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Why do writers sometimes use so much description? Why do many writers use a lot of description when presenting a character or a scene? Is this a writing tradition? Many characters in a book have been described in minute detail , in some ways preventing a reader from using their own imagination. The same happens with ma...	Heavy description also prevents an overload later on, to allow the flow of the plot; it also, in my case, provides the author with the solid image of what their character is determined to be.
Is there a free online alternative to Scrivener? I currently use Google Drive/Docs to pen all of my novels and short stories, but really feel that I could do with a management suite of sorts, such as Scrivener. However, as Scrivener costs actual money, I was wondering if there is a free alternative available, but with...	I just tried Novlr and it seems to work pretty well. You could look at Evernote . There is a great free novel writing tool available, it's called yWriter and it can be downloaded from spacejock.com. WaveMaker's got you covered. I think you'd find it hard to find a free version online, unless you don't mind it being pla...
First-time author...can I publish in English in Mexico? I'm writing a novel, my first ever, and I hope to finally finish the story and get it published. I live in Mexico, but I am writing in English...could I get the book published here, or would I have to approach a publishing company in an English-speaking country?...	A literary agent will handle all the work for you in reaching out to publishers and negotiating international rights. Typically, it's difficult to publish in one country using the language of another. Even in the U.S., where there is an ever-growing increase in Spanish-speaking persons, it's difficult to find a publish...
How should I write a post containing analysis and python code? I have written a python script that takes in data analyses them and gives some results. I want to write a blog post analyzing these results. I am not sure if I should include my python script in the blog post and how much should I explain it ? I want to em...	You might want to put the Python script into a GitHub project, and then link to that project from your blog post.
Writing about a real place I am writing about a real place and the real history of a family. However, there are some things I want to include that aren't the truth. Is this legal to do? Many thanks, Ciera <Q> Typically, you would change all the names and present it as fiction (perhaps as "inspired by a true story"). ...	If the people you're writing about are still alive or are not all that long dead, you may have issues with libel.
A grand scheme or destiny in literature There's one thing in literature that no matter how cliche or over used it might be, I always find very compelling. For example, when a story unfolds as if there is a larger force at work moving all of the events to a single purpose. When even the most distant flashbacks seem to h...	One of the main techniques that can be used to build a sense of epic destiny is foreshadowing , where events that will come later in the narrative are hinted at, or alluded to earlier.
Filter Words in Dialog I realize there are lists of words that writers aren't supposed to use, but does the same apply to dialog? http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/grammar_mechanics/how-to-eliminate-to-be-verbs-in-writing/ http://writeitsideways.com/are-these-filter-words-weakening-your-fiction/ Are the main ex...	The language used should be such, as given character would use normally in given situation.
How political can an author's note be, would the following fly? "If the ANC does to you what the apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the apartheid government." – Nelson Mandela I wrote this novel in what was at the time my 3rd language. My motivations are too complex to explain...	If your novel is not itself political, a political afterword will annoy many readers who enjoyed the novel.
What makes a piece "lyrical"? I've been thinking about this question for a while. This is my definition of what makes a sentence lyrical: 1. The use of metaphors: So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane. ― John Green, Lo...	Lyrical refers to song-like qualities. Prose rhythm, at least as I think of it, has to do with how the natural stresses in a sentence support the meaning of that sentence.
Technical Documentation Voice Preference : "Active Voice" - "Passive Voice" - A Mixture of both We are working on a technical documentation project which includes the rewriting, modernization, restructuring, enrichment of the content. I'm doing the content rewriting and translation parts of the job and my voice prefere...	Usually people find it easier to understand active voice. The passive voice is acceptable in expository writing and when you want to focus on the object or recipient of the action rather than on the actor.
Do words like "start", "realize", and "decide" add ambiguity to actions? My heart started to race. Did the heart actually race or not yet? Later that night, I realized I couldn't sleep. Did the person try to sleep? Or knew that before even trying? We decided to go to the balcony. Did they only decide? ...	"My heart raced" has immediacy and energy. There can be a problem if the sentence is poorly worded in context. Using these kinds of phrases makes me feel like you are telling more than showing.
Use of ampersand, colon and dash in the title of a newsletter article Is it correct to use an ampersand and colon in a the title of a newsletter article: Something & Something Else: A Subtitle Or is it more correct to use the word "and" and a dash: Something and Something Else - A Subtitle Or a similar combinat...	Generally, a colon indicates that what follows is critical information, while a dash tends to imply that the following information is simply an addition and further explains what has already been stated.
Female Pet Names that a Londoner might use? I was wondering about female pet names, like darling , sweetie , pet , babe , etc. One of my characters refers to his other half as "pet" but I've been told that this is common to the North East (UK). As my character is from London, I was wondering what pet names are use...	I would say the most common pet names used in London and the surrounding area are "Darling" and "Love".
Creating species/race names for supernatural/fantasy fiction In urban fantasy style fiction with multiple supernatural characters, is it understandable to the reader if race names of each group are a combination of stereotypical species names (such as 'vampire' or 'fairy') with made-up names or regular names that have ...	The trick is to use the trope, like the name, but then put your twist on it. As long as your spelling of the word doesn't get so obscure as to be unrecognizable, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you try to write a story about a creature that goes around sucking blood from people's necks and you call ...
Can I legally use experimental items in my book? I am looking to write a book and include real experimental weapons and aircrafts. Is this possible or could I be sued. Say for example if the american government had a prototype aircraft that was A. The programme was dropped and manufacturing was ended so never went ...	But assuming that this is publicly available information, so that there's no issue of espionage or treason charges, and you're just thinking about copyright or trademark violation: No, there's no issue.
How do you decide where to place a filler? Examples: "I've always been interested in marine biology, as far as I canremember . " As far as I canremember , I've always been interested in marine biology, Of course , we can't just set all criminals free. We can't just set all criminals free, of course . Maybe a ...	You (usually) should put the thing first that you want to emphasize. Work out when your character most needs that time (at the beginning because they don't know what to say or half way through because they don't know what to say next) and then place them there.
Who do I cite as my source? When you have multiple sources for information like a quote, which source do you use in your book or essay. The one you may have gotten from an authors work about what a particular individual said or do you cite this persons original work? For example I have this passage in a book I'm readi...	Since you cannot have read a source of which you know only a short passage quoted in another text, you must get the original, read it, and cite that. As others have noted, you cite the source that you actually used.
How do I choose a name for my character? I am looking for a name for my fictional, European, mysterious old man who lived roughly in the 1600's to 1800's. I want the name to have plenty of character to it, but easy to read. How should I go about doing this? (I'm not asking for specific name suggestions but a method f...	First, based on the person's character and other traits, as well as his role in the story, I would chose a nationality.
Quoting lyrics in a book of film criticism I'm writing a book of film criticism, in which I refer to lyrics from the soundtrack as a way to empathise the narrative. Am I required to obtain permission for use of these lyrics? Or, because this is a work of critical nonfiction, am I just required to cite the songs autho...	What you are doing probably falls under the heading of "fair use," (for criticism), which is a defense against copyright infringement. yes, you always have to ask permission.
Ethics of incorporating a supplier's technical documentation into one's own documentation? A company, M, buys components from company, S, to build into their product. Company S has technical documentation regarding safety and maintenance available in many languages and publicly available in the internet. Is it ethical...	If Company S's license permits incorporating their documentation into other products, check the license to see if attribution is also required.
Recommendations for reputable writing critique site for non-native English speaker? I am non-native English speaker, living in US for 25 years. I have a long professional career, and, therefore, I am pretty comfortable with my business writing skills. However, about a year ago, I started writing a short fiction stories...	In addition to Scribophile, Critique Circle is also a good site.
I want to name a character something but j feel like people would say I'm copying Veronica Roth, my favorite author. What should I do? I have a problem.I want to name a character (the main character's romantic interest) Tobias, but I feel like people would associate him with Tobias Eaton from Divergent, knowing how muc...	If your book is dissimilar enough from Roth's that it does not remind readers of her series, there is no problem if you use the same name.
What's the best text editor for a technical reference manual? It is my first time writing tech manuals and I don't know what to use. Some people recommend me LATEX but I think it's too complex. I basically need a text editor that let me: Type latin characters (I will write it in Spanish) Type code (with some style ...	I think MS Word and Open Office would be the obvious candidates. On further thought, consider using Adobe InDesign. I couldn't really suggest MSWord, unless you knew that you were going to constrain your work to smaller documents. Having taken the considerable amount of time that it takes to learn how to use DTP softwa...
How to convey newlines in tweeted poetry, if at all? Suppose I've written a haiku as 3 consecutive lines with standard punctuation as if it was normal free text, which means I don't use special punctuation at the end of a line just because it's the end of a line but only if normal language rules demand/allow punctuatio...	In general, to convey poetic line breaks in "continuous text", replace the line break with a slash.
How Do I Fill In The Gaps Between The Chapters I know this may come off as weird or strange but i want to know how do i finish my novel. The thing is that i already know how to end it and i have a impeccable beginning but that isn't how a novel works. I need to know how should fill up novel by connecting the dots in or...	Specifically I would make lists of unresolved plot points already in the narrative, plot points to be put in the narrative, order of events, and minor characters. The Elements of Fiction Writing series, published by Writers Digest Books, has some great books to help with this.
Multiple POV novel - introducing rules of magic I have an urban fantasy story that is told from multiple view points. I'm wondering on the best way to introduce the rules of magic within this piece of work? I have about 10 points of view total throughout the whole work, however I don't want to just splurge in the fir...	I think it be best if you show the rules and the consequences of breaking them in easily digestible chunks. If you can summarize your rules fairly quickly, like a page or so, you could simply start the book with a page labeled, "The Rules of Magic" or whatever and list them. I'd avoid having ten or twenty pages describ...
Is using "gonna" in first-person narrative acceptable? From what i understand, an author is supposed to conform to proper grammatical convention both when writing in third-person and first-person narrative. Is a sentence like this considered "acceptable" in a first-person narrative? And I was gonna make them pay. ...	Not only is it acceptable, if you don't do it your character will not reflect what you are trying to portray and the reader will not understand the character as intended.
Dot after figure title? Whether there should be a dot after a figure title (in a scientific book)? Note that I have figures numbered like "Figure 1. ..." <Q> The example figure caption in section 5.23 (Figure Legends and Captions) of the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ...	The figure number is an identifier or name if you will, so just as you don't automatically put a period after Bob every time it occurs the placing of punctuation after figure identifiers depends on where it is used in the sentence and ordinary rules of punctuation are used.
Condensing words, to condense or not? I am doing a lot of writing lately. Novels, short stories, and so forth. I have one person that tells me, Immense improvement from the first version. A great deal of your description is dull... too many words to say something. The trouble is, some of these things need to be s...	If you leave too much in, your reader may think you are rambling. There is a happy medium with deciding what should be edited out.
Novel set in Forgotten Realms universe My question regards using the forgotten realms setting for writing a novel. I'll explain. My original intention was to request permission to write a novel using WotC's Forgotten Realms setting, but as they're page says they are not accepting unsolicited submissions for novels, I'...	If you want to publish your story, then, yes, it is absolutely necessary to receive permission from the copyright holder (be it WotC or Ed Greenwood). However, if WotC puts on a writing contest (not sure how likely that is) or opens up a short story anthology to submissions, then it is possible you could get something ...
Is breaking the fourth wall to the point of nonexistence appropriate for a comedy book? After considering the style and setting for my first book, I've decided on writing a comedy treasure hunt set in a not too distant alternate future. I still have some final things to figure out before I start writing the book itself...	I have seen a number of silly works break the fourth wall to good effect. The main concern is that the silly does not interfere with the plot or the characters. It depends on the nature of the story and how well you do it.
How do you decide whether to use the infinitive or -ing version of a verb? Example: Three months had passed since she started to avoid me. Three months had passed since she started avoiding me. Right now, what I do is to search for the phrase with the most results in Google Books (e.g. she started to avoid me...	They're both right, and I think the nuance of difference is so subtle that you could use either purely depending on which one you liked the sound of.
Are there times when delayed character development is acceptable in fiction? In my screenplay, I have my female protagonist wear Prada, and perhaps drop other hints of her character, but not act like Miranda Priestly for the first two acts, until she gets a promotion at the end of Act II. In Act III, having arrived, ...	The only way you can have a character change, even if it is the main character, is to reveal nothing about them.
How much character description is considered necessary in a "plot driven" story?" Some stories begin with a rather full description of say, the main character. Here is a clip from Hello Dolly that describes in (for me) excruciating detail not only about what she does (matchmaking) but how she does it. And I can see w...	There aren't any rules about how much information you need to give and just as the rest of a story shapes the character, so too does description of a character shape the story.
The backstory's overwhelming the actual story I have a character with a grim past (forced to watch torture). I need him to have that grim past in order to explain his behaviour in the story I am writing now: characters who did not know his past are taken by surprise by how nasty he is willing to be if it will help brin...	Raise the stakes of the main story. If some facts of your backstory are so compelling, maybe they don't begin there. Your hero has to get neck deep into his past and his problems in order to resolve them.
How can I learn to think and interpret things more critically? As a freelance journalist, I spend a lot of time reading the media. Often I'll come across an article that I admire, and feel is leaps and bounds above my own work. Naturally, I want to learn from such pieces: but often I struggle to understand exactly why...	Whenever you have read a study or theory or methodology that resonates with you, try to apply what you read to a book you want to analyse. To immerse yourself in that world, in the hopes that you may have a better vantage point to criticize. In essence, my suggestion would be to try to "walk a mile in the shoes" of wha...
Is mathematical poetry a form of poetry? One author considers this mathematical statement by LeRoy Gorman entitled “The Birth of Tragedy” as a form of minimalist poetry: (!+?)^2 Is this mathematical statement really a poem? Creative writing highlights the value of human su...	A number of philosophers and mathematicians do see a deep connection between poetry and mathematics.
Should I prefer writing a Hard diary or Soft diary? I have never seriously written a diary before(not even tried casually). I am required to write a diary for my work as Intern and later report it. I think they would prefer a soft version but I can also write a Hard version and later scan it to report it(maybe). My qu...	I prefer a hard diary, you can easily maintain it. Disadvantages of hardcopy: 1) Easy to lose taped-in stuff; 2) Your writing may be hard/impossible to read; 3)
What is the story or format called when the protagonist is not the "hero?" For instance, in "Silence of the Lambs," the "hero is Clarice Starling, the FBI agent, and the protagonist is the villain, Hannibal Lecter. What is this kind of story format called? What happens if the protagonist is the "bad guy" or anti-hero?...	The protagonist is the "hero" of their story, but they do not have to be the "good guy" per se.
How to prioritize projects I'm just starting out with writing fiction seriously. I feel like this might be my "thing." Strangely enough, at the moment I find myself with a number of ideas, most in very early stages of development. As in notes, bare-bones plot outlines, rough character concepts, etc. A part of me is tem...	But for someone bursting with new-found creative energy, the only way to focus is to know that this is simply the one you're writing now , and that it doesn't mean that you won't get to the other ones later.
How important is being well read for a writer Back in the mists of time, I would put a lot of time into reading, and would read pretty much anything I could lay my hands on. Then I started writing, and it is very very rare that I read any fiction now. Yet whenever I look at any forum, writing advice etc, it always s...	Start cataloging your favorite authors' strong points then use their writing to inject those skills into your writing at the moment when you need that kind of help. You have already read a lot.
Is it copyright infringement to have a character too similiar to an already existing character? I have an idea for a book where several characters acquire elemental powers after dying and being resurrected; their powers all reflect the manner in which they died. One of the characters acquires water-based powers, and e...	As to your copyright question, if you're not blatantly taking characters from copyrighted works and using them in your own (as in fan fiction, or by copying them exactly except changing their names) don't worry about it.
Trying to make a gun making scene realistic So here is the situation. I got a character who is a trained modern gunsmith and he finds himself thrown into a setting where the most advance firearm is the flintlock. I know some of the most advance guns are going to be out of reach because of the lack of machine tools and...	The biggest problem that I can see is making the bullets.
Using Pronoun 'It' repetitvely for emphasis? I'd like to know if using "It" repetitively (for emphasis) in this context is okay grammatically. TV has become the modern day baby sitter. It is raising our children. It is dictating the cultural narrative and shaping future society. It is raising the bored inattentive...	I don't see any problem with the grammar of this.
What is the role of memorable lines in movies? I'm referring to quotes like, "Go ahead and make my day," or "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth." I've read that actors like them, because they are more likely to win prizes, and that they are good for box office sales. What is the conventional wisdom regard...	One can attempt to play to their audience, but one cannot be certain that what they say, and how they say it, will resonate.
Is a novel with 50K words more likely to sell than one with 40K? I'm asking this because I wrote a novel with 40K words, but somehow I feel it would sell more, or at least be more like a "novel" if I add stuff until it's 50K (I checked on Amazon and most best-sellers are 60K+). Now, the stuff I'm adding isn't entirel...	A novel doesn't have to be long to sell well. 40k is way closer to a novella than a novel.
Is a fictional story set in another world harder to get into? I am writing a fictional story (could be considered science-fiction) about slightly primitive people. It is set in cold environment where a day cycle takes a whole year. Inspired by Antarctica, with the weather being more of Canada. The story also includes a...	The short answer is no, having a slightly fantastic setting won't make your story harder to fall into, unless you do things that break your readers' willing suspension of disbelief. So really it comes down to your skill as a writer.
How to handle characters being funny in a dire situation without ruining the mood There's one thing I always find impressive and moving when I see it in accounts of historical events or depicted well in fiction: gallows humour, when a person who is facing likely or certain death cracks a joke. I'd like to put a little ...	Even bad or very funny jokes can be used if the character delivers them correctly.
How to assemble recipes without plagiarism? How does one collect and compile recipes for publication in an ethical way? Some cohorts want me to help build a website of culinary recipes, and their plan for content is to rely entirely (initially at least) on data scraped from a competitor (whose web application is not p...	Conducting a competition to get recipes can not only give you material for publication but can attract a committed audience. To build your own library of recipes, seek used cookbooks that are so old that copyright no longer applies.
What are conventions of ghost stories? When I realised I needed a ghost story for a class I found out that I don't know what the conventions of this genre are. Conversation with a colleague led to agreement that there needs to be a ghost or a supernatural event, but we weren't sure about other common features. For exam...	Many characters in ghost stories refuse to believe they're dealing with ghosts until they are confronted with iron-clad evidence.
Can a character arc "overshoot" and then revert? Most stories have a protagonist that undergoes a change of at least one character trait from Type A to Type B. For instance, a character might go from being timid in the beginning to assertive or aggressive? But are there stories where a character goes from being timid ...	If your character goes from one extreme archetype to another, the story is a clearcut one of "this archetype is better than the other, as found out by the character." You could perhaps say that Bathsheba Everdene follows a path of this sort in Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.
Copyright of a TV series when used as reference? Is it considered fair use to have screenshots, or character likenesses, in a book as a descriptor or reference? For example, when describing time-travelers, can I use a few screenshots from Doctor Who? Or, when describing a vampire, can I used Bela Lugosi or some other ...	If you have a fictional character who is a time traveler , and you would like your readers to get the idea that this character is a lot like Doctor Who, this is not fair use. There is a long history in international law that the copyright law of where you are not the copyright law that the original was produced under a...
Non-human protagonist - Good, bad, or up to the writing? In a novel I plan on writing soon, the main protagonist (and indeed nearly everyone else in the story as well) is an elf. Humans are present, but they are far in the mountains, living in disorganized tribes, and barely ever mentioned. Will my reader have troubl...	Elves, in folklore, are completely alien to humans, and therefore both frightening and fascinating.
What to Research for Military Fiction? I'm beginning to write a novel on a person in the military, and this is set in the future so the technology would be different, but I want a basic overview of every branch of the military. This would include weapons, ranks, strategies, jobs, everything. Does anyone have any recomm...	I suggest you read a great book like Tom Clancy's Every Man a Tiger Another book I would recommend is "Catch 22". For an overview of military structure visit http://www.defense.gov/ , and click on "Organization" under the "About DOD" menu.
How to express myself in a sensible way I find really hard to express myself I mean it's pretty difficult write clearly what I mean. Any time I try to write something even for my job I am stuck, I look at the page and no words come to my mind and I feel lost I really don't know how to tell what I need to say. To be hon...	Then write it down. You can try to "rubber duck". There is a three part solution to your problem: Format -- there are some standard forms for businesscommunication. It may help to read it out loud.
Should you publish or share poetry that was written simply in an angry or sad rant? I've written a poem exploring my conflicting emotions of anger and the joy that the anger keeps supressing. Is it appropriate to publish a literary work based on such intense negative emotions? <Q> I don't think it matters what your st...	Generally poetry in most cases transport emotions, that doesn't mean necessarily positive emotions.
How to write when thinking in multiple languages? When writing, scenes come to my mind in different languages mixed together.For example in a single scene a description will be in French, some dialogues in English, with a few words of Spanish and Occitan appearing here and there. Sometimes a single sentence contains th...	One way of approaching this may be to commit to the linguistic styles of your characters and let the story develop a "slang" that you introduce to your readers through annotation provided by the narrator. Personally, my approach is that for the first draft, I just throw words on paper.
Can I change my work and seel it if I am published with no contract? I have had a falling out with my publisher. She has published many of my works and is telling me I am not legally able to resell my work anywhere. I have no contract to refer to. There is no verbal agreement other than she would publish and I would ge...	If it's registered under your name, and there is no contract saying you sold the writes to the publisher, than you still own the copyright. If there is no contract, or if your (verbal or written) contract lacks details, in many jurisdictions the most common form of contract is thought to exist.
Prologue and Epilogue in third person and chapters in first person doable? My current work is in first person. Well, it's a début so I didn't compare the benefits of first vs. third when I started writing it. I just picked the first because it was easy. Now the plot line has become layered, and there's multiple storyl...	The prologue and epilogue are literally before and after the story, so it's fine for them to be formatted differently or have a different POV.
Subtle writing and speed readers I want to write a dystopia and find it hard to convey that things aren't at all right. I had planned to convey this in subtle reading clues, but I am worried that certain types of readers - or perhaps most readers - won't get it. In my writing circles there are readers who admit they a...	Your readers don't have to understand everything, They just have to understand enough that they are not unduly confused.
Can Bridging Conflict Work When the Answer is Known? The title is a little vague, so allow me to explain my question in depth here. If someone can think of a better way to phrase the title, feel free to edit it. First off, my definition of Bridging Conflict: Bridging Conflict is a minor conflict - usually a questi...	If the reader already knows things, whether from the title or the back cover copy or a friend's raving about how awesome your zombie book is, you won't be able to distract readers from that in your opening.
How to make a character that doesn't speak about himself relatable? I have a character in my novel, De-Shi, who's the mentor and love interest of the protagonist, Li-Mei (nicknamed Hanging Pup). He listens to her feelings, gives her advice, jokes with her, shares philosophical thoughts with her. Anyway, here's a taste ...	The problem isn't De-Shi not talking about himself, it's that he doesn't come off as a fully realized character, but rather as a plot device.
How to suddenly introduce a scary character, but include description? I have a scene in my story where the main character (the story is told from his POV) opens a door and there is a monster in the room. I want a sudden introduction, to show how shocked the character is, but I also want to give a description of the mo...	Considering that a paragraph is intended to convey a single self contained concept, trying to convey a description of the monster and his reaction is going to make it unwieldy. Don't be too eager to spoil the suspense for the reader, let them wait to find out what's going on!
Should I completely eliminate passive voice I have read that a lot of passive voice deadens the story to 2 dimensional even if you are just trying to show something that takes time when you use the passive voice. I quite often use passive voice. A few examples from the Rubiks World novel I am working on are: The 17x...	In general, prefer active voice unless you have a specific reason to use passive.
What is considered an acceptable length for a technical document? I have written dozens of technical and requirement specifications, and edited dozens more in 8+ years of engineering. The largest I have drafted was perhaps 100 pages, but maybe 30-50% of it was diagrams and tables. Most were anywhere from 5-25 pages. ...	(Short) length of technical documentation is a must if that documentation is printed to accompany a product sold to an end user. If the documentation is purely digital, there is no reason at all to limit "length". I think it is really about the quality and organization of the table of contents and the index and the dat...
Narrating something that happened between chapters as a flashback in a present-tense novel So say the novel is written in first-person tense.a chapter ends, and the next chapter starts 10 days later. Here I start narrating something that happened 5 days ago in past tense as a flashback. So instead of day1(present) > d...	It's fine to use flashbacks, but you should make sure you're doing it for a reason, rather than "just to mix things up."
How to improve logic/reduce plot holes? One of my biggest weakness is logic/plot holes. And it's not only about inconsistency in my stories, but my character often have contradictory thoughts and do stuff that come up as unbelievable. I'm not sure if is because I'm a pantser: I don't outline, I just write as I go, lik...	Force the character to do something contradictory. But if you write the story a second time, your mind will create a consistent version of your story (if you don't force it to keep the inconsistencies), because that is how the human mind works: Instead: Put that first version away, and Write the whole story again from ...
Formatting to show system errors in fiction? Okay, here's the thing. I'll keep it simple. I use double quotes for general dialogues. Single quotes for flashback dialogues and italicized letters for monologues and emphasis words only. The doubt comes when I want to show a computer error in the scene. The novel's writt...	Just like excessive italicization or all-caps writing can come off as unrefined, so can using a different font.
So, where do I begin? Where can an absolute newcomer to the discipline of writing begin to learn about the various types and genres of writing so as to become able to identify them simply by reading them? I have taken composition classes at my university in an attempt to learn about writing in general and develop thi...	Read the kind of stuff you want to write.
Should I ever break up a long line of dialogue in different paragraphs? I often second-guess myself in one particular scenario when writing dialogue. Convention says I should break different characters' lines in different lines or paragraphs (I've seen both), but what if one particular line of dialogue is longer than u...	Long pieces of dialogue should be broken into paragraphs.
Writing and proofreading a book in English - non-native speaker I started writing a book. I wanted to write fiction books for a long time, but never really got around doing it. I decided to write in English rather than in my own language for many reasons, one of them being that the subjects I write about aren't really ...	If you write what you know and set it where the native language is not english or the major characters don't speak english, you can emphasize your cultural background to give either a British Colonial or non British, non American feel to the work, your mistakes will appear to be part of the nature of the setting giving...
How to find the balance between research and the obvious I'm embarking on writing my first popular science book on a controversial subject. For sure the writing must be rational, coherent with a clear train of thought and littered with references to be convincing. On the other hand, too much of that and the book will b...	I think the approach to this is to make what you write entertaining. Use a steady build up, make the first few chapters skipable by someone who understands the field, but allows the layman to grasp the basics of where you're going.
How to handle a pidgin language? Question : In reference to this question about how to show a foreign language in a manuscript , I am wondering: What is the best way to handle a pidgin language in a manuscript? In a wider sense: How would you treat a heavy slang that came up with original words and phrases? Motiva...	As an alternative to footnotes, you could just immediately translate the first few statements containing a new pidgin word, perhaps putting the translation in italics.
How to handle dialogue? I have difficulties to write more than simple dialogue that still works and is readable. So, I have two options here: Try harder, read more books with lots of dialogue and learn from them and apply this to my own writing? Avoid dialogue. Which direction should I go? <Q> Pick option three: ...	Properly handled, your dialog shouldn't just be communication between the characters, it should also illuminate the relationship between the characters for the reader.
When is repetition good? I'm aware that, in writing, repetition is sometimes bad. For example: "You forgot my birthday!" I said. "No, I didn't forget your birthday." "Then why didn't you wish me happy birthday?" I said. "Because I didn't want to embarrass you. You know, make you feel special and all that." ...	Repetition calls attention to whatever is repeated, especially if the repeated thing is unusual or interesting.
What do you think about having very different tones in a single story? What if a chapter is incredibly depressive, dark, with intense language. And the next reads almost like a dialogue from a Seth MacFarlane comedy. Or even better, what if the tone switches occur between scenes.I think most books I've read maintained ...	If you switch narrative tone, it will distance the reader and make it harder for him or her to achieve suspension of disbelief. You could get away with drastically different tones if you had two different POV narrators.
At what point disappointment and frustration within the story makes the reader abandon it? Does Game of Thrones get any unpleasant when a whole bunch of characters die every season, for example? Leaving hooking elements aside, at what point does exploration of uncomfortable aspects from the reader within the story (y...	When hope that the protagonist(s) will win is snuffed out. In the case of Game of Thrones, it depends on whether you hope that any of the surviving characters will eventually defeat their adversaries, or at least will live long enough to team up against the White Walkers and the wights.
When using freewriting, should I avoid correcting typos? My university recommends Freewriting to all its postgraduate students as a daily exercises to help overcome writer's block. I tend to make terrible typos, possibly related to my disgraphia . missing keys, all keys offset by one position, just plain being bad ...	The concept of freewriting is to limber your mind up, if having bad spelling produces a mental block for you, and you can quickly correct them, then it would be more productive for you to go back and fix what bothers you. Do what works for you, write what you want to write...
In a screenplay, how do you show people talking over each other? When writing a script where you have two (or more) people talking at the same time, how is that formatted? Side-by-side columns? Some other vertical grouping? Notes? Does it vary? Examples would be most helpful. <Q> There are a number of variations that ...	At Screenwriting Goldmine , they suggest using 'during this' as a directive to the following dialog to say that it should be spoken simultaneously.
Naming a book in a language different from where it would be published: is it good? The book is being written in Portuguese, would it be bad if the name is in English? The name is just "The Awakening". I prefer the title in English because it sounds better than in Portuguese ("O Despertar"), which sounds a bit like a...	If English has cache in your country, or if you're publishing in an English-speaking country, or if your characters use English terms, including the title, then what you're proposing may work well.
Is it strange to describe the narrator's facial expressions in a first-person narrative? Examples: “Really?” I said, widening my eyes. "What?" My eyes lifted and I raised my brows in shock. I think this reads strange because the narrator can't see his or her own face (or wasn't able to back then). So I tend to wr...	Although the narrator can't see his own face, he'd still feel his face moving, so I don't think that's the reason it feels strange. It sounds strange to me because the actions sound intentional.
How to write a book in 2 weeks? I got challenged to write a book of 100 pages in two weeks. I see this challenge as a game that can be played in many different ways. What are the most effective strategies for writing a lot in a short period of time? <Q> NaNoWriMo <S> challenges everyone to write 50.000 words in one...	For your current project, these are my suggestions: Pace yourself. Just write and keep writing until you've blasted through your word count for the day. Keep going and don't dwell too much on the perfect word or way to phrase something. NaNoWriMo is definitely a great resource to use to motivate you to produce a lot of...
Ways to remove "filtering" in narration? I have a lot of filtering in my writing: I decided to start my journey at the library. Why? Well, I figured it'd have more reliable information than the Internet... Once I reached there, though, I realized it wasn't the case. What are some techniques to remove filteri...	Get the story written, and then decide the tone and style.
Is it possible to find authors' agents? I am trying to locate agents in my area of writing, so as to better target the limited amount of queries I'm sending. There are several other writers writing in similar genres/niches, and I would be interested in contacting their agents, who clearly have an affinity for this are...	Look at The Complete Idiot's Guide to Finding a Literary Agent ( http://www.penguin.com/static/pages/cig/quickguides/literary-agent.php ), it lists lists of agents.
Market for novellas and/or novelettes Does anybody know anything about the current market or demand for novellas or novelettes? I'm in the beginning stages of my writing career and it looks like, so far, I struggle with being concise enough for short stories but, also, I have yet to put down enough words for a full-on ...	Some genres, such as romance or erotica, tend to sell a lot of novellas. Regardless of your genre, if you write enough of them, and they are written well, then you could find your own level of success.
How do screenwriters incorporate song scenes into a screenplay for a musical? If the song is already written, sure, easy question. But say you're sitting down to write The Lion King before any composers have even been brought aboard, before pre-production has even been dreamt of. What do you write? <Insert song here...	They may work with the musician, or they may be told to incorporate certain songs that have already been written.
Thinking as a character Months after starting my first novel (which hasn't made any progress and is still in its first draft) I feel I can only react to a given situation rather than create one. The same seems to apply to my characters. The conversations feel very forced and nothing seems to be helping me make them bet...	The trick is to identify what is driving your story forward. Don't worry too much about what the character is saying, initially just get their point across, even if it is without dialogue. Identify what each character wants, what they are afraid of, who they care about, and (most importantly) why they want that, fear t...
Usage of archaic words I am a non-native speaker trying to write in English. Due to my reading of chiefly dated English literature, my vocabulary consists of many terms that are regarded as being archaic nowadays. In the majority of cases I don't know about their archaic condition until I look them up in a dictionary....	As a special case, if you are writing historical fiction, a certain amount of archaic words are expected and help to set the tone.
Legal or copyright problems using Google drive or other cloud storage for story notes? What kind of problems (if any) might I have with copyright laws when keeping story notes and some or all of my writing on cloud based storage such as Google drive? How might this affect future publication? <Q> Any writing that you ma...	In general, the form or medium or location in which you keep your writing has nothing to do with your copyright.
Is it a good idea to stay away from past progressive in fiction? I never noticed this in my writing until one of my readers pointed it out: We were driving down the highway in Tom's Toyota 4Runner, dim streetlights passing by, the night city scene fading behind us. Awkward way to begin the chapter from a grammatica...	Starting with past progressive feels very conversational, and I expect the sentence to end with a phrase that gives some kind of context about why you are doing that or what happened when you did that. The objective is to place as few intermediaries as possible between the reader and the action of the story.
How can I stress a certain word in a medium that doesn't allow for font embellishments? Many of us probably encountered it before on a social media like Facebook or Twitter, or in the comments section of a major website. You've decided what you want to say, but you want to stress a specific word or couple of words in y...	Writing a word in ALL CAPS might be frowned upon because it is considered a visual equivalent of shouting, but shouting is a spoken form of emphasis, so ALL CAPS might be just what you need.
Is showing motion by repeating words a sign of bad writing? I just noticed that I do this a lot: We continued marching and marching. The forest seemed endless. Either that or we were going in circles. Up and up I went, biting back the growing pain in my knees, blinded by sunlight that flashed through the twist...	It's not bad writing, but it is a common technique and has only light impact.
Continue working it through or start over? I'm writing a novel, but due to lack of time because these years for me are very important for my academic future, it hasn't progressed that much. However, I like it very much and would like to finish it, plus I have invested a lot of time into editing and the like. The entire...	Note down ideas you have for the next book, so you won't forget them (and can free your mind), but don't explore them. If you've got thoughts and images pressing to the front of your brain and the words and outlines are presenting themselves - write them down!
What's the best way to punctuate a list with an comma-containing item? Examples: She looked tough: pieced nose, broad eyebrows, tousled hair, almost spiky. I tried picturing him: his tiny body swinging above the ground, his eyes bloodshot, almost popping out, his tongue hanging to the side like a dead worm. Ar...	If the items in your lists were more complex, with commas within each element, then you might want to avoid confusion by using semicolons.
How much effort should I spend explaining plot device? I think it is good Idea to start by example: Main hero is given briefcase and informed, that such briefcase contains very powerful bomb. The goal is to assassinate Prime Minister of given country. Main hero goes undetected through security checks, disguised as pr...	I will recommend you to think about, what story you want tell, and after that you will find what details about briefcase you need for a proper story.
I am looking to self publish a book but I don't need everything the sites offer I have created a picture book and already have it designed and have a local printer who is going to handle the print-on-demand. I can not find a self publishing website that does not dictate the layout/design, and printing of the book. ...	If you use a publishing service such as CreateSpace, you can make your book available in print, you can use the ISBN you have already purchased, and you can have your book immediately available through Amazon.
Writers block: Lost momentum, can't write even a sentence I've been writing a story for almost half a year. I worked on it almost every day because I really like doing it, but now that I have been away for a month on a vacation I can't seem to write a single sentence . I don't know what happened but it's so hard for...	Some other ideas - try writing something else. When I went through a period of not being able to write, I finally made a deal with myself that in the first draft I could do no revisions, just write , but I allowed myself to make marginal notes on the order of "fix this," "this is crap," and so on. Talk to someone about...
Is it legal to self-publish books independently (in any form) with no LTD, L.L.C., D.B.A., etc.? I want to know if I'm safe publishing a book(s) with no copyright/trademarks/etc. and avoiding any kind of business moniker (like a D.B.A. or registration) in order to just get right to the publishing part. Since anyone wh...	You are correct in your assumption that you do not need to have any type of company designation regarding a publisher, whether it be as a sole proprietorship or "doing business as". Look at the copyright notice in the books on your shelf. Whether or not you actually owe any taxes will depend on how much you earn as a t...
Write a book with "protected" characters/ideas without copyright? I want to write a book about an idea/story I've had for many years that I find many will truly enjoy when furnished out; however, I don't want this to be "open-source"; I don't want anyone to be able to re-use it as their own and profit like it's their w...	Assuming you're living in a country that's a signatory to the Berne Convention, which you almost certainly are, your work is copyrighted as soon as you record your ideas.
Original writing is lost when using other people's ideas? Let's say you have a story about a fictional war on a futuristic world and you already have five chapters going on and you want to keep writing to get to the end but then, you're stuck because you don't really know how to kill the enemies without taking off the ...	If you ask for help and someone gives to you an idea, then logically that idea then becomes yours, even if you have to reinvent it. The only works that are truly original are by people who've never had any contact with other people.

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