Questions tagged [structure]
For questions about the connections between and ordering of elements within a written work.
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Could a different structure for "Feast of Crows" have been a better solution to Martin's five-year-gap?
The latest two volumes of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire have been poorly received compared to the series' earlier books. What's interesting here is that Martin's original plan did not include these ...
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Preventing the symbolic conflict of "Hunger Games" from overshadowing widespread social plight [closed]
SPOILER ALERT: Questions and answers may contain spoilers for all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
Symbolic Conflict as the Climax of Social Conflict
I noticed an ...
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How far into a speculative novel should one go before introducing the central conflict?
By speculative, I mean mostly science fiction, fantasy or intrigue.
For example Neal Stephenson's Anathem, which is a 900-page book, goes well past the 200-page mark before the central conflict ...
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Adding more characters as the story moves forwards
I'm 20 and have been writing a lot of fiction since I was 11, and there is a story that I keep rewriting as I get older and learn more about writing and storytelling. Strangely I haven't done that ...
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How to further improve the flow and crispness in the essay?
I am writing an essay in which I used a simple chronological flow. Setting first the background, then the circumstances I was involved in and the decision I took, and finally my conclusion after the ...
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How do I re-interest myself in a plot I am working on?
I've been working on my plot for almost a year now and every time I open my Excel sheet (yes,I know its odd to plot a novel in an Excel sheet but I find it's kind of a clean and clutter free workspace)...
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Should the secret antagonist have dual goals set in the ending of Act I?
Okay, There's this antagonist in my plot who is supposed to secretly frame my protagonist (due to some undecided reasons) and also help him publicly to cover his tracks.
And since I'm working with the ...
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Single character POV vs. two POVs - how to decide?
I'm starting to look at my next novel, and I'm trying to decide whether I should tell it from one POV or two. I've used both techniques in the past, so I'm aware of the basic advantages/disadvantages,...
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How much outlining should I use in writing my book?
In my writing style, I make an outline of what I'm going to write, and I have fun in between. I was kidding myself in thinking outlining contrasted with "stream of consciousness" in which thoughts ...
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How to give the readers breathing space, without putting them to sleep?
I remember reading somewhere that while plots should have tension, too much tension will tire the readers out, so there should be some breathing place, where the reader can get a chance to catch their ...
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What's a typical trilogy structure?
Is there a typical structure for a fantasy trilogy?
To be more specific, would they usually follow the three-act structure, with an act per book? And would each book need a self-contained story arc ...
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Is there a typical structure for non-fiction popular science books? If so, what is it?
Is there an accepted or suggested structure for writing non-fiction (specifically, popular science) books?
As an example of the type of book I mean, there's Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational: a ...
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Does my story structure for an ensemble zombie story sound effective?
I'm working on a novel about the psychological struggle of 7 characters. It's got an ensemble cast, where every character has the same importance. I've got a structure for this that sounds good to me, ...
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Example of a fictional story without any characters (the story being 1000+ words)
Guessing that there is no such example, but if there is, I'm very interested in knowing about it.
Just as a short example, just to make it clear it's possible; the example is not intended to be a ...
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Preventing genre-savvy second-guessing in murder mysteries
In a murder mystery, most of the story is generally focused on figuring out who the murderer is; in "Fair-Play" mysteries, it's assumed the murderer is a significant character in the book, and the fun ...
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Which goes first: summary, background or justification?
I am trying to write a long expository piece and cannot figure out which information should come first. Here are three candidates:
A summary/abstract lists the main points, without necessarily ...
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Trying to indicate that the frequency is annoying
I am trying to state that a particular question is not annoying, but its frequency is. I have come up with the below sentence, but I feel like it could be worded better.
It is an annoying question ...
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What is the most effective way to deal with flashbacks in a novel structure ?
In writing a novel, often flashbacks are difficult to manage: if too long and detailed, they can appear as second class (at worst, aborted) plots whose only task is to sustain the main plot line; if ...
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Put text between section and subsection headings?
Are there rules about whether or not to put text between section and subsection headings (in scholarly works)?
1 section heading
text / no text here?
1.1 subsection heading
more text
...
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Guideline on turning points in a novel?
What are some popular guides regarding structuring a novel, specifically what turning points the story should hit and approximately at what point in the manuscript?
I'm looking for something more ...
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How do I avoid a “mid-story info dump?”
I am revising the manuscript for a novel. About a third into the story, a major turning point occurs when the main character (through whom the reader follows the story) realizes that things are not at ...
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Are complex sentences uncommon or unwanted in English?
I wrote my opinion essay using a lot of different complex grammatical structures, linking words and so on, and some of the sentences were even over 4 lines long.
However, I was afterwards told by my ...
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Do episodes of the show House follow a constant structural pattern?
I've seen a few episodes of House M.D., and I wonder, are the episodes written according to a fixed structural pattern? If so, what are the details, and why does such a structure make the show ...
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Dashes vs. Commas vs. parentheses?
Occasionally I write sentences containing subparts with extra information. I never know how to block off this information from the rest of the sentence. Three ways I have seen are dashes, commas, and ...
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Formula for a memoir
If one were to distill memoir writing to a formula, what would the formula be?
This question is inspired by the following quote from the article America's Top Parent:
She knows enough about the ...
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Do Novels follow a 3 Act/2 Plot Point structure like most Movie Scripts?
Many Movie scripts use a Structure where there are 3 Acts (Setup, Climax, Resolution) with 2 Plot Points (end of Act 1 and end of Act 2) (Three Act Structure)
I wonder if there are standards for ...
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Characteristics of an "example" in essay writing
Example: an item of information that is typical of a class or group;
"this patient provides a typical example of the syndrome"; "there is
an example on page 10" (Google)
Maybe I haven't ...
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