All Questions
Tagged with characters fiction
219 questions
2
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How do I convey extreme speed to readers?
In my Urban Fantasy story, I'm trying to introduce and establish an antagonist with light-based symbolism. They're supposed to be the fastest character, referencing the speed of light. Every time they ...
- 195
5
votes
2
answers
2k
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If my character has the same name as a character from another story, will the publisher tell me to change it?
If my character has the same name as a character from another story, will the publisher tell me to change it?
Whether the answer is yes or no, can you explain why?
- 51
2
votes
2
answers
77
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Regarding the rule of introducing a narrative change of character with a new paragraph: Does this still apply if the action is minor?
I am editing a novel. I generally follow the widely endorsed rule of using a new paragraph when introducing a change in dialogue, action or subject.
However, would this still apply when said action is ...
- 23
0
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1
answer
151
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When I am writing dialogue, if the character speaks childishly, would people think I am a bad author?
I am writing a novel right now, so I need some clarification for this.
When writing dialogue about a childish character that will grow and become more mature, will people assume I couldn't write ...
- 103
2
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1
answer
963
views
How do I tell if a relationship is becoming too toxic and how do I counteract this?
A key relationship I'm developing is a father-daughter like bond between my 17 year old protagonist (Nefeli) and my early-forties side protagonist (Cadoc). A common theme I expand on is that Nefeli ...
- 902
0
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1
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97
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Self-contained fictional narrative consisting of only about 150 words, and without conflict between the characters [closed]
The title describes the goal. Below is one attempt to achieve the goal.
My question: Can I say that there's no conflict between the characters, or is that just my opinion?
There's an obvious ...
- 121
3
votes
3
answers
267
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Can I write a story based in a world without humans?
I have this world I'm building that I want to write a story on, but there's absolutely nothing human in the world.
It's entirely built around elemental creatures including the protagonist.
0
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3
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93
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Can I switch the POV of a main character? [duplicate]
So I'm momentarily writing a fictional story for a class I'm taking, and I've run into a problem. I have one main character, but there is a scene where that character passes out. Is it possible to ...
- 3
2
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3
answers
63
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Describing exclaimations from a group
My character, an old woman, has been knocked down, injured and can't get up. There is a crowd of people, spread across a park, who all witnessed the accident. From her view, at ground level, she is ...
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1
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5
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330
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How do I write a superintelligent character?
A very similar question has been asked here.
Writing a Super Intelligent AI
I ask this question for multiple reasons. I was writing a sci-fi work and I decided it'd make sense that the characters have ...
- 19
2
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1
answer
169
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What examples are there of a major character being written out *without* dying?
Mainly talking about stories that span multiple instalments, like TV shows with multiple seasons or a novel series with multiple books.
In my experience, when a main character exits a series ...
user60505
2
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4
answers
204
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Is a self-introduction of the main character speaking to the reader appropriate to start a novel?
I'm authoring a horror/corruption/murder novel. The book starts off with the Main Character telling the reader about who he is and his physical appearance (now in his 60s), how he got to be ...
- 53
0
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4
answers
151
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Novel begins with a number of chapters concerning the father of the main character, but does not include the main character
Table of Contents:
Prologue
24 Years Ago: Omissions of the Past
A number of chapters of backstory (life) of father of main character, but son, who is the main character for rest of book is not in it, ...
- 1
3
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2
answers
117
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Should a first-time novel writer have more than 5-7 characters?
I have never wrote more than a short story in my life yet. That being said, I am planning to complete a novel soon. I feel like I might have too many characters. I have around 28 minus the ones not a ...
- 325
2
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4
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848
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Is it necessary to describe a character's physical appearance in a novel
I am writing a novel and I realized that I did not describe any of my characters, like practically, no reader would be able to place or imagine the character which I feel is not right. That is why I ...
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2
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1
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159
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How do I get my detective to find out that one of the characters sent a threat to someone?
I'm writing a whodunnit.
At a certain point in the story, the detective finds a letter from one of the suspects (who is the director of a play,) which is intended to intimidate one of the other ...
2
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4
answers
228
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Is it possible to write a story where every character has the same name?
I know this is probably going to get me a down vote, but I've had this idea for a while. I wanted to know if it would work or if it would be an awful failure. Every character is the same person from ...
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-1
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2
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134
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Stuck on how to expand my chapter
I am currently working on my first serious story/book. I have written in the past, but I never really paid attention to the structure or word count or really anything that made a story, a story.
For ...
- 107
3
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4
answers
163
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Is dropping characters between book sections a terrible idea?
I've been worrying for a while about 'dropping' characters between the three distinct sections of my novel. I'm happy with the plot, and it makes sense for these characters to not be present as it ...
- 1,418
1
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2
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2k
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Is it bad to have a character who is similar to an existing character if the stories are very different?
I am on the second draft of my book, and only now do I realize my main character has some extreme similarities to Katniss from the Hunger Games.
While there are differences, her backstory and ...
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1
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1
answer
562
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How do you describe the sound of a body being dragged through the snow? [closed]
How to describe the sound of a body bring dragged through snow
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3
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1
answer
251
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How can I write a young adult character as very excited without sounding like a child?
I want to show my young adult main character, as being very enthusiastic and excitable about her interests, mainly I want her to make a big deal about wanting to wear her mother's ceremonial (but ...
- 945
4
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3
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298
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Pronouns for a character that body hops?
I'm currently writing a paranormal thriller novel where people can inhabit other peoples' bodies -- regardless of sex, gender identity, or sexuality. I'm currently in moral turmoil over how to use ...
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0
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65
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What character type is a slandered hero?
I am painting the hero of my major conflict with undeserved slander for most of the novel, then exposing the source of the slander. In effect, the reader experiences the villain becoming the hero.
I ...
- 1,122
0
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1
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69
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How to write a character that lost his passion , his purpose that he had for his goal after he achives it and how to revive his passion?
So that character is like any typical sports anime character who loved to play cricket a lot and fortunately was gifted and lucky enough to become a big name in world of cricket but with time during ...
0
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1
answer
52
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Questions about deciding place settings in a story
I'm currently... in this quite conflicting situation that I have put myself into.
I'm gonna try and explain everything.
For my story, I initially (what I have in mind right now) want the place ...
- 15
2
votes
2
answers
505
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How can I write a character who inherits armour/clothing that doesn't fit because they are plus-sized, while respecting my audience's own experiences?
Context: I'm writing a short story that serves as some background for a roleplaying character who is a fantasy dwarf called Fin, and as such I'm not expecting it to ever be published in its current ...
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1
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133
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how do I describe magic in a fictional story? [closed]
In my writing I need to describe a character being enchanted by a spell and pulled towards a house.
4
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2
answers
198
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How do I motivate myself to write when I have been focusing on worldbuilding first?
I had been planning a story/novel for a short while and started by focusing on worldbuilding. After I got the basics down, created a character (with flaws, motivations and hooks into the world I build ...
- 945
0
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2
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193
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How do I accurately write a prologue, which also works as a character introduction chapter?
I'm in the process of writing my prologue for my book, but it's going to also introduce the main characters. Long story short, the main Character, Devoss, goes into a magical forest to prove himself, ...
4
votes
2
answers
493
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When writing an American Indian character, how to ensure an accurate and sensitive portrayal as a cultural outsider?
(Similar question can be found here, but I think mine is broader in scope, as that question only asks about names.)
Background
I've been tinkering away at a few of my short story ideas with a friend ...
- 8,762
1
vote
1
answer
104
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Writing ideas for regrets someone would have after death and how to overcome them [closed]
Not completely sure if this is the right place for this question, but I had an idea for a story involving teens that have died with regrets/undealt with trauma being sent to an "afterlife" ...
- 105
4
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2
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135
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When a new character speaks, do you describe them in the same paragraph, or in a new paragraph?
I'm making my own book, but I'm not sure what to do in the following situation:
If you were to write a line of dialogue when introducing a new character, then describe the same character, do you ...
- 149
1
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1
answer
140
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How would you describe a character that is ‘dogmatic’ without referring to religion or politics?
I am trying to develop a character who has a very rigid world view but I want to use more than just a single adjective to bring out this character’s “quality”. I also do not want to inject any ...
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2
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2
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131
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How would authorities handle a disappearance caused by paranormal means?
A story of mine starts with a character disappearing in his radio studio while on air.
Nobody else was in the building with him.
A pair of sunglasses that he always kept in his shirt pocket was the ...
0
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1
answer
125
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When should one of my four main characters die?
I'm writing a book series (I may or may not publish it, not sure) that I'd like to have as 5 books long. I have four main characters, and I want part of the story to be three of them dealing with the ...
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17
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16
answers
6k
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Is there any point where an overpowered main character could be an interesting one?
I just read a novel where the main character is overpowered: he has unbeatable superpowers, many girls that are interested in him, enemies that get scared just by facing him, etc. I find it annoying ...
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1
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3
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341
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How would a character with a certain personality react in a certain situation? [closed]
I'm at a point in my story where the main character(M17) was in a huge car crash. He'd been in an overturned vehicle for about 10 minutes and had sustained heavy damage. A few of his friends had come ...
- 441
1
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2
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247
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How do I have my protagonist learn their lesson without pausing the plot?
I am writing a fantasy series where the protagonist's main flaw is that she feels she doesn't deserve happiness. In the mid point, the protagonist and the antagonist come face-to-face and the ...
2
votes
1
answer
75
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Character's point of view when using empathic powers
I am writing my first novel in the third person semi-omniscient. I am aware that I ought to still structure passages from a primary character’s point of view, as in, if two or more characters are ...
- 327
12
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10
answers
6k
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How to make a story entertaining with an almost invincible character?
I'm writing this fantasy story with the MC slowly transforming into a non-human being. Which makes him invulnerable... Or at least quite resistant. The problem is that I'm still not fully sure which ...
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16
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7
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6k
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How should my protagonist refer to my male character who is 18?
I am writing a part where the sixteen-year-old protagonist meets a male character who is eighteen-years-old. I am not sure how to refer to him - boy or man.
The male character is legally an adult, he ...
user48742
14
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9
answers
11k
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Is it offensive to kill my gay character at the end of my book?
In my novel, while the main characters are building the plot and driving it forward, there is a subplot with a gay couple. One of the gay partners is best friends with the female protagonist.
At the ...
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1
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3
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89
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Can I have one Aristotelian comedy and another Aristotelian tragedy unfolding simultaneously in one book?
In my novel, I have two main protagonists, a father and son, who each have related but separate arcs developing in tandem. Each learns from the other over the course of their stories, culminating in ...
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3
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5
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239
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When is there too much of a plot misdirection?
I'm sure that somebody is going to point me to this question, but my case is different.
So I and my best friend are currently writing a science fiction novel that has many plot twists and "...
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6
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3
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2k
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What qualifies for an antagonist?
I'm a young author writing a realism-fantasy novel. My "antagonist" is this man who sends the protagonist away against his daughter's wishes(this is the climax of the story). He does it sort ...
- 745
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2
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104
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Is it all right to write a memoir like a novel?
I wanted to share my true story as if I were writing a fictional story. For example, the author Terry McMillan's novel called, "Disappearing Acts", wrote a fictional story shared with her ...
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0
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62
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In Alan Bennet's The History Boys Mrs Lintott says to Irwin 'If I was a better teacher..'. Why does she not say 'if I were a better teacher? [closed]
I don't understand why Mrs Lintott does not seem to be using the subjunctive
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0
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1
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52
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Is this beginning good for A STORY [closed]
David Gemstone dives his head in a bucket full of water. "Bang" he hears a sound outside. He pulls out his revolver and walks out of the bathroom. "Who is it?" he asked with a ...
2
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5
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603
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What pronoun to use for a sentient, self aware AI?
I have a sentient AI in a story. He sentience aspect is mostly an unexpected result and some characters in the story do not believe it. When they refer to the AI, should they use the "it" ...
