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1500 questions
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8 answers

How to show a character being bored for multiple chapters without boring the reader

When my protagonist is learning to use their magical skill, they must remain in hiding. Because they have not yet mastered their magical skill. My protagonist is bored from being holed up for so long. There's very little to do beyond read boring…
SFWriter
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How do I spot an unintentional promise in my story?

It's commonly said, mainly here on Writing SE and mainly by Mark Baker's answers, that "a story is a promise". The beginning of the story sets the promise and the ending fulfills it. A story that doesn't fulfills its promise is unsatisfying. I…
Yuuza
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5 answers

How do I find an agent?

I finished my novel, and everyone I've talked to says I need an agent. How do I find one?
Elizabeth Schechter
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5 answers

Explicitly correcting yourself while writing - how appropriate is it ?

Like so: He worries – well, not worries, but laments a little – that he senses people don't read Henry James anymore (sentence source: Monkey See, NPR Blogs ) I've used this style myself occasionally. But it really doesn't go well with the purist…
0xff0000
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8 answers

Where to draw the line between fantasy and reality in a story?

I realize this question may sound broad or vague, so allow me to explain. I never knew much about combat or dealing with injuries until I started gathering research for a fantasy novel I'm planning to write, which will have a lot of action and…
Summer
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35
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4 answers

Referencing figure in text - capitalize the word "Figure" or not? Why?

I see it quite a lot. It looks a bit like this: It can be seen in Figure 3 that... My gut feeling is that there is no reason to scream in the middle of a perfectly calm sentence. I would like to write it like: It can be seen in figure 3…
jonalv
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35
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8 answers

Decide on a theme/overarching meaning before writing a short story?

I want my short story to have a specific point, to highlight a certain truth. But I wonder in which order I should proceed: make the plot, characters etc. first and worry about fitting my theme into the story later, or start with the point I'm…
Qcom
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13 answers

Should I use the words "pyromancy" and "necromancy" even if they don't mean what people think they do?

If you look up the exact definition for "pyromancy" or "necromancy" they refer to divination using fire and the dead, respectively. However, if you were to ask a layperson what those words mean, they would simply say "fire magic" and "death…
klippy
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8 answers

Is the first page of a novel really that important?

I am reading in a few blogs like this that the first page of the novel is really important if it has to get published. Is this true? Can a good story not compensate for an ordinary first page. I have a first page which is the introduction of my…
The White Cloud
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12 answers

How can I convince my reader that I will not use a certain trope?

Imagine a fantasy story in which there once was a very powerful evil divine being, but it was defeated long before the beginning of the story. For the story it is very important that it was defeated, and things would be really bad if it was still…
PoorYorick
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10 answers

My story is written in English, but is set in my home country. What language should I use for the dialogue?

I'm an amateur writer from the Philippines. I am writing a novelette for an international writing contest. My story is written in English, but is set here, in my country, with my POV character being a full blood Filipino. My question is, is it…
Jan Derick Malelang
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35
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15 answers

The psychology of starting a piece of writing

I have a problem when it comes to writing (blog posts, stories and novels). It might just be me, but maybe other people have experienced it too? When I come to start writing, my ideas before I sit down seem wonderful. But just recently, as soon as…
robertcday
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8 answers

How to *show* a controversial reality without seeming like I'm treating it as acceptable and without stating that this is wrong?

I have a story which has some controversial social problems, and my intention is to just show these issues (for drama), realistically and impartially (i.e. just showing the facts, without imposing any opinion). But the problem is that, by doing just…
Yuuza
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7 answers

Why does an author need an editor?

I'm firmly in the camp of "your novel needs an editor, and that editor better not be yourself." But recently I was asked why that was, and I couldn't articulate an answer that was passable. Young novelists often underestimate their need for an…
gmoore
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Why do hardcover books retail for more than three times the cost of softcover books?

One thing I've noticed while browsing bookstores is that hardcover books tend to cost more than softcover ones. Oftentimes a hardcover book that's five times the price of a paperback doesn't have five times the mass of one. Is it the manufacturing…
Kalamane
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