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Q&A Is there such a thing as using too Many "I's" in a first person novel?

Yes, but it is not too many if they are necessary. That said, you should strive to eliminate them when they are NOT necessary. The reader knows who the subject of the sentence is. For example, in y...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Sending an email to follow up with the client about a project deadline

Ask your manager This depends on lots of things, such as how long you've been waiting, how often you communicate with the client anyway, how clear the communication was that you can't proceed, how...

posted 6y ago by Secespitus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Brands to use, brands not to use

This is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer. Great question! I think the answer lies in this: But what about a big known brand, like Google? In a story set in our time, it would be rather ...

posted 6y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Brands to use, brands not to use

+1 to Neil, my thought was the same: When a replacement name risks breaking the reader's suspension of disbelief (SoD), you need to either circumvent the mention or use the real name. In the GGX c...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Fantasy novel with obvious - but never defined - sci-fi elements?

Mixing sci-fi elements into a mostly fantasy story has been done before. For example, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern starts out as a typical fantasy series, and then turns out to have also b...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can someone become a beta reader?

Great question! A great difficulty here is that there's not really much in the way of "professional beta readers." Someone who's really known for giving excellent feedback, and offers that as a se...

posted 6y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is the structure and important points to cover in a first chapter?

In classic story theory, a story begins in the normal world, the world from which the hero will be forced to depart and to which they will attempt to return, often transformed. This does not mean a...

posted 6y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Avoiding Slang whilst Writing

I don't think you need any resource other than your own intelligence and self-awareness. We know when our slang is not "standard", just don't use it. Plus, it is ephemeral anyway, the 1920's "bee...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can I assign actions to broad concepts?

Your teacher is quite wrong, I believe. "People who do science" don't help you with anything. Maybe one of them sits down and explains things to you, but another is this unfriendly power-hungry sch...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is the structure and important points to cover in a first chapter?

There is no exact definition of "chapter", this is very much up to the author to decide. For myself, I consider it the first chunk of continuous time the reader will see, in the life of the main ch...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can I assign actions to broad concepts?

The first approach is accurate, the second approach is wrong: 1a. Science helps us understand nature, vs. 1b. People who do science help us understand nature. Science, in general (I am a scientis...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can I assign actions to broad concepts?

Our speech and writing is full of anthropomorphic language. We ascribe actions to inanimate objects and abstractions all the time. It is almost impossible to communicate effectively without doing t...

posted 6y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How often should I remind my readers of the setting?

+1 Stephane. My own take is that if you are mentioning something like the weather, an emotional state, an article of clothing, a weapon, anything, it should have consequences in the story. So yes,...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I know which elements I can use from the work which orginally inspired me?

Don't steal the plot, Don't steal their made-up words or made-up references, don't steal their (imaginative) tech, don't steal their characters or their unique combination of characteristics that m...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I know which elements I can use from the work which orginally inspired me?

There are many examples of stories set in a post-apocalyptic space-faring human civilisation, with different takes on the idea. Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pe...

posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should I use a series of shots for this scene?

I would say it's best not to write this as a series of shots. The reason is because whether to break that up into multiple shots is a decision for the director and cameramen to make, not for you. ...

posted 6y ago by Kevin‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Transitioning from novel writing to screenwriting?

I think transitioning to screenwriting is quite difficult, and it is considerably MORE difficult to break into than novel writing. The competition is greater, the "need to be an insider" angle is v...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I write a shriek?

Inarticulate speech or sounds is an instance where I tell, I do not show. Shriek, Screech, Scream, Howl ... It can help if it startles somebody that comes bursting into the room to protect her, or...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to control safety nets in discovery writing

As a discovery writer, I echo the sentiment that I absolutely control the direction of the story. I personally write with an end in mind; which I record as notes (not prose) about what finally hap...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Canina‭

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Q&A How do I ratchet down expectations in a genre that seems to have gone gonzo?

You're worried that your own work is similar enough to a popular take on the genre, but substantially different from it -- so readers might be coming to it with the wrong expectations. That's a ve...

posted 6y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to present an alternative without being negative about the other option?

I'd say, Nowadays, there are a variety of ways to reach a mass audience that have been added to the traditional venues like theaters and DVD. For example, social networks and live video streams...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to write an online screen name in dialogue?

This is my opinion; the first option, capcase run together, is preferable. But sites vary, some let you use spaces in your name, some won't let you mix cases, etc. Edit: I skimmed over the fact th...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What should my redraft phase entail?

Although I am a fan of King's instruction and I am also a discovery writer, I do not wait before the first draft and the second, for a very specific reason. At the end of the first draft is when I...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to revise your "setting bible"

One thing to keep in mind is that your setting bible is an internal document. Your players (or readers or viewers or audience) will never see it. As a result, the moment you spend a single second w...

posted 6y ago by Kevin‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Death as person - A funny part of the story? Or serious stuff?

Discworld aside, as I'm sadly not very familiar with it, I can think of at least two examples of Death personified being an important, serious character: "The Book Thief", both the original novel...

posted 6y ago by F1Krazy‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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