Writing Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
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6 answers

Can I leave out details I don’t understand?

I have a situation where a character is locked in a cell for about two week’s time. This is a medieval setting. For plot reasons, the character is chained to a block in the middle of the cell. The problem is, I have no idea how he would pee and…
Grace
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How harsh is too harsh when beta reviewing?

I was recently sent a document to beta review, so I transferred it to Google Docs and started making suggestions. Once I'm through the four pages, there's about thirty miscellaneous spelling/minor plot errors, plus a page of feedback on the bottom…
Ceramicmrno0b
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Is it overkill to follow style-guides for technical writing?

I currently work for an engineering company as an electrical engineer. A good chunk of my time is spent writing testing reports or instruction documents. Currently my company doesn't have any sort of guidelines specifying how to format documents,…
Adam
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Should my main character make a ginormous mistake?

I'm rereading my draft, and there is a part in the book where when the main character is helping others escape prison, she accidentally reveals herself to the prison guards who chase her down and kill one of the people she was trying to rescue. Is…
AnnWithNoE
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I'm writing a prologue from the POV of a non-English-speaking character. How should I write the dialogue?

Picturing this in movie form would be easy. I would have the character speak their native language in the scene and place subtitles. But I do not have this luxury in writing. It would be weird to mention that they're speaking their own tongue as the…
Drask
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Doubt on the trope "power trio": what are their psychological basis?

I will gather some non-standard characters in this question. Suppose then the Powerpuff Girls, Team Sonic, Totally Spies, Kanker Sisters (Ed, Edd n Eddy), and so on.[1] Every time we can identify some external characteristics: The "gothic"…
M.N.Raia
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5 answers

How to handle taxes for a self-published book

I'm thinking of publishing a book on kindle, but I don't currently have a business set up. Do you need a business to publish a book? I'm curious as to how to handle US taxes for the royalties. I wouldn't be publishing it from outside the US.
James
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How do you deal with procrastination when writing?

Most of the time when I get ideas for a story, I first get really excited about it, start writing it immediately and get roughly 1-2K words. Afterwards, it starts to fizzle, the idea, inspiration, and motivation for it dies down. I keep adding it to…
JFW
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What makes an ending "happy"?

In this answer, Amadeus makes the case for happy endings based on their far greater popularity compared to unhappy endings. This leads me to wonder, what exactly makes an ending "happy"? Before I go further, though, let me say that talking about a…
user16226
15
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5 answers

Is there any difference between these two sentences? (Adverbs)

I'm just trying to work around the whole "Adverbs are the devil" rule. Is there any difference between these two lines in regards to writing quality: He smiled patronisingly at them And He had a patronising smile on his face Is the second option…
klippy
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How can I portray a character with no fear of death, without them sounding utterly bored?

Imagine a fantasy hero with a 'time reset' ability like the protagonists of Groundhog Day or Edge of Tomorrow: they can 'rewind time' up to a few hours, resetting their own physical state and the rest of reality to whatever it/they were doing…
Stephen
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Do I need to start off my book by describing the character's "normal world"?

I know a lot of books do it (Harry Potter, LOTR, Wheel of Time). It's even part of the "Hero's Journey". However, my book starts with the "inciting incidient" i.e. my main charatcer begins her first day at school. Part of the reason I did this was…
klippy
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How to display a duet in lyrics?

I wonder if someone can tell me whether there is a convention when laying out a lyric to show different parts (or even a chorus). In my novel, there are a number of poems and lyrics. They are set in the usual style of indented and italicised.…
Miriam
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Sci-fi change: Too much or Not enough

I am in the process of editing a short story. It is science fiction of the "if this goes on" kind: I take a social trend I see, and paint its event horizon - a troubling future. 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 are classical examples. I have received two…
Galastel supports GoFundMonica
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Do I have to mention my main character's age?

I finished my novel and realised that I never mentioned my main character's age. In chapter two I said that she in in her twenties, but that's the only mention of her age. I know that she is twenty-three, should I state this in my novel, or is it…
Lymaba
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