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It depends on your audience, but it's true that you don't need to get specific to be harrowing, or whatever your intention is. Never forget the things the reader imagines will be stronger than anyt...
I doubt it is specific to romance. It seems to be everywhere. I keep finding books that have no reason to be in first person (and in some cases every reason not to be) which are in first person non...
I'd say it's a glass egg on its side, in a form-fitting metal cage, where you sit reclined and can look out the top. But, yeah, focus on what you need, and remove what you don't. If you really wa...
I think the trend is a fad, like slang, like teens finding their own "language" to communicate (as every generation does), like fashion. Remember bell-bottoms? Like music. Remember disco? Somethin...
Assuming the entire story takes place in this historical setting: no. The story needs to work in absence of the future. Technically speaking, there is no difference between a true medieval setti...
I'm in a similar situation to you. I wrote the first 50,000 words of a novel during a NaNoWriMo (I can't remember which at the moment) and then finished it up during a Camp NaNoWriMo. If you are lo...
Generally - is it a bad idea to try to finish a novel after a long break or would it be more productive to just start a new project from scratch? And, if it's not too broad a question, how m...
It sounds like you've got just enough motivation to want to do it (or you wouldn't have come here!), but not quite enough to be enthusiastic about it. I never try and be creative when I'm not feeli...
Short answer: all three options work, so experiment. James Scott Bell wrote a whole book on how to write from the middle. I haven't read it yet, so I don't know how good the reasons are for doing ...
If you do this, it will have a very specific effect --it will create distance between the narrator and the setting, which will tend to remind the reader of the artificiality of the writing. You ma...
I'd like to add a thing to all the already given answers. It's definitely not ok if this feature is used only once in the whole story, but if it is consistent instead... Chapter 3: The majestic s...
You have quite a bit of detail and so I believe it is possible that a couple of things are happening. These are my guesses but they may help you examine yourself for the best place to start. You...
There is no general rule. I am currently reading a book that has half a dozen named characters, sometimes close to each other or even in the same location, sometimes far away from each other with t...
The late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series has approximately 10,000 named characters and 500 story arcs*. You may take this either as evidence that it can work or cautionary tale. Or perhaps bot...
The first step to arouse any kind of emotion in your reader is to make the character relatable. If your readers can't relate to your character it doesn't matter what you do to the character, your r...
Horror works on building tension. Humour breaks it. On the face of it, you've got two cardinally opposed directions here. How do you mix the two? First, there's gallows humour. Gallows humour does...
I’m a little confused by your question and it may be worth providing more information if you want more answers, but these are my initial thoughts: As per the link that @J.G. has provided suggests,...
You can but don't need to. Alternate realities which are present day with some slightly different characters/events are totally fine. Unless you're planning to reference things that are happening t...
I would say that this setting isn't unheard of and is easy for readers to forgive. The problem will be that technology doesn't always advance at the rate you expect it to.. the common complaint i...
Try it as dialog... and then you'll also realize the situation could be seen as very prejudiced (code smell?) Let me show you: Groff: I'm leaving before those Grobschookas get here. Doff: ...
Indirection is only a problem when reader can't tell which layer of the story they are on Using a narrator that is retelling events from their life is a common literary technique. Many books do it...
It's not too much if you present it in more concrete terms. A "merchant" is not concrete enough; make it his uncle Bobby, or his neighbor. Have it be a specific person. Have his correspondent be a...
The thing to consider is: why you are killing the character? As stated in another answer you may be trying to show that your hero is a skillful fighter. If so, you probably just want to let the re...
An idea is not enough. It's abstract and need life to become concrete. If you just focused on your idea while writing, you will empty it and each word will make it less interesting. You must feed y...
I kissed a close friend of my wife by mistake last year. She was mortified and I must admit that I had mixed feelings of amusement and embarrassment too. But wait - before you go running to tell my...
