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Q&A What's better in fiction: to make personal statements or universal statements?

Here's an example from my own writing: Watching the ceiling fan stir my thoughts, I said, “His favorite thing was to tell me about his day.” Mrs. Saeki gawked at me behind her square gla...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by alex‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I incorporate Vocabulary in my writing that I already know?

I seem to have this problem where I know a lot of words but can't always seem to think them up when I write an article or a story. I know the meaning of most of these words, but when I write, some ...

4 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Rio1210‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question vocabulary
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Q&A Does a story necessarily need a theme?

I'm writing a short story From what I understand, the theme is the message that I want to send across. Akin to Beauty and the Beast's "Don't judge a book by its cover" theme, or "Opposites attract...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Dylan Beck‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Active voice in situations where the subject is unknown

In a situation where a POV character isn't lucid enough to see or interpret what's going on around them, I find myself constantly describing things either in passive voice, or by using the word 'so...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by Typoglyphic‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What if the hero doesn't win? [closed]

I'm just an amateur writer. One thing that's strange to me is that there seem to be "rules" about writing. The story should consist of five parts, etc. To my untrained writing brain this seems t...

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by horse hair‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question rules hero
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Q&A Is representing distorted voices via different typefaces, and different languages represented by enclosing brackets an advisable thing to do?

In the current draft of my book, the evil dictator whose body is encased in a silver alloy talks basically by allowing magic to move to seep into the silver shell, dispelling it and causing vibrati...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by Piomicron‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A A novel consisting of three separate stories joined only by a theme. A bad idea?

I'm writing a novel where a person who has decided to commit suicide can hire some murderers to kill he/him in the way he/she prefers. There are only two members running this service. A man and a w...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by alex‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to publish a collection of short stories?

I have a collection of short stories. I want to publish them. I need help in this. Should I pay for publishing or are there any agencies that publish/encourage budding short story writers?

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by surendra nath‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How far in advance should a new author allow pre-orders on Amazon?

I'm in the final stages of packaging the book and would like to start arranging pre-orders to help with the first week "bump". How far in advance should I allow the pre-order option, and is there a...

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Brereton‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Longer or shorter chapters?

This is not a question asking if I should add more or less to my chapters in terms of descriptions and so on to make them longer or shorter. It's more about grouping an already written story. I'm ...

4 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by K. Bailey‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question fiction chapters
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Q&A Is my story a rip-off?

So basically I'm writing a story set in a magical world where there are separate covens, each with different mission statements (there is one for those who want to be healers, one for those who wan...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Wurrie Wart‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question book originality
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Q&A How do I avoid making scenes feel rushed?

I've written several scenes and reread them silently. Most times they sound rushed, unnatural and uncomfortable. This especially happens with action or other fast-paced scenes. How do I avoid this ...

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by K. Bailey‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A I've got too many flashbacks

A story riddled with flashbacks is a sign of weakness, unless it's a device. But, I'm finding that for my MC, she's flashing back a bit to the past, a bit more than I'd like, and mayhap at too much...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by Erin Thursby‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question fiction flashback
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Q&A Classical Style vs. Modern Innovation

For some time now, the matter of classical versus modern writing has weighed heavily in the discussion of my mind-congress. Here is my thought: given the sheer reverence that is given to classical ...

2 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by th0nk-‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it more effective to lead with a physical conflict rather than an emotional one?

I currently have the choice of two routes with my novel - to lead with a knives-and-poisons main conflict, with reference to the protagonist's emotional conflict, or to lead with him conquering his...

3 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Brereton‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Where can I correct my works for grammar mistakes?

When I write something, there maybe one or few grammar mistakes. Is there any online service like thing (for free) that can correct those for me? Just a curiosity to know.

0 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Sarath‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Best Practices for Getting a Sense of Character

I'm a plotter. I develop and plan my novels and characters well before I write them. When it comes to character development, I make sure that my characters (or at least the central ones) are people...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A using double negatives and sentence structure

This is an extract from a book I am currently reading, the author escapes me at this minute, but i will update. OFTEN IN ACTUAL LIFE, and not infrequently in the myths and the popular tales, we e...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by HattrickNZ‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question style structure
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Q&A My book doesn't seem to fall into a clear genre

What genre best describes my novel about the life of a character whose entirely fictional history includes many realistically humorous interludes as well as some serious, even tragic incidents? It ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by topcol‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question genre
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Q&A Writing a fiction in first and third person. is that acceptable?

I am writing a fiction. I start in first person(I) and then because I had to describe emotions of other characters simultaneously I switched to third person, (referring as she, they or the name of ...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Nikki‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question novel fiction style
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Q&A What is an easy way to create a detailed character profile for a short story?

What is an easy way to create a detailed character profile for a short story? I'm new to this Stack Exchange, and need help creating an organized character profile, with the information I have on m...

1 answer  ·  posted 8y ago by Alfred King‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to sell books without giving up rights to my manuscript [closed]

I just finished the first of a series of children's books and ready to sell. How does one sell their book without giving up all rights to it?

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by D. Sum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question self-publishing
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Q&A How to quote programming code in AP Style?

I would like to put the following code in an article that is written in AP Style: puts 'Hello, world!' How do I do this? If I were to put the code (C++, Ruby, whatever) in an article that was wr...

0 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Carl Roberts‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to extrapolate a spectacular crime from everyday ones

I'm reading daily crime stories in newspapers, just to have an idea to write a detective story. But the crimes I read about aren't helpful to create a plot. I mean, they are really boring and all ...

0 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by Vito‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to write a short, and persuasive headline? [closed]

I have the following sentence that I am thinking of using as headline ` Shop online. Locally. ` However, I am not sure if this headline connects well with it sub-headline. Pick up the g...

0 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by John‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭