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One can plan plot in details, or one can design characters' traits and see what story can't help but develop from that. You might find either approach or something in between serves you, but it sou...
Every person has a style in which he or she talks. If your characters read like people who would use words such as ass than it would be weird if they talked about their posterior. But if your narra...
I'm now analyzing the scenes in my manuscript. I broke my manuscript into scenes using the definition that a new scene begins when a person, place, or time point shifts. This means whenever...
As a quick preamble, note that I am not a professional writer, and therefore I am not speaking from experience. From the sounds of it, you've tried the sensible approach. I'm going to assume that ...
I'm a journalist, and my writing work often involves writing reviews. Similar work in the field often focuses down on the mechanical, objective qualities of the thing being reviewed and that's been...
That is an interesting question and and interesting observation. Is the Stack Exchange answer a distinct genre? Or perhaps more broadly is the QA site answer a distinct genre. If it is, I think it ...
You should focus on one aspect and make it available in slightly augmented form in the other phases, too - or simply think about whether you really need those two parts The problem is that you are...
If you are so sure the reader is going to be sure what happens, then you need to make the journey interesting. There are plenty of stories in which everyone knows what's going to happen and enjoys ...
It might help if you try always to look for an active verb, and an active way of phrasing your statements. "Be" verbs (is, are) lie flat and motionless. "The problem with this approach is that......
You approach a story with a message the same way you approach a story without one: To make it compelling you need a good plot, good twists, and a hero the audience is hoping will succeed despite th...
Taking a life of their own is exactly what your characters should be doing. They should have enough of a "character" that a reader can predict how they would act in a given situation. That's what m...
The first approach is accurate, the second approach is wrong: 1a. Science helps us understand nature, vs. 1b. People who do science help us understand nature. Science, in general (I am a scientis...
Conflict does not have to be grand, and the stakes do not have to be enormous. Consider a romance, like "When Harry Met Sally" or "Sleepless In Seattle" or "You've Got Mail". I'm not saying you sho...
I'm trying to understand the technical difference between DITA and S1000D. Yes, I know, the common wisdom is that if you need documentation for helicopter or submarine, you should use S1000D, and ...
As @Galastel has already noted, the standard documentary approach is to film everything, and then to craft a story only at the end, and through the editing process. This is because the story you m...
To me it seems that your main issue is not having decided a common background-language for your story. In fantasy novels, either you Invent a whole new language (cfr. Tolken) Borrow languages f...
Theoretically, yes, you can have four parallel stories. The relevant trope is called Four Lines, All Waiting. The most famous example of such storytelling that comes to mind is G.R.R. Martin's Song...
At the moment I'm writing my master-thesis in the area of information systems. Because I developed some code to demonstrate my approach, I also mention some software tools in my proof-of-concept se...
I find it odd and unusual for a world to be inhabited by sentient beings where no one ever mentions or relates to religion. But it is completely fine for your characters to be atheists or just not...
My story (novella?) starts in media res, in the middle of the conflict that will set the rest of the story in motion. Currently I am "scene-cutting" between that event and some earlier events that...
In my own very brief experimentation with poetry, I always found it helpful to start with the image, the symbolism, as it were. So I wouldn't be "giving my poem more symbolism" - I'd start with the...
What is a reasonable scholarly approach to breaking down short pieces of prose? Is it word choice? Is it structure? Is it themes, and how well they are used? Use of symbolism and its efficacy? Mete...
You have been misinformed: The Lord of the Rings doesn't have short poems at the start of each chapter. The Lord of the Rings has poems of various length (up to several pages long), when characters...
I have written and illustrated a children's book and am looking for advice about where to go with it now. My thoughts are: approach independent bookstores, contact an illustrator's agent, approach ...
I would skip the poetry, but use the personal approach. Project X I had several duties on this project. My primary responsibility was mixing dangerous chemicals in a cauldron for various e...
