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Q&A

Posts tagged technique

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Q&A Arousing Emotion in Readers

Last Christmas my sister bought me a tome called The Book of Human Emotions (by Tiffany Watt Smith). I just started reading it and it got me thinking about how a writer might arouse emotion in a re...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by robertcday‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Mixing humour with horror in fiction

I got into trouble last year for submitting an assignment (Masters in Creative Writing) that included a story that sprinkled elements of humour (think Despicable Me) into a gritty and frankly distu...

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

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Q&A How to make side-characters look competent next to the chosen one?

I'm writing a storyline for a game where the forces of evil have humanity cornered. Truly everything seems lost, that is, until our main character decides to step in. Let's call him Bob. The Chosen...

5 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Not A Vampire‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Describe illustrated characters?

I'm writing a YA fantasy novel in my free time that I plan to illustrate myself. Most if not all named characters will have their 'picture' presented to the reader as soon as they are introduced. ...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Not A Vampire‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to describe sound? [closed]

I have this scene in my novel that I'm trying to write. There is this character who is on the boat, rowing. I don't know how to describe the sound of the oar touching the water as he paddles. The ...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Narciso Samelo III‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do you tell a character's backstory without explicitly telling it?

I want to tell a character's backstory, but I don't want that character to tell it directly to the protagonist, or to use another character to do it for them. Is there a way to do this?

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

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Q&A Is First person perspective more intimate than Third person perspective?

I know there's a lot of questions regarding this topic, but none of them delved too deep into if there's a different level intimacy between the two perspectives. People have told me that FPP in a...

2 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by A. Kvåle‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Working with hints/clues - Show vs Tell vs Nothing -ish

This is about the hints that the readers should notice as the story progresses - and should definitely notice upon re-read. First off, I looked around for a bit and didn't see any questions on th...

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

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Q&A How to link two sentences? [closed]

I have the following sentences: Anyone can use stock footage. and Only you know how to use it correctly. I am wondering if it makes sense to combine them as such Anyone can use st...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by John‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to confidently attract the other party to your side?

I have the following sentence: Once they realize they have no chance of defeating you, they'll end up joining you. I feel this sentence may come across as a bit "cocky" because I would want t...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by John‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to evoke wonder in the reader, when there isn't an incredulous character?

A "fish out of water" character can serve as a reader proxy: whether it is a wondrous view, an unusual custom, or what have you, the character experiences and responds to them, and through him - th...

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

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Q&A How do you write a Stack Exchange answer?

Over my years on StackExchange I've come to view answering SE questions as its own, highly specialized writing subgenre, with its own demands, and its own ideal format. By trial and error, and obs...

13 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Chris Sunami‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question technique structure
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Q&A Plot twist twist = straight plot twist

I'm thinking of putting a "straight plot twist" to my story. What I have in mind is putting in a similar situation that leads to a previous plot twist, but actually the plot is just going straight ...

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

Question plot technique twist
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Q&A How do I write an action scene?

I have recently written an action scene, and I am not satisfied with it. It sounded choppy and inconsistent, and I'd love to know how to write it so it makes sense, doesn't sound like a robotic des...

4 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by A curious writer‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to remove generalizations from a sentence?

I’m writing a paper and I have these sentences that are a bit problematic. I feel they generalize a bit and could be rewritten in less words. I’m kindly seeking suggestions on how to improve the be...

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

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Q&A Using internal monologue for more than one or two characters

It appears that most "rules" regarding internal monologue advise restricting its use to one or two POV characters. My novel, however, will have five or six major (POV) characters, and I would like ...

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

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Q&A How can I make "acts of patience" exciting?

This answer to the question Averting Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses introduces a distinction between acts of patience and acts of daring. [...] when it comes to telling a story [...] acts of d...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by sesquipedalias‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Averting Bathos

Bathos is a storytelling technique that consists in the rapid succession of 2 “moments” with conflicting tones. This trope occurs when a serious moment gets followed by a gag. One of the many, many...

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

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Q&A What techniques authors use to keep track of their cast?

There is a problem as stories progress (especially in never-ending web novels) where the cast of characters keep growing. Some webnovels I follow are in the hundreds! Is there a technique for auth...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mindwin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Don't look at what I did there

This question is about hiding from the reader the fact that I am skipping some steps. Worse, perhaps, I don't want to show them, and I may have no clue or intention of figuring out how these steps ...

10 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by _X_‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to describe accents?

India has a diverse range of languages and accents. Moreover, people from different parts of the country have different accents of speaking the same language as well. For example, a person from Guj...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Karan Desai‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A In a script how can I signal who's winning the argument?

Arguments, discussions, disagreements In my script I have a lot of "arguments" – loose definition: long discussions where characters disagree about what to do. These arguments don't escalate to ...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by wetcircuit‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How important are the author's mood and feelings for writing a story?

How important are the author's mood and emotions while writing a story or describing a scene? For example, while writing an erotic scene, is it important for the author to feel the same way as the...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by srini‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Too eloquent characters

Here's a critique I've received more than once: "your character talks like a character from a book. He's too eloquent, nobody really talks like that, unless they grew up in a library." Now, to som...

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

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Q&A How to make a setting relevant?

One piece of feedback that I got on a story I wrote is that my settings feel irrelevant, or that the entire book could have been a phone call. I am not sure how to go about fixing this. The charact...

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

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Q&A Is a lack of character descriptions a problem?

I have written a novel in which none of the characters are ever described. It started out by accident (3 chapters in when I realized). Question: Is this a good/unique approach or shot myself in ...

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

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Q&A How to write cleanly even if my character uses expletive language?

I'm writing a story that I'd like younger readers to pick up. I and they know and understand that some situations are far better expressed with one f-word than a thousand milder ones. I'm keeping m...

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

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Q&A I am afraid some scenes in my novel are too graphic for some people (Trigger warning: Sexual Assault)

Just to keep it short. One of my characters is sexually assaulted by her father. While not being descriptive of the act itself, the situation itself is quite an sad scene. This is relevant as the...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by user36686‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question novel technique sex
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Q&A What are some ways to implement multiple endings in a novel?

I am thinking of implementing multiple ending to one of my novels and it would be done the following way: There's a scene where the main character is about to do something, but I leave it to the re...

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

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Q&A How is a semordnilap typically used?

I am asking whether I should use it as a hint to make it clear that my story is about the story of Adam and Eve. In my short story, there's a place called "Nede", with two characters called "Mada"...

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

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Q&A How do you prevent whiplash when transitioning between comedy and tragedy?

I constantly see reviews of people criticizing how it feels like "whiplash" when going from something like a death scene to someone cracking a joke, and I agree, but I don't know why I agree. I ju...

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

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Q&A How to present an alien culture with different morals, without it coming across as savage?

For a fiction story of mine (probably fantasy, if I had to categorize it), I've set it in a world that is in some ways similar to Earth, and in other ways very dissimilar from Earth. In place of ...

7 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Canina‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to show the same emotion multiple times?

I think everyone has heard the "show don't tell" rule. My question is how can I show same emotion multiple times without the description being the same. For example if my character is scared I can ...

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

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Q&A Writing as a hobby, where do you learn the basics and go further?

Sorry if I use the wrong terms or make a wrong assumption. I consider myself a beginner, and I know that I still have to learn a lot in the field. I write as a hobby. I do it when I have the tim...

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

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Q&A How to write a good MacGuffin?

I backed myself into a corner and have to create a [TV TROPES WARNING] MacGuffin for a story. How can I create a good MacGuffin? How to make it interesting for the reader ? I don't know where to ...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Cerise St Hilaire‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I make my characters sound British?

This might sound silly, but I am trying to make one of my characters British and I have a hard time portraying that idea on paper. My novel is set in a fantasy land, nothing like this world and I a...

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

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Q&A Not projecting myself onto my characters

I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I was little. But recently, I feel like my writi...

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

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Q&A How should a big universe be introduced without being boring?

If I have a big universe that I need to set up, with lots of characters, lots of locations, magic rules, technology, government rules, is it okay to introduce and explain all of this at the beginni...

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

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Q&A Facial expressions as part of dialogue - getting rid of a verbal tic

I noticed a verbal tic in my writing: He looked surprised He looked confused He looked abashed Sometimes twice in a row: The prince looked abashed. “I- I thought I was being pol...

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

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Q&A How to introduce a large amount of characters in the first chapter?

So, I have a novel idea where the lead characters (seven in total), all have to be introduced in the first scene in my novel. I've already started with a basic idea, but I wanted to know if anyone ...

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

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Q&A How does one discovery-write court intrigue?

Intrigue (any kind, really, but royal courts were particularly known for it) is a series of setups that lead to a pay-off. For example, a handkerchief moved from one room to another, a word whisper...

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

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Q&A Promoting controversial opinions in a work of fiction

I'm writing a first person novel and main character has highly controversial views, many of which the majority of people would probably consider immoral. Would a character with controversial attitu...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by rus9384‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing about a topic which you don't have personal experience in

I would like to make it very clear that I'm very young (just graduated to a teen) and only an amateur writer. I have recently become seriously involved in writing in preparation for my IGCSE Englis...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Soha Farhin Pine‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do you escalate a story's plot after killing the Big Bad?

Everyone remembers the Death Star and how it was supposed to be the most potent superweapon in the Star Wars-verse. Then in the Expanded Universe, they needed to add tension to the series since the...

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

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Q&A What kind of protagonist or writing style is Jack Sparrow?

I want to ask about a certain style on how to present a character. I know Jack Sparrow is from a movie (and I've only watched the movies too) but I want to integrate in my writing how he was presen...

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

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Q&A How to improve a scene where the drama is one-sided and not with the POV character?

I have a scene I struggle with: it has potential for inherent drama, but it reads as an info dump. In a high-fantasy setting (more or less), character Alpha, a 14-year old daughter of a nobleman c...

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

Question fiction technique pov
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Q&A Describing a strong sexual attraction (on first sight) [closed]

I wish to describe strong physical attraction on first sight by a human towards an alien. A Human meets an Alien but the Alien is extremely beautiful (sorry Humans!) and would wipe the floor of the...

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

Question technique sex
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Q&A Invoking Deliberate Values Dissonance

Deliberate Values Dissonance is when the morals of a character or culture in-story (whether historical or fictional) that modern people don't agree with are presented in-universe. Not because the a...

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

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Q&A Dialogue in First Person Fiction (Detective Mystery) [closed]

Karl is my detective protagonist. His girlfriend, Jenna, is with him. He is hospitalized, and his boss, Rob Tucker, shows up for a visit. Which example of dialogue is correct? In true first person,...

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

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Q&A How can I make my anti-heroic protagonist more likable?

A while ago, I asked if there any possible way for my series to avoid causing Darkness Induced Audience Apathy. A well thought-out response stated that unless I give my readers a reason to care abo...

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