Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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votes
4 answers

How to write characters doing illogical things in a believable way?

As much as I would like it, both in Worldbuilding and Writing, not every action is logical or "right". There are two types of this: Imperfect information: The character(s) lack vital information, making their choices a gamble. Characters being…
Mephistopheles
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How do we create our own symbolisms?

In the Bible, the apple is a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin. The book itself gave the apple a symbolic meaning. How can you as an author give an object like the apple your own meaning? And how do you make sure…
Sayaman
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2 answers

'This one' as a pronoun

I'm writing a story in English but I'm not a native. I’m a Brazilian Portuguese speaker. It bothers me how repetitive and ambiguous pronouns can be. In my language we can use the equivalent to ‘this one’ instead of he/she/it etc. It’s less usual,…
Louisr
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7 answers

Rapid change in character

A story I am currently working on contains a scene where a figure with a certain character quite unexpectedly has a change of heart, and I am having difficulty finding a way of smoothing the transition. Detailed description The transformation of the…
A Lambent Eye
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5 answers

My scenes seem too fast

I’m having issues because while I’m in the process of writing I think my style has enough length to it, but when I go back and read my work it feels extremely fast. A scene I expected to take me fifteen minutes to read is over as soon as it started.…
Grace
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3 answers

Does writing regular diary entries count as writing practice?

One of the most common pieces of writing advice I hear is that you should write frequently and often. Writing regular entries in a diary should fit this criteria, but I'm hesistant to call my years of writing entries as serious, qualitative writing…
ObsoleteUsername
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3 answers

How can I convert a linear narrative into a branching narrative?

Suppose I would like to create a text adventure game, but my imagination is not sufficient for creating a whole game. But there are fiction books (in the public domain) that are very imaginative and could potentially make a great game. The main…
Erel Segal-Halevi
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4 answers

Trivial non-dark twist in dark fantasy

I am writing a rather dark, grey fantasy story. It is supposed to feature a twist that turns the antagonist's goal to not to be evil at all (just misjudged) and really trivial (despite requiring large dose of effort). The protagonist changes for the…
Kiratta
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1 answer

Who has copyright of Amazon reviews?

If a user posts a review on Amazon, does (s)he have copyright on that review? Is there anything in the terms and conditions where (s)he transfers his/her ownership of the IP to Amazon? If not, how does Amazon protect its reviews from being used on…
Jonah
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2 answers

What's a moment that's more impactful on a reread called?

I've met a few of these but the most recent instance was two characters discussing buying a third character a drink when they all got home, on the first reading this is a simple moment of comradery and thanks giving for what they owe that person.…
Ash
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2 answers

How do I make a very short story powerful?

I'm currently working on a project where I write events for a story driven video game. The limitation is that I have to get through a discovery, the consequence and the character's response to that in a very short time, otherwise the players may…
Meeple
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2 answers

Co-branding a book with a website

For the last several months, I've had a a professional assignment writing an ongoing series for a well-known website. It was repurposed from a book I wasn't able to sell to a publisher. It's been well-received as a series, so I'm thinking about…
Chris Sunami
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Is a professional editor worth the cost?

The pros and cons of alternatives to professional editors have already been discussed here. It has already been established that nothing can quite replace the many alternatives that exist, as these alternatives are best used in conjunction with a…
Caspian
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2 answers

How to make the POV character sit on the sidelines without the reader getting bored

My POV character has been seriously injured and is bedridden for three months. But life stops for no one. In fact, a major epic battle is brewing and to delay it would be unrealistic. If anything, the enemy would surely seek to strike while the hero…
Caspian
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7 answers

Is there an online tool which supports shared writing?

I want to write a short story (and maybe later a book) together with a colleague from work. Is there an online service which we can use to do this in a convenient way? Useful features would be (not all necessary): write at the same time and…
Kaadzia
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