Writing Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
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6 answers

How to Write a Colossal Cast of Characters

I'm planning a book series called The Weasel Sagas. Things have been going great up until now, where I've realized I've hit a bit of a problem: I've come up with backstories for so many different characters all over the hero-villain spectrum that it…
The Weasel Sagas
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How do you get over the fear of exposing yourself in writing?

I really feel like writing, in all its forms, is a very nice way to express myself especially since I'm an introvert, but I'm afraid people would know how I think and know my thinking process and label me as being wrong. I fear exposing something…
Yostina
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Can fanfics be bestsellers?

Fanfiction is somewhat of an uncharted territory, which few actual writers/critics take serious note of or are very enthusiastic about. It has been long asked and established whether publishing fanfics is even legally possible at all. Yes, it is…
Soha Farhin Pine
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Misdirection for suspense/plot twists - what's acceptable and what's dishonest?

Note: I'm primarily asking this question because while Surtsey, the original asker of the question didn't actually ask a thing (and instead copy-pasted an excerpt of a novel) I believe it's a worthwhile question to ask. With that in mind, let's…
Matthew Dave
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How do I differentiate between the "voices" of my characters in a multi-character POV?

I'm currently writing a novel with 3-4 character POVs in it - two male, two female. Each have different upbringings, different cultural backgrounds, different professions, different motivators and driving factors - in short, how the characters…
Bumble Bee
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3 answers

How to give characters a unique voice

When writing dialogue all the characters sound the same. I'm not sure I even know what giving a character a voice means, but my dialogue sucks so any advice will be greatly appreciated.
pandalarry
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8 answers

Colours of ultraviolet

I need to write something from the perspective of a character who sees colours differently from humans, and in particular can see multiple shades of ultraviolet. This isn't unique, their entire species sees like this. Can anyone suggest language or…
Marcus Downing
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Will it be disappointing for the reader to not know who the main character is until the end?

What I’m trying to say is the first four chapters are about four different people by themselves, then they’re together the rest of the book and all die except one, but that one is very important and it’s supposed to be realized that he was the…
Angel
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7 answers

Can ‘Stupid’ Characters Make Plot Narratives Memorable?

Characters in movies ‘28 Days Later’, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ made terrible impulsive choices that cost other characters their lives, but if it weren’t for any of those choices made in the films, they wouldn’t have had any…
Edmund Frost
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What's the proper etiquette/format for updating a blog post?

I've been doing websites for 16 years, but am new to writing a blog. Websites pages change all the time, but it seems to me that blog posts are relatively static once they've been posted. If I want to change something in a blog post, what's the…
Ralph Lavelle
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Is it true that stories get rejected simply because the stories are not appealing enough and not because of the quality of the writing?

In other words, if the writing is poor or not good enough but the editor likes the story, then a revision is requested. I'd like to add that part of the reason for asking this question is because there is a temptation to try to somehow 'test' the…
user394536
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3 answers

Researching Future Technology for a Science Fiction Novel

Because I enjoy reading Science Fiction, I'm thinking of writing a Sci-Fi novel myself. I'm interested in 'hard' (related to the engineering sciences) science fiction with a military bent (think The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell or Old Man's War by…
robertcday
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4 answers

How can you make an unrealistic setup as realistic as possible?

Seems like a broad question, but hear me out. A while ago, I asked how you could verify information, which was mostly reserved about things that actually exist and/or happen in the real world. This question is reserved for things that absolutely…
user23083
12
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3 answers

What sites are available for hosting Choose Your Own Adventure stories?

I'm working on a story that is like a Choose Your Own Adventure, but different. Instead of being "you" and deciding what to do next, the reader must choose which characters participate at what time. By choosing the characters, you then get to follow…
user102021
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10 answers

Writing Unequal Societies (Without Supporting Inequality)

Historically, most occidental cultures (and many other ones) were strongly biased against women. Women were effectively barred from the vast majority of occupations - sometimes actively, and sometimes more insidiously. Women who defied this (eg.…
Watercleave
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