Writing Stack Exchange
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1500 questions
13
votes
3 answers

Can I write a different book before my sequel?

I am just about done writing the first book in a series. I have an idea for the next book in that series (let's call it "book a"), but I also have another idea brewing in my mind which takes place in another universe (let's call it "book b"). I want…
AnnWriter19
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5 answers

How to stick to your vision when you’re highly suggestible?

As a person, I'm a bit of a people-pleaser. I tend to bend over backward to avoid conflict and make people happy. I've reached the point in my writing process where I've started to send out drafts of my work to beta readers to get feedback. However,…
user2352714
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13
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2 answers

How can I know that I'm not plagiarizing?

New to the web. I just recently started to write again. I won a few highschool prizes writing short stories. Around the same time, I began to play Roleplaying games and to write different stories for different games. Lately, I have been thinking…
Tiklis
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13
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6 answers

Writing for an Audio book. What are specifics?

What are specific requirements, a writer should follow, when writing something that is going to be (or just can possibly be) not only read but listened as well?
rem
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13
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2 answers

When is it a good time to move on to another project?

I've seen it mentioned in software development the concept of Fail Early, Fail Often. Using failure as a learning process is important to get better at any craft. In my writing, I have a habit of beating on story for a while, hoping to get them to…
ICodeForCoffee
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13
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5 answers

What marketing techniques are effective for short story eBook collections?

I have a collection of short stories that I'm currently selling in the Amazon Kindle marketplace, and one of the biggest hurdles to actually getting my works read is lack of exposure. My passive plan (once my KDP Select period is over) is to publish…
Strozykowski
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13
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8 answers

Will including maps at the end of my novel keep readers engaged?

I am writing a fictional historical novel. The setting is in another part of the world, nearly 100 years ago. I would wish to make the novel understandable to my fellow Westerner. Understanding geography is the CRUX of this fictional novel. What is…
Marium
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13
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8 answers

How do I write LGBTQ+ characters for a romance story, as a non-LGBTQ+ person, without using potentially offensive stereotypes

So today, some of my friends challenged me to write a short story and gave me a number of prompts from which to write, most of which were admittedly not great. There was one, however, which worked for me. It is a nice, short story about a dude who…
Chromanyx
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13
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3 answers

Is it legal to write about trademarked material and use the terms?

I am contemplating writing a technical book (and probably self-publishing it) on a proprietary programming interface for a well-known software package produced by a very large company. The company name and many of its packages are of course…
Chad Cooper
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13
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3 answers

How far into a speculative novel should one go before introducing the central conflict?

By speculative, I mean mostly science fiction, fantasy or intrigue. For example Neal Stephenson's Anathem, which is a 900-page book, goes well past the 200-page mark before the central conflict begins to take form. Works such as these have universes…
HNL
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13
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4 answers

Getting an editor after the second draft

Losely related with my latest question: Should one invest in a professional editor before querying? I've finished - not without sweat - my second draft. While I'm satisfied with the overall result, I can't shake the feeling that something is not…
Liquid
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13
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11 answers

How to differentiate between two people with the same name in a story?

I am writing a story in which at some point two characters with the same name interact each other. I can't use their last name to differentiate because it's necessary for them to have no last name. There will also be no mention of the physical…
user6844744
13
votes
9 answers

Tools for generating characters' names

I found this name generator: http://www.fakenamegenerator.com And I'm wondering if maybe there are others? Has anybody found this kind of tool useful? What about tools for fantasy names? Should I think up names in a creative way, as answers for this…
Dan Ganiev
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13
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9 answers

What should come first—characters or plot?

I'm starting a new fantasy story, and although I had a loose idea of plot, I began sculpting my characters before writing anything. Creating images of them in my head, developing their personalities, mapping out their interpersonal relationships,…
user34214
13
votes
12 answers

Compelling story with the world as a villain

My main character is up against the world, or, rather, the world and reality are up against her. A good story is in some ways defined by its villain. 1984 personifies its villain by adding a representative of the oppressor, but in my story, there…
Calypso Writes
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