Search
Deus ex machina is considered by TV Tropes to be a sub-trope to asspulling, and thus, often considered a bad writing trope. Now, unlike most other bad writing tropes, that have their roots in fanf...
Is it okay to have cussing, sex, drug use, rape, and brutal violence in a young adult novel? Can you give examples of published YA novels that have these things in them?
I think there's a problem in my writings, that I can describe as not being fluid, and lacking in smooth transitions. Based upon this, I'm interested in tips at shifting focus smoothly between par...
Recently, I've been seeing a lot of discussions about works that subvert a given trope. I think I have an understanding of what this means (from context) but can someone offer a clear definition or...
I'm new here, so, please, bear with me. I had a look at previous answers to similar questions, but my case is (possibly) a bit different. I am not a professional writer, so I wrote this (long) n...
I have seen these diagrams in books. They display the strings of the guitar and the locations of the notes I want to present, as well as the name of the chord/scale/etc. You can see what I mean in ...
Why hello there, old sports. I guess we all know the spiel with this one, but I tell you anyway, using this handy-dandy step-list: You introduce a character who is likable. (optional)Keep him aro...
I have this system of going back in my story so far and asking deeper questions about that scene. I plan on answering these questions in the actual story. Is this a good tactic because it makes m...
Rants and ranters are numerous and pretty damn popular, so I'd just like to ask about a formula or general tips for writing them, without making my readers rage.
I am new to the writing scene but i have had the passion for it. One thing that has baffled my mind was how writers would not comment on other people's work but more concerned with their work. It h...
I recently finished writing my first novel. Many of the characters resemble people in real life, and they are not always portrayed in a flattering manner. Should I put in a disclaimer that it is ...
I'm currently writing a tale with two protagonists. One of them is a dark protagonist - that is, technically evil. The other protagonist is not evil. I'm wondering if this will cause the reader to ...
For example, in Skype conversations you use emoticons. I might use (headbang) after a phrase to express frustration, or I can have a (facepalm) moment, or I can write a joke and add (rofl), etc. B...
I've been trying to find a decent answer to this question for days but no luck so far. I've decided to pose the question to you all, and hopefully some of you will know the answer. Tarzan is in th...
I have written a long elegy in rhyming scheme. It has many subjects. How can I introduce characters (subjects in elegy) in detail to readers, before they start reading elegy? Are there conventions ...
I read some English poems on the books or websites, and like to translate some poems from English to Chinese. So can I put these English poems with my translation on my blog? Which situation do I ...
I'm trying to make an A-Z book for children to get them interested in science. Each letter will be a futuristic technology/invention/concept and will give an easy to read explanation. I need creati...
So I'm writing a fantasy novel, and I have my plot fairly fleshed out, and I have my main players, my world is built, and now I've started to really flesh out my characters more. The only problem i...
I was wondering if anyone was aware of a quality guide or text translator that would allow for realistic accented dialog speech? Say I wanted to write a character with a Texan Drawl or a heavy Bro...
I'm speaking of more than one action line with no other text between them. I guess I'm asking if this is done because they relate to very different actions or actions of different people, etc. plea...
I have characters in my novels that quote the Bible and a couple lines of old nursery rhymes. Do I need to obtain permission in order to use these quotes in my books? What about quoting a popular...
I wrote my very first novel several months ago and I sold it to a publisher two weeks ago. Now I am thinking of writing something new. The problem is I can't get the idea of writing a sequel out o...
My anti-hero is good character; my female antagonist is the threat. How can I express a romantic relationship between them if I write a short novel? I am a new writer with almost no experience. I h...
I work (with a team) on a large documentation set for a complex software product. We publish HTML and have built-in search (plus, of course, there's Google). The doc set has a glossary, which pre...
I want to root for the protagonist. I want to feel the weight of his burdens so I can turn around and celebrate with him when he overcomes them. However, occasionally I come across a protagonist wh...
