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Q&A Is killing off one of my queer characters homophobic?

If Saskia is his biological mother, presumably she was bisexual, not exactly gay. So although in the LGBTQ community, she was not lesbian or gay, you aren't following that trope. But that is nitp...

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

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Q&A When to publish satire of current events?

Satire is best served hot. In my opinion, you should try to publish it as soon as it's ready. If you find an agent or a publishing company interested in the novel they'll give you their (probabl...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A When to finally reveal plot twist to characters?

The 8-point arc: Stasis (Normal World) Trigger (Inciting Incident) The quest (Leaving the Normal World) Surprise[s] (actions complicating/learning the problem) Critical choice (Understanding, the...

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

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Q&A How would you write the dialogues of two characters talking in a chat room?

Write it as it is. When you write dialogue, you don't write it up as formal English (or another language). You write what the characters say. If someone squeals or rolls their eyes or starts cho...

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

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Q&A How would you write the dialogues of two characters talking in a chat room?

Although +1 to Cyn, I would write it as prose, with italics for the words and the commonly used descriptions or character representations of any emoticons (since more than a handful of graphics is ...

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

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Q&A I gave my characters names that are exactly like another book. Is it a problem?

The answer to your question depends on how strongly the set of names is associated with the preexisting work of fiction. Not just the individual names, but the set of names together. For example, ...

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

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Q&A What effect does compounding bring when used in the title of a song, poem, story?

Inventing new words, including by compounding, is supposed to be clever, or indicate a new concept that should have its own word, sometimes by linking two words that were previously independent mod...

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

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Q&A How do we handle pauses in a dialogue?

You indicate pauses with action, even mentioning the pause. (Or, as Cyn says in comment, with other exposition or thoughts). Chad said, "Was the computer software hacked?" Bryce shook his ...

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

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Q&A When should a character refer his dad or someone close in third impersonal person?

You refer to someone indirectly when you want to emphasize distance. In your example, saying "the President" instead of "my dad" is a more formal and correct approach, since it underlines the man ...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel

I think it may be solved using the same term consistently. From what you wrote: "the man", "his older counterpart", "his future self", "his older self", "Older Adrien", and "his other self". ...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Referring to different instances of the same character in time travel

The Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer has this situation with a core character (so it's not a passing situation). The narrator and the characters identify the two as Brit the Elder and Brit the Youn...

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

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Q&A I don't want to be introduced as a "Minority Novelist"

Narrating what she did, instead of where she is from, is always a good idea. Here's why! What she did (and what she experiences) is immediate, we can imagine the scene. If she is bullied, or discr...

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

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Q&A Sense of humor in your sci-fi stories

Humor in fiction, sci-fi or not, needs to feel organic and natural occurring, like something that might actually happen or be said spontaneously in real life. If it is a joke, it must fit the chara...

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

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Q&A How to deal with moral/legal subjects in writing?

I don't get only supporting the freedom of the kind of speech you like. If speech needs defending, it's probably because it's upsetting someone. (Neil Gaiman, The View from the Cheap Seats, The ...

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

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Q&A What exactly makes a story interesting? (philosophical)

What makes us as humans interested in reading about the suffering of the characters in the story? In fiction, they don't expect that suffering to last, at least not for the main characters or...

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

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Q&A Can I use a TV sitcom name as part of my book title

There are 144 books with the word "Seinfeld" in the title. Most are about the TV series, about the creator, or by him or his family. But a few use the name as part of the phrasing and/or to refer...

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

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Q&A Can I use a TV sitcom name as part of my book title

You likely need to do a trademark search, and see if the title is trademarked. Go to The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). Select "Basic Word Mark Search", the first option in t...

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

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Q&A What are some bad ways to subvert tropes?

I think the problem with the blue-pink subversion is that there is no clear reason why; other than the intent to surprise the reader. And secondly, it is not clear this trope subversion has any act...

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

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Q&A How important is it for multiple POVs to run chronologically?

Here's an example of multiple timelines done in a way I found not just confusing, but random and unnecessary. Chronological can mean in order by date and time, or it can mean that the different PO...

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

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Q&A Tips on writing author bio

I don't think there are standards. I would NOT include any personal information that doesn't add to your credibility in the main topics you write about. In the modern world, I would not even inclu...

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

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Q&A Should you avoid redundant information after dialogue?

Should you avoid redundancy? Yes. How do you get around this? Cut the redundant part and show only the new information. Infinitezero has already given a good example on that. "Here's the chi...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Why is it that when I get to the end of writing my book, I get discombobulated and want to give up?

Endings are actually the biggest problem that discovery writers face. Plotters usually have the most trouble in the middle; discovery writers tend to progress fluidly through the middle (because ch...

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

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Q&A How important is it for multiple POVs to run chronologically?

I don't think it is too important. I read a story (can't remember the name) in which two POVs were presented, one from like a century ago, and one in the future! The early POV was an ancestor of th...

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

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Q&A What's a moment that's more impactful on a reread called?

What came to my mind immediately is Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is the art of giving "hints" of what is about to happen in order to build tension, and a pretty common literary device. In your e...

posted 5y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Writing an ace/aro character?

A Master for your Student I would solve this issue by creating a Master for your Student. Either a new character, or re-purpose an existing character. In The Karate Kid, Daniel (Student) is a new...

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

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