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1500 questions
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6 answers

Attributing quotes to fictional characters

Let's say, for example, that I want to post my favourite quote from Babylon 5 somewhere: "I'm not saying what I'm saying. I'm not saying what I'm thinking. As a matter of fact, I'm not thinking what I'm thinking." - John Sheridan, Babylon 5 How…
Adam Lear
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Something different: Help me find the unnecessary words.

I had a professor, once upon a time, a guy named Jim Guetti. He was possibly the best writing coach I've ever had. You took his classes for the privilege of submitting works for him to gut with a red pen. If you turned in a thousand words you'd get…
Satanicpuppy
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How do you add LGBT characters in your story in an organic fashion without coming off as "pandering"?

A lot of people complain that DC comics book are pandering to the LGBT community by shoving LGBT characters into their faces. What are some tips and advice you have for not coming off as pandering when incorporating LGBT characters and themes in…
Sayaman
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6 answers

When editing for a person, how much can be changed?

The context is a technical document that is written by one person and then sent out for review by others. The reviewers change word tense, change from active to passive voice, and make other style changes. Is that a valid job for an editor, or am…
thursdaysgeek
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How to Write Like a Little Kid

I'm writing a story with 3 POV's. One of which is a 6 year old girl. The problem is simply this: I'm neither a girl nor in first grade. In fact, I'm quite a bit older. The first problem I've more-or-less gotten, but it's the second one I'm having…
Murphy L.
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8 answers

My cool character is doing nothing for the plot. How do I deal with him?

So I have this great character( not the main protagonist), who is funny and intelligent. Each scene I write for him is a delight. But the problem is, he is doing nothing for the plot. I have tried to fit him in a few places, but he always stands…
Shantnu Tiwari
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My friend says that the story of my novel sounds too similar to Harry Potter

I always wanted to write a book, and finally after so many years, I started writing one. But when I told my friend about the idea of my story... he said that it sounds too similar to Harry Potter. I don't know what similarities he found. My…
Hasan Askari
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7 answers

Is it appropriate for me to write about the pandemic?

I'm a young writer who has been writing a story centring around a teenager's life and how it's changed via the coronavirus. She was skeptical about the legitimacy of the Pandemic until an important family member is hospitalized. It talks about her…
Anonoymous Individual
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11 answers

How do I write "fantasy counterpart cultures" without being accused of cultural appropriation?

In my book series, the various planets of the galaxy are inhabited by different cultures, most of which are based on or inspired by, at least to some extent, by real-world cultures. For example: Kangaroo Islander culture is derived mostly from…
The Weasel Sagas
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8 answers

Is it frustrating not to know the narrator's gender?

I have written a 1st person piece and reading it I realize it's very difficult to tell if the narrator is male or female. There are one or two clues, and they come pretty late in the piece. Would you as readers busy yourself with trying to figure…
daphshez
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7 answers

Detail vs. filler

How can I minimise the "filler" text that I end up writing when fleshing out a scene with detail? An appropriate level of detail seems to me to be a fundamental requirement for good prose. Whatever I may be trying to achieve in terms of characters,…
sesquipedalias
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As a discovery writer, how do I complete an unfinished novel (which has highly diverged from the original plot ) after a time-gap?

I am a reader more than a writer, and fantasy is my favorite genre. I used to write short stories and poems. Some of them are published in magazines and get good reviews. In 2018 January, I read the complete collection of Rick Riordan's Percy…
Sangeetha
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Help, I cannot decide when to start the story

So, this probably came up already thousands of times, though here I am. So let me explain... I have a story I want to tell. I am planning for it to become a novel, possibly multiple novels because of its scale. It's quite a long ride, and I have the…
Pharguin
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12 answers

Character is called by their first initial. How do I write it?

A character's name starts with a hard G, as in Gary. Another character (dismissively) calls him by his first initial "G", said with a soft G, as in gee whiz. I've been using the letter G, but it's giving me the willies in formatted text. I don't…
wetcircuit
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How should one refer to knights (& dames) in academic writing?

In ordinary English usage, one would refer to a knight called 'Forename Surname' as Sir Forename, not Surname, e.g. Sir Forename is distinguished in ... But in academic writing, one would typically refer to someone as Surname, e.g. Surname (2019)…
Matthew McClure
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