Newest Questions
12,956 questions
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How can I make my roleplay responses like a novel, while still letting the other person reply?
I've been having this problem with a lot of my roleplays. Usually, my responses are 70-160 characters and around 20 words.
Here are some examples:
In front of her is a waterfall, and she's sitting on ...
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2
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12
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How is multi-sentence dialogue in prose punctuated when dialogue tags do not end the sentence?
Dialogue tags conventionally will be punctuated in a way that follows the structure of the dialogue itself:
"This is a sentence," Alice said. "This is another sentence."
But what ...
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1
answer
19
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Memiors about life after adoption
A few years ago I decided to write a book about what it was like to grow up in an abusive household as an adoptee. As I started digging into my own history the story grew and it has turned into a ...
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1
answer
94
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Is writing articles/blogs still relevant in the age of AI?
People around me and I use AI like ChatGPT to get information on the internet. If we don't find the accurate data about what we are looking for, only then we search on Google and copy the content of ...
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9
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4
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Can the translation of a book be an obstacle?
I have a book and I wrote it not in English. However, I have made a translation into English, a pretty good one. Will native English speakers read such a book or will they, when they see the ...
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Mastering Cadence through Scansion
Though I have managed to compose lyrical prose in the past, according to my own reading, I have no understanding of the way I achieved this, except to say that, in one instance, I practiced imitation. ...
user25421
2
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2
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122
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is it too cliche to foreshadow a character's future using their given names?
in the book i'm currently working on, i'm thinking of using unconventional names (sometimes even words that aren't names) that are heavily symbolic and supposed to predict what they future should be.
...
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-1
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1
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92
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What genres should I explore next?
I’ve been wondering lately, what genres should I dive into next with my writing? I feel like I’m stuck in a bit of a rut, always writing the same kind of stuff. I want to switch things up and try ...
6
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2
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What’s a good way to practice writing and actually get better over time?
What’s the best way to actually practice writing and see real improvement over time? Should I be writing every single day, or is it more about focusing on the quality of what I write? Are there ...
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1
answer
84
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Knowledge of the Principles of Composition
I have forgotten much of what was taught to me in school. And I have not learned much of it. So I don't know much about English Composition. But I need to learn it to write good prose. However, I don'...
user25421
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1
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79
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What is the figure of speech scheme name for "X and Y, Y and X"?
I would like to properly classify a figure of speech that can be generalized as "X and Y, Y and X". Here is a specific example randomly generated by my imagination: "Honey and berries, ...
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1
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215
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Minimal Rules of Style for a Rough Draft
Often this advice is given to writers, in discussing the creation of rhythm: First, develop your intended message, and afterward, edit for rhythm. But because I constantly experience the urge to edit ...
user25421
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0
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44
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How do I describe a pain that courses through the whole body but it happens suddenly?
I'm starting to write something is just a fan fict but I hope to better my writing. English is not my mother language so when it comes to describing this exact scenario is hard for me. This is what I ...
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58
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Writing Verse vs Immitation for Strengthening Verbal Skills
My verbal skills seem very weak. Often, I cannot write flowing, rhythmic prose, if ever. But I know I succeeded at least once in the past, although in a very short piece, which is not published, is ...
user25421
2
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2
answers
69
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Equivalent idioms for "Throw me a bone"
The phrase "throw me a bone" is now forever linked to Dr. Evil (Mike Myers). Are there any equivalent idioms or common modern slang that I can use for a comedy bit? Being literal, like "...
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2
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2k
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How can I avoid overusing her/she or the character name when describing character action
I'm writing a story and my writing style involves lots of paragraphs describing what's happening and less dialogue. Which I'm sure isn't uncommon, but I noticed that I tend to overuse her, she, and ...
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1
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42
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Is there a format for scholarly writing that allows you to cite "where did I find this citation?"
I know in many fields such as journalism there is usually a notion of "primary, secondary, tertiary sources" in that you can directly cite someone at an event, or cite a citation of them etc....
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89
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How to create enough plot events to show more of a setting
I have an adventuring party that's going in a dungeon. The dungeon is why I wanted to write this story, because I have some interesting ideas for its backstory. It'll have a reveal at the end that ...
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7
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4
answers
2k
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How to avoid wasting reader investment with a thematically disappointing ending?
I'm drafting a story around chasing dreams and facing the possibility of said dreams being a lie in the end. For this, I have a main character doggedly chasing a goal that's extremely hard to achieve ...
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1
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103
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Is it possible to kill a character while in their POV? [duplicate]
I'm writing a fantasy book that has 4 main characters. While I was planning, I thought it would be interesting to kill off one of the characters. I was thinking about doing it whilst in said character'...
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31
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Can single-paragraph discussion prompts include multiple questions/topics?
For every assignment of this course I am required to follow Purdue's English Page for Paragraphs, The Elements of Style, write in a consultative register, and keep my full response as a single ...
SynonymousVillage
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is the word presumed used correctly in my sentence?
what was wrong with account I told her since Shes not on the acct I couldn't provide her with details. I presumed to ask about the relationship, and she said she was the caregiver.
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502
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How to write a cooking scene without it sounding like a recipe?
I'm a beginner writer.
I would like to know how to write about food being prepared. Food is significant in my short stories. I want to write about food in a comforting and cosy way. I want my writing ...
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91
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Advice on updating century-old children's story that has phonetically-spelled black dialogue
First, I think this question needs some background, but if you want to skip that, please skip down to "HERE'S MY QUESTION".
Most of classic American children's author Thornton W. Burgess's ...
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1
answer
47
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Should I include my prologue in my query as a sample chapter/sample pages?
I am currently querying agents for a novel that has a prologue. A lot of literary agents ask for sample chapters (three, for example). Should I send the prologue and the first two chapters, the ...
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1
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60
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How to use colons for speech marks
I am trying to use colons for dialogue in a creative work. The purpose is to make a distinction between imagined dialogue and actual (fictional!) spoken dialogue, e.g:
An elderly lady opened the door....
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4
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114
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Logical flaws with 1st person pov
Quick disclaimer: Sorry, if my phrasing is not accurate, English is not my first language (and the stories I write are not in English).
I am currently writing a short story that is giving me headaches ...
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77
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Can the POV Change
So my question is if my POV can change like from one character (Ajax) to another character (his sister Storm) but it has their name at the top of each chapter so no one gets confused. Can I do that? ...
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28
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Automating the checking of formatting issues
I'm taking a large number of documents that are in one format and using some tools to convert them into a different format. My concern is that some of the formatting could have been compromised during ...
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3
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76
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How do I accurately write a french character in America?
I want to include a character in a webcomic who moved from France to America sometime after college. He knows english and is mostly fluent speaking, reading, and writing, but I want to still show that ...
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3
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145
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How to name historical places whose names have been lost in a historical novel
For example, the original name that its builders gave to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu has been lost. Its current name was probably given to it by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1911. So, in a ...
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1
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21
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How to reference a quote that I found on another website
I have found the following quote of Weston Walch on https://philosophy.lander.edu:
It cannot be proved that government ownership of railroads has succeeded in other countries. Therefore, government ...
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3
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826
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Quotation marks in dialogue for speech spoken by myself
In a dialogue between myself and other characters, should I use quotation marks on my own words?
Example:
"Clean the dishes ", my mom said.
I'll clean them later, I replied.
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2
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523
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How to write a synopsis/query when the story has more than one POV
I’ve recently been trying to work on my query letter / synopsis for my historical fiction novel. There are 4 POVs.
I was told once if your story has more than one pov, in your query letter/synopsis, ...
anon
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1
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74
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Is there a software that updates cross-references automatically?
Some of my footnotes refer to other parts of my text, for example "See page 9" or "See footnote 59." When I edit my text or add another footnote, sometimes the part that these ...
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1
answer
56
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Using "poise" as standalone verb
English as second language person trying to increase vocabulary and learning to to write.
Can I use the word "poise" as verb like I used in following statement? While Dictionary defines it ...
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1
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How to quote Alexander from Julian's satire "The Caesars" for an epithet
I want to quote the phrase "I am aware that you Romans are yourselves descended from the Greeks, and that the greater part of Italy was colonized by Greeks;" however, I cant attribute it to ...
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3
answers
165
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Does using food as an analogy reduce the impact of scenes of horror/violence?
I'm working on a story where a vampire hunter is using a powerful pistol against a vampire and I'm wondering if my description reduces the effect. I wanted it to be gross and leave an impression to ...
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1
answer
89
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What do you think about the heavy use of colons and semi-colons?
I like using colons and semi-colons to punctuate what I write, as I feel they afford a greater complexity and sophistication of delivery: they allow you to break-up what you want to say into subtle ...
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5
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2k
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Ramifications of having each chapter be a different 'episode' in a novel?
I was thinking about how readers would feel about reading an episodic story that instead of having a different story per book, having a different story per chapter. Not an anthology, but like same MCs,...
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2
votes
2
answers
143
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At what point does a copyright move? AI
If a user generates a short story using AI, it has no copyright that the user can claim. Anyone can copy the story. If the user claimed they owned the copyright, one day it could catch up with them?
...
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56
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How to make metaphors make sense in a writing instead of making it out of topic
I was writing something that I thought of couple days ago.
it was about the people's mindset that they created throughout their life, and I wanted to describe it in a metaphorical way.
now to make ...
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1
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95
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How to write believable characters with deep motivations and strong voices?
I have two narrators for my story, both of them are polar opposites but they're best friends. The first one is a Victorian actress while the other one is a painter. I want to write a character that is ...
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How to write a character thrown into a new world and a training period to get accustomed to this new world? [closed]
I'm writing a story about a Victorian Shakespearean actress who is thrown into a new world. She was told that she was invited to an elite acting school in Paris with the promise of a scholarship, but ...
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2
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84
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A foreword, but in the middle of the story
I'm writing a story that is a fiction within a fiction, presented as a written story compiled from oral sources by a fictional character who was a main character in a previous book.
Within this story, ...
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1
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54
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Should I italicize brand names and song titles?
I'm doing the final edits to my book. I often refer to music and brand names of clothing worn to set the tone. My question is when mentioning a brand name or song and artist can I italicize the brand ...
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11
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Does using real-world month and day names invalidate the believability of a world that never had those cultures?
In a world that does not share our history or cultures, it seems false to use words like Tuesday or September, yet by that standard, every word is in question and I am not trying to go full Tolkien ...
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2
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83
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Formatting my writing
I'm having trouble keeping tense or even knowing which one to stick to. Both seem to work but I'm not sure which sounds better or flows more. Also, I think too much about how to structure dialogue. If ...
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Hello, so I'm writing a novel and I want to include a bunch of different skin tones and not seem rude, anyone got skin color names?
So far I have a few names like bastard-amber, latte and caramel skin tone names. Any names would be very helpful!
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4
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How do I learn to write well?
I don't know if this is the place for this, but whatever. I am a first-year college student who's highly invested in self-education and gaining knowledge. I always strive to know more. I read a lot ...
