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1500 questions
11
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2 answers

An organization writes its acronym in lower-case - do I have to, too?

I'm writing an article that includes reference to an organization - let's say National Ecological Council of Concerned Citizens - which, instead of NECOCC, uses the acronym necocc, i.e. lower-case and italics. It looks silly (we're different),…
user13119
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12 answers

How ordinary must my protagonist be if the book is written from his/her point of view?

What I've found in most books I've read is that the protagonist is "normal" and/or "average" (at least in the beginning). I believe this is because most readers should be able to relate to the protagonist and if (s)he was superior or simply weird it…
Niffler
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11
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5 answers

How common *are* happy endings?

I'm curious. After reading some other questions, I've been pondering about the frequency and reason for happy endings. That is, a positive and/or hopeful ending, even if not everything went right, such as the protagonist sacrificing themselves for…
Nick Bedford
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11
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7 answers

How do sci-fi stories hold up if their premise or details become discredited?

I've been playing with the idea of writing a sci-fi story that would resemble those written roughly 50-100 years back: Things we normally would laugh out of court today, like Jules Verne's moon trip, moon people or Asimov's Foundation using…
Henrygale
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11
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5 answers

Anyone has any super intense software for plot outlining?

Now, at the get go, I fully acknowledge that I have gone way over the top as far a story plotting goes, but I'm trying for something on the extreme end of epic and I have a legit obsessive compulsive personality problem so at this point it cannot be…
Patroclus
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11
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6 answers

"Thought" Verbs: A sign of weak writing or a stylistic choice?

According to Chuck Palahniuk you should avoid "Thought" verbs as much as you can. These include: knew, thought, realized, believed, etc. However, I've seen many of them in books that I read. And I think they somehow simulate real speech (useful with…
wyc
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11
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4 answers

How can I ensure my POV character's writing isn't too sophisticated?

I am writing a piece which features two POV characters. A conceit of the story is that the POVs are writing their chapters, so each one reflects not just their personality, but how my characters would actually write. One of my POVs is very…
user12678
11
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9 answers

Are 'how-to write fiction' books full of it?

I built and sold a business during my first decade of adulthood. During that period, I read a lot of business books published by the popular press. However, I didn't begin to succeed until I apprehended that the authors didn't write books to teach…
Hal
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11
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8 answers

What are the tricks to avoid repetition in writing?

After some time of working on my research, I usually have a structured information of my results, which I can best describe in bullets/numbers. Unfortunately, this is not what academia expects. For example, I concluded my paper introduction with…
Promather
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11
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7 answers

Using slang as a narrator - pros and cons

Is it advisable to use slang and euphemisms as a narrator, in addition to the main characters who use it? Are there arguments for and against it? For example, if I were to write about street thugs and their exploits, would using slang in the…
Axarydax
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11
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8 answers

Is it better to describe the main character's physical appearance early on in the story?

I'm writing a novel, and I just realized I don't describe be main character's appearance until Chapter 3 (each chapter is 1500~2000 words long and there are 25 chapters in total). I do mention that the MC is 'skinny' in Chapter 1. Is that enough for…
wyc
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11
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7 answers

How to show characters learning something in a non-boring way?

Okay so I want to write a fiction where a character is learning something, for example a language, such as Japanese. I want to show the entire process of learning the language with all the details included, but I also don't want it to bore the…
guest
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11
votes
5 answers

Choosing between your Mother Tongue and another language

OK, I know I was warned, but what can I do? I had this question for a very long time. I have decided where to write (platform like computer or notepad), I am in the middle of deciding my way of writing, but the most important decision is still to…
rptwsthi
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11
votes
9 answers

Switching from past to present tense to increase narrative speed?

In German, traditionally narrative texts are written in the past tense. When the pace of the action picks up, the narrator can increase immediacy and urgency by switching into the present tense. Is such a tense shift acceptable in English…
user5645
11
votes
2 answers

How should I go with hiring an illustrator for a webcomic?

I want to start writing a webcomic, but as my talent as an illustrator is limited, I would only write the scripts and let to someone else the task to bring my script into picture. The only problem is that I don't know anyone who could do that. The…
Eldros
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