Posts tagged fiction
Becoming nervous in the heat of a situation. Perhaps you witnessed something not for the faint of heart. Like, how would I describe shaky legs without being so boring about it.
I'm writing a novel where a person who has decided to commit suicide can hire some murderers to kill he/him in the way he/she prefers. There are only two members running this service. A man and a w...
In a situation where a POV character isn't lucid enough to see or interpret what's going on around them, I find myself constantly describing things either in passive voice, or by using the word 'so...
I have read in a few books about writing science fiction that a compelling concept should override considerations for character, and possibly other things like setting or plot. I have the notion t...
How can I portray a character who does not actively seek attention, but is still vain and self-superior? Since I don't know how much information you will need, I will list everything I think might...
In the Magic Tree House series, two ordinary English-speaking kids travel to different faraway lands through a portal. Every character they meet, whether it's ancient Greece or ancient China, speak...
I'm writing science fiction short stories and intend to later expand and stitch them together into a science fiction novel. My problem is that (e.g.) the scenery is left / the destination point is...
I've read a lot of the questions on here concerning naming characters and deciding on whether to use a fictional city. I have already decided to use a fictional city in the piece. But, my problem w...
Critics of my screen play tell me that I have done a good job of developing the story, less so in developing the characters. A couple examples follow: The main character is a woman who is the "fif...
I have a question regarding the legality of using a real museum and real artifacts in my Heist book which is almost ready for publication. Initially, it will be self-published via the amazon kindle...
Having nearly completed the second draft on my 135,000 word novel, I am now seeking critiques of my query letter before I submit them to agents. I did find a forum at AQ Connect - Query Critiques ...
I'm writing a non-fiction business book and will self-publish first as an ebook and then as a hardcover. What are effective techniques I can use to have it reviewed in appropriate media, such as Th...
I am currently writing a medieval (low fantasy) novel set in a society akin to that of Western Europe during the Middle Ages. One of my protagonists is raised poor in a small village, but early on ...
This is a habit I have with my stories, and I think it's a bad practice. The story I'm writing isn't of the suspense genre, it's a mix of fantasy and realistic fiction, but a bit of "I wonder what/...
A very short question. I'm writing a trilogy. Book 1 was 88,000 words, but book 2 is probably only going to be 75,000 words. That's over 10,000 words less. Should I find a way to make it longe...
I've written a fictional story and the way my characters are coming together and forming a bond seems way too coincidental to me. A lady lives on the first floor while her tenant, a guy, lives ...
I find it horribly irritating when I'm half way through a book and suddenly discover a character I imagined as skinny is now "folding his arms across his barrel chest" or a character I envisioned a...
I'm writing in third person because I want to express the standpoint of both of my characters. Everything's running smoothly except for the part where I want to describe their kiss. I'm in conflict...
Background I've had this question for a really long time. A lot of my work seems quite 'floaty' and 'old style' because I describe things in a very metaphorical and surreal way. For example: H...
How can I get a reader profile for a publishing category i.e. criminal justice, social justice?
I used to call my novel a techno-thriller but most readers stated they wanted to see more action in the very first chapter. At first I thought of complying, but then realized why would I reveal mor...
How does one go about finding and joining a critique group for nonfiction? I'm writing two different non-fiction books: A collection of pieces written by a relative, collected and edited by me. ...
Specifically, with some kind of psychological subject, and some theories and philosophies. The book will have subjects people generally refer to as from people experienced in life, who have been t...
I'm writing a somewhat depressive story that has no comic reliefs and no happy scenes/moments (except the ending and one or two in the beginning). The only scenes that aren't sad or negative are th...
My novel "A Chase After the Wind" was published by America Star Books and sold a few copies but they never marketed the book unless I paid them to do so. I did once but it did not result in any sal...
I write mostly fictions. However, I am an apathetic-type narcissist, which means I cannot understand other people's feelings and thoughts easily, if at all. As a result, all my characters who are ...
It dawned on me the other day, after struggling through a fight scene, that I am lost when it comes to writing action. I usually write slower, dialogue-heavy scenes, and I have become used to takin...
I have a similar question as the one asked in 'How to write montages in prose? (fantasy novel)' however, there has been no answer in this and it is far too general. The question I wish to ask is;...
I'm working on a prose that depicts a sexual act that I feel readers should be uncomfortable with. I'll spare you the details, but the short version is that the main character is turned on by a vio...
How do I create an impossible choice for my protagonist? I want to place him in a painful dilemma, and I'm having trouble making the choice feel truly impossible. For example, I'm writing a scene ...
Is there a genre that could be called "Safe Thriller"? It seems that all thriller novels are R rated. A PG rated thriller could still be engaging and serious without gross content. Similar to a "Co...
Firstly, I'm sorry if I end up being too vague in my question, but it's really hard for me to express exactly what is the problem. I was watching a video of a walkthrough of a game (Drakengard) an...
The story I'm currently writing is a framed story where a recurring-depression-suffering writer that lost his wife [killed] in a war tells his life story in a symbolical fantasy world. Throughout t...
I am currently writing a short story in which the story's climax revolves around the protagonist making and carrying out a decision to take action. I have come to realise that the decision I orig...
I have written both professionally and on an amateur level for several years. A lot of it basically fell into my lap, and it hasn't been my primary profession for a couple of years now. I have some...
Background When I first tried writing fantasy - a long long time ago - I wrote a book that was meant to be really serious and intense. However, I wrote it in a way where the characters joked aroun...
I've recently been researching and discussing characters and character roles, mostly off the back of feedback on a romance story that described the "love interest" (if that is the correct literary ...
I was having a discussion over coffee with an aspiring author friend of mine and we had an interestingly productive but annoying argument about in-novel crushes. He said that he had never had roma...
I'm only 12, and I've been writing seriously since last year. I tried writing a novel before (I wrote only 5 chapters; I gave up later due to time constraints). I've written a couple of short stori...
The American standard is to use double quotation marks ("example") and the British standard is to use single quotation marks ('example'). Style guides insist that you should be consistent regarding...
Is it possible to write a good story without any dialogue? I'm working on a short story, and trying to keep it within 2000 words, but preferably 1000-1500 words. I'm trying to write it as if the n...
I've noticed that successful detective stories are, nearly always, not written in the point of view of the detective himself. The protagonist (i.e. the ingenious detective at the heart of the story...
I have tried to write a couple of stories, but all of them sounded like a two-year-old wrote them (no offence to two-year-olds). My grammar and spelling are pretty good, but the big problem is tha...
Generally speaking, English once used 'you' as the second person plural (equivalent to 'vous' and 'vós') and 'thou' as the second person singular (equivalent to 'tu'). When talking to a person in a...
I'm writing a story which starts with the birth of the MC; the scene just shows the parents talking with the doctor. The MC enters the picture in third person limited in the following scene (and th...
I'm working on a book right now, and I want to add something that the reader really has to search for, such as symbolism or motifs. What are some ways to implement those, or such like it, into any ...
In a story I use the Japanese words konnichiwa and kawaii: "Konnichiwa!" greeted a voice. "Wanna cuddle with a cutie for a couple of minutes?" She beamed a kittenish kawaii smile. I t...
I am writing a fiction. I start in first person(I) and then because I had to describe emotions of other characters simultaneously I switched to third person, (referring as she, they or the name of ...
I'm in the process of planning a story right now, without the intention of sharing it it with others, but I would like it to be comprehensible if I do. It's set in the 1880s and is formatted like a...
This question rather stems from my last question about inspiration vs copying from another authors work. While the suggestions I got there haven't completed resolved my issues and doubts, they have...
