76
votes
Accepted
Is the first page of a novel really that important?
YES, the first page is vitally important. But probably not in the way you think.
Don't bring the "thriller" up first.
The first page (and first sentence, and paragraph) is important in the ...
- 104k
61
votes
Should I add racism in my book's world or have my world have no racism?
There is more than one way racism can be present in a work.
For example, when Star Trek have on the bridge of the Enterprise an Asian pilot, a Russian navigator and a black Communications Officer, ...
53
votes
Why write a book when there's a movie in my head?
Screenplays are collaborative, whether you like it or not.
Actors will say the lines. Directors will alter the tone. The photographer will create their own vision. And the producers will hire other ...
- 27.8k
50
votes
Can a successful book series let the bad guy win?
It is perfectly fine for your story to end with the "bad guy" winning. Consider for example George Orwell's 1984:
He loved Big Brother
Complete and utter defeat. 1984 is one of last century's ...
41
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to use "It was all just a virtual world / dream" for a plot twist?
To expand on what @Mary said, the reason people don't like the "it was all a dream" twist is that it cheapens what came before.
Imagine if you, the reader, have gone through all emotion of ...
- 1,750
40
votes
Accepted
Promoting controversial opinions in a work of fiction
A work of fiction that exists only to promote a particular point of view is not actually fiction, but rather a polemic. Some of these have been successful and influential, from Plato to Rand, but ...
- 56.5k
37
votes
Is it time to start closing up my novel?
Finish the story. Don't worry about the word count. When it comes time to do revision, rewriting, and editing you can look at ways of possibly splitting it into two or more volumes.
Stories need ...
- 1,125
34
votes
Is it considered lazy writing to have a dry prelude at the start of a book?
That Star Wars crawl is affectatious nonsense. It is there for the same reason Harrison Ford's voice-overs were in the original cut of Blade Runner. They borrowed a stylistic element from Old ...
- 27.8k
33
votes
Accepted
Do I really need to have a message in a novel to appeal to readers?
A message and a theme are not the same thing
A story need not have a coherent message to be successful. Look at Disney's take on The Little Mermaid - what was the message? If you sign away your ...
- 8,677
33
votes
Accepted
Are illustrations in novels frowned upon?
There are exceptions to the "no illustrations" trend. For example, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel is filled with black-and-white illustrations reminiscent of the wood engravings ...
32
votes
Accepted
Describing a chess game in a novel
I'm finding your use of "Black" and "White" as character names to be distracting. I realize that it's meant to be more straight-forward to use the chess sides as names, but it throws me off.
Give ...
- 32.4k
32
votes
Is it offensive to kill my gay character at the end of my book?
Kind of yes? The big problem with Bury Your Gays in literature is that the gay characters' death mostly exists to motivate or evoke emotions other characters around them and they aren't characters in ...
- 4,664
31
votes
Accepted
Can I be a writer, with a mental illness?
It is totally possible to become a writer with a mental illness, even Schizoaffective Disorder. I'd suggest that you may have greater self-awareness and coping strategies as a result.
Time Commitment
...
- 1,186
31
votes
Should the name of a mythological creature be capitalized?
Yes, if it's the Grinch
A unique creature, which is the Manananggal (effectively THAT creature's name), should be capitalized.
No, if it's a fairy
Even if your creature is rare, if you are likely ...
- 8,677
31
votes
Accepted
I'm afraid of quashing the hopes of a new writer
As a frequent beta-reader, often for friends, I struggled with this question -- and I'm pretty happy with the answers I've figured out.
Don't pronounce judgment; help the author level up
It makes a ...
- 28.3k
31
votes
How do I properly present dialogue in a scene with two female characters?
"There is a very simple solution to this," said Gryphon.
"I'm listening," Dracaena replied.
"First, don't be afraid to use names occasionally, Dracaena. There's a balance, ...
- 1,734
30
votes
How to handle a massive info dump post-ending?
Expanding my comment into a full answer as OP indicated it was helpful.
I can’t drag the antagonist into a Poirot/Sherlock Holmes style Q&A as he's already in jail.
Sure you can. Just have the ...
- 11k
30
votes
When is a lack of long, sophisticated words to describe an otherwise simple concept bad?
You're looking for sophistication in the wrong places. The thesaurus is all well and good, but you want variable sentence lengths and structures, proof of a command of the grammar of the language more ...
- 9,557
30
votes
How do I introduce dark themes?
Foreshadowing is your friend.
Your example of Harry Potter isn't quite right. Chapter One is titled The Boy Who Lived. Now that's a bit ominous. Magic is hinted at on page 1* and is outright on ...
- 32.4k
29
votes
Accepted
What are the signs of accidental self insertion?
Neither being powerful, nor reflecting the author is an insurmountable problem for a character. What you want to avoid is a character who faces no significant problems on her path to success, whose ...
- 56.5k
29
votes
How to derive a first sentence from a story?
This is an odd question, but not for the reason you likely think I say that. Let me explain.
It doesn't matter how good your opening line is, if it isn't completely in line (or in tune) with the rest ...
- 5,431
29
votes
Is the first page of a novel really that important?
The first page of your novel is vitally important, but not necessarily because the action starts there. The first page, and first several pages, should:
set your tone and reader expectations. In a ...
- 3,137
28
votes
Accepted
How to avoid writing irritating fan fictions?
Depending on the forum you post your fanfiction you will get those comments no matter what you do. It's a sad fact, but there are many people out there who just want to make others feel miserable and ...
- 5,696
28
votes
Accepted
Why write a book when there's a movie in my head?
Screenplays are also very difficult to sell, for a first-timer. Books are quite a bit easier. Unlike a screenplay, a book is in its final form, and relatively easy to produce, big publishers can do it ...
- 104k
27
votes
How to open a novel?
The way you open a novel largely depends on what kind of novel you're writing. If you're writing a humorous novel, there should be something humorous right on the first page. Look, for example, at ...
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