All Questions
26 questions
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
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 ...
- 195
11
votes
5
answers
2k
views
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,...
- 325
2
votes
4
answers
204
views
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
votes
1
answer
86
views
What is the proper formatting of type and quote marks when the main character talks aloud to himself, to someone else, or has internal dialogue?
I am authoring a novel. The main character interacts with others in oral conversation and will also have internal dialogue with himself, during the same conversation. Or he will talk aloud to an ...
- 53
0
votes
2
answers
284
views
When does a story benefit from or is made better by not having a central theme?
On online forums, I often see the argument that not every story needs a theme. This is the flip side version of the question of when a story needs a theme. I felt that those arguing that some stories ...
- 160
3
votes
4
answers
651
views
Should a flashback be written in first person or third when the narrator has lost his memory?
I'm writing a story where the main character wakes up on a boat with no memory, and throughout the story his past will be revealed, along with other characters in the story. It's written from the main ...
- 31
2
votes
2
answers
438
views
Can my prologue be written in omniscient third person if the rest of my novel is written in third person limited POV?
I'm writing a novel in third person limited point of view. I want my prologue to feature an event that is referenced later in the novel, but my protagonist is not involved in the event. (e.x the ...
- 21
4
votes
3
answers
590
views
Switching Between First and Third Person
So I've started writing a book. It's set in present time, but is going to be interwoven with flashbacks to a few years ago to explain how the character(s) got to this scenario in present time. I was ...
- 51
5
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Should a writer be a good reader?
Someone who wants to be a writer, has a good idea in his/her brain but is not much of a reader. Can that person be a good writer given that he/she has read a few novels but wants to write a great ...
- 476
12
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How can I write complex and believable characters?
How do I write characters that are more grounded, complex and believable so that readers can resonate with them and makes my novel more compelling?
How should I elaborate their dialogues and actions ...
- 476
5
votes
4
answers
347
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 ...
13
votes
4
answers
366
views
Getting an editor after the second draft
Losely related with my latest question: Should one invest in a professional editor before querying?
I've finished - not without sweat - my second draft. While I'm satisfied with the overall result, I ...
- 15.9k
7
votes
3
answers
338
views
Avoiding episodic writing
I'm working on a novel that will have at least three distinct sections in three distinct locations (the two main characters start in the first location, travel through the second location, and one ...
- 56.5k
4
votes
2
answers
193
views
If the narrator of the story is a pet, can I still add some philosophical stuff into its narration?
So, the story is about the heroine of the book, but the whole thing is narrated by her pet. Initially the plot is light and easy, but later into the story, it gets a little serious. There's stuff ...
- 175
8
votes
4
answers
919
views
What are the points to remember when the pet is the narrator and is narrating the story of its owner?
I'm working on a novel which is based on a true story. I first thought of writing from the heroine's POV, but later changed my mind and introduced a pet in the plot as the narrator of the story. Which ...
- 175
7
votes
7
answers
581
views
Symbolism of 18 Journeyers
In my story, 12 year old Ruth has visions from another place and time which lead her to gather a group of kids for a quest. She is told there will be 18 kids, but she can only find 17 with the ...
- 32.4k
1
vote
1
answer
119
views
How to deal with Infalliable Narrator issue?
So, what I'm writing is a novel where I'm the narrator who describes life events of my another self. The whole story revolves around this character. This page contains the following passage in the ...
- 413
4
votes
1
answer
392
views
Flashback vs long past tense exposition vs multiple frames of reference in the same scene
I'm giving my newest story a bit of break before I go back and fix the tense issue in it, and going back to the story I started last April.
I am unfortunate enough to have about 180k words of novel (...
- 409
4
votes
3
answers
360
views
Points to keep in mind while writing a romantic novel
So I'm currently working on a story that kinda is a romantic novel. But I need some starters, like
what exactly to keep in mind while writing a romantic novel? (From the reader's point of view)
the ...
- 231
0
votes
1
answer
103
views
Is there a term that describes a written work that includes narrative in addition to scientific and historical information? [closed]
I can think of a few books, such as The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion, and I Can Hear You Whisper by Lydia Jones. In both these novels, the author was narrating a true experience, but at ...
2
votes
3
answers
591
views
Writing flashbacks in novels
You would have seen many movies where the flow of the story goes in such a way -
The present life of the protagonist - talks with someone / sees something - reminds him something of a past experience ...
- 231
8
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Should I use contractions in my narrative?
Should I use contractions in my narrative, or only use them in dialogue?
I have noticed that in some books, like The Passage by Justin Crownin, contractions are used in the prose. In others, like The ...
- 4,439
0
votes
2
answers
60
views
Readability for narrative type with respect to time
I am planning a series of fantasy novels which will be told in linear time with relatively small time jumps. One novel in the collection, however must span several generations while keeping the same ...
- 227
1
vote
3
answers
108
views
Can I change scene and characters in the next chapter?
So I have been questioning myself about this: when I'm writing and done with a chapter and I am about to start the next one, can I start with a different scene and others characters like in another ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
407
views
Nonlinear novels
Let's say that you are writing a novel whose narrative is non-linear. That means that when Chapter One refers to the present time, e.g. the 2010s, Chapter Two, instead of telling what happened right ...
- 121
4
votes
6
answers
598
views
How to tell a story with the least amount of writing?
I love to invent stories and come up with ideas, but I don't have the patience to fill out all the details that is usually a part of a novel. (For those of you familiar with Myers-Briggs or Jungian ...
- 2,494