All Questions
38
questions
2
votes
2
answers
98
views
'This time' vs 'that time' in past tense narrative
I am writing a past-tense personal narrative and I'm having a hard time distinguishing which term would be best in this instance. Quote for context:
My parents always told me not to lie because lying ...
- 132
2
votes
3
answers
117
views
How do you show the audience that the 3rd person limited narrator is deluded/wrong?
My character's home, both her family and society, are toxic, but in a way that she doesn't realise. They manipulate and essentially brainwash the inhabitants. It's not an evil place just a little ...
- 12.1k
0
votes
2
answers
64
views
Should I flesh out the start of my fictional story?
The plot I’m thinking of goes from very normal, with fleshed out characters, to surreal towards the end. I want to wrap it around to have strange foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book to ...
- 3,157
3
votes
3
answers
109
views
What determines the value or worthiness of an autobiography?
To make an otherwise long winded story short, I have an uncommon tale of survivorship.
Context: From child runaway, to kidnapping victim, to an escape ten years, ten months, and 23 days later.
For the ...
- 13.5k
1
vote
0
answers
87
views
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: ...
- 111
9
votes
6
answers
2k
views
How do I blur the line between dream and reality?
I intend to write a science fantasy where dream world plays as important role as reality. The dream world stated has quite a distinct feel from the real world, and it is integral to the plot.
The ...
- 13.5k
2
votes
1
answer
159
views
I'm so angry! How can I show that in an interesting way?
This is in a sense a part two to my question on English Stack Exchange about replacement for word "bullshit", which I decided would better fit on this site.
A bit of background
Optional ...
- 4,053
6
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How to portray a character slipping into insanity over time?
The deuteragonist of my trilogy, The Ragnarǫk Sequence is heavily implied to be Jeanne d'Arc (whose characterisation takes many cues from Artoria Pendragon) and serves as the protagonist's moral ...
- 1,112
14
votes
5
answers
37k
views
How to avoid using "he/she/it" repetitively in action
I'm writing a zombie apocalypse genre book (yes, I know it's a heavily used and abused writing genre, but I'm writing it in my way, a way I believe is a good way). Anyway, I caught myself writing &...
- 451
23
votes
8
answers
5k
views
What can I do with a part that I feel is necessary to a story but it's an absolute drudgery?
I've just written such a paragraph:
He turned around and started walking to the nearby store. He bought a
bread and a yoghurt. Then he came back and gave the groceries to the
homeless guy.
There are ...
- 13.7k
8
votes
4
answers
1k
views
I have too much exposition in my stories. What to do?
I’ve posted several chapters of my in-progress trilogy on several writing critique websites, and while many of my fellow writers have praised my worldbuilding abilities, they have remarked that I ...
- 6,100
3
votes
4
answers
484
views
Is it possible to write a serious story without any humour?
I'm planning out and (will hopefully be writing) a trilogy takes that takes itself pretty seriously and very dark while having a distinct absence of comedy. The reason is behind this choice that I ...
- 255
5
votes
1
answer
255
views
Will this form of "third person limited" confuse readers?
I've been writing a novel that pushes the bounds on a conventional POV. It's essentially third person limited, but I sometimes leave the perspective of the main protagonist to cover an event that has ...
CommunityBot
- 1
7
votes
5
answers
565
views
The concept of "Exotic Culture" and the necessity of a new world
A personal point of view on the necessity of a new culture in fiction
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away", "Pandora", "Dune", "Middle Earth". All quite ...
- 1,890
0
votes
2
answers
142
views
How to introduce a previously hidden faction without creating plot holes?
I've been planing out a sequel series to my trilogy, which has a secret society called Nukui-Paub spearheaded by the sequel trilogy's primary antagonist Ma'dtuth, who draws inspiration from Vandal ...
- 2,136
5
votes
4
answers
326
views
How do I Build Stories Around Characters?
I have a lot of characters I’ve spent time creating and developing, but I cannot, for the life of me, develop an overarching plot. Anyone got any techniques or tips on this? I know the question is ...
- 446
0
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How to write montages in prose? (fantasy novel)
cue Team America song
Okay, now that you know I like to have fun with my writing...
I'd like to write a montage in prose fiction. It would be a sort of a wizard training sequence, or something to ...
- 13.5k
26
votes
7
answers
6k
views
How can I make "acts of patience" exciting?
This answer to the question Averting Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses introduces a distinction between acts of patience and acts of daring.
[...] when it comes to telling a story [...]
acts of daring ...
CommunityBot
- 1
16
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Writing a Satisfying Ending
It strikes me that the last chapter (or so) of any story needs to make the reader feel that reading the book has been a worthwhile experience. An exceptional ending might leave a reader with such a ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Voices of young children, how to write?
I am currently writing a narrative featuring many young children. Some of the children are under the age of five, and I'm wondering what the best way to write dialogue for their age group would be. I ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
3
answers
488
views
How can I make some of my chapters "come to life"?
In my current WIP, I re-read through some of my chapters, and they seem completely dry and dull. I need to add some oomph to it- it seems my descriptions, and just plain storytelling (in some of my ...
- 23.8k
1
vote
2
answers
364
views
What are the differences in writing a narrative between a CV and a resume?
When I googled "The Difference between Resume and CV", the first result I bumped into was this. I am highlighting a few points that are mentioned in it below:
The primary differences between a ...
CommunityBot
- 1
16
votes
5
answers
676
views
How can I hide a second narrative within my story? (using time travel)
I've been planning a story that follows two characters. At the end, one character (let's call him Joe) goes back in time and appears at the start of the book.
I intend to explore themes of ...
- 3,739
13
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Static Scenes that still Move the Story Forward
I've just read a tutorial about scenic techniques in novel-writing that recommends that a story should have a rhythm of static scenes and dramatic scenes. Here's an excerpt:
Dramatic scenes are ...
- 4,153
8
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How to write a good MacGuffin?
I backed myself into a corner and have to create a [TV TROPES WARNING] MacGuffin for a story.
How can I create a good MacGuffin? How to make it interesting for the reader ?
I don't know where to ...
- 4,153
9
votes
6
answers
544
views
How much indirection is too much?
I'm writing a chapter with a lot of indirection, and I'm wondering if I'm doing too much of it.
To be specific, it is the main character remembering an event from his youth when a merchant who stayed ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What do you call a hidden story inside a story?
People think that in the novel The Wizard of Oz there's a hidden story that alludes to what happened in the U.S. political scene in the 1890s. How do you refer to a hidden story? Do you call it an '...
CommunityBot
- 1
8
votes
4
answers
638
views
Tips and tricks to describe more
I'm careful with the phrasing of this question as it is dangerously close to be opinion based. Everyone has their preference regarding the amount of description they expect to find in a work of ...
- 56.5k
6
votes
10
answers
902
views
How to end a story without reaching a new status quo?
A popular writing theory states that any story worth telling describes the movement from one status quo to another, and that major uncertainties in the inception and conclusion should be avoided.
How ...
- 1,152
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How can I write a street-smart character?
The book that I'm currently writing has a 16-year-old boy called Joseph Norton as the protagonist and it's implied via flashbacks that during his childhood he would frequently run away from his foster ...
- 9,557
0
votes
3
answers
188
views
Do Science Fiction Stories Follow A Particular Pattern? [closed]
I recently started writing a book expanding myself from my typical fantasy genre into SciFi. I have taken a start however I have reached an impasse and can not really decide how I should structure my ...
- 1,125
0
votes
2
answers
123
views
How can a poor communicator protagonist (but great story teller author) tell a fine narrative in first person POV? [duplicate]
I am deciding between First Person and Third Person (and inclined towards First Person)
One of the limitations of the protagonist is that he is a poor communicator and this impacts his relationships.
...
- 3,754
5
votes
3
answers
275
views
Can I change tenses in my first person YA novel?
I'm half way through a YA science fiction novel that is told in 1st person, past tense.
Currently there are two chapters in different tenses.
One is 2nd person, present tense - the p.o.v. of an AI. ...
- 56.5k
2
votes
3
answers
542
views
Memoir on a coveted experience, has no conflict! What should i do?
I am writing about my experience at place X-- a place that is coveted by many people, a dream come true of sorts!
Problem is: There is no conflict in my experience -- just a description of what a ...
- 56.5k
1
vote
3
answers
251
views
How to give written advice in a way that is encouraging, not overbearing
How do we write something to inspire a person which corrects the mistakes they've made until now, but without making them feel like they're getting mocked from the recipient's perspective?
I was ...
- 1,915
2
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Can non-interactive stories make an audience feel guilt, and if so, how?
Interactive stories can do this quite easily- give the audience a choice, reveal choice to be a bad one, everyone is very sad. Simple.
But can a story the audience has no direct control over manage ...
- 813
2
votes
3
answers
388
views
Can a character with poor communication skills be used to create an excellent first-person narrative?
I am deciding between first and third person narration for a book (and am inclined to write in the first person).
One of the limitations of the protagonist is that he is not a great communicator, and ...
- 1,171
2
votes
3
answers
278
views
How to find the balance between research and the obvious
I'm embarking on writing my first popular science book on a controversial subject. For sure the writing must be rational, coherent with a clear train of thought and littered with references to be ...
