Most Popular
1500 questions
19
votes
4 answers
Are agents too busy for new clients? What should I do next?
Most publishers insist that first-time writers approach via a literary agent. However, all the literary agents I have contacted claim to be too busy to take on new clients, as they receive hundreds or thousands of submissions every year.
I used the…
user3517
19
votes
4 answers
Can I have a non-living thing with its own perspective?
We typically have third person or first person narratives in literature. I have a requirement - to unveil the suspense, I want a non-living thing to share its perspective in the final chapter. Is this permissible, justified and/or sensible?
undocumented sophistication
- 455
- 1
- 5
- 13
19
votes
8 answers
Is it a good idea to leave minor world details to the reader's imagination?
As a writer, I used to write short stories and poems. As a reader, fantasy is my favorite genre. And I am currently working on my first novel, an extraterrestrial fantasy thriller.
When describing something, I used to add a comparison to something…
Sangeetha
- 967
- 8
- 15
19
votes
11 answers
How to write realistic female dialogue
I just can't make my dialogue sound like it's being said by a woman. As a friend of mine pointed out, "This woman talks just like you, Jack."
I tried imitating the speech patterns of various females I know, but it just doesn't work. Most women I…
Yehuda Shapira
- 1,329
- 1
- 13
- 17
19
votes
5 answers
Term for a character that only exists to be talked to
I just saw a two-person play where one character did the majority of the talking and the other seemed to exist only to give the other character someone to talk to. I've seen this happen in books and TV as well, and sometimes a normally strong…
David K
- 333
- 2
- 11
19
votes
10 answers
How can my story take place on Earth without referring to our existing cities and countries?
I come from worldbuilding.stackexchange because people suggested I post my question here:
My story shall take place on Earth with the human race as the dominant species. I imagine the technological and scientific progress to be 10 to 20 years in the…
Tom B.
- 291
- 2
- 5
19
votes
2 answers
Helping my beta readers help me
My beta readers are family and friends - people who read a lot, but do not write. They are people whose opinion I trust, and who are genuinely trying to be helpful. (And I haven't found a writing group.)
Here's the problem: sometimes the critique I…
Galastel supports GoFundMonica
- 58,107
- 12
- 176
- 303
19
votes
16 answers
How do I subvert the tropes of a train heist?
What are the recognizable tropes to a "train heist", or more broadly the action sequences where a protagonist boards a moving train in order to stop it?
My protagonist is the unreliable guile heroine who has been playing at hero the entire book.…
wetcircuit
- 29,603
- 4
- 51
- 129
19
votes
8 answers
When two POV characters meet
I have two POV (3rd person limited) characters and they start the story as complete strangers and far apart. They don't meet for some time and they have very different experiences.
Now I want them to meet and live through some intense, important…
Miroslav Zadravec
- 365
- 3
- 7
19
votes
5 answers
Protagonist constantly has to have long words explained to her. Will this get tedious?
A while back, I redrafted my NaNoWriMo 2017 story, but it still needs another draft. This question is about one of the concerns I have.
The story takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, and the protagonist is a homeless orphan of about fourteen.…
F1Krazy
- 11,447
- 4
- 38
- 69
19
votes
10 answers
Is it possible to narrate a novel in a faux-historical style without alienating the reader?
One thing that often annoys me in historical fiction or fantasy books is the dissonance between the writing style and the events and historical period described in the book. The writing is usually very modern, it's fast-paced and uses modern idioms…
PoorYorick
- 2,892
- 15
- 34
19
votes
10 answers
Is it time to start closing up my novel?
I realize this may be a duplicate question. I've seen, for reference [
How long can a first novel be? ] yet I think my situation is a little more specific.
I find myself in a similar situation. My novel is a science fiction about the coming-of-age…
Liquid
- 15,895
- 4
- 52
- 117
19
votes
7 answers
Realistically incorporating trans/nonbinary characters
In most books I read and movies I watch, there are rarely any LGBT characters, and the LGBT representation I do see is almost exclusively gay men, with a smaller amount of lesbians and a handful of bisexuals. I can't think of any books I've read…
user34214
19
votes
6 answers
Should I write my story if I haven't established a plot?
I'm in the process of start writing my story and I'm not sure if I should do it if I'm not done with the main plot of the story. Also I don't know since what part should I start writing off, The start, the end or the substantial parts.
Marian-Danny
- 551
- 4
- 12
19
votes
6 answers
How long should I mention an injured character’s pain?
My main character gets shot and survives. One thing that bothers me is a character who is injured and keeps going like the energizer bunny.
I try to set up for a rapid recovery, mentioning training that instilled stoicism, etc, but there are times…
Rasdashan
- 12,358
- 1
- 21
- 70