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1500 questions
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4 answers
Is it bad style if the personal first person narrator of a story dies during said story?
Right now I'm writing a novel in which I use the changing perspectives of two main characters with limited information each to slowly unveil the whole plot to the reader. Both use the past tense and first person (i.e. "When I woke up that morning,…
DLCom
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Magic is the twist
It feels silly to say, but I've got myself into a bit of a bind of a side project.
In a three-act structure (not what everyone uses, but a good reference point) you generally need to set up all expectations and major setting truths in the first…
Weckar E.
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6 answers
What to do when characters disagree with the plot?
I'm writing a romance novel and have hit a brick wall. The problem is every way I think the future lovebirds could meet and become friends is totally cliché. After thinking about it, I've realized that the problem lays with the two soon-to-be…
FearlessWriter
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Can a book be published by more than one publisher?
1) Some books are published by more than one publisher. For example, if you go to Amazon or Flipkart and search for 'The Interpretation of Dreams' by Sigmund Freud, you will see many of them from different publishers. I used to think that once you…
Sathyaish
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9 answers
How do you show, through your narration, a hard and uncaring world?
As I've already mentioned, I'm working on a sci-fi novel.
One of the main feelings that I wanted to represent when I started is the sense of a vast, empty, artificial world, mostly cold and uncaring of human life; the kind of impression you can…
Liquid
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12
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7 answers
Should I "tell" my exposition or give it through dialogue?
When my work was being critiqued, one of the critics said that the exposition given away in my dialogue was forced and unnatural. Though, this exposition is crucial, so leaving it out is out of the picture. The critic said it would be better to…
A. Kvåle
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12
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9 answers
How to deceive the MC
My protagonist is finally meeting with the big boss of a mafia. At least, he thinks he is. The boss actually sends someone to pretend to be him.
I'm writing from the protagonist's (limited) POV. If I say "MC met the boss," that's dishonest and the…
Caspian
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How to tease a romance without a cat and mouse chase?
So, my story doesn't have a romance subplot until way later in the series, but I think that there are elements of the romance very early on.
A little background info: The story is set in a fantastical world where humans are the dominant race, and…
Kale Slade
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Do publishers care if submitted work has already been copyrighted?
I'm getting ready to start submitting a book I've written. I copyrighted an earlier draft of it a few years ago (as in submitted it for official registered copyright). The final draft has not changed much from that draft. I know from submitting…
CMB
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6 answers
English words in a non-english sci-fi novel
In the modern world, english is a well-estabilished technical and scientific language. Some terms have become so commonly used that they are accepted in my native tongue (words like "computer", "PC", "network" being examples).
I'm currently writing…
Liquid
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Can the prologue be the backstory of your main character?
A friend and I are writing a story based on our characters. We brainstormed some ideas and now we know what the basic idea of our story is going to be. But I'm having a little trouble with the prologue, I was going to make it the backstory of the…
Dorito Hub
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3 answers
Can disgust be a key component of horror?
The feeling of disgust is often used in horrors, exspecially visual medias (where is arguably easier to shock the audience with great effect).
Often horror stories revolve around one scary element (a villain; a monster; a disease) that carries…
Liquid
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12
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4 answers
Personal or impersonal in a technical resume
In CVs or on Linkedin profiles there are often spaces dedicated to past experience.
In those sections, one is supposed to describe what work he/she did and what skills he/she acquired on previous workplaces/projects.
In this context, is it better…
Liquid
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12
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3 answers
How to use deus ex machina safely?
One of my main character's traits is that she has some superstitious beliefs. That trait is not essential to the MC, but everyone in the era of my story is. I'm contemplating a plot point near the end that the reader might perceive as deus ex…
iamtowrite
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Rules about breaking the rules. How do I do it well?
There are rules to writing and we often talk about them here. But sometimes a good writer will break the rules. And to be honest some of my favorite pieces of writing are from when this is done well.
So how do we do it well? Is there some way to…
Summer
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