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1500 questions
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2 answers

Should I take breaks from writing?

I enjoy writing short stories very much, even though it is only a hobby for me, and I never gave thought towards publishing anything. I find that it's a good way to be productive with my time. There are two pieces of advice I have followed since…
Matthew
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What does Character development actually mean?

I keep hearing the terms "character development" and "characterisation", but I'm still not sure what they mean? How does one "develop" a character?
Shantnu Tiwari
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How can I have a war with no "good" or "evil" side?

I'm conceptualising a story involving two heroes who go on an epic journey and return bitter rivals etc. etc. and form their own forces in a sort of civil war. My issue is that I want them to both be on the "good" side. How can I write a story in…
Aric
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Should I bother allowing images (headshots) for pen names?

Please bear with me, the question really is for writers. I'm authoring software that manages ebooks. I'm to the point of representing the "profile" of authors who choose to use pen names. How should I handle images? Should I allow a headshot at…
JBH
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Serious real life problems in a fantasy?

I have a fantasy story I'm writing and several other fantasy ideas, which treats (in-depth or almost) some serious real life problems, such as diseases (mental or corporal), mental health degradation (like losing sanity), death, war, suffering,…
Yuuza
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How to get a derailed book back on track?

Before I started writing my fantasy story (80,000 words so far) I had a pretty strong outline prepared. Within the structure of my plot, I wrote relatively organically and my characters started to develop their personalities. One character in…
Rapscallion
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What needs to be included in a corporate style guide?

What kinds of things need to be included in a corporate style guide that can't already be found in S&W, AP, Chicago Style, etc?
dddppp
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Why aren't detective stories written in the protagonist's POV?

I've noticed that successful detective stories are, nearly always, not written in the point of view of the detective himself. The protagonist (i.e. the ingenious detective at the heart of the story) is usually referred to by his sidekick or one of…
Soha Farhin Pine
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Historical Fiction: using you and thou

Generally speaking, English once used 'you' as the second person plural (equivalent to 'vous' and 'vós') and 'thou' as the second person singular (equivalent to 'tu'). When talking to a person in a higher position, one would use the polite 'you'…
SC for reinstatement of Monica
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How do you write 2 or more characters saying almost the same thing in unison

When 2 or more characters speak in unison you can generally do something like this "awwwww, she's so cute!" the girls said in unison in near perfect harmony but what about when the line is only slightly different Person 1: but i'm not... Person…
Memor-X
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How can I Switch Protagonists Between Books?

Disclaimer: I am not intending on doing this. It is just a question I thought was fascinating and might be useful to other writers. Here's the scenario. You're writing a series of novels. After the first book, you decide to change to a new…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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How do I avoid a “mid-story info dump?”

I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader follows the story) realizes that things are not at all how she perceived them to be, and that she…
Cliff Hangerson Page
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Why is "It was a dark and stormy night.." not a good opening?

Also, why has it spawned an award for bad writing?
theTuxRacer
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What is a good methodology for researching a historical novel?

I'm having difficulty with the research aspect of my historical novel. This question was originally going to be "how much research should one do to write a historical novel?" to which, answering my own question is, "as much as you need to". …
Panda
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How to avoid the 'magic explanation' info dump in Fantasy novels

In the second book of his Inheritence Cycle, Christopher Paolini makes the grievous error of landing his main character in the middle of a serene woodland where he must sit and talk with an old elf for many seemingly unending days. It isn't a true…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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