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Q&A How far I can write about a protagonist with a different ethnicity of me?

Let's explore the proposition you're making here. You're saying "a white person cannot know what it's like to be black. Ergo, a white person should not write about black characters." So, white writ...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to use deus ex machina safely?

A deus ex machina actually does solve the problem. I can't tell, from what you have written in your question, if winning the lottery eventually does solve all her problems. If it does not immediat...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Would a full service PoD company include a literary agent?

It may be a scam When I read your question I was reminded of all those scam questions over at Money.SE - you mention that you contacted the first two of those companies and then the third contacte...

posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to include external references when writing internal documentation?

I like Monica's answer -- my answer here is about how to be sure these links are still viable in the future. If others are also making the documents, I encourage "casual citation", so there's no...

posted 6y ago by April Salutes Monica C.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to include external references when writing internal documentation?

The guiding principle in my experience is: put the link where the reader needs the referenced information. Examples: "This interface is like Somebody Else's Thing (link, or make SET a link itsel...

posted 6y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to include external references when writing internal documentation?

This depends largely on the way existing documentation is written. Normally you have some kind of template that you can use for most documents. This template should illustrate how to cite external ...

posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to write cleanly even if my character uses expletive language?

I'm also writing middle grade fiction and dealing with the same issue. I have decided to go with your option #3: use a milder alternative. Though in a different way from how you've laid it out. ...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can I trim my word count and still be proud of what I've written?

Sometimes editing to fit a requirement makes you a stronger writer. And sometimes the onerousness of the requirement means you're in the wrong genre. If you said you have a 750 word limit and som...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does it really serve a main character to give them one driving want?

Maybe one way to think about it is like thinking about your resume & cover letter: you are a vastly more complex person than what can fit on a few pieces of paper, but you re-arrange the order...

posted 6y ago by April Salutes Monica C.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to traditionally publish a fantasy-fiction novel serial in our modern era of publishing without the use of zines?

I looked up Isekai on Wikipedia, and one paragraph grabbed me: Several later examples from English literature include the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), as well as A Connecticu...

posted 6y ago by April Salutes Monica C.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I make a "contract" with my reader?

In general, if you are going to be using magic or any non-scientific element, you need to introduce that very early in the first half of the first act, probably in the first pages of your story. T...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I hide Chekhov's Gun?

I would hide the basement but not the locked door. A coded padlock on a door inside a house is really weird, and the sort of thing someone would notice and probably comment on. If the MC has a gu...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to document and cite website downtime properly?

Did you take screenshots of it being down? Does the site have an errors log? Is there a site you checked those days to make sure it wasn't just you? (https://www.isitdownrightnow.com/ and https://d...

posted 6y ago by April Salutes Monica C.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A When should we redefine a term that's used in a different way in the book we're writing?

Just redefining a word from everyday usage is rarely good. People will always first associate it with their real-life usage. Maybe switch around a few letters to make it a new "fantasy" word. Abo...

posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What would you expect from travel story?

I'm not sure what a travel story is supposed to mean. A story has a problem for the MCs to solve, an answer to find, something to discover. Most of my stories involve travel and discovering new th...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I say that someone is black?

It seems that you want to want to say the simple fact, but afraid that people will be sensitive for that. In that case, you can allude to the skin color by mentioning their origin first. So if it d...

posted 6y ago by Ooker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I say that someone is black?

A few points, in no particular order: "A black man" paints a very different picture from "an elderly black gentleman" or "a tall, black-skinned young man". In the first case, the skin colour is t...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How does one describe somebody who is bi-racial to someone who is blind?

Where I live, belonging to two-three ethnic groups is the norm. Children in school boast about being a quarter Iraqi, a quarter Moroccan, a quarter Polac and a quarter old Jerusalemi. How does one...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can we incorporate poems in a novel?

You have been misinformed: The Lord of the Rings doesn't have short poems at the start of each chapter. The Lord of the Rings has poems of various length (up to several pages long), when characters...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can we incorporate poems in a novel?

There are answers before mine; so I will only add that one other use of a poem or rhyming verse (which I did not see in those answers) is as a clue to some mystery. This can represent a riddle dire...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Are major mystery subplot(s) in a fantasy story distracting or do they make a story more appealing?

Are major mystery subplot(s) in a fantasy story distracting or make a story more appealing? More appealing. Here is an examination of the structures of Harry Potter that concludes the first four ...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A When two POV characters meet

In the end it's up to you, but I think you haven't explored all of your options so far. You could also alternate between the characters views to show how different the situation feels for both of t...

posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to document and cite website downtime properly?

As a former university professor at one university, and now a full time research scientist at another, I would just add a footnote for any weeks in which the site was down. As a note, which is what...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A My story is written in English, but is set in my home country. What language should I use for the dialogue?

Who is your audience? What languages do they know? If it's an international contest, are there language guidelines? If it says English Only, then be at least 99% English! Are you planning on a fe...

posted 6y ago by April Salutes Monica C.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A My story is written in English, but is set in my home country. What language should I use for the dialogue?

You have read books like this, or at least are familiar with books like this: Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls is set in Spain, and it is indicated, repeatedly, that the dialogue is in S...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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