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It sounds like you want to introduce your readers to one of your inspirations (since you said this person is connected to one of the characters in your book). This is sometimes done in a preface, ...
Stories are not written all in one tense. Even sentences are not written all in one tense: I think I will go to Paris tomorrow, the place where I was born. The only thing that the concept of...
In the book I'm writing, a sibling group among my characters are 1/4 Native American. I first chose the tribe. Since I knew where they lived (a fictional small town outside a real-life larger t...
YES it will be disappointing. +1 Mark, I think the same; a story is about a main character. I would add this: Introduce his POV first, he will be assumed to be the MC. Then yes, you can let his ...
Yes, these sorts of comparisons between systems are very difficult, essentially because there is no independent definition of terms like topic and module outside of the particular systems that use ...
If publishing rights are yours, then they're yours, and you can reprint the story as you like. Yes, it's possible some publishers will be uninterested (or less interested) in a story that's been p...
I am thinking how can I create an effect in the story to make my readers constantly ask the question, how will this end?, like the novels I mentioned above. The relevant concept here is that o...
You are providing too much detail, and it is confusing, and therefore boring the reader. What you need to do is write the take-away consequences of these exchanges, forget the verbatim of what eith...
It is easy enough, I would think: Contrive some reason to mention the year. Mike opened the box to unveil Nancy's birthday cake. "What do you think?" Alice looked and suppressed a laugh, ...
First, you'd need to establish the convention that you use italics for thoughts. I've seen different books use italics for thoughts, telepathy, foreign-language inserts, and more. The reader would ...
My characters often have unusual traits or skills, and my solution to this dilemma is two-fold: First, they are born with their skill, along with some deficits. I never grant a skill without a pena...
Speaking as a college professor, If "Work A" quotes "Work B", you should verify this is true in "Work B", and then reference "Work B" directly. If you cannot find "Work B", reference "Work A" and...
It is easy to get stuck on a word and overuse it. It is something a writer should be aware of; even if it is difficult. Part of writing is your self-analysis. WHY are you using "Well" ? What does ...
It sounds to me like you have Book 1 with four main characters, and Book 2 with only one of those characters continuing. Lots of series do this, including Narnia and Dragonlance. But, it's importa...
In any life, there are moments when you can turn one way or another. With fictional characters, largely untrammeled by the cares of real people about where they are going to sleep or what they are ...
There are more things to consider, with regards to who is the main character, than who is "the most important to the plot". Who is the POV character(s)? Whose inner thoughts do we hear? Whose emoti...
My own convention is to format thoughts much like dialogue, in italics, without the quotes. So I will often start a new paragraph, in italics. He's trying to trick me. I will intentionally, early...
Anchor Yourself. I would say, adopt a discovery writing paradigm, and focus on a character. Most of my stories begin with a character that has some rare (and interesting) real-world ability. I fin...
Yes, it is realistic. Other motivations may be out there, like mating and having children, acquiring wealth and/or fame, acquiring power -- but some of these are 'artificial' in the sense that earl...
At the core of every story, there is a moral choice. That is, a choice between values. Circumstances force the protagonist to the point where that choice must be faced and made and lived with. Such...
By and large, yes. thought it does depend on what you mean by story. Every story is unique. It is a particular set of words that tell a particular tale about particular characters, and it is the to...
a writer does not have to worry about looking for a "great idea" for a story, but simply focus on taking fairly interesting story ideas and making them as enjoyable to read as possible. Is that ...
You mean you have your first chapters already online, and now you want to go back and edit them? Your main problem would be that most readers wouldn't go back and re-read the edited material. So i...
Wiki and Flash are all well and good, but here's an answer for lazy people, like me. I use OneNote. It's already on your Windows, and it requires 0 level of tech-savvy. I am a Wikipedia editor, so ...
There's a nice little story about this... from http://www.fantasyliterature.com/author-interviews/jim-butcher/ Q: How did you come up with the original idea for CODEX ALERA? We’ve heard rumo...
