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Q&A

Posts tagged creative-writing

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Q&A Ways to replace the phrase "after all?"

I recently noticed I use "after all" very often. But unlike other phrases, I never seem to find a way to replace it. Some examples: Like the books, they hadn't moved a single inch. Erin found t...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 7mo ago by Mithical‭

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Q&A Need basic tools and ways to practice and polish my writing skills

What are the ways to practice and improve basic writing, like content and creative writing? I am not planning to write or learn to write fictional stories. By creative writing, I mean the essentia...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Michael16‭  ·  last activity 9mo ago by tripleee‭

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Q&A Want to Expand my Writing Career as Freelancer [closed]

I've been working as a content writer and blogger for a few local agencies. I want to start freelancing this year but am slightly afraid to start. Could anyone help me how to start freelancing as a...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by proptijohn‭  ·  closed 1y ago by Mithical‭

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Q&A Avoiding racist tropes in fantasy

I'm interested in starting a pleasure project: a fantasy story, along the lines of a witch delivering a prophecy to a king about a dangerous and deceitful foe who will overthrow him, and the king e...

9 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by James McLellan‭

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Q&A How to control safety nets in discovery writing

Even though discovery writing is about letting the story go without interference, you still don't want the characters to get killed in the first chapter. For this exists safety nets, people, objec...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Canina‭

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Q&A I feel like I'm plagiarizing my story? [closed]

So my fears are kind of taking over my enjoyment of writing my book because I feel I'm doing something wrong. In my story I stole ideas from other stories. I took the idea of Bioshock's infinite so...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by user27125‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Canina‭

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Q&A What can a novel do that film and TV cannot?

I have enjoyed writing prose for years and have a few short stories penned. I would like to build up to a novel but believe I have identified a potential weakness in my storytelling. My style is g...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Smeato‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Canina‭

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Q&A Help! Editing Tips? [closed]

Hey, I'm having trouble editing my book. I have a crime novella but I can't edit that well. Does anyone have any tips to help? Thanks! ~Rosewood

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Rosewood‭  ·  closed 3y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Q&A Which parts of a character's plan should be revealed beforehand?

Two characters (one is a PoV character) come up with a plan to break a third out of prison. They succeed, with only minor complications. If I describe too many details of their plan beforehand, it ...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Razetime‭

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Q&A At what point does a POV character noting their surroundings go from showing/telling to an infodump?

In a story I'm working on, at one point one of the main characters (also the POV character in this case) arrives at a new location which he has never been in before. This is the first mention of th...

7 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Canina‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A In a dialogue, how can I hint that the characters aren't telling the whole truth?

In one scene, I have a conversation between three characters: A, B and C. A's son and B are involved in something illegal. C isn't aware, and since A and B aren't entirely sure she can be trusted, ...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Tau‭

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Q&A What to do with cliched metaphors?

Example from my own writing: "Please take care of yourself," she replied. "Health is the most important thing in life, remember that." "I know, Mom." I had already lost count of the numb...

5 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Where's the balance between realism and story? [closed]

Mark mentioned in his answer that plotholes aren't usually the end of the world, and that I shouldn't sacrifice too much of the story and the characters for the sake of logic. But there's a breaki...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Canina‭

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Q&A How to write strategy and schemes beyond my real-life capabilities?

I am interested in how to write compelling schemes, large-scale strategies and tactics etc. There are lots of fictional stories where the characters are amazing strategists, or incredibly intellig...

10 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by theonlygusti‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

Question creative-writing
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Q&A How to convey the anatomy of a humanoid race?

I am writing a extra-terrestrial high fantasy novel. The story is completely set in an alien world. No visits from Earth and no visits to Earth. My characters are humanoids, who look like elves...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Sangeetha‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DPT‭

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Q&A Is there any popular wisdom on the word "seem"?

I've just started noticing this word a lot in books. Something about it rubs me the wrong way. For example, I read a book where the following happened I stumbled to the ground and hit my head. ...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by klippy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Q&A How do I know if my cast is diverse enough or too diverse?

Basically, I am writing a story and I want to know if the characters are diverse enough or too diverse. If I just state the characters' races, sexualities, etc, it might seem forced but I didn't re...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by kaleidoscope‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A How to hint at an antagonist's identity?

A significant antagonist in my trilogy is an omnicidal alien by the name of Loki, whose characterisation borrows from Griffith, Keizer Ghidorah, Randall Flagg, Saruman and Hastur. Throughout the se...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Tiarnaard Cheannasach‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A How can you redeem an awful character, who hits close to home?

There is a problem with a redemption arc: Anon is an incredibly powerful god with powers of mysterious origin. In the story, he starts out as bad but is supposed to be redeemed later. There is a p...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Is the genre 'fantasy' still fantasy without magic?

Is writing fantasy novel with no mages, witches, wizards or anything remotely magical a waste of time? Can it still be classified as fantasy?

9 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Chagat Nahn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Averting Always Chaotic Evil

Always Chaotic Evil denotes an entire species in a fictional setting as outright evil - no matter how one treats them, they reward kindness with treachery and violence. Frequent recipients of this ...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A The concept of "Exotic Culture" and the necessity of a new world

A personal point of view on the necessity of a new culture in fiction "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away", "Pandora", "Dune", "Middle Earth". All quite different worlds compared to ours, b...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by M.N.Raia‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Is it alright to add scenes that don’t move the plot forwards much but develop relationships/character?

For example, let’s say the main plot is that the characters are on a quest to go find something. Can an author spend three scenes in a row detailing what happens on their journey there, even if the...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by user40771‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DPT‭

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Q&A What should come first—characters or plot?

I'm starting a new fantasy story, and although I had a loose idea of plot, I began sculpting my characters before writing anything. Creating images of them in my head, developing their personaliti...

7 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by ab2‭

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Q&A Can we use other things than single-word verbs in our dialog tags?

"Albert, you're already drunk! Stop it!" she implored him. "Nah, if I stop drinking, I won't have an excuse to miss work tommorrow!" he joked around. I am wondering if it's possible to ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by yocu‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A What are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?

As a novice writer to improve my writing I have taken one online course. I want to ask, what are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by codeNewbie‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A How to realistically describe pain?

So, I was doing a writing excersie, I came up with, to help me with sentence structuring and developing my style. One thing, I ran into, however, was that I couldn't describe pain very well. Th...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A How do we create our own symbolisms?

In the Bible, the apple is a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man and sin. The book itself gave the apple a symbolic meaning. How can you as an author give an object like ...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A How to integrate letters, in-universe book Snippets and the like into a story

So, let's say the main characters enter a building, a really big laboratory of sorts. They don't know what was being worked on here, because no one is still there, it's been abandoned recently. But...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Pharguin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Outlining the climax made me lose interest in writing the actual story

I am a discovery writer. I wrote more than 50% of my first novel's first draft. I got really confuse about some aspects of writing, so I took a break and analysed my plot. I've started developing...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Sangeetha‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A How to "Start as close to the end as possible", and why to do so?

Kurt Vonnegut has 8 tips on how to write a good story Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Give the reader at least one character he or...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by theonlygusti‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A How to write characters doing illogical things in a believable way?

As much as I would like it, both in Worldbuilding and Writing, not every action is logical or "right". There are two types of this: Imperfect information: The character(s) lack vital informati...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A Where can I find resources about writing "Choose your own adventure"-style books?

I have read/played a couple of "Choose your own adventure"-style book and am interested in the process of creating one. Where can I find (preferrably free) online resources, such as How-To-Write o...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Secespitus‭

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Q&A Is there a "right" way to interpret a novel? If so, how do we make sure our novel is interpreted correctly?

Is there a "right" way to interpret a novel? If so, how do we make sure our novel is interpreted correctly? I have been told that there's no way of interpreting the true meaning of a book written b...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Secespitus‭

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Q&A How can I make a character sound uneducated?

Some of my characters have little to no education, and I'm looking for ways to show that through their dialogue. (They're uneducated, but not necessarily stupid.) Here's what I've tried so far: ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  edited 4y ago by Evil Sparrow‭

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Q&A Is it a good idea to leave minor world details to the reader's imagination?

As a writer, I used to write short stories and poems. As a reader, fantasy is my favorite genre. And I am currently working on my first novel, an extraterrestrial fantasy thriller. When describing...

9 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Sangeetha‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DPT‭

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Q&A How can a writer point out the merits of his or her own work?

It is generally taken that if I tell you a joke, then have it explain why it's funny - it's not probably not funny. I continually return to one of my own short pieces. If I submit it I believe it ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Surtsey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Basing my protagonist on myself

(I asked another question about this novella here.) In a novella I'm writing, I explore the lives of a young Hispanic woman, Ramona, and her brother, Rafael, in an Orwellian-esque future America w...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A Giving a character trauma but not "diagnosing" her?

In my post-apocalyptic novel, my MC Eris is severely traumatized by the death of her family at her own hands. Because of this, she has extreme aversion to social interaction and even physical cont...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Do we simplify descriptions when they sound weird?

The woman said as she pulled a small coin out of a small wallet ... The woman said as she pulled a small coin out of a small box she opened/used earlier. I am wondering if "opened" or "use...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by woxim‭  ·  reopened 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A As a discovery writer, how do I complete an unfinished novel (which has highly diverged from the original plot ) after a time-gap?

I am a reader more than a writer, and fantasy is my favorite genre. I used to write short stories and poems. Some of them are published in magazines and get good reviews. In 2018 January, I read ...

8 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Sangeetha‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A Non-sense question about plot structures

Suppose then you have an story in your mind. Then, to write down this finite series of events, you have to translate your imagination into the paper. This process isn't trivial, of course and plot ...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by M.N.Raia‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A I want to make two of my characters fall in love

My story is about two gang leaders. The female is the leader of the largest gang in the country. The guy is the leader of the 2nd-largest. They meet at a café where the guy instantly falls in love...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Hail‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DPT‭

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Q&A Is there any difference between these two sentences? (Adverbs)

I'm just trying to work around the whole "Adverbs are the devil" rule. Is there any difference between these two lines in regards to writing quality: He smiled patronisingly at them And H...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by klippy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DPT‭

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Q&A Would publishing my story like a TV series be successful? [closed]

I'm considering writing my latest story in the style of a TV series. The plan is to write 13 episodes of 10-12,000 each. Episodes will be published weekly on Kindle over a three month period. If se...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Surtsey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A Why does the second act 'reaction' and then 'action' need to be drawn out?

I subscribe to the school of writers who like to (and often must), outline their stories before writing them. For a long time however, I did not use the 3-act structure. My mentality on that has no...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Kevin‭

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Q&A I have a name, and no plot [closed]

So I made a name for a character and his name is quite fancy so I have no idea what I should do with him. I named him, ready? Sir Nathaniel Charles III. Without asking for specific suggestions on ...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Cecilia‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A A.I character that talks using pre-scripted messages. How do i make it seem more relatable?

I have some character stuff im trying to figure out for an AI antagonist. In a game development project that I am part of, there is an artificial intelligence that speaks to the player character t...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Fennecai‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Kevin‭

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Q&A Dumping an entire world for dramatic effect?

About 1/3 of the way through my story the main antagonist "wins" and is able to completely remake the world of the story into his notion of an ideal world. The "new" world shares some elements wit...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Bad to start story with VR/non-real scene?

I'm coming up with an outline for a cyberpunk story. I want to establish (at some point) that the main character has marksmanship proficiency by starting my cyberpunk story with a VR sequence, in w...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Ninjalah‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭