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16.1k posts
 
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Q&A Writing an ace/aro character?

In a fantasy series that I’ve been working on for some time now, there is a character that I’ve always kind of seen as not having sexual or romantic attraction. Originally, I did have a love intere...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by obrague ‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it stylistically sound to use onomatopoeic words?

I'm writing a non-comedic fantasy novel, and I find myself using onomatopoeic words, like "SLAM!" and "TWISH" (for the shooting of arrows). To my knowledge, onomatopoeic words are almost only used ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by A. Kvåle‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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

How do we handle pauses in a dialogue? Let's say that character A speaks and then after a pause character A speaks again. How should we separate the two moments, should we write two lines of dialo...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Software for developing a resource

Looking for software recommendation. I am hoping someone can help me, I am developing a book for children that covers mental illness and I want it to be flexible based on demographic or personal d...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Michelle Rogers‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A In scientific writing, what is the protocol for shortening nouns?

I often see place or species names shortened in scientific journal articles and would like to know what the correct protocol is. Can I shorten "Gough Island" to just "Gough"? Or "leatherback turtle...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by JaimieC‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can one write good dialogue in a story without sounding wooden?

I began an assignment to write a short story for a Creative Writing submission to a publication and although it was accepted, I found that I struggled with the addition of dialogue to this first-pe...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Thimble‭  ·  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

I would like to use the title of a TV sitcom in the title of my book. How do I find out if this is without legal ramifications?

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Gloria McCarthy‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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

When should a character refer his dad or someone close in third impersonal person? Let's say you have a character and his dad is the President of the United States. In what situation is it appropri...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should you avoid redundant information after dialogue?

Should we avoid repeating redundant information after a dialogue and is there a way around this? Sometimes, you feel prompted to write the description of an action that follows a line, but that als...

4 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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

(For reference, I am queer.) In my post-apocalyptic novel and in the short story from the novel's antagonist's perspective, my MC, Eris' love interest, Caspian, has/had two mothers, Saskia and Ezr...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A 1st person addressing a narrator

I'm writing a story in first person, but with a third person narrator for the secondary character. I was wondering if there were any books or stories to research how the first person character coul...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Jack Woods‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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

In a post-apocalyptic novel I'm writing (which is the subject of many questions I've asked on Writing.SE), I recently cut out my entire Chapter 10-11. I was revealing the MC, Eris' finékinesis (de...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  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?

How would you write do the dialogues of two characters talking in a chat room? I am seriously wondering about the format. Should it look like regular dialogues, what about emoticons like OWO and ;)...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by blackbird‭  ·  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?

Ok, so, I am currently writing a book and 3 of my characters have the same name as in another novel. I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me. The names I picked are fairly common and...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by WidePen‭  ·  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?

What effect does compounding bring when used in the title of a song, poem, story? Sometimes, you see word that are made of two conjoined words, and you wonder what's the point of it. Does it make a...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A When to ask for constructive criticism?

I have 40,000 words of a novel and I am not sure at what point to ask for constructive criticism.

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Mandy Russell‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Different header numbering formats in a document

I am writing a document with several chapters. Each chapter title uses heading 1 and the chapters have the numbers 1 to 8. All chapters are using header 1 so that I can build a table of contents. ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Reza_va‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does IDE-like writers' software exist?

This question is somewhat inspired by Is there a need for better software for writers? I'm currently using Google Docs for writing, and it's a great tool: simple enough, has some nice features, cl...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Alissa‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question software tools
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Q&A Is it expected that a reader will skip parts of what you write?

I have given multiple things I have written to a friend of mine, who is something of a writer himself, to get feedback on them from him. One of these was a piece of mystery-style fiction, and the ...

5 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Phil‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question technique readers
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Q&A How can you make up a convincing dialect?

I often need to introduce one, if not several, made up dialects. We're talking about fictional worldbuilding: so any real world dialect is ruled out. They can be used as a source of inspiration, b...

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

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Q&A Shipping self-published books directly from Amazon to bookstores: bad idea?

I have a book published by Kindle Direct Publishing. Most of my sales are to bookstores and up until now I have been ordering books (author copies) from KDP then shipping them to bookstores myself...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Alex Hajnal‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to make the POV character sit on the sidelines without the reader getting bored

My POV character has been seriously injured and is bedridden for three months. But life stops for no one. In fact, a major epic battle is brewing and to delay it would be unrealistic. If anything,...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Caspian‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Where's the line between confident and upfront and being a jerk?

Disclaimer: Also works for guys, if you have the problem, but genderbent. So, in my plots, I typically have a "tough girl" character in my thing. She's confident and upfront, and is stubborn to th...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Kale Slade‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is the most important characteristic of New Weird as a genre?

Recently I've stumbled across China Miéville's novels. Apparently, they fit in a genre called Weird Fiction, or to be even more specific New Weird, where the "new" is used to distinguish new writer...

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

Question fiction genre
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Q&A Is a lack of character descriptions a problem?

I have written a novel in which none of the characters are ever described. It started out by accident (3 chapters in when I realized). Question: Is this a good/unique approach or shot myself in ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Igor‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭