Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

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5 answers

Why is there such strong objection to the use of said-bookisms?

I am surprised by the vehemence of many writers' objection to said-bookisms -- the practice of using a verb other than "said" or "asked" in order to convey dialog. Writers are told you can't hiss an entire sentence nor laugh one either. I feel like…
Richard Stanzak
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Any suggestions for a new writer?

I am in no way a writer. It's something I've always wanted to do, but could never build up the courage to actually start. Every time I think about writing, I think about the end result and how I am not a good writer. This process circles through my…
Dylan Beck
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Just how Different are Male and Female Readers?

It is my belief that male and female readers are more or less the same. There are differences in how we view things, but those differences do not stop us from liking the same book or movie. I can see this clearly on iMDB. If I look at the broken…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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11 answers

Antagonist that remains unknown

In genre fiction, the antagonist is usually either known throughout the book or revealed before the end, so that protagonist and antagonist can battle it out during climax. What I am wondering is, how can a story work out, if the antagonist remains…
user5645
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5 answers

Avoiding cultural differences

I'm not a native English speaker, but I write in English. I'm now visiting the US, and I have made some very interesting observation regarding the way ordinary life goes on here. It made me think of the way I write about ordinary life in my book…
Ido Tamir
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5 answers

What to avoid when foreshadowing a death?

If, for example, I plan for a character to die in the middle of the story, and let's say I'd like to foreshadow his death by dropping a few hints here and there, what should I avoid when dropping hints about the approaching death?
DarkYagami
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Checklist for making sure your writing is Atomic?

Question: Can someone please give me a list of things to check when reviewing a document to make sure that it is atomic. Atomic? Meaning that anyone can start reading at any section in a document and not have other portions of the document be…
leeand00
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5 answers

What to do if I end up confused by my own plot because of 'trying to be original' or 'trying to make the story more deep'?

Sometimes, I find myself in the dilemma that I come out with a plot that tells exactly what I want to say. But then, I try to modify it in order to make it more original (at least, less similar than current novels). Sometimes is the the way around…
wyc
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How do I find flaws in a character I'm building?

I have a particular character in my story who I feel is great. He's a retired monster hunter who settled down with his wife for his later years. He's all-around friendly, respectful, empathetic, wise, and still extremely strong compared to the…
J. A.
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Handling a small detail the POV character would not notice

I have a scene in which two characters, Boy and Girl, meet for the first time. Girl is the POV character in this section. They are about to have lunch, when Girl is called away on an emergency. She mutters that she's sorry, asks if they could meet…
Eric J.
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7 answers

Writing different genres

I like to write many different genres in my fiction writing but I think that this would be confusing as an author's name becomes somewhat of a brand. Is it therefore a good idea to invent pen names where genres don't really gel so that the audiences…
Jeff Yates
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What exactly do I do to get published?

I'm interested to know what the publishing process exactly entails for future reference. I'm in my last year of school and I recently finished my first substantial piece of creative writing (a subject I chose for an exam related project). I…
Edward Rose
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How can you write during a full work day?

As provided in this excellent answer by @what, there is a certain 'creative time,' for writing, when you can write the best. I've been aware of this for awhile, though I never really saw it for what it was until recently. Unfortunately (and I doubt…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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13
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7 answers

When should a chapter end?

When writing a novel, when should I end a chapter? Note that I'm not talking about chapter word-count (that topic was discussed here). I'm interested to know when should I end my chapters conceptually. Is there a rule of thumb? Examples will be…
Ido Tamir
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Is there a free online alternative to Scrivener?

I currently use Google Drive/Docs to pen all of my novels and short stories, but really feel that I could do with a management suite of sorts, such as Scrivener. However, as Scrivener costs actual money, I was wondering if there is a free…
M.Y. David
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