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Well, that would depend how long this short story is. But to me, the first idea that comes to mind is to show this short story by having a character actually reading it, perhaps within the framewor...
In plagiarism, you copy another persons words and idea. As long as you're not doing precisely that you're fine! :) Seriously, I copy stuff all the time. In my writing, there's a city that was des...
The secret to voice in writing is that what you write needs to be matched to a) you, b) your audience, and c) the specific usage. There is no objective fact of the matter as to whether a given sen...
I'm going to answer this from a different point of view. What you ask for, and what many inexperienced artists crave, is a secret or formula they can follow to create outstanding art. They read ho...
Your original question was about how to avoid writing complex sentences, and, as a couple of people have already intimated, perhaps you shouldn't. As I mentioned, I struggle with the same problem....
Your order of imagery is not in order. I presumed the window was closed due to bad weather. But you had me thinking a minibus was outside because it was said last. Many times all you have to do is ...
You can provide a signal at the start of each point. For example, the first paragraph can begin, "First, I want to say blah blah blah..." and the second paragraph can continue your point. The thi...
My Personal Experience with Copy-Phobia I know exactly what you're talking about. Because I had exactly the same thing. For example, I love the video game Dark Souls 3 very much, and I took it as...
One solution is to try and write a story backwards...literally. Obliterate the very idea of making sense and this helps me at least to think in terms of creating and not so much writing...thus bei...
It depends on the commenter. Is this a friend who is just being effusive, or someone who's offering constructive criticism (or praise) with an eye toward getting you published? Roughly speaking, it...
If someone asks you a writing question, don't answer with reference to your own work. Answer with reference to the works of the greatest writers you have read. This allows you to address the questi...
What strikes me about your examples is that the goals are quite abstract. This may be the peril of taking such an analytical approach to developing a story (there are, of course, perils in every ap...
I think this is a great question, and I commend you on your self-awareness. If you're having trouble conceiving of a drive for your hero on your own, I suggest you go through some of your favorit...
Possibly one of the mistakes you're making that is leading to repetitive plots is the idea that any given character in a story will have only a single goal that defines and directs their life. T...
I think you answer your own question. The details are not 'unimportant' in your question because they form part of the characterization. If something is properly 'unimportant' then it can be cut ...
The purpose of fiction is to give pleasure. The question, therefore, is not whether a detail is important but whether it gives pleasure. Different types and levels of detail will give different kin...
No, your sentences are not at all confusing and your English teacher is wrong. I could see the vague reflection of a stressed me breaking into a little grin on the damp window pane, as well as...
Logically, no. The headings delineate the hierarchy of the document. Bullets delineate the structure of lists, not matter where they appear in the document hierarchy. If your style is to indent sec...
It sounds like you're seeing this problem in Hero's Journey stories, which have a pretty standard arc (Hero leaves Home, gains Mentors and Helpers, faces Challenge at Threshold, returns Home with K...
The Writing Excuses podcast offers a lot of tips and discussion on specific aspects of the writing craft. It's mainly geared towards writers of sci-fi/fantasy, but includes plenty of advice that is...
Inspiration is inspiration and it comes in many forms. Let's say I go on holiday to a nice sunny place and see, first hand, the 'story' of poor local people trying to survive by competing for th...
I don't know of any software that can do this. What I have done in the past, and what I'm doing again after trying to work with Excel, is write my outline in a text document. Each chapter is a num...
You can't. Major publishers publish thousands of books a year that don't sell. Movie studios release hundreds of movies that no one watches. TV Networks create new shows every season that get cance...
Your best bet in this scenario will simply be to prevent the reader from forming any false impressions. You can do this by correcting him immediately after the word. She saw another girl, abou...
In regards to your first example, if you establish beforehand that the protagonist is a teenager, the reader isn't liable to assume that the other girl is a child because of the another preceding t...
