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1500 questions
10
votes
3 answers
Techniques to write for a wider audience
Many years ago, I wrote a short story that used specific information from my cultural background e.g. a belief that if you dream something, it is a form of a vision (superstition, some may say!). This was an asset because my target audience then was…
Javeer Baker
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What's a normal word count for a children's novel or collection?
How many words are normal for a children's novel?
Say 5th - 8th grade, if that's the best way to measure it.
johnny
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10
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7 answers
Tips for writing sentences like a native speaker
English isn't my native tongue, but I've been writing novels in English for a while. Most of the time, I can be aware of what's grammatically correct and what's not. But making sure that a sentence sounds like one written by a native speaker is a…
wyc
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7 answers
Do Novels follow a 3 Act/2 Plot Point structure like most Movie Scripts?
Many Movie scripts use a Structure where there are 3 Acts (Setup, Climax, Resolution) with 2 Plot Points (end of Act 1 and end of Act 2) (Three Act Structure)
I wonder if there are standards for organizing Novels? Most (Fantasy or Sci Fi) Novels…
Michael Stum
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1 answer
What is the correct way to write a fractional number in a formal letter?
If I'm talking about a length of time in a cover letter, let's say 5.5 years, what would be the correct way to write this?
five-and-a-half years
5-1/2 years
5.5 years
bernk
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10
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3 answers
How to have a character be nameless for the first few paragraphs of a book?
Let me first explain what is going in in the beginning of the story: My main character belongs to a tribal culture that requires their children pass a rite of passage to earn their name.
So I'm kind of stuck on how to refer to the character while he…
Lokiie1984
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6 answers
What are some disadvantages of writing fiction in a diary format?
I find writing in a diary-style is the easiest way to write fiction. The format is the same as a diary, with each entry beginning with the date, then describing the feelings or events of the character up to that date.
Are there any disadvantages to…
Village
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2 answers
What is the difference between "creative writing" and "fiction writing"?
My college offers many writing courses. I notice, one course is called "Creative Writing" and another is called "Fiction Writing". What is the difference between creative writing and fiction writing?
Village
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10
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7 answers
When describing a character, how specific should physical descriptions be? Should non-physical traits be the focus instead?
When it comes to character descriptions, should the main characters' physical appearance be described in detail? Or should it be left to the reader to imagine what the character looks like? Should the description instead focus on personality traits,…
Susan
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10
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2 answers
How to identify a scene type?
What are the main types in which a scene can be classified, and what are the key concepts for each type?
I am thinking something along the following (guessing the descriptions):
suspense - scene builds up to and ends with a situation where the…
slashmais
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5 answers
Can the translation of a book be an obstacle?
I have a book and I wrote it not in English. However, I have made a translation into English, a pretty good one. Will native English speakers read such a book or will they, when they see the translation, immediately realize that it is a translation…
Andrey I.
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Ramifications of having each chapter be a different 'episode' in a novel?
I was thinking about how readers would feel about reading an episodic story that instead of having a different story per book, having a different story per chapter. Not an anthology, but like same MCs, different happenings. And really what issues…
Conan Highwoods
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10 answers
Very long sentences: personal style or just bad writing?
I'm writing a story targeted towards children in which the protagonist is a young girl. I find that in writing her dialog and the narrative, I'm producing a lot of very long sentences, to the point that an entire paragraph may be seven or eight…
brianmearns
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4 answers
Is it a bad practice to occasionally add first-person narrative to third-person narrative?
This is a sample of something I wrote:
Erin watched Ruth as she disappeared between the cars and the
multitude of people crossing the street. She stood there for a moment,
staring at the city scene in front of her. A strange feeling of
…
wyc
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4 answers
Will publishing on Kindle, or making Audio Books, hurt my profits in the long run?
Should a self-publisher stick to just "hard copy" print-on-demand publishing of his books? Would adding Kindle, or hiring an "audio book" company, compete too much with the hard copy editions?
Hard copies sell for more money than either of the other…
ray grant
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