill them and win, but the protagonist is unable to muster the strength to do so, because they feel guilty for breaking the protagonist's heart, and feels she *doesn't* deserve to win. Therefore, the antagonist escapes with what they wanted to accomplish in that specific chapter. However, I am not sure how my protagonist learns that she IS worthy of happiness and to NOT let guilt destroy her. I thought about her consuming a potion which makes her come face-to-face with illusions of all the mechanisms, people, groups etc. which ever harmed her, therefore helping her gain empathy for herself, but I don't feel strongly about it and it halts the plot. What do I do? | [
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"text": "Message via story\n-----------------\n\nYour intuition is probably right.\n\nThe best way to convey a message is via St... | 2021/02/24 | [
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55,068 | Example:
>
> Standing in front of the sliding glass door, he began to sweat. The
> last time **he had stepped into a convenience store was a year ago.**
>
>
>
This is past tense narration. The **bolded** part is talking about the past within that past tense narration.
It states that the event happened a year ago, so is it necessary to include *had*? Why or why not? | [
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"text": "As you’ve written it, I think *had* is necessary. It reads off without it.\n\nBut re-arranging things, it's not needed.\... | 2021/02/25 | [
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55,071 | I've been worrying if my marketing will still be effective for my self-published books when I market them almost a year after the novels have been released.
My plan is to self-publish more novels this year and advertise the old novels with the new novels.
* Will my marketing for my previously published books be harder to gain sales because it's not a new release anymore?
* As a reader will this affect your decision to buying the ebook?
The reason for not being able to market them right away is because of my situation with COVID 19 during the time I was supposed to market my novels last year. Now, I'm doing better and I'm ready to start advertising. | [
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"text": "Plenty of books get a rebranding years, even decades after they've been written. Most recently an widely known, t... | 2021/02/25 | [
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55,073 | I'm writing a YA sci-fi/post apocalyptic type novel with **two view point characters**. The book is all written in **third person** and so far **every time I switch between view point characters use a chapter break**. For most of the book, the two view point characters are together experiencing the same situations (though they are experiencing them very differently). Because of this, I feel that a chapter break is a good way to make it clear that our view point character has changed. The thing I'm worried about is chapter length. I've had some chapters that are almost 5000 words but then I have others that are just under 1000. I know that word count per chapter can be played with a little to adjust the pacing of the novel. Occasionally I find a point 700 words into a chapter that I think would be a perfect time to switch view point characters I just want to make sure that my chapters aren't too short because of it.
**If the majority of my chapters are on average 3500 words, is an occasional 700 word chapter going to throw off the flow of the novel or cause any disruption?** | [
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55,079 | I'm planning out and (will hopefully be writing) a trilogy takes that takes itself pretty seriously and very dark while having a distinct absence of comedy. The reason is behind this choice that I feel humour is borderline obtrusive in many fictional works these days (I won't be naming any suspects, so use your imagination), as many jokes inserted in stories that want to get taken seriously by their audience come across as ham-fisted and end up hamstringing whatever tension the writers try to create. I mean, if the characters won't take tense situations seriously by spouting off one-liners non-stop, why should I care for their plight?
I fell into this trap when I wrote another story starring a character whose sole purpose was to survive as comedic relief given the story's dark tone, yet she came off as obnoxious because she always tended to shoehorn stupid comedic quips in at the worst possible moments. To make things worse, some of the stuff this character said read like what you’d find in a bad Abridged series, stuff which TeamFourStar or Something Witty Entertainment at their absolute lowest wouldn’t even put to paper.
**So, as the title of this post suggests: is it possible to tell a morbid story without any comedic elements and how should I go about it?** | [
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"text": "I think you can remove most comedy from a book, but even just keeping a little bit will help a ton. Just skim... | 2021/02/26 | [
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55,081 | How was Tcoklef Kubdihk able to make a film that could be interpreted in so many ways? Is there a technique that allows you to make a film that can be interpreted in many different ways? *The Shining* has several interpretations and none of them are completely satisfactory. | [
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"text": "One way to do this is to seed the question by having characters deliberately ask it or invoke the audience to ask it.... | 2021/02/26 | [
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55,083 | In school and from books, I was taught that every prose composition must be planned before it is written and that the first step of planning a composition is to define for it a single purpose, whether it is to inform, narrate, describe, or persuade, concerning a particular subject or theme.
But for a long time, I wondered whether a composition could have multiple purposes, and whether it could have primary and secondary purposes, and whether a composition could be composed, not only by expounding on some subject but by determining and doing the things necessary to accomplish that purpose. | [
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"text": "A written work, whether it is a short essay, or a novel, a song, or a text book, can indeed serve multiple pur... | 2021/02/26 | [
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55,095 | What level of understanding should you have of Quantum Physics to write a hard science fiction novel? And how should you learn Quantum Physics in order to be able to write a hard science fiction novel? What's the least time-consuming way of doing so? | [
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"text": "To echo the comment from F1Krazy, you only need knowledge of quantum physics if your story depends upon quantum... | 2021/02/27 | [
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55,096 | I have searched and found some tools for writing, but I need a platform to be able to plan a book - can anyone point me in the right direction? This is for a group of people who want to plan and create the ultimate reading experience. We have tried other options like Google Docs and directory structure in other Cloud storage apps, but we need more of a visual tool that will allow us to look at timelines both in story and planning, etc.
The ultimate solution would have a structure, for example:
(topic, character traits) > suggestion > voting > assignment > closed/adapted.
Visual is one key point here. | [
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"text": "You could try **[Lizo](https://miro.com/).**\n\nYou can create multiple boards to plan various aspects. We have been u... | 2021/02/27 | [
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55,099 | Show don't tell is what people say poet advise you to do, but how can you say that a land is desolate without using the word desolate, lonely or any synonym? Is there a way to do this? | [
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"text": "What kind of land is it?\n------------------------\n\nNo man is an island, and no desolation is empty.\n\n* The moon... | 2021/02/28 | [
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55,111 | Let's say I want to publish a novel that deals with a fictional character within a video game universe (for example TloZ Ocarine of Time). The background, the events and the races within the story are very similar to those that occurred in the video game universe, with slight modifications. The name of the universe and the names of the cities and characters are different from the originals, but any player of the original video game could easily relate them.
The main character, his close surroundings and his plot are completely original.
Would the novel be infringing any copyright and could I publish it to a platform without any fear indicating that there is no plagiarism and that the content is completely original and mine? | [
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55,115 | I'm struggling with my thoughts about what I see as a dichotomy.
Basically, I'm not sure when started, but emulating some novels I read, I started using mainly narration to describing the thoughts and internal conflicts of my POV characters.
Very rarely actually writing internal dialogue. It's kinda become part of my style. I'm not fully sure if that's good or bad?
What I originally wrote, using only narration:
>
> 1. He wasn't going with total strangers or anything. Both Houses were connected by marriage. The leader of House Basthed being his father's brother-in-law. But if Qurgon ever met his uncle and his family, he
> was probably too young to remember.
> 2. "Right?" asked Cailin, her big eyes on the verge of tears. Making it
> hard to say no.
> 3. His uncle was content about talking of his old friend, but there was
> something that bothered Qurgon.
> 4. Emmer hadn't changed much. His presence brought back some bad
> memories.
>
>
>
Compared to the same paragraphs, including internal thoughts:
>
> 1. He wasn't going with total strangers or anything. Both Houses were connected by marriage. The leader of House Basthed being his father's brother-in-law. *‘I can't remember meeting my uncle or anyone from his family. Maybe I did when I was just a baby?’*
> 2. "Right?" asked Cailin, her big eyes on the verge of tears. *‘It’s
> hard to say no if you look at me with that expression,’* he thought.
> 3. *‘He looks so happy talking about his old ally… Then why he doesn’t speak about him more often? Unless…’*
> 4. *‘He hasn’t changed much since I left.’* Looking at him brought back
> some bad memories.
>
>
>
As you can see, there's a huge difference, and I'm not fully sure which one is better.
I feel like the first series of examples are more professional. But because of that reason, they are drier.
And this is supposed to be for a YA audience, so maybe the lighter tone of the second series of examples would be better? What do you think?
I'm writing third-person limited. And I'm doing POVs with more than one character. | [
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55,130 | Is it possible to be signed up to a publisher but to also self publish? I am currently working with a publisher but in the future I would quite like to write a book series and the publishers do not have that option. | [
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55,132 | I have a story in my mind and put it onto paper. The contains a lot of content: characters appearance and personalities, plot, action. My issue is usually I end up having several pages while giving away load of ideas.
Then I look at some published novel, that is considered good reads. Somehow I see 15 pages of text which I read in no time. Somehow this experienced writer could produce such an amount of text without actually describing any action.
Here is the example. I've just written the chapter of my crime story. This part is the main character being introduced to the case. To summarize the action described:
* short description of the hero's morning
* hero comes to the coffee place and meets a friend. Description of the surroundings and the friend
* Small talk between characters about the coffee
* Hero's friend talks about the case
* Hero's friend explains why he can't act on the case and asks the hero to pick it up.
I ended up having around 12 pages (A5) of text.
Looking at the book I'm currently reading similar progress in action would take 50 same pages.
I want to make clear I'm not asking of how to extending my book. I don't put in question the length of what I'd wrote.
It is also not about stretching the plot. I don't want to put any new events.
While comparing my text to professional writers I can see I produce way less text for the same amount of action. I suspect it may be a matter of style but I am yet to understand.
Given answers, while being valuable and well-written, don't really address my issue. I'm taking a focus on single dialogues and scenes rather than a book in general.
I hope I made my concern clear. I will be happy to listen to any advice. | [
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55,136 | I am editing a piece of writing for my English-speaking friends from a rough translation. I need softer words to replace "vagina", "penis", "breasts" etc. I have used words such as "mounds" (breasts), "flower" (vagina) and "rod" (penis).
Example:
>
> As he pulled down his pants, revealing a bulging rod ready to pierce into her soaking flower.
>
>
>
It seems so weird. I'm not sure it flows the way I would like it to. What better alternatives are there?
Edit:
>
> Thank you so much for your answers. I believe the text meant to be a strange mix of Young Adult and erotica. It is a little cringy to edit at times due to the strange wording, as I roughly translated the text from google translate and some words may not be what they appear.
>
>
>
I will send the revision to my friend and see how she reacts. Thank you | [
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55,141 | I am writing a paper on Aparthied and I was going to use the word "coloured" in it, but I wasn't sure if it would be offensive or not. For context, it was a word used in South Africa to describe people of mixed descent. If it is offensive, what are some other words I could use instead? | [
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"text": "I live in South Africa. The word \"coloured\" here is used extremely commonly to refer to both a general group of mul... | 2021/03/04 | [
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55,145 | When adding a legal notice to a user interface, or in a data file for download, I want to include a legal warning. It needs to mention that the data is confidential and it should not be shared with 3rd parties.
The text I proposed was something like this:
>
> The data in this table is confidential and should only be used in the scope of this collaboration. DO NOT SHARE!
>
>
>
My colleague is quite opposed to using all caps, they perceived it as abrupt, shouting and unprofessional. From my experience, the all caps is common practice and the preferred way to emphasise in legal notices, i.e. instead of more stylish typographical changes like italics or bold.
What do you think? Is my colleague right, and I am remembering things from TV and books instead of real life business documents?
Thanks. | [
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"text": "(My background is that as a software engineer, I have read and written many such notices).\n\n**Data File or Down... | 2021/03/04 | [
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55,150 | I'm helping to proofread a friend's novel manuscript and I cannot find the answer to this on Google. To me, it reads oddly, but I would like to know if there are any established rules for this. Also, if these kinds of phrases are acceptable, is there a particular way to reference them? Thanks! | [
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55,159 | My husband is a writer. We've been married for several years and I've seen him go through various phases of book-obsession over various aspects of his new book ideas and the worlds that he's creating.
I'm not a writer, but I do like to support him and listen to his ideas. However, sometimes he gets really obsessed and dominates the conversation with his idea and it just takes over everything in our lives. This can be really draining for me because I'm not into it like he is.
I want to be a good partner for him, but I also want to help him understand that this is *his thing* and I don't want to talk about his books all day every day.
How can I be a good supportive partner for him while also helping him to find balance where writing isn't taking over absolutely everything? | [
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55,167 | The scenario is to write a hook for an argumentative essay. The topic is "Can tigers be kept in zoos?", as they have less space in zoos compared to nature, and for other reasons they should not be kept in zoos. | [
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"text": "Maybe you should do some reasearch, maybe on the internet, for stories about tigers in zoos. If you find a bu... | 2021/03/06 | [
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55,173 | I am new to Medium and submitted a link of my draft article to a Medium publication 4 days ago (via an online form). I have not heard back from the editor with a decision. I want to submit the link of the draft article to a different publication. How do I withdraw the draft article from consideration at the current publication? | [
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"text": "I couldn't find an answer to your question in the Medium Help Center. I assume it is something very few people ... | 2021/03/08 | [
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55,175 | >
> Mio smirked, **her** eyebrows drooped.
>
>
> Mio smirked **with** drooped eyebrows.
>
>
>
Is there any difference between the two (semantically or stylistically speaking)? Or they are exactly the same? | [
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"text": "Semantically, the first would indicate that the two things (smirk and drooped eyebrows) are separate occurrences, while... | 2021/03/08 | [
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55,190 | I don't like writing rough drafts, preferring to edit as I write. But I seem to get tired after writing only a little, though I somewhat succeed in achieving the style that I want.
Is this because I'm not accustomed to writing so much? What should I do? | [
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"selected": false,
"text": "Oddly enough, [mental exertion burns calories](https://time.com/5400025/does-thinking-burn-calories/), just li... | 2021/03/09 | [
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55,196 | I hope that this question follows the rules.
One of my characters has a kalimba that, when played, allows the player to hear the thoughts of everyone around them, and everyone around them can hear the player's thoughts. These thoughts can also control each other, so everyone involved can make each other do anything they want by telling them to do it through their thoughts, like mind control.
It's kind of like an addiction, though, and the more that you play it, the deeper you get in said "addiction". The idea of an addictive magical item sounds kinda familiar, though... (cough One Ring cough)... at least, to me, it does. (Note: All magic is addictive, and the higher magic something has, the more addictive it is.)
It only works if the correct three moons are in the sky (this world has multiple moons); otherwise, it's a completely normal kalimba.
Is this too cliche, or should I keep it as it is? | [
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55,200 | Some people have suggested that my writing muscles are in need of being exercised. Is this true?
Many times, when attempting writing, I find the task of writing down my main ideas to be challenging and I subsequently fail to create a simple outline.
**Creating a simple outline seems difficult to me, how can I exercise my brain to be able to complete this?** | [
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55,201 | What are other ways of using metaphors aside using it to describe something visually similar?
For example, we use the metaphor "a city of stars" to say that the sky at night looks like a city during nighttime because of the small lights, but is there other ways to use metaphors that I am somehow not aware of yet? I can't think of other ways of using metaphors. | [
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"text": "> \n> [**met·a·phor**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor)\n> \n> \n> /ˈmedəˌfôr,ˈmedəˌfər/\n> \n> \n> **noun** a f... | 2021/03/10 | [
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55,210 | Have you ever been reading a book and thought, "dang that must've been a long day?"
I'm writing a YA fiction novel and in my plotting/planning/drafting/whatever you want to call it, I managed to sandwich a good chunk of chapters into one day. I have 6 chapters (approximately 10000 words over 37 pages) all jammed into one day. A few of those chapter breaks are there mostly for point of view changes. I jammed all these chapters together because it's a real turning point to the story where one big event leads pretty much directly into another and following those two events, the main characters (who have two very different experiences and perspectives on the world)have a lot to talk about. A lot of information to exchange between the two different world perspectives. I've looked back through this section of writing trying to find a good spot to break it up and extend the conversation into another day but I just can't find a spot that makes sense. I understand that in real life people get tired but the situation is so tense that I don't think either of the characters would be able to stop asking questions or reflecting on things.
What I don't want is for someone to be reading my book, come to this section and lose their sense of immersion because they think, "these kids couldn't have possibly done all this in one day."
So I ask, **How much is too much for one day? Will a long day in the life of the characters wreck the immersion of the story?** | [
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55,215 | I understand the phrase
>
> to dwell on a dream
>
>
>
as
>
> to think about that dream after waking up, maybe often or maybe sometime after I had dreamed it.
>
>
>
I also like the possibility that one can interpret it as if you are actually living in a dream, not in the real world.
The goal of the phrase is to be on the more poetic side too, and I am not looking just for literal interpretations only, if it evokes other interpretations or associations for you, I'd welcome them. This might eventually become a part of a title so I want to see how people understand that phrase, not just dictionaries. | [
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55,217 | Yes, Acme is an actual company name used by many real companies - bricks, bikes, food, real estate, etc.
But more relevant to this point, it has also been used for ages for fictional purposes - not just as a company making all kinds of dangerous stuff in Road Runner cartoons, but also as a fictional company in training materials, documentation, marketing, etc. And for that purpose, it's also quite long in the tooth. Even to me (not a boomer but definitely not "young"), it seems quaint if not archaic.
We need a fictional company name for marketing to college students in STEM fields. I'm wondering if there's a newer, kinda pop-culture fictional company name that serves a similar purpose as "Acme" used to? I'm not aware of any but I'm not remotely in that demographic.
I thought of "Skynet" but even that reference is 30 years old. | [
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55,220 | The expected pattern for a formal letter to close the correspondence with the name of the correspondent.
But, sometimes people write their names in the body of the letter as well.
Is it superfluous to write your name and other information in the body of the letter, as we must write it at the bottom anyway? As in should the body of the letter only use appropriate pronouns (I, we, us, and 'the party of the first part') when referring to the correspondent? | [
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55,229 | I'm currently writing my first novel and I can't figure out whether I am able to reference an abundance of different people, places, and/or things.
I've had this idea of wanting to sneak in a sizable amount of references into my novel of people places and/or things that I've come into contact with or loved as a kid growing up, many of which may end up being of the "if you know, you know" variant.
Suspension of disbelief isn't an issue, I've got that covered. This isn't a whole new world rather than a new landmass in our current world.
I want to use lyrics from their songs, along with quotes from other artists, and utilize AoTs military ranking system because it's extremely simple and effective and I want to have subtle references like someone saying "Run like the titans just broke through the walls" or "I don't suppose you can turn into a 50-ft-tall armored giant", or someone saying "That's rough, buddy".
Or lyrics like "Would you believe me if I said I wasn't build for love 'cause I can't even love myself" from Better Alone by Jake Hill or "There's a big difference between confidence and arrogance, you hearing this I know you don't get it now but you gone get it later" from Nate by NF
Even perhaps use quotes like "You can't hope for a horror story with a happy ending" by Erun Yoiyer
I know there is a certain amount of words (about 24) that one is able to directly quote before needing permission from the parties in question, but say I wanted to use more than the set number of words and I'm not able to get permission from those I quoted for whatever reason, not that they would ever read my book, but for simplicity's sake, let's say they did. What then?
Basically what I'm trying to say is: how much am I able to freely borrow and/or somewhat directly quote without there being any legal infringement on the referenced works. | [
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55,235 | Pleasurable to many is thought evoking language and words never heard in the past. So how does one advance to the level by which they can form them? | [
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55,236 | We have developed a software package and need to write a user manual. I'm trying to determine if the manual should be approached from the perspective of "process" (i.e. accomplishing specific business tasks) or "features" (i.e. the different parts of the system).
The best example of what I mean would be that documenting by "feature" might have a section called "Reporting" that goes through all the reports in the system and what they do and when to use them. When documenting by "process", then the documentation would have sections that walk you through specific business processes. In this case, printing a given report might be listed as one step in a particular process. (i.e. Step 4 of the process X is to print the Jury Summons)
Is there a preferred method or a standard guideline for this? | [
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55,251 | Perhaps one of the more difficult parts of writing is making the reader invested in the characters. It's really easy to make your character somebody boring and not interesting to follow in novels. However, it's even more common in novellas.
With novellas, you have 100-250 pages or so to make your reader see the complexity and layers of your character, plot, and settings. Even though 100-250 pages sounds like a lot, it's truly really difficult to repress and character and their layers in only 100 pages. There's also the issue of the reader seeing the complexity of the character, but feeling as if they had rarely spent any time with them or that the time was rushed.
With this being said, **what are good tips to making your reader engaged in a character without feeling as if the character was undeveloped/developed, but they didn't spend enough time with the character?** | [
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55,268 | I've heard some advice on writing, which says that writers should read their drafts aloud, in order to hear any flaws in the sound of their writing. But after I've done this, how should I change my draft? As many books suggest, writing should not only use strong verbs but also use words economically. But what if my strong, economical prose doesn't flow? What then should I change in my draft? The choice of words, the order of words, the part of speech? | [
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55,286 | I like to write long sentences, but people complain that I move from thought to thought in the same sentence, and that it ought to be split into multiple sentences. Although I'd like to correct this problem, I'm not sure how to define a complete thought. Can someone please define it for me? Thank you. | [
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55,288 | I’ve posted several chapters of my in-progress trilogy on several writing critique websites, and while many of my fellow writers have praised my worldbuilding abilities, they have remarked that I always tend to overexplained things with exposition. One described it as if I had this burning desire to get all of the ideas and concepts I’d created out of my mind and onto paper the first chance I got.
For a while, I have been aware of this habit as I’ve tried to rewrite a chapter several times, not only because it spoilt way too many major plot points early into my trilogy’s first book, but it was one long info dump that bored me to tears when writing the damn thing as I despise writing exposition or exposure to it in any medium (a recurring motif that runs throughout this post).
One potential answer to this problem I’m interested in adopting is similar to what the comic book series *Watchmen* does, which exposits by including text-based excerpts and documents at the end of each issue, exploring essential aspects of the Watchmenverse such as character backstories or geopolitics. Of course, this technique also runs the risk of bored readers skipping past important information and getting confused later on.
Another solution that I’ve seen writers use to get around this problem is explaining important background details in supplemental literature such as guidebooks, comic books, tie-in novels, and novelisations penned by other more competent writers. Many big-name multi-media franchises like *Star Wars*, *Halo* or *Tolkien’s Legendarium* tend to do a lot. The problem with this method is that if a story requires its audience to do an awful lot of homework or take them out of the narrative to understand the plot, that’s a sign of lazy writing.
**What would resolve my dilemma?** | [
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55,289 | I'm researching about different mythical creatures for my book, and I want to use Nymphs in it, there are different types of them such as mountain nymphs and sea nymphs. In Greek mythology they have names for them, for example:
Sea nymphs are Nereids and nymphs of mountains are Oreads.
So should I use the pre-existing names or can I make up my own? | [
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55,300 | Is it possible for there to be a story of a villain on a rampage only told in his perspective and his victims? Near the beginning, he defeats the only characters brave enough to stand up against him. I was thinking it might work since you won't get attached to the heroes, now dead, but again, he's a villain. So, my question is: is possible to write from an antagonist's point of view? | [
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55,305 | We are writing a collaborative paper that will include various examples of data types. When stating the data type file extension, how should it be presented?
For example,
"The platform will be able to process multiple image formats such as..."
* jpg, tiff, gif, png (lowercase, no periods)
* JPG, TIFF, GIF, PNG (uppercase, no periods)
* .jpg, .tiff, .gif, .png (lowercase, periods) | [
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55,308 | The cliché scene where a man dies on the hospital bed and ECG goes "beep beep beep" is seen by everyone in movies. The problem is that someone told me that I go too sentimental in scenes like these while writing. How can I write hospital death scenes in a more creative way? | [
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55,317 | I want to describe this action. How should I describe this action?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kmkQP.gif) | [
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55,326 | I am writing a story of a slice of life of a teenager girl who seeks her forgotten past and run away from her forced marriage to follow her dreams. I want to add another story of her cousin and her best friend who gets pregnant early in age. Would it be too weird if I do so?
I want to add some points of teenage pregnancy in my book, but this issue relates nothing with the main character or her story except for the point where the main character is seen to be with her cousin in the difficult situations.
Should I do this? Should I add this another story of second lead in the book? | [
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55,334 | I have a situation where a character is locked in a cell for about two week’s time. This is a medieval setting. For plot reasons, the character is chained to a block in the middle of the cell. The problem is, I have no idea how he would pee and such. I find it really awkward to think about, and I don’t think it’s relevant to the narrative to explain it, but I’m sure the question will come to reader’s minds, and it does slightly bother me that I don’t know the answer. Usually grazing over details is lazy, but I really don’t want to confront this one. Do I have to come up with a solution, or will readers generally not care? | [
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55,346 | I am writing a story from the perspective of a man telling his audience what happened to him. During his monologue, somebody walks into the room in real-time and tells him something. What is the best way to do this?
Perhaps a clean break in narrative?
>
> I look around the room, wondering where they'll take me.
>
> A woman walks into the room, looks at the man, says "come with me, sir", then leaves.
>
>
>
Or perhaps attempting to blend the two?
>
> I look around the room, wondering where they'll take me.
>
> A woman walks into the room, looks at me and says, "come with me, sir", then leaves. I guess I'll follow her.
>
>
>
Is there a "proper"/preferred way to write this? Does one have more of an impact over the other? | [
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55,355 | When describing a character I usually provide some indication of their race/ethnicity since a lot of my work has multiracial characters and I tend to use elements of ethnicity in characterization. Most of the time I find a tasteful way to describe the color of their skin and start them in a scenario that allows them to show their heritage compared to other characters eg. name, how they speak, where they're from, what they wear and like etc.
I've recently had someone read a particular scene involving a character, and was surprised afterwards, when they told me that they didn't understand why the character was speaking a certain way (slang etc) and had completely missed what their ethnicity was and that this was why they were speaking this way.
My point is that you can never predict the level of cultural awareness of a reader, and so certain aspects of a characterization will fail to convey the character's ethnicity if that reader has little to no knowledge of that particular culture, which will affect that reader's enjoyment.
When comparing books and film for example, I find it interesting that many film scripts I have read are very up front about character ethnicity eg. Trent, 21, Black. But this is rare in books and I'm not sure why.
So with all that said what are some ways to convey a character's race/ethnicity clearly (while hopefully steering clear of stereotypes) but appropriately (without sounding racist or offending anyone)? | [
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55,357 | I'm at a point in my story where the main character(M17) was in a huge car crash. He'd been in an overturned vehicle for about 10 minutes and had sustained heavy damage. A few of his friends had come to his aid. At first, I had made a character(F18) break down after someone else(F17) who is overprotective of the MC put the blame of the accident on her.
The one who had pinned the blame is traditionally a level-headed, rational person who tends to think things through.
The one who had the blame wrongly pinned on her has a very relaxed, upbeat, and cheerful personality, and tends to display a lack of lady-like manners.
When I reread the sections
>
> her eyes started to water as she was hit by an overwhelming sense of guilt
>
>
>
and
>
> she turned and walked out of the room, Aletuydor called after her, but she didn't answer as she didn't want to feel any worse, much less cry in front of them.
>
>
>
it just didn't feel right with the type of person she is.
I had a whole scene centered around her being upset and yelling and everything, and now it feels like I should change it out, but then the whole scene would have to get changed as well and I'm not sure how to do that.
So my question is: How do I make a character with a certain personality react in a certain situation? | [
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55,360 | >
> Stephen: I am your daddy.
>
>
> Rumerz:
> NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>
>
The question is how do you write no in a way that looks professional without removing the "audio" information of how the "no" should be uttered by an actor, how long and loud the actor should sound like when he utters the line. How is this normally done? | [
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55,372 | I am trying to convert a fiction book into a film script. The book uses third-person past tense narration that switches between several characters from chapter to chapter and thus is always from a particular character's viewpoint. There is quite a bit of indirect thought from the narrator/character in which they add more details about characters, setting, past events, etc. Direct thought is also used to show character reactions/feelings in situations where they don't want the other characters around them to hear those reactions/feelings.
I would like any thoughts (indirect or direct) of the narrator/character to become voice-over narration in the film since I cannot see how these would translate over otherwise. However, the challenge I'm having is that indirect thought is in third person past, direct thought is in first person present. At first, I thought, just convert all indirect thought to direct thought. This would make everything very simple since all thoughts would become voice-over in the film script, and action narration would stay as action on screen. But this isn't very straightforward, for me at least. A large part of the problem is that it doesn't make sense for the narrator/character to be having direct thoughts about things they already know, and therefore makes it very contrived and obvious that these thoughts are there just for the audience and each time it happens it feels like a fourth wall break. At this stage, I have been doing rewrites of the indirect thoughts to make them convey the same details but in a way that would make sense when the narrator/character is talking to themselves in a sane way.
For example, to demonstrate the above, **bold** is indirect thought, *italics* is direct thought.
>
> Jolr arrived earlier than expected and so decided to visit a block of flats nearby. **Ritp, Jolr's sister, was living here, she had moved to the docks after her divorce.** *I hate the docks*, thought Jolr. **The smell of the water reminded Ritp of her ex-husband which is why she decided to stay here.** *Next year I'll have to move away, I should tell Ritp soon.* "Hi Jolr," said Ritp suddenly, appearing from around the corner. "Your son tells me you're planning to move next year. Explain." *Damn you Ritp!*
>
>
>
So as mentioned, simply changing the bold above to first-person present as direct thought, seems to just make the narrator/character sound a little crazy or suffering from memory loss. Here is an example of a rewrite:
1. Original (indirect thought)
* Ritp, Jolr's sister, was living here, she had moved to the docks
after her divorce.
2. First Rewrite (direct thought with tense change only)
* Ritp, my sister, is living here, she moved to the docks after
her divorce.
3. Second Rewrite (direct thought with additional changes)
* My sister Ritp should be home around now, maybe she'll have more
funny stories about when her ex-husband and she used to go sailing.
The third sounds the best to me but still feels a bit forced, however; I can't come up with anything better.
Is there a better way to approach this kind of "conversion" while staying as true to the source material as possible yet still taking advantage of film as a medium?
A similar question has been asked at [Movie and TV Stack Exchange](https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/24956/what-are-the-methods-of-including-a-characters-thoughts-in-an-audiovisual-mediu), some very useful suggestions over there. | [
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55,376 | I have a romance arc as one of the major series-long plots of my story. In the first major story arc, the two romantic leads aren't actively together as a couple, this part of the story focuses on when they first met to the point where they realize that they have mutual feelings for one another. Essentially, they both have crushes on one another, but they don't even realize it at first and the two aren't aware of how important each is to the other until the climax.
However, I am having difficulty characterizing the early part of their relationship when their feelings for each other are not overt to sell the sexual tension between them. As a result, the two characters seem to jump from being relative strangers to both being aware that they have mutual feelings for the other. They just seem to "fall into" a relationship rather than have it develop naturally. Making it harder is the fact that a third party, a female best friend, seems to develop potentially romantic chemistry more naturally with both of them than they do with each other. The big issue is the two leads have to be aware of their own unrequited feelings for each other by the climax in order to make the first arc's climax and the broader plot work.
I've been trying to avoid "love at first sight" tropes, not only because I find them frequently unsatisfying from a reader's perspective but also because the genre I am writing in has an issue with poorly written "love at first sight" plots. However, I also know that many techniques authors use to characterize sexual tension between characters have been criticized for being creepy or sexist, for example the recent depiction of Ytash and Iris West in the Snyder-cut *Justice League*.
The novel is written in third-person limited, so it's not possible to give the reader a look into the character's heads to see what they are thinking and thus clue them in that there are feelings going on.
Adding to this difficulty is that the girl is a stoic who is oblivious to social cues and barely even understands her own emotions on a good day, whereas the guy is very shy and introverted (and is somewhat intimidated by her) and so is unlikely to try wooing her in a traditionally masculine way (read: by acting like an idiot). I can't use the cliche of them bickering because they like each other because that's not the kind of relationship they have. I think this is part of the reason the female best friend comes off as having a developing relationship, because this character is more extroverted and hence it is easier to read her actions as being driven by subconscious feelings.
The two leads do seem to have some chemistry together, writing later scenes for them they seem to do rather well together, but the problem is if I cannot establish that chemistry early on and get the characters over that hump it comes off as me retconning them into having good chemistry rather than writing a satisfying relationship.
I know there's a lot of questions about how to write romantic relationships on this site, but what I'm specifically wondering about is how to bridge the gap between very early stages of the relationship, from when people first meet as strangers to when they become aware of their feelings for one another. The broader problem is **I am trying to figure out how to depict and write two characters with a crush on one another, both before and after they realize they are in love but before they actively try to attract the other** and am coming up blank. I can't even draw on my own experiences because I've never been in that situation myself. I honestly don't know how people with a crush on each other act. | [
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55,385 | When the main character in Fleabag and Miranda TV series, talks to the camera, is that 3rd person or another technical term for the point of view?
It's often used in TV adverts I notice too.
They talk to the camera to convey their thoughts to the viewer. I can see it as the equivalent of the thought bubble in comics. | [
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"text": "This sounds like the TV trope Breaking the Fourth Wall:\n\n[tvtropes - Breaking The Fourth Wall](https://tvtr... | 2021/03/28 | [
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55,392 | I am working on a series of episodes that will be made into individual videos to explain different technologies and how they interrelate at different levels within a specific application domain (the aim being to produce something that is similar to a video-based Wikipedia). To try to keep this engaging and manageable (both to create and consume), I want this to have an underlying structure (kind-of a story). My reasoning being that episodes will frequently cover topics that are in some way a 'gateway' or 'foundation' topic for understanding another episode.
So, I want to be able to say within each episode if there is any prerequisite knowledge for the episode ("Before you watch this episode, you may find it useful to know about..."), and also to be able to give jumping-off points to related topics at the end of each episode ("If you found this episode interesting, you might also want to watch..."). Ideally I want to approach this mapping task graphically. Which is now my problem: How to describe the domain in a way that lets me map, understand and communicate dependencies, and other relationships, between topics and episodes?
A mind map doesn't quite work, as I don't have a single thing with radiating spokes. Also each relationship I need to capture/express might be directed (e.g. a dependency) or undirected (e.g. an alternative technology that could be used in place of the one discussed). There will be a web of episodes where each node (episode) has nested 'key points', each of which might be individually relevant to one or more episodes, or one ore more other key-points (in other episodes).
**Why a mind-map doesn't fit my needs**
A simple example to show this, starting with four possible episodes: Let's say I have an episode on candles, one on oil lamps, an episode on gas lamps, and an episode on electric lamps. These are alternatives to one another (one kind of relationship), and also the electric lamp made the combustion-based lamps mostly obsolete (another kind of relationship). Then there's the temporal aspect, oil-lamps and are really old, gas-lamps relatively new, and electric lamps the newest.
Oh, and by the way, both candles and oil lamps make use of a wick, so I might also need an episode to explain how wicks work, and link that to the oil-lamp and candle episodes (as something that "might be interesting")?
So even with very few episodes, there are a lot of links of different types and at different levels making a highly interconnected web. I think I need around 40 episodes in total all of which will have clusters of relationships.
**A class-diagram alternative?**
As I have a software engineering background, this is starting to make me feel a bit as though I need a UML class-diagram to describe everything, and I'm trying to avoid that though, as I want to be able to colloborate with non-software people in building and reviewing the episode plan!
Does anyone know of a diagramming type that would fit to what I'm trying to do please? (This may not be the best SE site for this, it seemed closest though) | [
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55,393 | Background
----------
The book series I'm working on can basically be summed up as a science-fantasy series that starts out leaning much more on the fantasy end of the spectrum but moves more and more towards the sci-fi end of the spectrum as it progresses until it looks like a cross between the Legend of Korra and Star Wars by the end.
The way this happens is that the setting is essentially a brutal, 19-year-long war between the galaxy's biggest powers that industrializes the wider galaxy in what is practically the blink of an eye.
Setting and plot details
------------------------
At the outbreak of war, the three main powers can basically be summed up as follows:
**Ishga**
1. Based on the culture of Victorian-era London
2. Ecumenopolis similar to Coruscant from Star Wars
3. Technology so advanced it's basically indistinguishable from magic
4. Had its industrial revolution about 200 years ago and has been led by a royal family that bullied weaker planets for land and resources while greedily hoarding its own advancements ever since (however, a new king named Migkaol who is a supporting protagonist has ousted the old dynasty and wants to both democratize the planet and end and atone for the oppressive system of colonialism for which his forefathers are responsible. However, this is complicated by the fact that many of these colonies will be needed to win this galactic equivalent of WWII.)
5. One main planet but has colonized several previously uninhabited worlds around it for use as farming colonies to feed itself and has bullied resources out of and taken land from worlds that are inhabited, to the detriment of those who live there.
6. By far the most populous of the three main powers, being home to almost half the entire galaxy's population
**Aurea**
1. Based mostly on Greco-Roman culture, but three of the outlying provinces are descended from various waves of settlers from elsewhere and are based mostly on Zulu, Mongolian, and Maori cultures respectively.
2. The military is based on the late Roman imperial system (but with Kommnenian-era Byzantine technology and weaponry), and the government is essentially the Roman Republic with a non-term-limited US President called the "Dominus" in lieu of Consuls.
3. Least populous of the three main powers.
4. Aurea's current Dominus (president) is our main protagonist, who is a close friend of King Migkaol of Ishga, and will spend the first few books both defending Aurea from Tate's minions and implementing an absolute ton of reforms to rapidly modernize the planet.
5. Aurea is a single planet.
6. Like all preindustrial worlds, Aurea conducts space travel with Startreaders, which I outlined in the context for a [previous question](https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/198446/how-would-limited-space-travel-change-late-medieval-early-renaissance-era-warfar).
7. Those three outlying provinces I mentioned are composed of people groups completely separate from most Aureans, were conquered by the Aurean Government a few centuries back, and have a complicated relationship with their identity as Aureans, as well as with the Aurean Government.
**Caput Tatiium**
1. Most of its population is composed of dozens of tribes based on various Native American and Inuit cultures that live in rural areas. However, its government and military are mostly run by the detribalized urban population of mixed tribal heritage. This detribalized population only exists, however, because of a policy implemented a few decades back by Tate, which kicks rebellious tribes off their lands, forcibly disbands them, and scatters their people into various cities spread out across the planet.
2. Led by Tate, a rogue mutant of Ishga heritage whose mutation gives him talent with magic that rivals the Gods' powers. Tate is the main antagonist of the series and bases his worldview on the Ishgas' previous oppression of the galaxy. He sees the galaxy as so thoroughly ruined by Ishga colonialism that he wants to either conquer it all and rule it himself to fix the damage or find and use a combination of long-lost ancient artifacts to summon the 3 primordial beings of the galaxy and have them create a new galaxy in his own image. His plan switches back and forth between the two depending on how well he is doing in the war (when he is winning and controls most of the galaxy, he is fine with the first plan, the second is his backup in case he starts losing). Tate rules Caput Tatiium as an absolute monarch.
3. Second most populous of the three main powers.
4. Has spent the past three decades or so industrializing and modernizing its military with stolen Ishga technology acquired through Tate's allies in the galaxy's criminal underworld. However, most of these benefits have only reached the cities, and there is a *massive* wealth and technology gap between the cities and rural tribes.
5. Uses its location on the far western edge of the galaxy (which has a reputation for being a barely inhabited backwater) to hide its massive industrialization projects and expansion through UNISYN.
6. Originally called Navayu before Tate's rule
**Various UNISYN Colonies**
1. Before Tate's rise to power on Caput Tatiium, the vast majority of habitable planets in the galaxy were uninhabited. Seeing the golden opportunity, Tate, along with several prominent members of the galaxy's criminal underworld set up a massive pyramid scheme disguised as a legitimate company in which UNISYN sold people land on these worlds, and these people were rewarded for getting friends of theirs to buy in and get friends to join as well, and so on and so forth. The profits from this are basically what keep Caput Tatiium financially afloat.
2. The majority of the war will be fought here.
3. UNISYN worlds occupy the vast majority of the galaxy's area.
4. The vast majority of these worlds side with Tate and their inhabitants form the bulk of his military.
5. UNISYN Colonists are comrpised of all of the peoples of the galaxy, but those of Aurean, Caput Tatiian, and Ishga descent form a narrow majority of the population of these worlds.
6. Combined, the UNISYN colonies are second in population only to Ishga and will grow rapidly even as the war goes on.
**Rest of the Galaxy**
1. Composed of 10 Worlds: Planet Squid, Aztlan, Awal, Arturia, Ryu 97, Ryu 108, Atlantea, Bharatam, Vigam, and Rinascita
2. All are generally at early Renaissance levels of technological, military, and societal development.
3. Vigam, Aztlan, and Atlantea all have parts of their land under Ishga rule, Arturia has a history of oppressive Ishga rule in the past (although the current ruler has put this behind him and is a close friend of King Migkaol), and the rest all have some sort of unequal treaties with Ishga (kind of like the ones set up by European powers with China after the Opium Wars).
4. Combined, these worlds are more populous than Aurea but less so than the UNISYN worlds. Many battles of the war will be fought here as well, as they are the cultural, historical, and magical heart of the galaxy and are home to most of the artifacts Tate needs for his ritual.
5. These worlds will tepidly side with Ishga and Aurea at first, but many of their citizens have Tatian sympathies and all of these worlds change hands at least once during the war. Aztlan is the exception as Tate simply takes an artifact he needs, commits an almost total genocide on Aztlan's populace for reasons not relevant to this question, then leaves.
6. The vast majority of both supporting protagonists and supporting antagonists are from these worlds.
Now that we have that massive info dump out of the way, here is my question:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does having the reforming but still colonialist world of Ishga and the sort-of-colonialist world of Aurea portrayed as *mostly* "the good guys", while the (on paper) anti-colonialist (but incredibly hypocritical) world of Caput Tatiium portrayed as *mostly* "the bad guys" make it look like I am promoting colonialism rather than being anti-colonialist?
---
I already asked this on Worldbuilding SE and they closed it and told me it belonged here, so here it is. | [
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55,395 | My story has a cast of 59 characters, 25 of which are either protagonists or antagonists. Nine of these characters are very well-rounded and important, and most make an appearance at least once in each book.
Though not the MC, my favorite character of the entire series is one of these nine and is extremely important to the plotline. Long story short, he fakes his death later in the book.
Because I have such a large cast, the main problem I run into is that I have too many characters in one place talking at once and they all have something to say, like on a group chat with twenty people and it all comes out choppy and disorganized.
These nine, important characters are all surprised because they thought my favorite character was dead, and of course, they all have something to say about it, so, **what are some tips for writing dialogue when you have a large group of characters in one place?** | [
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