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Q&A How to write a vulnerable moment without it seeming cliche or mushy?

So, I have a kinda loudmouthed character who's always the first to fight and first to go on the offensive (This is a fantasy, so she fights a lot.) But, later in the story, she comes across someone...

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

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Q&A Does software exist to easily markup technical documents as audio scripts?

Inspired by this question: Is there a need for better software for writers? I have an IDE¹ related question about software that can assist writers. Is there a tool to (easily) turn technical wri...

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

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Q&A Is there a term for this?

I'll explain my question by citing what was done on the TV show Dexter. Halfway through an episode (Season 4, episode 4, 'All in the Family') two established characters (one of them being Deborah)...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Bob516‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question plot terminology
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Q&A Adding depth to two-dimensional heroes from myths

For the recent writing exercise I wanted to tackle Beowulf's character. In the original saga, the hero Beowulf comes to the aid of king Hrothgar to defeat two monsters. Then, after a period of 50 ...

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

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Q&A How to provide realism without making readers think grimdark

So, I have a couple moments in a fantasy story where I want the heroes' actions to actually have consequences (Well, that are really impactful to the story.) One is where the MCs kill a minor lord,...

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

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Q&A How can I add depth to my story or how do I determine if my story already has depth?

I am new to writing. I wrote a lot when I was a kid and teen. I wrote my first book at 6 and then again in high school. I was also in journalism. After high school, life happened. I took an almost ...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Dawn Kelli‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Too eloquent characters

Here's a critique I've received more than once: "your character talks like a character from a book. He's too eloquent, nobody really talks like that, unless they grew up in a library." Now, to som...

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

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Q&A Many sexual situations, but no actual sex scenes?

My guile heroine's character arc is almost entirely sex and manipulation. I tell (not show) she was a sex worker in the past, it's left ambiguous (likely) that she still is. She has powerplay scen...

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

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Q&A Helping my beta readers help me

My beta readers are family and friends - people who read a lot, but do not write. They are people whose opinion I trust, and who are genuinely trying to be helpful. (And I haven't found a writing g...

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

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Q&A When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot?

When writing an error prompt, should we end the sentence with a exclamation mark or a dot? I am writing an application for iPhone and I have some error prompt in my application like "Your password...

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

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Q&A How do I indicate a superfan review vs a social-criticism essay?

I occasionally write short essays about classic films, and have been thinking about converting them into video essay for YouTube. What I observe are 2 very different types of essay – I'm not sure ...

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

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Q&A What format should I use when beginning a chapter with the time and location of the events?

What format should I use when beginning a chapter with the time and location of the events? I was thinking to use: Nine pm. Sunday, in Los Angeles, CA, USA. but I don't think it looks good, ...

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

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Q&A Avoiding cliches when writing gods

When writing fictional polytheisms, it's tempting to draw inspiration from the existing ones. In ancient religions (I'm mainly thinking of the Greek/Latin, Egyptian and Norse pantheons) there are ...

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

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Q&A Is every story set in the future "science fiction"?

Science Fiction is a "big tent" genre, and we all know it when we see it. Even if we argue about the specific tropes – and what might make something lean heavily towards another classification (sci...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by wetcircuit‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to make a setting relevant?

One piece of feedback that I got on a story I wrote is that my settings feel irrelevant, or that the entire book could have been a phone call. I am not sure how to go about fixing this. The charact...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by mprogrammer‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should I "tell" my exposition or give it through dialogue?

When my work was being critiqued, one of the critics said that the exposition given away in my dialogue was forced and unnatural. Though, this exposition is crucial, so leaving it out is out of the...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by A. Kvåle‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A When do you stop "pushing" a book?

Let's suppose you have finished your novel, through all the appropriate stages of drafting and editing needed. You begin submitting the book to various agents and/or publishing companies, but none ...

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

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Q&A When writing an error prompt, how do we tell the user the error happens in a specific tab?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_(interface) I have made a medical record application that allows someone to record data about someone, but the application also allows us to add the data of a rel...

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

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Q&A I have a dialogue that I can't write directly. What would be a good alternative?

My attempt at the current writing challenge features a flock of sparrows. Since the actual "dialogue" between two sparrows would sound like a bunch of cheeping, I need another way to show what the...

3 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question technique dialogue
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Q&A What are the differences in writing a narrative between a CV and a resume?

When I googled "The Difference between Resume and CV", the first result I bumped into was this. I am highlighting a few points that are mentioned in it below: The primary differences between a ...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Karan Desai‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I write gray vs grey stories?

I've been kind of interested in writing a grey vs gray story. For those who don't know grey vs gray is two or more sides of conflict that aren't full on good or full on evil. I'm writing a webcom...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Willfire Z Tiger‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should the audience be immediately aware of the reason for a flashback?

In the pilot episode of "The Americans" Elizabeth has a flashback to something that happened twenty years earlier. Seeing her reflection triggers the flashback, but a reflection seems to have no e...

2 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Bob516‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can one start the second draft when the first lacks a proper ending?

I'm close to ending my first draft, literally being to the last or second-to-last chapter. I'm suffering from a strange form of writer's block, though, since I can't seem to come up with a satisfyi...

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

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Q&A How to change the readers opinion of a character?

So, I have a character who starts off a complete ass to everyone. She hates the world, especially the protagonist. Then again, she had no parents to her memory, her people are enslaved and continuo...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Kale Slade‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to tease a romance without a cat and mouse chase?

So, my story doesn't have a romance subplot until way later in the series, but I think that there are elements of the romance very early on. A little background info: The story is set in a fantas...

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