92
votes
How do you write a Stack Exchange answer?
Structure your answer properly
This is something that is relevant across all sites. You should be used to markdown and know at least the basics:
Using headings
Paragraphs and soft linebreaks
lists
...
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75
votes
Accepted
How do I stop using 'the' to start sentences so much?
Start with a word ending in 'ing'. e.g. Opening the door, he stepped into the dark. Chasing a ball he thought he'd lost, the dog ran through the rain-swept streets.
Start with a preposition (so a ...
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52
votes
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How should a big universe be introduced without being boring?
Explain what needs to be explained as it becomes relevant rather than trying to present all the information in one go. This has certain advantages:
it avoids dumping all the information on the ...
- 10.4k
46
votes
How do you write a Stack Exchange answer?
I like Secespitus' answer, and I also like Sphennings' point about actually answering the question. But I didn't see an answer which combined those two things, and addressed everything I've found ...
45
votes
Accepted
How much can a reader remember?
In addition to Mark's excellent advice, I would suggest:
1) Start slowly. In Game of Thrones, we start with just the Starks, and Martin adds on characters a few at a time and lets us live with them ...
40
votes
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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 ...
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40
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How should a big universe be introduced without being boring?
You want to spend as little time as possible on "setup". Even one page of nothing but setup is too much.
The reason for that is that the reader is not yet invested in your story. You'd be forcing a ...
39
votes
How do you write a Stack Exchange answer?
I try to always answer in 3 paragraphs whenever possible. Less is often too little for a substantive answer, and more becomes less and less likely for people to read. The first paragraph should ...
- 56.5k
35
votes
Accepted
Would it be wise to make the turning point of a story coincidental?
There's a rule... I can't recall the name, but it's a fairly common rule.
Essentially, the more accidental your reveal is, the more build-up you need not to make it a cheap deus ex machina.
To give ...
- 15.4k
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 ...
- 8,697
32
votes
Accepted
Writing garbage to see if the characters do something interesting?
Is written garbage better than leaving the page blank? Infinitely!
Does every page you write need to be part of your novel? No!
If you are seeing weaknesses in the structure of your story, and you ...
- 10.8k
32
votes
How to Write a Colossal Cast of Characters
It is neither necessary nor desirable to fit everything you've generated for a story into the story
In my reading I have encountered, broadly speaking, two different kinds of stories. There are ...
- 8,697
31
votes
How can I make "acts of patience" exciting?
@Amadeus describes an "act of patience" as "not doing". I would argue that an "act of patience" can also be about keeping on doing, day after day, something that is very hard to do - it is about ...
30
votes
How do you write a Stack Exchange answer?
Rule 0: Answer the question
If you're not answering the question then you're wasting your own time and others. Everything you do in an answer should be in support of this goal.
Most answers tend to ...
- 753
23
votes
Promoting controversial opinions in a work of fiction
Are you familiar with G.R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire? It used to have some characters whose moral compass was strict and noble. They had a tendency to die, and leave a huge mess around them - ...
20
votes
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People like my book, starting halfway through
There may be action, but perhaps what you are missing is conflict. (Conflict is the MC personally having to make choices and solve problems, not just reacting to or living through "action".) Your ...
- 103k
20
votes
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Should I include an appendix for inessential, yet related worldbuilding to my story?
My question is, for the sake of satisfying reader interest, would it be worthwhile writing an appendix summarising certain inessential worldbuilding entities that's entirely optional for a reader to ...
- 15.9k
19
votes
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Is there a method to estimating the length of a work before writing it?
The main problem with trying to estimate something like this is that, even if two writers used the same very detailed plot summary to write a novel, they might produce works that aren't close to being ...
- 9,567
19
votes
How do I stop using 'the' to start sentences so much?
I suggest you continue to write however the words come out. Because the last thing you want to do is feel like you can't write unless it's perfect (or better).
Every day, go through a paragraph or ...
- 32.4k
18
votes
Skipping the first act?
I think you're mixing up two things here: Story structure and plot.
"Acts" don't describe what happens in your story - they describe what purpose these parts of your story serve. "Plot" would be what ...
- 1,130
18
votes
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What is an arena-driven story?
Arena driven story: A man crashes his airplane in the desert, breaking his leg. His radio doesn't work. If he stays there he will die. He splints his leg, takes all the water he can carry, and tries ...
- 103k
18
votes
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How important are good looking people in a novel/story?
It'll depend pretty heavily on what type of story you're telling and what type of readership you're aiming for. Generic sex appeal does different things in different context:
In a romance, they can ...
- 28.3k
18
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Is it okay for a chapter's POV to shift as it progresses?
There are two questions hiding in your question,
1. Can the POV character not be the character who's most active?
Consider Sherlock Holmes as an example. Watson is the POV character, the story is ...
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