Questions tagged [fiction]
Fiction is a form of prose writing that deals with at least partly artificial or imagined events and characters. This tag should be used for any questions relating to fiction, including fiction formatting, techniques and publishing.
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Is it acceptable to have two different publishers for one book?
I've completed a novella and understand that it will fare better if it comes out in hardcover first. Indie publishers usually produce paperback and ebook versions. Does it make sense to self-publish ...
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I need some help polishing my protagonist's motivations
I'm writing a survival horror story that's a mixture between Bloodborne and The Last of Us. The story follows an emotionally distant woman and a physically disabled child as they trek through a world ...
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Is it better to slowly introduce a character's looks rather than describing it all in one paragraph?
I've been rewriting a book, and I've realised how blocky and kind of boring my character descriptions were in my first version of the book, and I thought that maybe instead of writing a character that ...
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What would happen if all humans disappeared from the world today? [closed]
I would like to write a science fiction novel where, as of today (30 April 2023) all humans disappeared from the universe. All other animals, plants & fishes exist, just not humans.
What would be ...
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Writing apartment numbers in dialog
I am editing a mystery that takes place in an apartment building. Various apartment numbers are referenced often. 503 is where the murder takes place. Everyone always says each digit when referring to ...
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How propose a story / write / publish for an established universe or franchise? [duplicate]
I would like to know the process of proposing a story or manuscript for an established universe or franchise. Some examples of universes include Star Wars, Star Trek, Horizon, etc. My question is ...
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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, ...
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Creative Writing - Podcasts
In a book I'm writing, I want to write a chapter involving a main character being a conspiracy theory podcaster.
How can I format this into a writing idea?
My plan was to include a fake advertisement ...
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Issues to avoid when writing military sci-fi?
As I plan to write a war story, I'm considering issues I should try to avoid.
Few that come to my mind already:
Glorification of violence, meaning depiction of violence in a positive way, ignoring ...
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Is it a copyright infringement if I tell the meaning of a name in a book?
I used the name Byron in my book stating it meant strong one. is that copyright infringement?
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How to write character names in mystery novel where they are supposed to have their mind erased?
I'm writing a story about 5 characters without any recollection of their past and their journey to get their memories back.
I want to reveal their identity at the end of the story and I am struggling ...
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How do you write a book in which the main character has amnesia?
I was thinking about writing my first book (Blood on Her Hands.) There will be a main character who has amnesia. That's a problem for the book because she can't remember her past and anyone in it (...
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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 ...
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How to describe a sinister expression
I'm a noob at writing and I wanted to find out how to describe someone's face contorting into a sinister expression. I'm having a bit of trouble doing so. The most prominent features I want to focus ...
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How to write an event in a story with a memory gap (Repressed memory)?
Scenario: The protagonist goes to a party, gets drugged, and is assaulted. This event is not in the characters history. It happens during the course of the story.
Perspective: First Person
Genre: ...
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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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I need more obstacles for my characters to reach the goal. Any ideas? [closed]
I have a group of characters hunting for a precious item.
I want my characters to have problems reaching the item, problems that come in the way before they can get to it. I can give an example. ...
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Describing light like water
I am currently working on writing a storyline for a text-based videogame. I am trying to describe how there is very little light coming into the room that the character is entering, as the window is ...
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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 ...
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Writing a specific atmosphere with a limited ability to
For context, the world I'm writing is where woodland animals (think raccoons, badgers, foxes, etc.) exist on an island without humans and developed their own 'civilizations' (think wolf pack but more ...
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Numbers in a name in dialogue
If someone is speaking the name of something that includes a number, should the number be spelled out or not? For example...
"I just bought a Mustang Boss 302."
Or
"I just bought a ...
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Should I use "***" 3 asterisks or extra blank lines or whatever to indicate the breaks between parallel plot scenes, in a Kindle Vella fiction story?
That is, for example, suppose I have two plots going on, and I've sandwiched (ie. interleaved) them; a few paragraphs of one plot scene alternating with a few paragraphs of a 2nd plot scene.
To ...
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How can you write an "unambitious" story?
All of my attempts at writing devolve into overthinking plot, characters, and motivations, and the result is always burnout. I've yet to go deeper than a handful of chapters into a book.
Perhaps "...
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What lies between a Part and a Chapter?
This is for fiction literature. I've got this story where the original chapters became so huge that I had to split them into 5 chapters each. But each original chapter is relatively distinct and ...
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Would a real location for a book be more intriguing than a fictional setting?
I am a beginner to writing, so not sure exactly how to base the book I've started to write. I want it to be a real cozy romantic book where the characters kind of live in a cobble stoned village with ...
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Looking for tips on how to write a werewolf/mafia type story
I've been looking for tips on how to write a werewolf/mafia story, but when I use search terms such as mafia, werewolf, or mole, I just get stories about the mafia, werewolves, and moles (animal.) ...
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Why is that real life people have fictional relatives? [closed]
How can real life people have fictional relatives or relatives that doesn’t exist. Why is that?
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Are there any issues (not legal) of using a name (from character, creature etc ) from a media franchise?
For instance let's say about these two things:
a story featuring a race called "Tuskarr", a name from Warcraft universe.
a story featuring a character called "Yogg-Saron" also ...
user56842
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How to use the "feel" of Marvel and DC cinematic fight scenes?
I want to write a fight scene like the MCU Hulk's fight scene with Iron Man or the DCEU Superman vs Zod fight in Man of Steel. I want to have the same general feel, or quality to the fight scene. I am ...
user56812
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Writing an eerie yet good Afterlife System
The story I'm writing has an afterlife system (a main focus of the story), and I'm trying to do it in a way that isn't Christianity-esque (ie. hell with no redemption, heaven being an all-powerful ...
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How to write a monologue that reveals a backstory?
My short story is from a third person POV, but I wanted to write a chapter in which the protagonist is doing a monologue that will tell details of her traumatic past, being kidnapped by a pedophile, ...
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Tips on writing a character with bipolar disorder
I am writing a novel about a young man who is grieving the loss of his mother. He's also been diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder in the last two years.
I really want to do his character justice, and I ...
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Can there be fan fiction of a public domain universe?
Fan fiction generally occupies a gray area of the law - widely tolerated under "fair use" for noncommercial sharing, publication, and performance, but almost never acceptable for profiting ...
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What is illegal or will make sure you don't get published?
I am writing a book based off experiences shared to me by others, their opinions on the matter, about things that are completely illegal in the United States.
This book would be very dark and ...
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Can I tell after already showing?
When writing fiction, I try to adhere to the rule of showing rather than telling. That said, is it ok to tell after already showing?
For example, I have a character already shown to be insecure. Is it ...
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What would be the real life equivalent of the drugs and syringes that make people pass out in movies and shows?
Not sure if this is the right place to ask.
Problem: I'm writing a book with a scene where these two criminals are trying to kidnap someone, and the victim is fighting back. Criminal A is fighting ...
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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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Can I take the text of my own already published book (ebook & POD), amend & improve it, add new title and cover pic, and self-publish as a new book?
I have a published (ebook & paperback) novel which was published in 2015 by a UK publishing house. The text was never carefully or properly proofed and there were many printing problems. Net ...
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Could I use non-English characters and expressions in a novel?
Currently I'm outlining a novel, mostly for fun, based in 9th century Norway. The closest to writing Old Norse names I can get is by using Icelandic characters like the ð and þ and the occasional á ...
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What are ways that a character can acquire psychic powers?
I've been trying to get back at writing stuff again and I'm currently, not-per-se stuck, but more so curious if people care to enlighten me on ways a character can acquire psychic powers.
At the time ...
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How to describe when someone hesitates before speaking?
I find myself repeatedly saying "he/she hesitated" when I feel like there's something else I could say. I've been experimenting but with the character in question, all I can think of is, &...
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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 ...
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I have this scenario all mapped out in my brain but I am having difficulty putting it into words
I am writing a short story and I have a scene all visualized in my brain but I am not sure if I am doing a good job at putting it into words.
The scenario is as follows :
A character (the protagonist) ...
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Can I use something from another series in my own?
I’ve been working on my series for two and a half years now, and this is just now coming to my attention. My series has to do with vampires and other supernatural entities, and I’ve been using the ...
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Should I add pollution or resource depletion to my story even though it's not the plot for my story?
The world I'm writing is a multi-polar world where every nation has their own battleships and aircraft. Aerial warfare is kind of normal (like Ace Combat.) As I progress with my idea, I've realized ...
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How to use a character death as motivation in a compelling fashion?
Every writer knows the stereotypical trope where a throwaway character is created, killed off, and used as justification for why a protagonist is so determined to accomplish their goals (to avenge the ...
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Mixing indirect and direct speech in fiction
I often find myself wanting to include bits of dialogue in narratives where I am summarizing a detailed conversation.
For example, I am inclined to write silly things like this:
Bill and Ted talked ...
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How to describe someone whose eyes sparkle mischievously?
I've been told that I'm telling instead of showing when I say my characters' eyes sparkle 'mischievously.' How do you describe something like that? I've been looking it up and trying different tricks ...
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Should I start my story before or after an event important to the plot and that included the main characters
My story is about a team and the only reason they formed the team is because of an event that they participated in and idk if I should start the story before or after the event
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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 ...
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