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It is not uncommon for fictional works to start with quotes from real or fictional personages. Dune, in particular, makes heavy use of this tool, starting every chapter with excerpts from fictional...
The general consensus nowadays seems to be that being in the head of more than one character is bad. We should be "on the shoulders" or "in the head" of one character, and one character only, if no...
I'm writing fantasy stories in different worlds which do not share any history with our own. I was thinking I wanted to move away from the classic 'all white cast' scenario in most games, by picki...
Some people will always find ways to be offended in what is written and will accuse you of racism, and that's a fact. This can potentially happen regardless of your efforts, so, just ignore them. ...
I agree, too much exposition. Which likely means, too little "setup" in your book. If Celeste thinks Marko is brilliant at chess or Go, that should have been shown earlier, in the story setup. (AC...
The big reason for rebellion is simple, the leaders are not delivering what they are supposed to: safety, prosperity (whatever that means to your culture, it may be as little as Food and water, or ...
First, people do not notice "he said" or "she said", and you should use them more often. We expect them, they work, and they are not intrusive; stop thinking they are. That said: When there are on...
However, is it really bad to include something just for fun or just because it conveys the rare (exotic and interesing) idea? It's not bad. Truth to be told, many successful authors do it to...
I would say yes, start writing. My pieces are more character driven and end up going in directions I did not anticipate. I have a good grasp of my characters and watch them interact with each other...
You want to spend as little time as possible on "setup". Even one page of nothing but setup is too much. The reason for that is that the reader is not yet invested in your story. You'd be forcing ...
What makes this phrase meaningful is that it sums up a particular philosophy --the philosophy of these characters and their subculture --in a form that is both brief and meaningful. If you look at...
People can be intelligent and competent yet still unable to do their job. The military might be underfunded (seems really unlikely but you can set your story up however you like). You might be th...
Sorry for not being very clear with my question, I am very new to writing and the book I am working on, has to do with unrelated sections for different times in history. I am concerned about how wi...
What is the unifying factor of your book? Is it an anthology of disconnected short stories? Is it an exploration of some theme? If you are exploring a theme, Structure the parts to make a cohesiv...
It depends on your real problem. Does it hurt for the guard to just know him? If it doesn't hurt for the guard to know the psychiatrist, then in third person omniscient, you can have the guard ref...
Plot, environment, characters, each one is a layer in a story. Each layer is also a compartment for further layers that are internally affected by external changes in their own, unique way, and eac...
Every revolution is different. Every civil war is different. They are different in why they are fought, they are different in how they are fought, they are different in who is fighting. (To clarify...
We remember them. A common refrain in Jewish memorials. The idea that a person's existence counted and we will remember the person and focus on that. Say her name. Say his name. A modern, secu...
What about using synecdoche (a part for the whole)? Doctor X was a polymath, who invented the Y medical procedure and composed the epic opera Z. He was just one of the 300 people, representi...
This is a chart of the stars in the Ursa Major: And here, straight out from Wikipedia, is an explanation of the name "Tania Borealis", given to the star also known as Lambda Ursae Majoris: I...
Grammatically, there's nothing inherently wrong with it. But stylistically, it's definitely something you would want to curtail in formal writing. Many writers will rarely, if ever, have multiple ...
The white/black/yellow/red race classification system is based on the Western race classification system. Wikipedia is not the best resource and definitely not the most reliable, but sometimes, you...
I love alternate history scenarios; however, I just want to start writing. Should I do research or just start writing and go with it with some research along the way?
If you're writing A Series of Unfortunate Events, it works. Because the purpose is to educate the reader (or allow the reader to be the one that says "I know what X means"). If you're writing a s...
Time travel can enable the plot - appear as a plot device once at the start, and never show up again. Time travel is part of the setup, not part of the story, as it where. This is the case of Mark ...
