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Q&A

Posts tagged short-story

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Q&A Changing a story's title to hint at story's meaning

I wrote a short story here http://zecountess.deviantart.com/art/Mirrors-440990952 whose ending explains everything that is narrated before. The feedback I got from my readers is varied, and none o...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Kuchiki Byakuya‭  ·  last activity 2mo ago by ireneparsons‭

Question short-story titles
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Q&A Blog Timeline for mini stories

Does anyone know of any blog tools that incorporate a timeline? What I'm essentially wanting to do is write little short mini stories about my life, but on each blog entry I'd want a timeline to ap...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by codemann8‭  ·  last activity 3mo ago by Mithical‭

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Q&A How can I shorten a piece of writing effectively? [duplicate]

I always face the problem of word limit. How can I shorten a piece of writing without causing its original essence to mar? How can I be effective in doing that? Are there any general rules? For ex...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Stacy‭  ·  closed as duplicate 4y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Q&A What genre would a fictional eyewitness account of a real historical event fall under?

I've written a short story about a true historical incident which involves a very famous person in history. The incident is true as are the people involved in it. But the story is a fictional eyewi...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by srini‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mark Baker‭

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Q&A Introducing evil characters before the evil deeds take place

Is it possible to introduce evil characters (be identified as evil) before the action (the crimes committed by the characters) takes place?

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Yukang Jiang‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A How could the disregard for both plot and dialogue tell the story?

I want people to understand what I write, but I do not want to use conventions such as plot or dialogue to tell a story. Without a plot I have been criticized of not having written a story, but s...

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

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Q&A Is having elaborate metaphors ever a bad thing?

Is having elaborate metaphors a bad thing in a short story (for the purposes of the story being accepted by a magazine)? How can I know if my metaphors are too elaborate?

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

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Q&A Are competitions worth it in order to get published?

I have recently finished my 25,000 word novella and contacted some publishers and agents about a month ago. I have only heard back from a couple rejecting me but considering the format of my book a...

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

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Q&A Character and world building in less than 2000 words

Is it possible to build a new character and/or world in a science fiction under a tight word limit? What aspects should be covered and what avoided? Also are there some similar previous examples to...

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

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Q&A What are the top most important key elements for a computer game story?

I am a programmer and in the middle of developing a TBS (turn based strategy) computer video game. Those kind of games have a flow of what is commonly known to gamer as 4X, that is, explore, expand...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Stefanos Zilellis‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Secespitus‭

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Q&A How do I write a generic romantic relationship between a male anti-hero and a female antagonist?

My anti-hero is good character; my female antagonist is the threat. How can I express a romantic relationship between them if I write a short novel? I am a new writer with almost no experience. I h...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Seraph Myrmidon‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Amadeus‭

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Q&A How can I hint that my character isn't real?

How can I make a side character's tangibility open to interpretations so the audience is unsure if she's even real? My short story is about identity. My main character is being pressured by a frie...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by AyanaLuna‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Using a different POV just for the opening line

I'm currently working on a short story with a dramatic "twist" ending. I use the quotation marks because, unlike a conventional plot twist aimed at surprising the reader, the intended target of the...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by motosubatsu‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A POV - 3rd Person Rules and Exceptions?

I'm stuck on a POV question in a short story I'm writing. The entire story is written in 3rd Person, but not omniscient - I guess it's either "distant limited" or "deep" (I'm not sure exactly the d...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by romebot‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does a story necessarily need a theme?

I'm writing a short story From what I understand, the theme is the message that I want to send across. Akin to Beauty and the Beast's "Don't judge a book by its cover" theme, or "Opposites attract...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Dylan Beck‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is an easy way to create a detailed character profile for a short story?

What is an easy way to create a detailed character profile for a short story? I'm new to this Stack Exchange, and need help creating an organized character profile, with the information I have on m...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by Alfred King‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does the protagonist need a name?

Does the main character in a short story need a name? My story gives lots of other details about the character.

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Nikki ltd‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to think of a plot in 5 minutes

I have an English high school exam in five days in which I will be given 2-3 prompts e.g. A story which includes the sentence, "I could not not believe when my neighbour walked right past me" or a ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by abdullahaquarius‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question plot short-story
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Q&A Can anyone provide any recent examples of characters which first appeared in a short story, eventually becoming major TV or Film properties? [closed]

So for example, in the Victorian era, the character Sexton Blake first appeared in a short story, and progressed (in the hands of many different writers) through novels, comic strips, stage plays, ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Monkeybrain‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story
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Q&A Writing a short story with a secret code

I want to write a fictional short story where part 2 is embedded in part 1. Has anyone heard of this or tried this? Any ideas of resources would be greatly appreciated. Edited for Clarity: Imagi...

1 answer  ·  posted 9y ago by Anton Rasmussen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story
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Q&A Multiple characters without names: how to address

First off, the answer might be pretty much obvious (that there is no clear way to distinguish these characters) but I would still very much like to have perspectives (and perhaps even get an answer...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Pravesh Parekh‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Location description

I have a question for a friend in prison who wants to write a book. He asked me to get him a BOOK that helps him describe locations. He knows he can ask me for help, but being in prison he cannot a...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Leontien Bleeker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story
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Q&A Multiple Point of View characters in a short story

I'm working on a short story (maximum of 6,000 words) and realized that I will need to have two point-of-view (POV) characters. Let's call them Greg and Jeff. This became necessary when I saw that ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Frank Luke‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Level of description in a story

I have often come across stories where the author has described a particular scene or action of a character in minute details. e.g. If a character has to open a door, the description is about how ...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Javeer Baker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story style
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Q&A How can I dig conflict out of an optimistic SF-nal premise?

I frequently have ideas for what could be called "optimistic" science-fiction premises - imaginary technological or social changes which I think would create an unusual and interesting setting, and...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to become a productive/accomplished writer?

I prefer writing short stories. Over the years, I have learnt many essential skills that I employ in my work. I believe (and this is my personal assessment) that my stories are of good quality (i.e...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Javeer Baker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story
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Q&A How to write from the middle?

My biggest problem as a writer is that I always get inspired and then start writing from the middle, in particular scenes or moments which I think will be crucial. Climaxes. These scenes turn out...

4 answers  ·  posted 11y ago by Alexander Nikolas Gruber‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Do flashbacks break up short stories too much?

Recently, I wrote a short story that contains a flashback in the middle that was used to explain a major plot point in the story. Does a significant scene set as a flashback break up the flow of a ...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by kuwaly‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it a bad idea to turn a short story into a full-length novel?

I've written a couple of short stories. I'm really satisfied with some of them, and I would like to turn them into full-length novels. They were meant to be short stories from the beginning, but I ...

1 answer  ·  posted 11y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question novel short-story
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Q&A How do I stick to one story?

I have been writing bits and pieces for quite a while now. I just can't ever follow through. I have written tons of poems (close to 50) but the only reason they have been possible is because I can ...

2 answers  ·  posted 12y ago by shachna‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to effectively jump from one period of time to another in a short story?

This is the first time I'm writing something that jumps from one period of time to another in a short story: The field was vast and empty, like a green abandoned planet. Icaro and Maru were l...

1 answer  ·  posted 12y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question fiction short-story
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Q&A Does giving away free stories boost sales?

Is it worth it for writers to give away free short stories (or entire novels)? I've heard people say that having freebies on your site can boost sales of your books. I'm not talking about giving aw...

2 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by Ralph Gallagher‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Short Story first or skip to Screenplay

I'm planning to shoot and direct my own short, small budget science fiction movie as a long term project to learn more about movie making. However, I'm at the very start where I need to write a dr...

3 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by GateKiller‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I better handle my nameless main character when trying to retain mystery?

I have written a short story, and the main character is referred to as "he" right the way through - the idea being that this character is very guarded and mysterious. My plan was to not reveal the ...

5 answers  ·  posted 13y ago by Dan Hanly‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A What should tie a collection of short-stories together?

Short-stories are a nice format to write. If you have been an aspiring writer for at least one year, it's quite probabile that you've got at least three short stories drafted out, sitting in some d...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing short stories in an original world setting [closed]

I'm writing short stories in a Fantasy world setting I have created — medieval times, magic, dragons, etc. People who are familiar with such a world may not find a problem reading a short story set...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Oren_C‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to write from a cat's perspective?

I want to write a short story from the perspective of a cat who wants to kill a bird that extremely annoys her. Just like Tom is trying every time to kill Jerry or do something to him. However, I d...

3 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Irene‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to make the murder's identity less obvious, or make the obviousness not matter?

I'm writing a short story following the first person perspective of the MC, who is a young, male writer of horror stories. He goes on a cruise with his girlfriend and their friends, and, unsurprisi...

5 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by user289661‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can one character narrate past events to another character?

In my story there is a scene where a character narrates some past to another character. And this past consists of 600 - 900 words. How do I write this? It is like a story within a story, but it on...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by K20‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question short-story style
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Q&A A torrent of foreign terms

I am writing a short story, about a particular field with multiple specific terms, none of which are in English. (Specifically, I'm writing about bullfighting, but the question could apply to other...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Sci-fi change: Too much or Not enough

I am in the process of editing a short story. It is science fiction of the "if this goes on" kind: I take a social trend I see, and paint its event horizon - a troubling future. 1984 and Fahrenheit...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing a short story in the same universe as my novel

In my post-apocalyptic novel, the MC Eris navigates the world of survivors and grapples with her newly discovered abilities. The leader of the group of survivors, and the book's antagonist, Ezrith...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Continuing a short story [closed]

I got an assignment from my teacher that tells me to continue a story that he started. The limit is 1 page. The scenario is that Rose (the main character) is looking for a missing painting, inside ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by CatbusTotoroDustbunnies07‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How should I handle writing a story where different portions of the narrative are told from the point of view of several different narrators?

My story is told from the perspective of different satellites that are creating a narrative. There are over ten of these narrators. I'm wondering if this might appear confusing for readers if the v...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by shlomotion‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Likeable characters with deplorable professions?

I'm planning out an idea for a short story. In the story, slavery didn't abruptly end but instead continued to modern day and beyond. The structure of the story will be similar to The Last Question...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by TheJohnMajor01‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to plan a short story for a given word count?

Many short story competitions, at least in Israel, set a theme and a word count: up to 2500 words, 2000-5000 words, etc. I often find myself starting short stories for such competitions, and hittin...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should a short story be submitted to a publisher in order to know if they would be interested in a book based on it?

I wrote a very compelling science fiction short story. I am currently writing a book about an entirely different universe, not related to this short story. I made this story rest for a long time, ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by CashewsFuel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Do I stand to lose anything if I reprint an already published story on my own site?

I've got a story published in print with limited circulation. From what I can tell, my first publication rights are spent. I like this story and I want to make it available to more people, so I'm ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Andrey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Why do most literature magazines take so long (several weeks or months) to respond to submissions despite having only a few hundred subs per month?

I have heard that the the editor of F&SF (Finlay) is the only one who reads all the submissions. Yet he always responds within a week! (With detailed comments on each story.) Clarkesworld is an...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user394536‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to avoid turning dialogue into Q&A session?

I noticed a problem I have in my fictional writing. My dialogues quickly turn into interrogations. Here is an exaggerated example. "How did you do it?" he asked. "..." "Will it kill...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user18993‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭