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You absolutely can have both an introduction and a prologue. Both are concepts which are well-familiar to readers; they will not be confused by it. If you do have both, the Introduction comes first...
If this is fiction, and you are unknown, your book should start with Chapter 1. No matter how clever you are, readers don't really give a rip about your process. Just start the story the best you c...
The extent to which you can do this varies depending on your audience, but generally, I wouldn't do it with a thoroughly unknown word. Tonitrus is an excellent example. Great word, means what you n...
I don't think you quite have the sense of what a red herring is. It really isn't a general plot device. It is more a specific technique in a puzzle kind of plot, such as a who-done-it mystery. It i...
Since it is for a video game, you should have a story. In fact, I'd finish the story completely, if for no other reason than for your peace of mind. That is, so you know inherently exactly what's g...
The structure and complexity depends how intense and deep you want the story to be. However, when planning you must know the following thing: The ending. For when you start work, the key to wor...
I studied literature at university. We spent a lot of time extracting meaning from texts, and some time on understanding the process of writers. From what I learned there, I can assure you that the...
I would like to try an answer that overlooks the contentious term 'subtext'. Regardless of its meaning (or meanings) in literary theory, the truth is most amateur writers (in the sense of writers w...
Okay... there are a few things that need to be said about the Hero's Journey. First, it is not a writing tool, it is an analysis tool, hence its inherent ambiguity. If you're trying to write a HJ ...
If you are writing and producing something, it's best not to squelch the process (as @what has stated). What I will say is it may be something which is not easily overcome and you may not want to o...
I'll first refer you to my answer to this question: https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/24551/how-to-determine-whether-or-not-a-plot-twist-is-needed. Now I will point out an implication o...
For me, the key to a plot twist is whether it makes "emotional sense." If people feel like your character has earned their success, then plot twists will seem extraneous. If they feel like your c...
The good-girl-bad-boy thing has always bothered me philosophically. Yet, this scenario fulfills itself endlessly in real life. Perhaps it is a benefit to the OP she exercises this part of her psych...
I have written lots of sexy/romance/erotica stories, and I have created lots of compelling female characters that I have fallen in love with (and hate with, etc). I think many of my readers have do...
Can men fall in love with characters in novels? Of course they can. Men and women fall in love with fictional characters of all kind. Think of the teen girl pining after a boy group, or the teen b...
I agree that it is possible to fall in love with female characters. I have on several occasions including that of shows. It isn't that I want THAT particular character, it's that I see many trait...
Usually if the love interest is uninteresting, it's because the author isn't very interested in him or her as a character. There's any number of (often quite successful) books and movies where the...
If the character is drawn starkly enough, even very small changes can be very noticeable. The best example I know of is in Nabokov's Lolita. The narrator is an unrepentant molester, who is basica...
Digits tend to be read faster and are less important. Spelling out numbers takes longer to read and are emphasized. So there are two things to consider: 1) How do people think of dates? Do you thi...
i feel that in a dialogue nobody will say "The year is 24356," maybe they will say "it's 56", "we are in 56" also such a large number for readers that are not used to it, makes almost no sense, it...
Don't listen to them There are very few rules to writing and good writers know how to break them. Someone saying 'don't use as much' is totally wrong. They just are. In your prose, 'as' will be us...
Your options are: Use modern terms Use antquated terms Use generic terms Use invented terms If you really think about it, that's all you have to work with. However, there's a wide palette of w...
A t-shirt is a short-sleeved pullover shirt. A chemise (a term still used) is a short-sleeved pullover dress, like a nightgown. Robes are full or half sleeved garments, typically open in front and ...
At some point, all fiction becomes self-conscious; not a big deal. The most important question is: does the narrative and story flow well and easily? Is it lively? Are you getting your point acro...
Any creature that can foresee its own death must learn to laugh or go mad. In other words, it is a mistake to think that humor is the opposite of seriousness. Humor is the way humans deal with th...
