qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
65,884 | How can I write a short story without naming the places characters visit?
Example: If the main character visits a restaurant then I want to show it to the the reader without naming the restaurant. | [
{
"answer_id": 65885,
"author": "Divizna",
"author_id": 56731,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/56731",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can include a description. You don't have to mention the name if you don't want to."
},
{
"answer_id": ... | 2023/03/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65884",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59230/"
] |
65,906 | I would like to search for words in a sentence that ends with a question mark - ?
For example I have a pdf document or a word document with the following sentence:
>
> Which of the following describes a benefit of a data lakehouse that is
> unavailable in a traditional data warehouse?
>
>
>
I would like to searc... | [
{
"answer_id": 65907,
"author": "Divizna",
"author_id": 56731,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/56731",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": true,
"text": "I'm afraid the only way I know how to do this is simply to search for `lakehouse`, and check if it's in a question o... | 2023/03/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65906",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59254/"
] |
65,909 | Is it possible to write a character that remains mysterious until the very end without sacrificing character development?
I was thinking you can't do it to a main character, so I thought about an evil character that remained very mysterious until the very end while developing him as a character throughout the story. W... | [
{
"answer_id": 65910,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "On the outside, character development is nothing but a change in their behavior.\n\nAt the beginning of a story a chara... | 2023/03/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65909",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,918 | I was thinking of writing a story that starts out as a serious drama, but suddenly shifts to a comedic tone without any clear reason or transition. I thought it would subvert expectation and make the whole story more funny, but I am not sure if this is a bad idea, because I've been told many times that you need to be c... | [
{
"answer_id": 65919,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "While there's nothing to say you **can't** do this, it's unusual for a reason.\n\nWhen a reader selects and starts r... | 2023/03/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65918",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,924 | How do you plan for a story with multiple overlapping arcs? In One Piece, you have one big story arc, and then multiple arcs within it (2 layers), but I am wondering if it's possible to have a story with multiple overlapping arcs (10+ layers or more), and if it is possible, how do you plan for it, because when you writ... | [
{
"answer_id": 65929,
"author": "wofwolwos",
"author_id": 59291,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59291",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "When writing complex arcs, it's best to start with one overarching plotline. The one that draws all the character... | 2023/03/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65924",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,932 | I've been told that a tragic hero is a protagonist with a tragic flaw or a character defect that ultimately leads to their downfall and that the audience should sympathize with the character, even as they recognize their flaws.
I am wondering if it's ok if the audience doesn't sympathize with the character. I have a c... | [
{
"answer_id": 65933,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I really doubt that is possible.\n\nReaders (because we are somewhat egotistical) tend to identify with the protago... | 2023/03/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65932",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,936 | I am looking for a good or common way to include search terms and phrases in complete sentences with clarity when the term/phrase begins and ends. I do not want to include punctuation near the terms unless the punctuation is part of the term. I am currently double spacing before the search term then continuing the sent... | [
{
"answer_id": 65933,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I really doubt that is possible.\n\nReaders (because we are somewhat egotistical) tend to identify with the protago... | 2023/03/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65936",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59303/"
] |
65,942 | One effective technique I was told to use is to integrate the exposition within the narrative, rather than presenting it as a separate block of information. This can be accomplished through various means such as dialogue that describes the world for the sake of worldbuilding. However, wouldn't using a dialogue for inst... | [
{
"answer_id": 65945,
"author": "ewokx",
"author_id": 45090,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/45090",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "My understanding of 'info' dumps is that they shouldn't be used and that the writer should insert information in the ... | 2023/03/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65942",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,943 | How can you signal the readers that the perspective has shifted to an omniscient narrator without explicitly stating it? Sometimes, you want to change from third person narration to omnipotent narration, because it's easier to describe something objectively without having to write narration while taking into account th... | [
{
"answer_id": 65950,
"author": "Angele",
"author_id": 59294,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59294",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "For the first part of your question. You could switch the focus to the environment the main characters are in. For e... | 2023/03/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65943",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
65,961 | How would you describe a magician and his tricks? What would his daily routine look like? | [
{
"answer_id": 65969,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are no shortcuts\n----------------------\n\nwhen resolving your challenges creating your characters. I would assu... | 2023/04/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65961",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59341/"
] |
65,964 | I am writing a science fantasy novel, but I think I should re-write it completely. Let me explain the situation.
Here's the concept of my novel: The story takes place in an alternate world where a minority of residents are "angels". Each angel is an embodiment of a branch/concept of science, and unlike humans, they ca... | [
{
"answer_id": 65968,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "When the goal of the novel is to teach the reader, then lack of understanding can be the antagonist in the novel, too. ... | 2023/04/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65964",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/55361/"
] |
65,971 | Which one is correct? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the context matters. I've heard that "if the sentence cant stand on its own, the semi-colon isn't needed", but I frankly can't tell if this adage applies here.
>
> I want to emphasize that this doesn't exist, it's just one that I
> thought of.
>
>
>
... | [
{
"answer_id": 65972,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Semicolons are optional punctuation marks used to join complete sentences in place of a period.\n----------------------... | 2023/04/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65971",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57830/"
] |
65,977 | When an editor goes over my writing, even if most of their feedback is Writing 101 advice, it's still super helpful because my writing has a lot of flaws.
But I never notice these flaws (big picture stuff, and subtle stuff alike) while writing and editing my writing. Even if it's something as basic as the beginning an... | [
{
"answer_id": 65978,
"author": "MS-SPO",
"author_id": 59124,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59124",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "The problem to overcome is be a different person, which implies changing focus, metrics, perspective, involvement, in... | 2023/04/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65977",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/19405/"
] |
65,991 | My story is set in a dystopia. The main character is on a train journey until suddenly the train got hijacked by a terrorist group. The terrorists aren’t inside the trains so most passengers don’t know what is actually happening. They just know the train is going at speeds faster than it should and that it’s going off ... | [
{
"answer_id": 65992,
"author": "hszmv",
"author_id": 25666,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/25666",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "So I would look into documentaries and first-hand accounts from actual train derailment survivors as to their experien... | 2023/04/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65991",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59374/"
] |
65,998 | My character is on a train that’s about to be hijacked. She notices strange things with the train like thudding on the roof but no one else seems to care. How can I convey that uneasy feeling you get when you feel like something bad is going to happen? | [
{
"answer_id": 66003,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think you are already off to a good start. The viewpoint character notices something and no one else seems to react t... | 2023/04/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/65998",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59374/"
] |
66,004 | I am currently doing a rewrite of my story, starting with the prologue. Now, my prologue exists mainly to introduce the main villain of the story, and I've been working on making some improvements, such as spreading the big bad's description across the prologue, rather than just simply dumping it all in one paragraph. ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66005,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "You should not do this at all.\n\nThis doesn't sound like a prologue, but an opening scene.\n\nThat said, your stru... | 2023/04/09 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66004",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59394/"
] |
66,017 | What is the most appealing way to insert a bit of narrative within dialog in a single sentence? For example:
>
> “The unified realm of my childhood,” Hubykd hoped to avoid discussing the reasons for its disintegration; the children carried the blood of the traitor, and she carried more than her share of the scars, “h... | [
{
"answer_id": 66018,
"author": "Boba Fit",
"author_id": 57030,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57030",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "The only time you should insert anything into dialog in this manner is when you are explaining something about how... | 2023/04/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66017",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59412/"
] |
66,023 | Table of Contents:
* Prologue
* 24 Years Ago: Omissions of the Past
* A number of chapters of backstory (life) of father of main character, but son, who is the main character for rest of book is not in it, but mentioned.
* Present Day;
* A number of chapters about the son, who is the novel's main character, but the fa... | [
{
"answer_id": 66024,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "This sounds perfectly acceptable to me. It's quite common to have a prologue from a different character setting up t... | 2023/04/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66023",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59415/"
] |
66,025 | I’ve scoured the internet for help, but my search bore no fruit and left me very frustrated. I’m currently proof reading a novel I plan to publish soon and I’ve run into a little snag. So my character sits down at a piano to play two pieces:
Ycxuqegt’s Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 90
and
Ycxuqegt’s Ständchen... | [
{
"answer_id": 66024,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "This sounds perfectly acceptable to me. It's quite common to have a prologue from a different character setting up t... | 2023/04/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66025",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59424/"
] |
66,031 | I'm developing a naming system for a video game, where a player or NPC's name can and in some cases will be mononyms, and in other cases a full name with a first and last name. This leads to a problem when figuring out how to display a list of names in alphabetical order.
For full names the 'sorting' format is 'family... | [
{
"answer_id": 66024,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "This sounds perfectly acceptable to me. It's quite common to have a prologue from a different character setting up t... | 2023/04/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66031",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59085/"
] |
66,036 | I'm a beginner writer, trying to learn fundementals. I'm editing some work now and I'm confused about proper formatting of paragraphs with dialogue.
I know that you should start a new paragraph when there's a new speaker, but is that more in a back in forth conversation? What if there's actions or context before the d... | [
{
"answer_id": 66037,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think you're doing it right\n-----------------------------\n\n* You have one speaker per paragraph.\n* Who speaking i... | 2023/04/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66036",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59440/"
] |
66,052 | The scenario is that a person from our present time travels millions of years into the future. A catastrophic event caused the Continents to shift and reform, and wiped out near all life. Earth is entirely different now.
It has been millions of years. The language at that time has changed so much as humans had to re-e... | [
{
"answer_id": 66054,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "A million years is a long time, even on evolutionary time scales\n-----------------------------------------------------... | 2023/04/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66052",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59478/"
] |
66,057 | I wrote a passage about slavery, with a target audience of 12-13-year old students. Though for young students, I try to keep conventions highly academic, so students are exposed to real conventions used by historians.
Whenever 'slaves' appears, Grammarly recommends I change it to "enslaved peoples", with this comment:... | [
{
"answer_id": 66059,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 15601,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/15601",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "When you use a noun - slave, prisoner, billionaire -- to refer to a person, you are assigning them an identity... | 2023/04/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66057",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/3375/"
] |
66,065 | I am editing a mystery that takes place in an apartment building. Various apartment numbers are referenced often. 503 is where the murder takes place. Everyone always says each digit when referring to the unit.
So... how should it be written? Five-o-three or 503 or five oh three?
Thanks in advance!! | [
{
"answer_id": 66067,
"author": "M. A. Golding",
"author_id": 37093,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/37093",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is correct to write 503 as \"five zero three\" or \"five hundred and three\".\n\nBut it is common to say \... | 2023/04/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66065",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59505/"
] |
66,075 | I’m writing a novel. I am planning the plot in detail and doing worldbuilding. In the meantime, I would like to write some short stories to practice writing itself (style, pacing, emotion, descriptions…). However, when I start a short story a find myself planning the plots, characters etc., so I end up with the same pr... | [
{
"answer_id": 66067,
"author": "M. A. Golding",
"author_id": 37093,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/37093",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is correct to write 503 as \"five zero three\" or \"five hundred and three\".\n\nBut it is common to say \... | 2023/04/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66075",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59271/"
] |
66,078 | I'm looking for adjectives to describe incremental degrees of injuries of various body parts for an RPG system. They should be both intuitively understandable and rankable to an average English speaker. That is, if the list of injury terms was given out of order to different people, they would consistently order them t... | [
{
"answer_id": 66079,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "The [Abbreviated Injury Scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviated_Injury_Scale) classifies the severity of injuri... | 2023/04/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66078",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59516/"
] |
66,080 | The tradition of dropping the definite article in dramatic dialogue seems to go back to William Shakespeare's days and beyond. Thus, in *Romeo and Juliet* (to pick a play at random), the Apothecary is referred to (in the dialogue and blocking) as, simply, APOTHECARY, and not "the Apothecary." As in:
>
> Enter Apothec... | [
{
"answer_id": 66081,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't know that there is a rule, but \"The\" clutters the manuscript and adds nothing to the narrative. Just FREN... | 2023/04/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66080",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/15812/"
] |
66,095 | I'm writing a fictional(science fiction) story. Currently, I'm on a chapter that has a lot perspective changes, and I'm writing in third person, so my readers can experience things near the protagonists or the main antagonist. I want to apply very little perspective changes to the chapter, but the whole story has a ton... | [
{
"answer_id": 66108,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "There isn't a correlation between the amount of action in a story and the number of viewpoints characters.\n------------... | 2023/04/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66095",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59528/"
] |
66,111 | Was watching Babylon 5 and am used to excellent writing with Harlan Ellison. There was this sentence in Season 5
>
> Humor is a universal element…like helium.
>
>
>
This seemed to lack impact, especially as delivered with the pause by Bruce Boxleitner. It seems to me that it should be
>
> Humor, like helium, is... | [
{
"answer_id": 66112,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't think it is screwed up at all.\n\nThe punchline should come at the end of the sentence. And \"helium\" is f... | 2023/05/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66111",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/15366/"
] |
66,119 | I am in the midst of reworking my latest manuscript into a shape that someone might be inclined to publish. To help me along I hired a professional editor and writer, whose comments and suggestions, for the most part, have been very helpful. However, I am struggling with her insistence that I avoid the third person omn... | [
{
"answer_id": 66120,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Which question do you want answered?\n------------------------------------\n\n> \n> **Is omniscient observer POV... | 2023/05/02 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66119",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59559/"
] |
66,126 | In my book a character who the main characters have saved before is revealed to be the real main antagonist. I originally wanted this reveal to happen at the end, but after looking at betrayals in most things, I found that they usually happen at the climax. But my question is: **When is a good time to have a betrayal?*... | [
{
"answer_id": 66127,
"author": "Boba Fit",
"author_id": 57030,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57030",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's the [Ragem Rabbit principle.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtfHaJKW1zQ) Ragem could only take his hand out... | 2023/05/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66126",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59567/"
] |
66,132 | I have a convoluted sentence that I am struggling to get punctuated correctly.
Sam is talking with Perkins.
>
> "This is costing me money," Perkins retorted. "And Triple A doesn't pay enough as it is."
>
>
> "Sorry to be costing you money," Sam said. "Ashcroft Apartments. Do you remember, not this past Sunday, but... | [
{
"answer_id": 66133,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "As I interpret that passage, there is a question, followed by an explanation of that question. That is, what the speake... | 2023/05/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66132",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59505/"
] |
66,135 | I am writing the text of a significant musical work that will be sung by a chorus. I will also be composing the music, but this question is specific to the lyrics that the chorus will sing. Note that this is *not* a "dramatic work" like an opera or music theatre work, but rather a "concert work." None of the singers in... | [
{
"answer_id": 66133,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "As I interpret that passage, there is a question, followed by an explanation of that question. That is, what the speake... | 2023/05/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66135",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52738/"
] |
66,143 | I'm writing a short story set in a medieval-like fantasy kingdom. At some point a group of people are passing through a forested low mountain area when they are attacked by hooded people, there is a fight with arrows, swords etc and the villains win.
However, a 10-year-old child manages to hide and survive. He witness... | [
{
"answer_id": 66144,
"author": "Holy the 4th",
"author_id": 59528,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59528",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are several options.\n--------------------------\n\nCaves. Caves are always an option. This is present i... | 2023/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66143",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59271/"
] |
66,146 | I have spent years trying to get published. I even had a publisher at one time who took my hard earned money and never published my manuscripts. I finished my first manuscript in 2003. It's now 20 years later and I've gotten nowhere. I have dozens of completed manuscripts. All are 500 pages or more. All are handwritten... | [
{
"answer_id": 66147,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "0. Get feedback from qualified beta readers or a professional editor (you will have to pay the latter, so do some resea... | 2023/05/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66146",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59590/"
] |
66,150 | I've been rewriting a book, and I've realised how blocky and kind of boring my character descriptions were in my first version of the book, and I thought that maybe instead of writing a character that is described with their physical looks all in one paragraph, it's better to scatter information about how they look thr... | [
{
"answer_id": 66151,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Commonly, characters aren't described in too much detail at all. The convention is to give only the relevant aspects (\... | 2023/05/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66150",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59595/"
] |
66,170 | I need help finding ceremony names that would suit underwater ceremonies. I've looked at several name generators and thought they wouldn't work underwater. I've also thought about the "Coral Reef Ceremony," which now sounds stupid and juvenile, but it's the only thing I can think of that's 'underwater' themed.
The cer... | [
{
"answer_id": 66171,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There is a difference between how outside observers (e.g. ethnologists) name a ceremony and how the members of a commun... | 2023/05/09 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66170",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/55723/"
] |
66,189 | Looking for formatting rules or conventions for screenplays. Many times they mention `this format results roughly in 1 minute on film per page`.
Is this an observation on average (i.e. an output), or is it a prerequisite (i.e. an input)? Just wondering ...
---
**P.S.**: W.r.t. the excellent answers from @Amadeus and... | [
{
"answer_id": 66190,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Don't use the final screenplay. I suggest you try DupeKx Trottier's \"Dr. Format Tells All\", now in its 4th editio... | 2023/05/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66189",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59124/"
] |
66,193 | In my 3rd draft, a character, that adds a lot to the main character's backstory and motivation spends around 10 minutes in the movie. Am I safe killing him off, or should I extend the character's time? | [
{
"answer_id": 66195,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "It sounds like this is an important motivational character whose death is significant to the protagonist.\n\nLet's call... | 2023/05/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66193",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59661/"
] |
66,196 | I'am writing a novel. The events in the novel take place in about two years. In this time the events of the main plot and conflicts between the characters get a conclusion. However, there is a secondary plot that cannot be resolved in two years because it would be completely unrealistic, however I would like to provide... | [
{
"answer_id": 66197,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "In *The Lord of the Rings* there are four chapters that follow the climactic battle and destruction of the ring that en... | 2023/05/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66196",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59271/"
] |
66,202 | Trying to have a character express hesitation and uncertainty with the tone of their voice. Like the verbal equivalent of an eye roll or an awkward smile. I'd like to say they're employing vocal fry, by lowering their pitch and stretching their voice until it buzzes or rattles a little bit. But I'm concerned the term "... | [
{
"answer_id": 66203,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "As writers, we often have a clear image in our heads that we want to transmit to the mind of our readers. But creating ... | 2023/05/15 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66202",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59672/"
] |
66,207 | Is there a way to have multiple alternative variants of a scene (alternative dialogue, shorter scene, etc.) in a spec script that, for example let's say the writers room of a tv show, would agree on one of them before turning it into a shooting script? If that's possible, how would one properly format/denote that? | [
{
"answer_id": 66209,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> Is there a way to have multiple alternative variants of a scene\n> (alternative dialogue, shorter scene, et... | 2023/05/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66207",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/49462/"
] |
66,214 | I am attempting to begin writing a Substack newsletter, but I have hit a serious problem: I am a chronic, crippled perfectionist. I can't get through a sentence of any given post without freezing up and becoming unable to continue. It is the same situation with my programming; I can't work on any of my projects because... | [
{
"answer_id": 66215,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Writing is revision\n-------------------\n\nEvery published novel and short story started with a first draft that had l... | 2023/05/17 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66214",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59688/"
] |
66,217 | My protagonist finds out that his friends have completely forgotten him. I want to write an insulting scene for my protagonist and want the readers to connect with him fully. Need some tips on how to achieve this. | [
{
"answer_id": 66218,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "We can't come up with your story for you, but we can give you some tips how you might discover it for yourself:\n\n1. D... | 2023/05/17 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66217",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59690/"
] |
66,226 | I'm writing a story and want to immerse the readers by describing the sound of a knife being pulled out of an eye socket. I can't think of a good word. It'd be descriptive, wet, and grating. It could be a series of words I could form a sentence around for this particular instance.
I settled on "shunk," but I think I c... | [
{
"answer_id": 66227,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> immerse the readers by describing the sound of a knife being pulled\n> out of an eye socket. I can't think... | 2023/05/19 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66226",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59708/"
] |
66,232 | I am 10 years old (almost eleven), and I'm trying to write a novel. I discovered it is a lot harder and stressful than I thought. I'm also scared of people judging it negatively. This seems a lot more complicated than I thought, and I don't have anyone helping me, other than suggestions. Help! :'( | [
{
"answer_id": 66233,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Writing a successful novel at a young age is the same as writing a successful novel at any age.\n----------------------... | 2023/05/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66232",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
66,240 | I'm currently working on a fantasy novel.
Storyline wise I'm just about to charge into the second arc of the story, much more intense and action focused than the previous world building arc.
I'm dealing with three main characters right now, one is actually set to die as a way to force the other two into the "quest" i... | [
{
"answer_id": 66241,
"author": "Boba Fit",
"author_id": 57030,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57030",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Fantasy novels are often extremely long. People like it that way. It sure seems that authors of fantasy novels get... | 2023/05/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66240",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59735/"
] |
66,243 | okay, trying to settle an argument. on my dating profile, one of the prompts says: "together we could.."
among other things, my response includes, "eat (spicy) food".
my friends argue that this statement says "we could eat spicy food". what i meant was, we could eat food, spicy optional. did i screw this up? one of th... | [
{
"answer_id": 66244,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "On the one hand the parenthesis means that what is inside it is optional. So your sentence could be paraphrased as: \"T... | 2023/05/22 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66243",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59740/"
] |
66,249 | I am writing a book at age 10-11, by myself. I have some people like my teacher and parents helping to edit, but I don't have anyone I can trust to help me (without screwing it up). I also don't know if I should do the cover art physically or digitally.
How does all this work? | [
{
"answer_id": 66251,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "You don't do the cover art at all. If you intend to get a literary agent, or submit to a publisher, they will rejec... | 2023/05/23 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66249",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
66,257 | I've been editing for my girlfriend, a non-native speaker, recently, and she asked me an interesting question, which we have modified to the following two questions:
1. Which sounds more natural?
2. Which reads better?
Here are the options in question:
1. First, we focus on the thing.
2. We first focus on the thing.... | [
{
"answer_id": 66258,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "They all sound natural and read well, but the emphasis and meaning are different:\n\n1. *First*, we focus on the thing (... | 2023/05/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66257",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59774/"
] |
66,262 | I'm writing a survival horror story that's a mixture between *Bloodborne* and *The Last of Us*. The story follows an emotionally distant woman and a physically disabled child as they trek through a world slowly being corrupted by some horrific cosmic entity.
Merayaca (the emotionally distant woman in question) is cold... | [
{
"answer_id": 66263,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "We are usually blocked when we try to work out the details of our stories while we lack the underlying cohering structu... | 2023/05/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66262",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59781/"
] |
66,269 | I'm toying with the idea of starting off with the MC freshly landed in his new world. But I reveal the a) Normal World and b) Inciting incident using through two methods. 1. The Normal world is revealed in a flashback. 2. The inciting incident is revealed via a conversation that the MC has with characters from his new ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66272,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Showing the status-quo of the character before the inciting incident through flashback is a sound technique for telling... | 2023/05/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66269",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
66,270 | I want to have one of my characters slowly fall in love with a boy who has liked her from the start, but I'm not sure how to
1. Show that he likes her but not make it too obvious
and
2. make her slowly fall in love with him.
Some background information: the book takes place in the real world where some girls have t... | [
{
"answer_id": 66275,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Think of the liking becoming apparent and the falling in love happening in steps, and work out what the steps are.\n\nH... | 2023/05/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66270",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59786/"
] |
66,273 | So what started as an attempt to write a memoir, I found myself struggling to commit to just one underlying theme. I also found writing about myself in different time periods, it felt as though I was writing about entirely different characters. It just didn't read well, so I stopped writing for a while. I wanted to put... | [
{
"answer_id": 66274,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It seems to me that you are struggling with what all beginning writers are struggling with: lack of experience.\n\nWhat... | 2023/05/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66273",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
66,279 | If a writer uses an AI tool and enters a prompt then uses the tool's output, is that copyright infringed?
Just to be more clear with my question. I am not talking about a prompt that says "Write me a romance novel set in Japan," then proceeding to copy/paste it all and call it your own.
I am referring to very "specif... | [
{
"answer_id": 66280,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.\n\nThe current legal framework in the USA generally attributes copyrig... | 2023/05/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66279",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
66,282 | In a scene I had in mind, there's a tricky hook or unexplained event that happened, that I fear might be considered as a mistake or a plot hole. It is basically where a girl (one of the characters) is in a fight, she was cornered and was about to lose, until the opponent suddenly died. Defeated right in front of her ey... | [
{
"answer_id": 66284,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "If in your story something happens that hasn't been foreshadowed and is completely unexpected for both the characters a... | 2023/05/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66282",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/54689/"
] |
66,287 | I'm trying to figure out the best way to show a projector showing clips like key events over a lifetime. I'm thinking a montage with some dialogue, but I'm not certain that's the correct way. | [
{
"answer_id": 66294,
"author": "Holy the 4th",
"author_id": 59528,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59528",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "User52445 is correct, for the most part...\n------------------------------------------\n\nThis *is* up to you... | 2023/05/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66287",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59797/"
] |
66,301 | Background:
-----------
I'm writing a fan fiction story to a Bagry Patab-like novel about a group of 3 close friends. The novel has the simple third person limited narrator, with POV generally following the friends, if they are together, or one of them, when they separate.
Description:
------------
Now, in my story ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66302,
"author": "F1Krazy",
"author_id": 23927,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23927",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> Do you know of someone doing something like this before?\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is, in fact, common enough to be ... | 2023/05/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66301",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59815/"
] |
66,308 | Is my story too much like Hijrp Potfeq?
* My story is set in a magical world hidden within our own, and it has many magical version of things we do.
* It has wands but I have decided to change it and make it that there is a ritual to make your own wand. There are also brooms but I was going to have it so witches and w... | [
{
"answer_id": 66309,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It doesn't matter if you get compared to Hijrp Potfeq.\n\nThere have been many, many stories about a magical school... | 2023/06/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66308",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57894/"
] |
66,319 | Are there any stylistic markers (sentence structures, vocabulary choices, or anything else) which may help the reader suggest, even if only tentatively, the gender — male or female — of the author, particularly in the first person narratives when the narrator's and the author's genders may not be the same? If yes, what... | [
{
"answer_id": 66320,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "No, there are not. Which is not an interesting answer. The interesting part is the reason why there aren’t.\n\nPsychome... | 2023/06/03 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66319",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/27874/"
] |
66,321 | I found some stories my mother wrote and they were never published. She is deceased. I know I can send them in but can I edit them before I do? She wrote them in the 1960s on a manual typewriter and they need editing. I would want to publish them under her name. | [
{
"answer_id": 66323,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Absent a specific bequest in her will, the literary rights belong to all of her children — assuming she wasn’t married ... | 2023/06/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66321",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59862/"
] |
66,322 | I have a location in my story that is a key central hub which much of the interaction surrounds. An example of this might be the bar in *Cheers* or Greendale Community College in *Community*. I want to really make this location stick out in the reader's minds when it is first introduced, as the story is going to keep c... | [
{
"answer_id": 66325,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Descriptions in written fiction usually tend to\n\n* name some relevant distinguishing specifics and\n* leave the detai... | 2023/06/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66322",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/43118/"
] |
66,326 | I’m currently writing a murder mystery novel in where the MC has to solve a murder that happened in 1998. In the climax she is fighting off the killer but then her love interest comes in and kills the guy, and I want to make her *extremely* upset but I also want her to seem emotionless like she’s hiding her true feelin... | [
{
"answer_id": 66329,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Having your cake and eating it\n------------------------------\n\nMany questions on this exchange take the form ... | 2023/06/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66326",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59859/"
] |
66,342 | I have done this twice at the beginning of 2 of my stories (IIRC.) The first was a lecture on the Dust Dragon, an extinct creature in this world. The second was a schoolteacher giving a lesson on the making and history of their species.
I like this method of infodumping as it allows you to tell your reader info that w... | [
{
"answer_id": 66346,
"author": "Llewellyn",
"author_id": 27572,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/27572",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "An infodump is just that: dumping a big chunk of information in a format that's convenient for the author, but (u... | 2023/06/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66342",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57995/"
] |
66,343 | I'm working on a rewrite of a story of mine. One of the improvements I'm trying to make is avoiding the block of physical description text, and trying to use more show-don't-tell. So far, all I've been able to start with are "The warm light painted the sky gold as it spilt onto [MC]’s leonine face," and "The warm breez... | [
{
"answer_id": 66345,
"author": "Boba Fit",
"author_id": 57030,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57030",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Description is one of those things that will never please *everybody*. You have to figure out the general nature o... | 2023/06/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66343",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59394/"
] |
66,354 | On online forums, I often see the argument that not every story needs a theme. This is the flip side version of the question of when a story needs a theme. I felt that those arguing that some stories don't need a theme often fail to point out when exactly a story needs or doesn't need to have a central theme, thematic ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66345,
"author": "Boba Fit",
"author_id": 57030,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57030",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Description is one of those things that will never please *everybody*. You have to figure out the general nature o... | 2023/06/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66354",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59901/"
] |
66,368 | I'm writing some documents with embedded code listings. I reference such listings many times using something to the effect of, "...we provide an example as follows", with the block of code shown below as expected. What I'm unsure of, though, is the punctuation immediately after the word "follows". Should it be a period... | [
{
"answer_id": 66369,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Assuming this is not for a non-fiction publication, but something more informal like a school report, or product documen... | 2023/06/11 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66368",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59930/"
] |
66,379 | I have a character who is an expert at using language to his advantage. Both in terms of doublespeak, subtle put downs and deliberately avoiding the point and making the conversation about something else, but also in terms of effortlessly sounding professional without having to think about it. I'm not particularly skil... | [
{
"answer_id": 66380,
"author": "Mary",
"author_id": 44281,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44281",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Take full advantage of your ability to *revise*.\n\nTake a long time thinking about and drawing up his dialog. That he... | 2023/06/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66379",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/51269/"
] |
66,382 | I'm in the process of writing the first draft of my first novel (a medieval low-fantasy). In the story, I have multiple characters who slowly get possessed over time. The possession occurs through manipulation of the characters' fears and wants. I want to be able to show how the process of the possession is slow, but h... | [
{
"answer_id": 66383,
"author": "hszmv",
"author_id": 25666,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/25666",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> Does anyone have any suggestions for how to show slow character changes without being long in page/word length?\... | 2023/06/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66382",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59942/"
] |
66,397 | I am preparing writing samples for a trade book proposal. My chapters have section breaks (usually to indicate passage of time). Is there a standard or best practice for how to graphically/typographically represent them? i.e. is an extra space best? Three asterisks? A line? Everything looks pretty lame to me! | [
{
"answer_id": 66398,
"author": "lost_not_found",
"author_id": 59942,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59942",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "There's not a standardized or best way to make a section break. Section breaks are done differently dependin... | 2023/06/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66397",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59987/"
] |
66,426 | What to do if there are no more people left on Earth to write for?
Let's take an extreme case to illustrate this point. Say, there's a small evil group of people who lobotomized everyone's brains on the planet in very specific ways. (Not a single doctor who performed lobotomies was ever punished, by the way.) People c... | [
{
"answer_id": 66427,
"author": "Anonymous Chicken",
"author_id": 59991,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59991",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": true,
"text": "First off, great idea for a novel. Second off, this is a great hypothetical scenario to analyze why we hu... | 2023/06/21 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66426",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60042/"
] |
66,434 | Sometimes, you have two characters talking to one another and then as a character is about to describe what happened to the past, a flashback can be seen, and this is done in movies often. Now, I am wondering how to exactly do this in a novel. One issue is that the flashback can be several pages long, and so cutting ba... | [
{
"answer_id": 66447,
"author": "MikeS",
"author_id": 60092,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60092",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It depends on the amount of detail in the flashback that's relevant to the present day story.\n\nOne thing to keep in... | 2023/06/24 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66434",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
66,444 | Watching a video from an editor yesterday, she said authors should refrain from using too many verbs on action beats, instead relying mostly on "said" and "asked".
I think it is bland. There's hundreds of verbs that can convey the character's mood, the tone used, the intent. Instead of:
>
> "I don't think we should ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66446,
"author": "MikeS",
"author_id": 60092,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60092",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think the first example is much easier to read. As a reader, I should be focused on the dialog itself, not trying t... | 2023/06/26 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66444",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/19292/"
] |
66,449 | I'm writing crime fiction. The current scenario is that I have a main character (late 20's) who is Algerian but the story is set in Chicago. He lives in the United States because, as a baby, he fled Algeria with his Uncle after his parents were killed. Rather than the cliche of say, a random car accident, I did some qu... | [
{
"answer_id": 66450,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't think it's disrespectful, but opinions may vary. If you want to be safer, then potentially change the name o... | 2023/06/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66449",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60092/"
] |
66,459 | One mistake people can make when reinforcing the theme in their story is being too didactic. If the theme is forced upon the reader or becomes overly explicit, it can feel preachy and detract from the storytelling, or at least that was what I was told, but I am wondering if this is always the case, or we can actually m... | [
{
"answer_id": 66465,
"author": "GiantSpaceHamster",
"author_id": 60110,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60110",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I feel that the problem with overemphasising the theme and being too preachy is the subversion of reader ... | 2023/06/28 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66459",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
66,470 | I have a character that is the stereotypical "token good member of an evil organization". The organization is a brutal social darwinist one that sees nothing wrong with killing people and taking what they want from people. This is their attitude to both to people outside the group and leads to brutal, constant power st... | [
{
"answer_id": 66465,
"author": "GiantSpaceHamster",
"author_id": 60110,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60110",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I feel that the problem with overemphasising the theme and being too preachy is the subversion of reader ... | 2023/06/29 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66470",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/43118/"
] |
66,476 | Should you support the aftermath of every single supporting characters after the main conflict is resolved?
Not exploring the aftermath of supporting characters can be seen as a mistake to avoid when writing a story. The aftermath of the main conflict can have a significant impact on supporting characters. Neglecting ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66484,
"author": "Mary",
"author_id": 44281,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/44281",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "A light hand with aftermath is usually wisest. After all, the climax is over, and this is just cleaning things up. (An... | 2023/06/30 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66476",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/36239/"
] |
66,486 | I am writing a book that I planned out as a kid; I've completely changed it around so that only the characters have stayed the same. I love them a lot and I love the names I gave them back then, because they fit them perfectly. But now that I am older, I am scared.
Their names are just words I translated into other la... | [
{
"answer_id": 66487,
"author": "Divizna",
"author_id": 56731,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/56731",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I wouldn't deem it offensive if I ran across a name in your story that forms a word in my language, but it's a litt... | 2023/07/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66486",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60141/"
] |
66,488 | I’m currently working on a book in which the main character’s parents died in a somewhat ghastly car accident. I haven’t decided yet if my MC was a part of the accident, which would make the death of her parents all the more traumatic. I am debating now if the "parent death by car accident" thing is *too* cliché. I do ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66491,
"author": "Amadeus",
"author_id": 26047,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/26047",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I shouldn't have to say, there are many ways two people can die together.\n\nA terrorist bombs a theater they were ... | 2023/07/01 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66488",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59859/"
] |
66,507 | In my story, a group of courageous teenagers named Mokarimk, Kristy, Nquurt, Aluke, and Gaaruc find themselves engaged in an intense battle against formidable extraterrestrial foes. These teenagers are aided by their trusty AI Robots, Tom and Ben.
Among them, Mokarimk and Tom share a special bond since Tom was created... | [
{
"answer_id": 66508,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is difficult to do well, often leaving the reader annoyed and unsatisfied rather than happy with this twist in ... | 2023/07/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66507",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60176/"
] |
66,509 | It's a 195k word epic fantasy. These next few passes will bring that down quite a bit, and I know there's wiggle room. Reddit constantly focuses on that despite that the debut epic fantasy 120k word count stuff has been debunked by other debut novels among other things. The story, in my opinion, is at its strongest at ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66508,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is difficult to do well, often leaving the reader annoyed and unsatisfied rather than happy with this twist in ... | 2023/07/04 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66509",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60178/"
] |
66,513 | I've written a 225,000 word manuscript for a historical novel adapted from a reliably good story, shifted by me into a more modern, popular setting that I love and know a lot about (England during the Wars of Napoleon). The manuscript has been beta read extensively and tightened up and sent back out to betas and gotten... | [
{
"answer_id": 66518,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "It sounds like a bit of a pickle.\n\nYou've already written, edited and polished the book, so I assume you're not go... | 2023/07/05 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66513",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60189/"
] |
66,514 | In my story are non-human characters who naturally have their own languages and set of personal names. I have no problem devising interesting names like "Saþil Duqhuãn" (pronounced /sə.θil dʊ.χʷã/) with the help of the International Phonetic Alphabet, but I worry about the readability. So,
1. How can I tell whether ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66519,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> How can I tell whether a name is too difficult to read?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYour example name I find difficult to p... | 2023/07/06 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66514",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/57188/"
] |
66,528 | I am seeking examples of clean ways to transition from my main characters to my secondary characters. When I review what I have written, it is clunky and unclear that the story is now focusing on the secondary characters, and this causes confusion.
Thanks | [
{
"answer_id": 66534,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 15601,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/15601",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "The reader does not need to know \"the story is now focusing on the secondary characters\" - that's meta infor... | 2023/07/07 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66528",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/46384/"
] |
66,536 | I'm having trouble writing my first real novel. The first three chapters in my story are dedicated to set up, introducing the main characters, and providing character motivations.
However, I have noticed a problem: almost none of my characters' motivations are driving the plot forward. Rather, the plot is driving the ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66538,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> almost none of my characters' motivations are driving the plot\n> forward. Rather, the plot is driving the... | 2023/07/09 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66536",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60224/"
] |
66,551 | For the first time in a while, I have made quite a bit of progress in writing my book. For the last two weeks or so, I have forced myself to try and write at least 2,000 words a day, regardless of how I am feeling or how good I think the writing is coming out. Using this method, I have made quite a bit of progress word... | [
{
"answer_id": 66552,
"author": "Apollinaire Ndayikeze",
"author_id": 60235,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60235",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "The most important part of writing good work implicate choosing a good subject, leaving nothing open ... | 2023/07/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66551",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60224/"
] |
66,557 | Does saying "next evolution" sound redundant? Isn't evolution already something that comes next? I'm editing an article and the author talks about the "next evolution" of a theory, where two older theories are getting merged and refined to create this new approach. To me the "next evolution" hits the ear wrong. What do... | [
{
"answer_id": 66559,
"author": "Divizna",
"author_id": 56731,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/56731",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's a bit of a clumsy phrasing, I guess because \"next\" is usually paired with something countable. Perhaps \"fur... | 2023/07/12 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66557",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59188/"
] |
66,564 | I'm struggling with my first chapter (fc). I have a plan but it doesn't contain any action, something that I know from experience should be in the fc to capture the reader's excitement.
I was going to start by introducing the key characters and their home, something that does sound incredibly boring but made a litt... | [
{
"answer_id": 66566,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "First chapters are both tricky and important...but there's good news too. You don't need to nail down your 1st chapt... | 2023/07/13 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66564",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60232/"
] |
66,567 | Like most of us, I hope to one day have a book published by a major publishing house. My current work-in-progress, *Borradh*, is far larger than anticipated. At the moment, it's about 129,000 words, with nearly one-third finished. I aim to complete it in around fifty or sixty chapters.
Not making the situation any bet... | [
{
"answer_id": 66568,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> I hope to one day have a book published by a major publishing house.\n> \n> \n> ... most women aren't into ... | 2023/07/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66567",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/48978/"
] |
66,574 | I'm writing a story inspired by the 2010 South Korean movie called [I Saw the Devil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_the_Devil). The movie is about a secret service agent called Kim Soo-Hyun who enacts his revenge on a serial killer called Jaqh Kyung-Chul for having murdered his fiancée, Joo-Yun. Kim kidnaps and re... | [
{
"answer_id": 66580,
"author": "wetcircuit",
"author_id": 23253,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/23253",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Revenge is tragedy\n------------------\n\nI think you may be mixing genres. Your story is not about a 'hero' who... | 2023/07/14 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66574",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59901/"
] |
66,590 | I'm in the skeleton stage, but to get into the rhythm of writing, I write short stories every few days. Upon reviewing them, I've realised that unless I am specifically aiming for abstract and vivid metaphors (which I'm pretty good at,) my writing is fairly boring and clunky. Obviously this presents a problem as it mea... | [
{
"answer_id": 66591,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Read, read, read, then read more.\n\nRead stories once for pleasure. Then, read the same story again critically. Take n... | 2023/07/16 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66590",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60232/"
] |
66,594 | I am currently working on a murder mystery novel with a vintage aesthetic. I already have vintage names, Pinterest boards and mood boards. So I know what I want it to kinda look like. The problem is I don’t know how to effectively convey the look and feel of the aesthetic that want my readers to see and feel.
I’ve hea... | [
{
"answer_id": 66595,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "1. Do your research. Make sure you know commonly used words, phrases etc from that time (sprinkle them in liberally, ... | 2023/07/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66594",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59859/"
] |
66,602 | I am responsible for product X. Product X has bi-directional connectivity with other systems A and B.
When I am referring to data coming from A in to X, I can say:
* "Inbound interface from A to X"
* "Inbound from A to X"
Or I can give the directionality a codename and say that:
* X1 = data coming in to X (implies ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66595,
"author": "Phil S",
"author_id": 52375,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/52375",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "1. Do your research. Make sure you know commonly used words, phrases etc from that time (sprinkle them in liberally, ... | 2023/07/18 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66602",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60323/"
] |
66,606 | I have written a children's book about dragons and the things they do in Texas. Do I need to ask i.e. the Lubbock Arboretum if it's okay that I mention them in my story? So my question is: When do I need to ask permission to use a location? Or do I even need to? Thank you! | [
{
"answer_id": 66608,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "As the author, you don't need to be concerned with obtaining permission to use the name of a city, building, or whateve... | 2023/07/19 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66606",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60329/"
] |
66,609 | This website in incredibly useful and it's already helped me a lot. However when it comes to asking questions about specific details/genres or questions that are heavily opinion based, sadly, this website doesn't work so well.
**Examples**
* If I were to ask what the blast radius of a small bomb was, I doubt I would ... | [
{
"answer_id": 66608,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "As the author, you don't need to be concerned with obtaining permission to use the name of a city, building, or whateve... | 2023/07/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66609",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60232/"
] |
66,610 | My book plan is to cover at least 2 possibly 3 books. I've skeletoned out the first book into a very brief plot. Should I do the same for book 2 and 3 before developing the plot of book 1 or should I just start writing? I'm getting a little bored of the planning and research stage and kind of just want to start writing... | [
{
"answer_id": 66614,
"author": "user60320",
"author_id": 60320,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60320",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would say that you should go ahead and start writing your first book BUT, as you go along in your first draft t... | 2023/07/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66610",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60232/"
] |
66,616 | I am trying to locate a co-author for a book series I have planned. I have the basic premise and foundation done, and have written a rough "first page." But, even though I am a published author in my own right, I do not feel proficient to write in the genre the idea demands. Any ideas for how to locate such an individu... | [
{
"answer_id": 66614,
"author": "user60320",
"author_id": 60320,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60320",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would say that you should go ahead and start writing your first book BUT, as you go along in your first draft t... | 2023/07/20 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66616",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60340/"
] |
66,636 | I have been planning a murder mystery novel for a couple months and just need to get a few more specific details planned and then I’m ready to write.
But I was laying in bed one night just scrolling through YouTube Shorts when I just get an amazing idea (sort of). I decided that I should write the idea down before I f... | [
{
"answer_id": 66640,
"author": "Lucas Avigliano",
"author_id": 60376,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60376",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my experience I think you're putting a bit too much thought into the apps and upgrades. Take a deep brea... | 2023/07/25 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66636",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/59859/"
] |
66,646 | I noticed that many authors use different ways of conveying dialogue, from conventional to unquoted ramblings mixed with explanatory sentencing. Are these types of artistic license with punctuation like Cormac McCarthy better for someone with a foothold as an author or should you stick to strict structure from the begi... | [
{
"answer_id": 66648,
"author": "Divizna",
"author_id": 56731,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/56731",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Well...\n\nIf your goal is to have your story accepted by a publisher as a no-name beginner author, or win first pl... | 2023/07/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66646",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60376/"
] |
66,652 | What is the best way to describe a woman's lips without being cliche? I can't help but think "pillow" or "pouty" but that's wrong. I looked through all the synonyms for words like thick, plump or voluptuous but they just don't fit. How would you describe it in a way that may not be a singular word?
For context he's st... | [
{
"answer_id": 66653,
"author": "EDL",
"author_id": 39219,
"author_profile": "https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/39219",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Its good to ground the character reactions in solid tangible qualities -- like the woman's lips and eyes. That is a goo... | 2023/07/27 | [
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/66652",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com",
"https://writers.stackexchange.com/users/60376/"
] |