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I always feel that names are a big problem for me and coming up with some meaningful names that sound pleasant is one of the hardest parts of writing for me. That's why I never stop to come up with...
Does it really matter what type of character to start a series with? Most of the time: Yes. A lot of longer series have an overarching storyline. I am thinking about Black Dagger for example ...
I often face the same problem with finding names, not just for characters, but also for places, titles, etc. In such cases, I use a temporary name, and specific markup, to make those temporary name...
There is now and always has been a front door and a back door to every profession that is not government regulated. The front door is generally to go to school, get the appropriate qualifications, ...
I think Orwell would still succeed. For one, a century ago there were simply fewer qualifications to be had; and there has been massive "education inflation" since then; in the USA the number of B...
I would find this twist unsatisfying, a deus ex machina (coming out of nowhere) that invalidated the whole story (it was all just a dream...). I also think you wrote yourself into a corner! I sus...
No, your protagonist does not have to succeed. Your protagonist has to arrive at some difficult choice and make a choice that the reader finds emotionally or morally satisfying. That does not mean ...
Your hero does not have to achieve their goal, but (IMO) for a YA novel, they must achieve something of note. Luke Skywalker did not kill Vader (in the first movie) but destroyed the Death Star and...
It's not a bad idea, especially across books. Consider a story like Roots, incredibly successful, but it has to cover a few centuries! Obviously that story has to change POV characters all the dam...
Depending on your narrator you could for example have the protagonist react to the questions with inner monologue instead of external dialogue. If the inspectors ask him "What's your name?" he coul...
How can I avoid such long 'walls' of one-sided dialogue... You don't need to. My writing style is naturally very conversational, especially in my more "slice-of-life"-esque stories: characters...
I don't have this problem in my writing, but this would be my suggestion: If they are not distinguished by gender, then you need a general term any random person. I would latch onto something they ...
Tell the truth about the whole story. For example: Alex trained under the legendary robot general. If her warrior body wasn't proof enough, her skill in tracking the general across the Gap was ...
There are many factors that would affect what names would work better for your characters. First, is the character using a name, nickname or pseudonym? A nickname would be given for some reason, a...
There is no definite answer - you already mentioned the most important points English means a bigger audience. Most of the world can speak English and can therefore understand you, which leads to ...
I can see several differently flavoured options. The Entity is worshipped as a God, or similar. You do not risk your God's existence for your own goals. You give up your life for your God. This i...
The average western reader would not know the difference if you told them that your heroes rested in the shade of a rhubarb tree or tied their horse to a gigantic parsley. Even western works that ...
In writing a blurb (or a query letter), it's crucial to find the true core of your book. If you shoehorn your book as a high-octane adventure, that might draw in a different readership, but they're...
Read a lot and write a lot - that's the most basic advice you can get for any question about "How can I become a better writer?". It's important to understand that you need practice to get better....
Is it possible to make a sympathetic and likable character that has this flaw? Perhaps, it depends on the type of racism and how you balance it. In modern culture overt racism and race-hatred...
As a certain character from Zootopia would put it: "Fear always works." I soon explain it, but first, as per the universal guideline we found here: Because, unlike, Hitler, we can understand...
Be careful not to confuse the concept of protagonist with the concept of good guy or even hero. Protagonist simply means the main character of the story. Similarly, antagonist does not mean bad guy...
If you could remove that plot point and the story would remain the same, then it is not a deux ex machina. It is only deus ex machina if the entire resolution of the plot depends on an intervention...
The definition of the whole genre "Alternate History" is that you are mostly trying to be as realistic as possible, except for one or more historical events. It's completely up to you what those de...
When I am stressed out my clear thoughts are usually taking a backseat because I am focused on whatever is stressing me out. You can try to omit the stuff by simply not explicitly talking about it:...
