Most Popular
1500 questions
15
votes
6 answers
How do you normalize a taboo custom in a setting that most readers would not agree with?
This setting' world is populated by witch covens that function as both royal houses and political entities. They are matriarchial, with witches had the head of families who directly control their houses and have indirect control over smaller branch…
Incognito
- 1,991
- 1
- 10
- 18
15
votes
7 answers
Promoting controversial opinions in a work of fiction
I'm writing a first person novel and main character has highly controversial views, many of which the majority of people would probably consider immoral. Would a character with controversial attitudes be a no-no for a reader? Or maybe a publisher?…
rus9384
- 413
- 3
- 10
15
votes
6 answers
Is it bad if I sidetrack to a backstory that’s not really necessary but is interesting?
My story is about two children and one of them dies in the first chapter.
I give a four page backstory of how his parents came to the town they are in now, it is unnecessary but very interesting. Should I just remove it?
I mostly added it because…
Angel
- 1,654
- 1
- 15
- 20
15
votes
5 answers
What software/techniques do people use to gather ideas?
I'm planning to create a game. It won't be the first game I've created (or even released), but it will be my first game with any story to speak of.
I'm still very much in the planning phase of the entire thing (even earlier than that perhaps), and I…
Shadow
- 253
- 3
- 8
15
votes
7 answers
What techniques do you use to maintain your writing focus and maximise your productivity?
How do you keep writing no matter what’s going on around you?
How do you avoid the distractions of social media, that dishwasher that needs unloading, that wash that needs putting on, that cup of tea you’re dying to take a break for?
How do you…
GGx
- 9,963
- 1
- 27
- 51
15
votes
2 answers
How do Red Herrings work?
The more distractions you have in your narrative, the fresher the plot/character twist. They were used in ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and the Harry Potter series, to keep the audiences focussed on a different ‘conclusion’.
How are they done, exactly?
Edmund Frost
- 1,337
- 13
- 27
15
votes
10 answers
Are connotations with certain names inevitable?
In my book (fantasy novel), there's a character named Brad. Unfortunately, Brad has become synonymous with "douchebag".
Now, when I first introduced him I just came up with a name. It needed to be on "B", because he was a butcher. "Brad the…
A. Kvåle
- 4,073
- 2
- 23
- 52
15
votes
6 answers
How to write a Complete Monster?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with TV Tropes lingo, a Complete Monster is the worst kind of villain imaginable: one that is evil to the core and has little to no redeeming traits whatsoever.
In order to qualify as a Complete Monster, a…
user29299
15
votes
6 answers
Is it better to avoid names with a difficult pronunciation in Middle Grade fiction?
Many languages are written using Latin letters, but often these seemingly familiar letters aren't pronounced in the way that we are used to.
For example, an English speaker might read the name Siobhán as siob-hen, pronounce Jorge like George, and…
user29032
15
votes
7 answers
What helpful writing exercises do you use?
The two I do most are dialog and description related. When I meet a person or I'm just sitting people watching, I try to write their description in my head as if I was describing a character in a novel. I focus on the physical - tall, short, weak…
Satanicpuppy
- 2,399
- 15
- 20
15
votes
2 answers
When we start a book from the climax (from the middle of the chapter), what is it called?
Let's say that we have a plot that goes from A-Z and M is the middle (climax) part of it. There is this style of writing in which we start from M, then again back to A-Z.
At the start of a book is the chapter containing that M. What is it called?…
Mugen
- 315
- 1
- 2
- 10
15
votes
2 answers
No Contractions
When writing essays for History class, 5 points are taken off for every contraction. I don't see why writing it fully out is better than using a contraction, since it's shorter and it doesn't affect your argument. Is this rule just because it's more…
Noah Cristino
- 253
- 1
- 7
15
votes
7 answers
How to invest readers in a story that (initially) has no clear direction?
The main character of my novel (third person limited) is an outlaw, on the run from government agents and living from day to day trying to survive.
In the first quarter of the story, she doesn't really have any sort of "end goal" that she is working…
Mike.C.Ford
- 5,290
- 2
- 15
- 35
15
votes
3 answers
How to make documentation accessible to vision-impaired audiences?
Nowadays, governments and corporations alike are putting an ever-increasing number of accessibility laws in place to ensure that disabled audiences are not put at a disadvantage. How can technical documents best be styled in order to be accessible…
Timtech
- 351
- 1
- 5
15
votes
1 answer
To what extent should domain terms be capitalized?
Some terms in technical documentation, for example product proper names, should obviously be capitalized. But there are other terms that are somewhere between a proper name and a generic noun: domain terms more or less specific to a given product,…
user23425