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1500 questions
16
votes
6 answers
Is it fine to use link shorteners for research paper citations?
I'm curious about the "properness" of using shortened links (a la bit.ly or tinyurl) in research papers. I haven't been able to find any sort of definitive reference about whether or not this is accepted or frowned upon.
I found a blot post by a…
Hendy
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Can I make a character make a philosophic observation or say their opinion, even if it's unnecessary for the plot/story?
I have a character in my story who has the habit of making philosophic observations about life and the functioning of things, or his opinion/vision about something.
Although most of his observations make the story better with them, some don't or…
Yuuza
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16
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8 answers
How do you assess the value of an individual scene?
Authors need to understand which scenes in their stories to cut in order to help the reader enjoy the story best.
Knowing what works for the reader and what does not is a key skill for authors. Because WSE is not a critique site, we do not post…
SFWriter
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16
votes
9 answers
Software to draw plot structure charts
When I plot my own novels or analyze other works to understand their structure, I like to visualize the dynamic of the storyline(s) in a diagram.
Usually I draw this by hand. A first version of such a narrative chart might look like this one (which…
user29032
16
votes
7 answers
How to best pace information reveals to the reader
Some of my beta comments fall under the category of 'I the reader am frustrated by what I do not know' - and I've gotten this comment in my real life group too.
The reader wants information as soon as a question comes to mind for them. In my real…
SFWriter
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16
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5 answers
Writing an "honest" Blurb?
My story is set in a sci-fi universe but it is less about genre tropes and more about the kinds of grown-up complicated characters I'd want to find in any story. I'm not bragging or trying to be highbrow, it's more like I don't want to promise a…
wetcircuit
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16
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6 answers
How do you tell a character's backstory without explicitly telling it?
I want to tell a character's backstory, but I don't want that character to tell it directly to the protagonist, or to use another character to do it for them. Is there a way to do this?
shitty_author
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16
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8 answers
Introduce a character and forget about them until the last chapter?
In my story, the main character gets help from / saved by two complete strangers. They don't tell the mc who they are or what they are doing, they just helped the mc out of kindness and disappear just as fast as they appeared.
Later, at the very end…
user23083
16
votes
5 answers
Does DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) Apply to Documentation?
In programming, it's usually accepted that DRY code is better code in most situations.
Does this principle also apply to documentation?
I'm asking about the documentation output, not necessarily the source material (there are tools for keeping the…
Scribblemacher
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7 answers
How do you explain the details of something technical to a non-technical audience?
When writing about technical topics it is often difficult to get across the complexity of a topic without getting "stuck in the weeds" and ultimately leaving the audience confused or disinterested. Particularly when the audience lacks the necessary…
thesquaregroot
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2 answers
Is there a way to explain how a character said a word sarcastically without dialog tags?
I have a character who is a talking shovel. He's arguing with another character and criticizing them.
"Oh! And let me take a wild guess—you’ve probably asked the people who
live around the jungle to harvest it and make the shirts for you
…
Klara Raškaj
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16
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11 answers
How do I have to refer to a person of a specific racial group?
My novel is developed in an East Asian environment (specifically Japan) and my main character is not Asian, she is from Central América and is Mixed Race. Now, my main character is going to refer to a new Caucasian character who is a girl from…
Marian-Danny
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16
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6 answers
How should I introduce multiple characters without it being repetitive?
In my story, I have 8 characters I really want to focus on, which is already a pretty large cast to begin with. At the beginning of the book, something important happens to each of the 8 that kicks off the main conflict of the story. The…
Eucaa
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7 answers
How often do writers develop characters before plot, and why?
As someone who writes a little as a hobby, this is something that I haven't really thought about until just recently, but...
Is it common for a writer to develop characters before actually coming up with a plot for those characters to be a part of?…
JAB
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7 answers
What would a reader like to know about a character first?
Two characters of opposite sex meet in a blank room (nothing remarkable about the setting) for the first time and the reader isn't familiar with either of them. Since genre would sway the answer to this, let me say it is Action-adventure.
My…
Jimminy Critic
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