Posts tagged fiction
Can you guys give a novice writer some advice on how to write good, frightening horror? I'm think more short story than novel, but anything that can give readers the creeps. I want to avoid being t...
I am currently working on a novel. currently two girls are the only active characters. I am curious if I need to separate the dialogue and action when one character is acting and another is actin...
Background I've found that at the end of a lot of my chapters, the endings feel quite forced and abrupt. This is because I don't know where to go, I've done what I need to do. For example: Exc...
I began work A Long Time Ago(tm) on this particular book and only took it up again about eighteen months ago. Back in 2007, I checked around but didn't see anybody of note with the name of my prota...
I'm reading a (proposed) novel for a friend, and they've used large chunks (as in, full paragraphs verbatim) from online sources within their text, usually sourcing from encyclopedias. The way they...
Say there is a small detail in the beginning of the book that has a big effect later on. The reader might've forgotten about that by the time they get to that part. How should I remind the reader a...
I'm writing an action/adventure in the same genre as Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. I've reached the climax, where the heroes have saved their friend from death at the last moment, and the cave/tomb...
I'm writing a story and it is really hard to avoid putting my own speech patterns into my stories. Especially for the mean and dark types. My character is a deceiving, mischievous leader. He plays ...
I am writing a novel called "Kimberly Rose," but the thing is, I'm 12. I'm not sure if there is an age cap when it comes to publishing books. Please tell me if you know.
At the time period of the story, certain names are different from the modern day language. An example of the "Japan" word in Portuguese: Portuguese 2016: Japão Portuguese 1506: Iapam The que...
It's a first person novel, and the main character has just overcome some emotional and mental barriers in order to unlock his telekinetic potential, under the training of his mentor. “Do it, A...
What are the pros and cons of basing the world on the characters found in it and conversely what are the pros and cons of basing the characters on the world in which they live?
I am writing a series and need help creating a name for them. An example of what I am looking for would be something like Cassandra Claire's Mortal Instruments or Christopher Paolini's Inheritance ...
Is it better to fill your first draft with excessive detail and edit the unneeded parts out after or if it is better to write simply and go back and add in the details after it is done?
I have always been poor at writing things without including excessive detail, but I managed to rewrite my synopsis with very little detail and with personal detailed side notes not included within ...
I've recently started writing, but hit a wall during a certain scene. In the story, the characters have an open debate on discrimination in an attempt to raise awareness for their issues and pass n...
I am asking this question because I think we need a precise definition of what Show Don't Tell means if we are to decide if it is good advice or bad, or if it is a valid suggestion for certain pass...
I am aware that there are lots of different ways to do this. I'm being subtle about it thus far. Our standards of beauty are skinny but with an ample bosom here in the US for the most part. The wom...
I was wondering about the use of separating fiction into "parts", similar to chapters but larger and spanning more text and using these to divide up books within a series. If I am unclear, refer to...
Are there any (books, articles or other online) resources that give practical guidance on writing non-fiction to a general audience at a level less technical than a pure scientific paper? I am spec...
I am writing a novel of historical fiction containing a short scene in which the city of Kiev is bombed on the first day of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Twenty-two people were k...
I enjoy writing, I really do. And also, I don't want to kill my time to make a living. I want to enjoy earning money. I don't wanna be rich, I just don't want to be poor. Can I make a living as a n...
(Apologies if this question has already been asked. I've looked around but can't find this specific question, only related ones.) The general advice seems to be "don't start your story with dialog...
I am writing a realistic-fiction novel set in the USA during the Great Depression. I intend to use some stock characters to make the story colorful and to flesh out the culture of the period. Stoc...
Let's imagine a book where my character holds the power of light. Reason being, everyone in his country is born with telekinesis. He however, is the only one with enough grasp of the (maybe a littl...
I see many similarities in films to the point where I can often guess what will happen next,even if the part was intended to be suspenseful. is that bad writing? should "plot twists" always be surp...
I'm writing a fantasy novel where antagonists have ability to steal skills/abilities from any creature (actually it's more like replacing own skills with others). I need ideas what skills they migh...
I've finally decided to give a protagonist a happy ending, but what is there to avoid? What makes a happy end too cheesy? For example, if the story is about a anti-hero, who destroys his enemies, w...
For example my story is placed in WW3, well the second chapter is placed in WW3, and yet I struggle, to write a plausible WW3 scenario. I have planned to make it about false flags committed by one ...
Please, before flagging this question as subjective or generic, take a moment to read it through. IMO this is a valid, specific question, albeit a bit complex. To try and unpack the admittedly obs...
I'm currently writing a story with a strong theme of spirituality and divinity. At around the halfway point my protagonist has a religious experience which changes them. This experience is a highly...
Is it acceptable practice to write a fiction novel set in an imaginary universe in first person plus have the main character be an alter ego of yourself? (The main character has my voice, essential...
Let's say I'm writing a story that isn't a fantasy story, it's more of a realistic thriller. However, I want to include a character who has psychic powers like telepathy and psychokinesis. Is it ...
I am in the beginning stages of writing my first book, and it is a true crime novel about something that happened down the street from my own home. My question is to anyone else who has written a n...
Paul McCartney, upon composing the melody for "Yesterday", felt certain that it was too good to be original, and that he must have heard it before and just couldn't remember it: McCartney compo...
I am writing fiction and considering using past tense by default but then switching to present tense for action scenes. This answer leads me to believe switching tense can be done. I assume that c...
I'm writing up a new story (which I've asked for help on in a few other places) which is a little outside my forte. The majority of my current work is saturday-morning cartoon stuff, light fantasy ...
I'm in the early stages of a story with a large number of characters, a complex backstory and a long history. This is mostly because I crafted the world myself for months before deciding to write i...
My second-grader has been asked to write a "fairy tale." We are both clueless about what makes a story a "fairy tale" different from a fantasy story. Is there some special, defining element to a fa...
I know why; they're cool, and they have a deep yearning to be free and with the air, which'll be a major theme in the story. But... I don't know how to explain their wings. I don't want them to be ...
Okay. In the story there's a flashback where one of the main protagonists loses his best friend in a battle where he was the only survivor. His best friend is a important character and, because of ...
In a nonfiction snippet I'm writing about metrology, specifically the term micron being used in reference to the unit multiple micrometre (AmE: micrometer) I need to cite Resolution 7 of the 13th C...
I'm writing a first person story and the main character will hear a number of odd names said. The odd names will be put into Google and her spelling will be corrected, but I was wondering how to ha...
For some reason my writing is really boring. I think its because I write in the character's point of view and I suck at that. How can I fix this?
I'm writing a grant in psychology/cognitive neuroscience. I am considering including a fragment of a book at the beginning, to illustrate the question. Regardless of whether this is a good idea, is...
Example: "Exactly." John scratched the nape of his neck. It had a faint, purple blotch I hadn't noticed before. Probably sunburn. "Our lives began in the sea, and will probably end on land....
I want your opinion on this: For about half a year now I've researched my novel. Because of situating the story to the part of an original Earth's history, I made my research about history, demogr...
Examples from my own writing: She smiled kindly. “Maybe I can help you. What are you trying to find?” "Probably," he said apologetically, as if he were personally responsible for t...
I never noticed this in my writing until one of my readers pointed it out: We were driving down the highway in Tom's Toyota 4Runner, dim streetlights passing by, the night city scene fading b...
