qid int64 1 2.78M | question stringlengths 2 66.6k | answers list | date stringlengths 10 10 | metadata list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
66,655 | I want to write a book like Fyodor Dostoevsky.
If you read "Crime and Punishment", you know he does not describe his characters with clothes and appearances, he describes their minds.
I don't know how.
I'm practicing to learn how to write like him. Could you help me to write like him?
What should I do? | [
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"text": "Honestly I think the only way to accomplish that is to read as much Dostoevsky as you can. His writing wasn... | 2023/07/28 | [
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66,662 | I've read some of the other questions on this site about how to write a drunk person ([this link](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/49835/how-to-write-in-the-first-person-showing-that-someone-is-drunk), [this link](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/49764/how-to-write-a-drunk-character-slurring-in-speech), and [this link](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/51437/how-to-write-the-thoughts-of-a-character-in-a-drunken-pov-scene)) but what I'm not clear on is writing a drunk person's train of logic and how they justify their choices.
In my story, I have a scene where a character gets really drunk and then makes a choice that they would never make sober and that no one regardless of opinion would consider logical. I'm writing in first person and have never been drunk myself. The choice in the story is one where the character is given the option to either accept or decline an offer and they have time to think about it, so I need to have a quite long and wild string of thoughts leading to their choice. **How do I show this character's illogical justification for their action?**
To be clear, the links that I've looked at have shown writing from the drunk person's POV (I think I'll be good on that) but I don't know how exactly to write the train of logic. Should I make their thoughts fast? Slow? How do I connect the logic leaps? How far should the logic leaps even be? When faced with a difficult choice, would a drunken person panic/be violent irrationally or would they be stupidly happy? | [
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"text": "I don't think there is a 'universal' drunk train of thought. Without any info on the character's type, it's hard... | 2023/07/29 | [
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66,664 | I'm writing a screenplay with a scene were characters interrupt each other frequently. I think including the lines a character would've said if they weren't interrupted could help the actors and directors. Is there a standard way of doing this? | [
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"text": "The standard way is to put it on the screen. They can say it later in dialogue, perhaps. Another character can ask ... | 2023/07/30 | [
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66,670 | As the title says, I am having trouble describing a group standing around 3/4ths of a rectangle. This is what I have written *The students stood along the sides and far side of the stage, creating a wide U-shape facing the door.*
I am sort of imaging something like this:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BsxKp.png)
Is there a better way to phrase/describe this? | [
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"text": "I can think of some better ways to phrase this. One idea might be: *\"The students stood on all but one edge ... | 2023/07/31 | [
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66,675 | I work for a US state DOT. We are trying to print our new standard specifications for construction. When we published in 2018, we got 1,000 copies for about $11/book. This time, we advertised for bids and got prices ranging from $100/book to $150/book! We expected prices to be higher due to the book being longer and ongoing supply chain issues, but not that high! Other states are having their books printed for $10 - $30 per book.
Below are our printing requirements. Other than the page count, the preferred options are the same as our 2018 book, and we allowed lots of flexibility. Does anyone see anything that stands out as being the likely driver of the increased cost?
* Size - 8.5" x 11"
* No. of copies - option to bid on printing 1, 50, 100, 500, or 1,000 copies
* No. of pages - 1,376 plus cover (2018 book was 800)
* Cover - Kivar 3-17 white cover stock preferred, alternative paper type option
will be considered but shall be durable, able to withstand the
elements, and be comparable to the current book. 4 color cover.
* Paper - 40 pound preferred, substitutions allowed
* Content - black and white text with bleeds (thumb tabs)
* Binding - soft cover preferred, hard cover acceptable, any suitably durable binding, one volume strongly preferred, but will do two volumes if we have no choice
Ultimately, we just want a durable printed book, and have relatively few "must-have" elements. If anyone sees an obvious driver of the high cost, we would greatly appreciate you pointing it out!
Edit: Regarding the length, we certainly know that's a factor, but that can't be helped or changed. However, we don't think it can be the sole driving factor behind how much the printing bids are simply because of how many similar large books there are. Think of old phone books from major cities (<https://images.app.goo.gl/ur4HDYQiU7c1mbgEA>), catalogs like the MSC Big Book (<https://images.app.goo.gl/ZvBdHuA344MvUWRf6>), books like the Krause World Coins catalog (<https://images.app.goo.gl/6NSqZ87r6jddYYpVA>), and numerous other long books. These are all significantly larger than our book in both page count and spine thickness, and are (or were) either distributed free or for a nominal fee, or sold (presumably at a profit) for far less than our printing costs (~ $50 for various versions of Krause World Coins). Obviously they are printing a higher volume, but probably not hundreds of thousands, and they are companies that want to make a profit.
Also, it's worth emphasizing that the printer we used in 2018 printed the 800 page book for $11/book. The exact same printer bid this time as well, and because of the length they could only bid on doing it in two volumes, each 688 pages long, for $150/book. Even if you assume that costs have tripled since 2018, and that each volume of the new book will cost 3 times what our whole book did in 2018 (i.e. $33/volume for the new book), that still only gets you to $66/book. We just aren't seeing how they get to such a high price. | [
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"text": "I can think of some better ways to phrase this. One idea might be: *\"The students stood on all but one edge ... | 2023/07/31 | [
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66,678 | I'm writing the first draft of my first book. Lately, I have been working hard on it and reached about the 40k mark. At this point, I believe the main character arcs and main story events are done, with no room to add more without detracting from the rest of the story.
However, due to the genre of my story (fantasy), most publishers would not accept a book with such a short word count. By some accounts, a book of that size would not even count as a novel.
I know that I could just "add" more stuff to the book to increase its length. However, like most people, I find it very frustrating when I myself read and discover that an author has added extra "padding," to a story where it doesn't belong.
So, I'm pretty much stuck at a crossroads: do I "sell out" and add more to the book so that it's more likely that the book would be published? Or, do I keep the word count the same and run the risk of making a story that is too short to be published and/or that is unsatisfying readers due to business? | [
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"text": "Here's my advice: don't worry about adding more just yet. It's your first draft. From my experience, it's goi... | 2023/08/01 | [
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66,684 | If someone sends a movie studio a movie script they wrote and the studio likes it, they presumably like the idea, not the exact setting and character names. So why not change those and call it their own? The end result, the published movie, will be quite different from the script anyway. So why would they pay for it?
(From [this answer](https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/30698/56910) it seems like there are people who read scripts, so it seems like it's not impossible for this to happen, for someone to sell a script.) | [
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"text": "I see what you're saying, maybe, but if you change the setting and characters then all you have is a premis... | 2023/08/02 | [
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66,702 | I'm authoring a horror/corruption/murder novel. The book starts off with the Main Character telling the reader about who he is and his physical appearance (now in his 60s), how he got to be financially successful (starting work at age 15), introduces his wife very briefly (2 sentences), and an unexpected catastrophic event which would change his life forever. (Total beginning chapter is 605 words. He does not tell the reader what the book is about other than the unexpected event.) | [
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"text": "I see what you're saying, maybe, but if you change the setting and characters then all you have is a premis... | 2023/08/05 | [
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66,704 | I am trying to describe how my protagonist reacts to congratulations from a friend about a genuinely significant career achievement. My protagonist is modest and self-deprecating by nature, and I am looking for a 'playful' expression that accepts the congratulation in a way that would be believable and appropriate for two people that have known each other for many years, who both share similar values, and who both have a good sense of humor. I am thinking of something akin to a shrug, or a slight opening of the arms, paired perhaps with a slight raising of the eyebrows to signify communication of mock surprise or disbelief. When I try to write this, however, I am getting caught up in minutiae about how to describe the body movements and expressions. For example, here are three descriptions I've come up with so far (I warn you, they're not good!):
THE CONGRATULATION FROM A FRIEND
“You’re in the team, aren’t you?” Peiv asked. “You’re bloody in!”
THE PROTAGONIST'S REACTION (ONE VERSION)
Bullv spread his arms and raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.
THE PROTAGONIST'S REACTION (ANOTHER VERSION)
Bullv shrugged his shoulders, playfully raising his eyebrows in mock surprise.
THE PROTAGONIST'S REACTION (YET ANOTHER VERSION)
Bullv playfully shrugged an expression of mock surprise at his friend.
Help! Any suggestions and/or input much appreciated! Thank you. | [
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"text": "> \n> When I try to write this, however, I am getting caught up in minutiae\n> about how to describe the body mov... | 2023/08/05 | [
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66,713 | I'm writing my debut fantasy novel. So far, I've largely based the Ordinary World off of the hierarchies and politics of medieval Scotland. However, I'm having some trouble brainstorming a compelling inciting incident for my female MC. I want her to be strong but also feminine, and I feel like the "powerful, self-willed woman goes on a quest for adventure" trope is somewhat cliche and masculine. I would ideally like this to be a story about exploration and accidentally happening upon the prophecy, rather than a saving-the-world-because-destiny deal, but I don't really know how to go about an exploration narrative with an accident-based inciting incident or something more feminine than quest-for-adventure/grand goal.
I'm just wondering if y'all have any tips on creating a creative and compelling, yet also believable, inciting incident! | [
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"text": "It seems like you have a protagonist and a setting -- but you don't appear to have any kind of story at all.\n\n... | 2023/08/06 | [
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66,720 | I’ve spent the past (counts on fingers) too many years working on my first novel. I was in college and found more enjoyment daydreaming and writing it down than listening in lectures. I had never written anything before and have learned a lot in the process.
I love my book and I believe its an okay book. But I know it is not a great book. I know it could be better. It will never be a huge hit and I’m fine with that. After entering the first few chapters in a writing competition, I learned I had beat out about 900 other submissions and even received a full manuscript request from an agent.
Since then, I’ve pitched to a couple dozen agents and re-read/revised. I’ve learned and admitted to myself that this book isn’t something I will find a traditional publishing deal for. I’ve never invested so much time in to something before and I just want to move on from this book to write something else, but I don’t know if I can walk away from it without slapping on a cover and calling it done. So I ask,
should I self-publish my first ever novel so that I can walk away from it and start working on something else?
If the world decides it’s a bad book, will that hurt my chances of getting published/selling my next book? | [
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"text": "Take the win\n------------\n\n> \n> After entering the first few chapters in a writing competition, I learned **... | 2023/08/08 | [
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66,721 | I've had this story idea on my mind for months. It is rather taboo as its centered around a suicide and the afterlife, and I want to know the best ways I can go about it respectfully and considerately or if I should just scrap it as a whole.
Basically, it's about a girl who dies by suicide. The story is told from her perspective in the afterlife, and is centered around her regretting it and having to come to terms with not being able to undo what she's done. The prologue takes place in the moments leading up to her final decision and her looking back on her life and all the situations that went wrong that led her to this. I refuse to include the suicide scene and letter, as I don't want it to have a "13 Reasons Why" kind of effect.
I want to be sensitive about this topic and don't want to seem like I'm glamorizing suicide and am wondering if I'm going about it the right way or if I should just scrap the idea. Any advice on going about it with care is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance | [
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"text": "I don't think that it would be disrespectful, considering the fact that a lot of suicide attempt survivors do express... | 2023/08/09 | [
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66,728 | In my world I had a idea for four power sources for superhumans. The four power sources were mutations, magic, technology, and skills. Mutations are genetic based superpowers. Magic users get their superpowers from different dimensions. Skill users being normal humans that are considered prodgies or expectational to average people. Technology is pretty much self explanatory. To be more specific here, the tech users in my world are Transhumans, Cyborgs, and normal people in suits for the most part. The biggest two issues I was having with the four sources. Number 1 multiple power sources might be hard to keep track of, but the number 2 reason was the biggest struggle for me here. The number 2 reason being about the four power sources overlapping too much.
For example, some mutations can overlap with skill or technology. Maybe a mutation can make a character more skill at fighting, or a mutation can make a character smarter, or even give the character the ability to control technology, again causing an overlap with characters who don't need mutations be skilled/talented, or the characters who are tech users, but don't have mutation based powers.
Another example is maybe a magical being having magic be a part of their biology, rather than being a wizard or witch who gets their powers from external sources like a wand or broom. A vampire or werewolf is a good example of this because a vampire or werewolf superpowers might come off as mutations.
I'm afraid too much overlap might remove any uniqueness or differences the four power sources might have. What do you guys think? | [
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66,734 | I'm setting out to write a mystery that is firmly rooted in the fantasy genre. The MC time travels to another historical era, where the MC has to solve a multi-faceted mystery (having both supernatural and ordinary elements) before she can return to her present day. The idea is that this would be the first in a series, and across several books, a larger story will be told about a community of time travelers and the MC's destiny in that community.
As I look at resources on plotting, it occurs to me that many adventure stories involve mysteries that the MCs must solve. A lot of the Hijrp Potfeq books, for example, involve clues and evidence and cracking a mystery.
What's the difference, then, between a fantasy mystery like I'm writing and an adventure story? Is there a real difference? | [
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"text": "It's safe to say you are multi-genre or cross-genre.\n----------------------------------------------------\n\nIt... | 2023/08/10 | [
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66,760 | In scholarly writing, I'm often confronted with having produced a very long paragraph that has the structure with: a single topic sentence, then an internal list of sibling supporting points, with multiple sentences per point, sometimes with citations and quotations lengthening each point.
(Here I'm using First/Second/Third to mark the different reasons but the question isn't about that aspect, lots of other ways to mark sequence, or use none :)
>
> The interviewees provided three reasons that they participate. First, they are paid to participate. Income is crucially important to this group, often being expressed after a thoughtful intake of breath.... Second, they enjoy participating, often laughing and saying things like, "it's just fun, isn't it?.... Third, participants relate the impact of the work they are doing, echoing the findings of Park and Tensing (2012) who identified impact as a rising explanation. In these interviews, impact was often personalized.
>
>
>
These paragraphs can get very long! The obvious solution is to break them up so that each paragraph covers just one supporting point. Thing is, then I'm left with a single sentence introduction "The interviewees provided three reasons that they participate".
Does anyone have suggestions? I usually either:
* Just deal with the short one sentence paragraph
* Make that sentence into a paragraph (making it longer), so that it at least spans two or three lines (but this is just adding words to make the page look better!)
* Run the sentence into the First supporting point paragraph (but now that paragraph is odd, because the topic sentence is not for that paragraph).
Pointers on what to search for here also very appreciated, I think I'm missing some vocabulary on how to search for guidance on this. I guess this is about organizing sections of a paper, rather than paragraphs ... but I'm still left with the dangling intro sentence.
Browsing the suggested answers, I'm seeing
* [endorsements of single paragraph sentences](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/37848/is-it-permissible-to-use-subconclusions-for-argumentative-paragraphs-if-they-con) (although those seem to be more for punchy effect than introducing sibling points).
* [And I'm seeing advice not to be so rigid with the paragraphs](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/35629/how-much-can-the-supporting-sentences-deviate-from-the-topic-sentence-before-int).
* [I think I'm also seeing advice to use section headings liberally.](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/35629/how-much-can-the-supporting-sentences-deviate-from-the-topic-sentence-before-int) | [
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66,765 | I was wondering how I might go about writing a character in a story that breaks the fourth wall and talks to the writer?
There are many examples where the character talks to the audience to give his/her commentary on the situation, but not sure if a character (in writing, no images or video) has paused their own story to engage with the author?
My plan is to have the story flow one way and then have the character speak to me and interrupt the story. I then engage back, and eventually return to a slightly different conclusion of the story that I had intended to write | [
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"text": "In 2nd and 3rd person POV, the narrator is the storyteller. In first person, the narrator is the character. So unless yo... | 2023/08/15 | [
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66,775 | I am creating an action/adventure comic strip in the vein of Indiana Jones. Currently the character’s name is Panda Jack. The strip will have a title like “Panda Jack and the… fill-in-the-blank”. I am just trying to find out how I can know if that character name is taken. If it is, does that mean I can’t have a character with the same name?
For example, I created a superhero back in 1981-1982 while in high school called Mega-Man. Never published it. He appeared in an ad in the school newspaper. I still have that character, albeit in a totally different costume from then. I don't know if I could use that name now either because of Capcom's Mega Man. | [
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"text": "In 2nd and 3rd person POV, the narrator is the storyteller. In first person, the narrator is the character. So unless yo... | 2023/08/18 | [
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66,781 | I'm a minor who's working on the second draft of my novel (the first was about 77k words). Can I traditionally publish my it when it's done? If so, then will my parents get credit for it instead of me since they'll probably have to sign the contracts? | [
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"text": "In 2nd and 3rd person POV, the narrator is the storyteller. In first person, the narrator is the character. So unless yo... | 2023/08/19 | [
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66,785 | A very similar question has been asked here.
[Writing a Super Intelligent AI](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/34783/writing-a-super-intelligent-ai)
I ask this question for multiple reasons. I was writing a sci-fi work and I decided it'd make sense that the characters have above human intelligence because that'd be useful and possibly rather standard, some of them being AIs and whatever. I was also not satisfied with the answers there because there were some problems it did not address.
A fellow writer told me that it's extremely hard to believably present and that's why he excludes above-human intelligence from his work, but I'm hoping I can get through with this. **This will be for an AI with above-human intelligence who is also a POV character.** There is no 'superintelligence' around as of 2023 so that makes it a bit harder.
What would you expect to see from their 'POV chapters' different to those of average intelligence? What tropes/traps should I avoid that may be very easy to fall into, rather than the more obvious ones? Do we have any guesses on how they'd behave? Are there any constraints/weaknesses I may not have noticed, e.g. a superintelligent caveman still being limited by his environment and body? Doesn't have to be tied to these sub-questions, tell me as much as you want. | [
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"text": "How would you write a super strong character? You would have them lift things nobody else would lift. Or throw... | 2023/08/19 | [
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66,791 | I am writing my personal statement for my college applications centered around [Desmos](https://www.desmos.com/), the online graphing calculator. However, when I was getting feedback on my first draft, it seemed to me that my reviewers had a slight misunderstanding about what Desmos actually is. They seemed to be imagining that it was like a TI-84 calculator, which is a physical calculator rather than one on the web. (I introduced it as "an online graphing calculator")
Because this is my personal statement, there is a limited amount of characters I may use and it is very important that I do not bore my audience. This is why I need to explain it in a few words or less.
How can I concisely introduce and clarify what Desmos is?
>
> I am having trouble determining whether or not this is an appropriate/acceptable question for this stack exchange. Is there a meta post I can look at or something?
>
>
> | [
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66,797 | I'm studying for a test and don't know which one of the two following bits of dialogue is correct, and I haven't been able to find the answer online since I don't know what it is called.
1. "Hello," Zotn says, "it's a beautiful day!"
2. "Hello", Zotn says, "it's a beautiful day!"
Thanks! | [
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"text": "Both are correct. Generally the first is done in American English while the latter is done in British English. Note t... | 2023/08/21 | [
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66,800 | This is surely some style guide thing, but I'll link and excerpt six Reuters headlines:
"[Pakistan military rescues...](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/children-stranded-chair-lift-900-feet-above-ground-northern-pakistan-2023-08-22/)"
"[Pakistan crowd vandalizes...](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-christian-community-attacked-after-blasphemy-accusation-police-2023-08-16/)"
"[China state banks...](https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/chinas-state-banks-seen-mopping-up-offshore-yuan-liquidity-sources-2023-08-21/)"
"[... as China woes persist](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-up-expected-us-oil-stock-drawdown-china-gloom-tempers-gain-2023-08-22/)"
"[Anger as French government...](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-pension-reform-heads-final-vote-2023-03-16/)"
"[German military in worse shape...](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-military-worse-shape-than-before-russias-invasion-official-2023-03-14/)"
It seems a tad unusual that some stories will use the Demonym form ("French", "German") and some will use just the noun name of the country ("Pakistan", "China"). I would have expected that Pakistani or Chinese were the more natural form to use in the headlines. I would find it hard to imagine seeing the "Germany military" or the "France crowd". After trying to research this I also found a recent NYT piece that says "China Central Bank" instead of the possessive "China's Central Bank" or "The Chinese Central Bank" or its actual name.
It does not appear to be 100% consistent in that "China's" and "Chinese" is used sometimes by Reuters, but it does seem like there is some kind of style norm guiding how to refer to each country's government. I would be open the idea that I am mistaken and this is just down to individual sentence construction and I'm seeing a pattern when there is none.
What is the underlying style rule that governs this? Answers can use any style guide, I chose my examples from Reuters but the question is broader. | [
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66,818 | In a fantasy world where things like Asia don’t exist how would you get the point across that a person may be a pale Asian person with straight black hair and blue eyes and a heart shaped face rather than a pale white person with straight black hair and blue eyes and a heart shaped face.
Using descriptors like white black and any shade of skin in between works in most cases but there seems to be some cases where color of skin, face shape, eye color and standard descriptors aren’t enough to get the point across. Would it be strange to use *Asian* as a descriptor in a story where Asia does not exist (I’m aware Asia is a big place with many different colors and shapes). Another example would be Indian people with light brown skin vs African (I’m aware Africa is a big place with many different colors and shapes) people with light brown skin. You could probably get around this issue mostly in this case with other descriptors like hair.
How do you differentiate between races in a world where people of all races are mixed together in all locations and not segregated into majority homogenous race countries like modern times? | [
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66,820 | If I am asking my child to close the door completely, should I say, "Close the door good." or "Close the door well." | [
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66,823 | I'm only on my second draft of a novel I'm writing (the first was about 77k words), but I've been doing my research on what to do when I'm done with all of my drafts. I'm a minor and I want to traditionally publish my novel, but I'm not sure if mentioning in my query letter to agents that I'm a minor is a good idea. Would literary agents think it makes me unique or just unreliable? | [
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"text": "Many agents recommend that you do not mention your age in your query letter because it might unfavourably bias t... | 2023/08/26 | [
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66,847 | My writing project involves flashbacks and explanations that may already be hard to follow to the reader. But the most important point in it, is that in the end, no one remembers what ever happened. The narrator participates a little in the plot, but has no particular role in the turns of events.
I want to leave an ambiguous ending, because the narrator doesn't remember it. While they write, I wish they would forget to precise the character's names, and there are four important characters, two with a minor role and a 'god'.
I'm not sure how to refer to them; maybe with their role in the story, because even if the narrator used to be close to them, they forget all about them. I've thought about physical features, too, but that would be too repetitive.
Does someone have an idea on how to refer to them? | [
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66,853 | Consider that your story has a moral that points to the simple fact that we all have committed and contributed to your protagonist's crisis. The protagonist walks through life desperately needing help, and getting none. I do this in a way that is quite passive aggressive, initially painting society itself as the bad guy, though there is a villain. Family and friends are rationalizing this or the other excuse, while at the same time I am making society very relatable and identifiable to the common reader. I.e, the audience will often have "Oh, I've done that before" moments and then be exposed to the wrenching consequences this has on my protagonist.
Yes, sounds horrible. It's more common in documentaries where the audience can distance themselves from the crisis by being just among the number. An Inconvenient Truth, Supersize Me, or any conservationism documentary fit this bill. But this is literary fiction, and I need my protagonist to fall. So no "good samaritan" every walks by, they all just step to the far side of the road, as it were, and the anti-hero is born.
So while the circumstances will leave many people feeling a little dirty inside, I want it to steer the reasonable reader to introspection rather than feeling the story is finger-pointing. Obviously some readers will just not like being criticized. I can't please everybody. But to best target an open mind, what is the secret sauce?
**Caveat:** Society learning their lesson is the most common outlet, but society is unrepentant in my story. (Eventually it is exposed that the villain whom we initially like has successfully hidden the effects of their actions; manipulated everyone). This is necessary to push my protagonist into the major crisis.
Perhaps another way to phrase the question is, "This story makes me feel dirty and unless I see X I'm just putting it down!" | [
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66,856 | I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve finally gained enough courage to attempt to write a small novel, 100-150 pages. I’m 13, which I’ve learned is a small problem. I hate to say it, but I’m just gifted at writing. I have many adults around me who have the talent and I know I have it, I just doubt myself because I don’t think I’m old enough. I’ve read many articles and books in general but I just don’t know what to do with the information. I want my plot to be detailed to show exactly what I can do, but people have told me that I shouldn’t be writing what I do write. I know the basic steps I need to do, I’m just overwhelming myself. Can anyone help? | [
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"text": "Give yourself some time.\n\nWriting is a difficult skill - not only are the 'rules' of English awkward and arcane, b... | 2023/09/02 | [
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