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I'm going to disagree with the “bad idea” answers. I'll give as the example the first book I read containing explanatory footnotes, which happens to be one of all time's best-selling German childre...
Nailing down the type of event you're looking for may help, just by defining what role you need it to play in the narrative. Do the characters need to be able to have a long conversation? Rock conc...
Your brain is convinced it's done with the first draft, which means it's time to start the second draft on the story cleaning up everything and filling up any missing details as needed. Which is a ...
I hate competitions. In a competition, many people submit their work. For the majority, there is no feedback, and no positive outcome. It does not make you better, while creating stress. Now say y...
Mostly no. They are just money makers for the people creating them. If you want to sell a mss it is easier to sell what they want to buy than to convince them to buy what you want to sell.
Narrow down. 2000 words is a tight constraint indeed. While you can show something in that limit, you can't show everything that you mentioned in your question. Sci-fiction is famous for having a...
If you are trying to minimize the number of words, it will help a lot if you stick to the old rule, Show, don't tell — Wikipedia (a good rule to follow even if you aren't trying to save words). Te...
Within the figure description itself, just use (i), (ii), (iii), etc.or (A), (B), (C), (D) to save space. In the text of your paper, refer to Figure 2(i), Figure 2(ii), or Figure 2(A), Figure 2(B...
Sorry, I don't have answers for you, only more questions and a few thoughts: I think it doesn't have to be a waste of time, it can still be a really cool story - Game of Thrones was a hit TV serie...
I can only suggest that you sign on to one of the sibling stack exchanges. Namely, Worldbuilding SE. It meets your criteria for the type of site you are seeking. The site should be •Ongoin...
I don't think it's common practice at all. I also don't think it's a good idea for similar reasons as covered in Using footnotes in fiction: children's book which can be enjoyed by adults already l...
If you think of yourself as reading a novel, rather than a scientific paper, it becomes very clear. If a novel started with 'In this novel, you will read..' you might find it awkward, or at least ...
Going out on a limb a bit here, but I feel like "I" in a first person (non-dialog) narrative is redundant in a way. It's already first person, so "I" doesn't really add anything of value. I wouldn'...
Some people are volunteers, and they never get paid (except with a verbal or written thank you). Some people get paid as soon as they do something (e.g. a waiter paid almost entirely in tips). So...
Do not come to any art for the profit. When the profit fails to come, you'll be discouraged. Do it for the love of it first then other things, money too shall follow. Ernest Hemingway advised: ...
I highly recomend reading the novel "Holes" (the 2003 film is probably the only film to break the "book was better" rule, being 99% faithful, but I still recommend a read through). Long story shor...
Personnally I organize my writing in this way : "I'm against this ! told John, protesting vividly. He stood up from his seat. - You cannot stop us from taking this decision !" replied Stev...
Is "my" and "me" prohibited? I stood up and began to walk across the room. She turned away at my approach. My urge was to comfort her. Standing up and walking across the room, she turned a...
Yes if you watch stories like Star Wars of Game of Thrones, there is multiple main characters. Maybe most of the characters are important to the overall intrigue. In a more classic way you could u...
No one says you have to classify your characters, your characters are there to support the plot and overall story, how they do so is pedantic. Let's take Game of Thrones as an example, here we have...
The question you always have to ask about a reveal is, what is it paying off and how its it paying it off. The narrative technique you use should be appropriate to the type of payoff you are creati...
Every scene should produce a change in story values, which almost always means some change of state for the character. From the beginning of the scene to the end, the character should be more in lo...
You can call the cat a minivan but you still can't drive it to Costco. A story is what a story is. If you create an object that has none of the characteristics of a story, it is not a story. You ...
Author royalties depend entirely on the author's contract with the publisher. If the contract says they get royalties, they get royalties. If the contract says they don't get royalties, they don't....
To solve questions of this kind, you have to understand the role of setting in a story. Stories do not exist to describe settings. Settings exist as a place to stage stories. Settings contribute to...
