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This started out as a comment, but got too big and I decided to change it into an answer, focusing on the OP's last question: But is it, I don't know, somehow alienating or offensive to white r...
Speaking as a white person, I can't imagine that I would be offended that a story contained no white characters. Depending on the setting, it might or might not seem odd. I mean, if the story is se...
Don’t worry about it. Race is a very minor consideration when it comes to characters. Focus on character traits, not skin colour. If you offend someone because you do not clearly state that charac...
There are thousands of books with no black characters, no Asian characters, no Hispanc characters. How is this different? You don't have to include white characters when many white authors have inc...
POV characters are not required. You can always tell your story from the perspective of an omniscient narrator/storyteller, and whenever necessary zoom into an internal (POV) dialogue/observation....
You need to change more than just the narrator As I understand it based on your question and comments; you want a character to narrate in third person for 1/2-2/3 of the story, then switch to an o...
Nope. You don't have to give the backstory at all. Sometimes it's just not important to the story. Do make sure the reader understands the setting, but then just tell your tale. That being said...
I would say the time to bring up the backstories of each character is when it feels right and feels worthwhile. That said, it may make sense to jot down some notes on what those backstories are no...
A sentence can indicate who is speaking without being attached by a comma. “Yes, but I mean no.” Steve stumbles over his words. “Not the come home part.” In this instance, Steve stumbles ove...
By their very nature as being main characters, your main characters would receive more attention than side characters. That's what makes them 'main'. It's their arc that we follow, it's their motiv...
This is true of children and cats: They're all my favorites because I love them equally. But this one is my special favorite. It's also true of characters. In a real life situation where you're ...
Question: What's the best way to channel, handle, or survive this part of the writing process? Answer: Keep a notebook handy. Always. And, set aside time to spend with that character. But addit...
Yes. Evoking visuals as metaphors in a way that leaves out verbal explanations of meaning is part and parcel of many (if not most) novels. Your example doesn't quite do this as you state, since i...
I believe you are being too specific when you're looking at who your audience is. Suggesting your passage would be solely interesting to collectors of objects would be like suggesting that Jules Ve...
The snowflake method may help you organize your thoughts and build a story in the way that you want. There are ten steps which move you back and forth between creating characters and creating plot....
I believe you are misunderstanding what a climax is. To quote Wikipedia, The climax (from the Greek word κλῖμαξ, meaning "staircase" and "ladder") or turning point of a narrative work is its po...
While I believe that you can't completely determine whether a story is too dark from the summary alone, I also have gotten a strong sense of what I think is most likely to be the case. I think you...
It might depend on the institution, but often times it's fine because it's your personal source for information, and if your reviewer looks at the source they will see where it comes from. I had a ...
You're forgetting the power of contrast. What makes a grim or bleak story compelling is the moments of hope, the flashes of humor, the unexpected kindnesses, the oases of calm in the middle of the...
Aluminum comes from the word alumina and is the name chosen by the Humphry Davy in 1812 and published throughout the world. "Aluminium" only exists because Thomas Young misspelled it. It's not a co...
In a non-scientific text (or in a scientific text, for that matter,) you should really keep it consistent. If you're otherwise using British English, then 'Aluminium' will look perfectly normal, ju...
It's a minor difference, so I wouldn't get hung up on it. If it's an issue for a publisher, it's easy to fix. I do a similar thing with the word "gray", because the street I grew up on had the word...
Every revolution is different. Every civil war is different. They are different in why they are fought, they are different in how they are fought, they are different in who is fighting. (To clarify...
Three main advantages: You won't have to actually research that country... If you set the story in Iraq, there is a lot of history and politics that your readers are already aware of, and your ...
Yes. It's your story, so it's okay. And I can't be the only American who wasn't all that aware of the difference and whose eyes gloss over the two (I can only see them as different now that you'v...
