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Is a book labelled "romance" expected to a have a happy ending? I've heard advice that "romance" novels are meant to satisfy, well, a desire for romance, and so an ending without a "happily ever ...
I've gotten feedback for a complete draft of my WIP fantasy novel. Overall it's looking good, but a couple of friends noticed a significant loophole in the system of magic I use in the book. The bo...
I bought a box of sushi, and sat at the round table beside me. Opening the plastic container made me feel as though I was unlocking a treasure chest. I peeked inside to admired its conten...
The green pieces of paper folded up in your pocket, the balance in your checking account, your mortgage, and that time you paid for dinner with your friend and she said that the next time is on ...
Is there an official or unofficial source that ranks recent book releases (past 5 yrs) by number of copies sold? This would be a valuable tool to know what exactly readers prefer. Often I am tempt...
I'm working on a heist scene where five thieves are supposed to enter a corporate building and steal a few documents. It's supposed to be a major scene so it won't be short. I need the readers to v...
I'm working on a short story (maximum of 6,000 words) and realized that I will need to have two point-of-view (POV) characters. Let's call them Greg and Jeff. This became necessary when I saw that ...
I'm newbie in writing books. How can I learn to write thrillers? There are books to learn how to write, and other resources. But how can I learn to specifically write thrillers? What skills do I ...
I'm writing a dialogue heavy scene. The protagonist has met with a group of mercenaries that he spent a great deal of his younger days with. He doesn't come to them for a catch-up however, he has u...
I have a master's thesis in the humanities undergoing its final throes before readers' examinations. The university's formatting rules are, understandably, very strict and, unfortunately, demand a ...
If I send a manuscript to a publisher, what should I put in the letter to them?
Supposing you're asked by a beginning writer which books he should read to improve his skills in writing fantasy, you might say Tolkien's, and similarly, you might say Asimov's for scifi, etc. I'd...
There are several books that provide an excellent breakdown of the elements that make a good story or script. For example, The Writer's Journey by Christopher Volger identifies common archtypes and...
There are lists with YA bestsellers. What they don't tell me is which books are bought by girls, and which by boys. Are there any resources showing (YA) bestsellers by reader's gender?
I'm using Scrivener under Windows to write a text. How am I supposed to generate a document (Word, OpenOffice.org, LaTeX or something else) with a table of contents? I found some tutorials for do...
I have plenty of writing experience as an academic and as a technician but am new to technical writing per se. A retailer of engineering equipment wants me to write unique, user-friendly content fo...
Can I put an old painting on the cover of my book without violating the law? AFAIK the copyright for a painting expires after 70 years. Hence, if a painting was created in 1874 and 70 years expire...
Each of our software releases is accompanied by a set of release notes, which include short descriptions of the following: new features, important or breaking changes to old features, and important...
I will shortly be moving to another a role within the same organisation and was wondering if you could advise on how I could improve the language and structure of this farewell email. It seems a bi...
I'm toying with the idea of writing a single standalone book and then later follow it with a series, in the same world with some of the same characters. Are there any examples of this? I couldn't...
I just noticed I tend to use "but" and 'however" in almost every paragraph. Examples (all of them are from the same story): I almost let everything out. But, funny, I didn't. I didn't want him...
I see tinyURL recommended for news or magazine-style writing where AP style prevails--but then I see online warnings that clicking a tinyURL may take readers to sites they do not (at all) want to v...
Is it bad to use an Introduction and/or a Prologue in Middle Grade Fiction? I have a lot of information that is useful, but the information in dialogue will sound fake and way too much info-dump l...
My current style is: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerc...
I am writing a story in which a set of events occurred that the main character cannot remember, but they come back to him in his dreams. Basically the entire actual story takes place in his dreams,...
