At the end of the day, we all use them.
20
votes
5answers
1k views
“All of a sudden…” ?
I am writing a manuscript for a novel. It's my first attempt, and often I find myself wanting to write "suddenly" or "all of a sudden". I do this when I want the scene to change in an instant, or ...
16
votes
4answers
255 views
Resources about different people types?
I'm native German, but trying to write in English for various reasons. One of the big points in a story is to keep the characters very distinct from each other, and that requires some knowledge about ...
7
votes
6answers
365 views
What's the significance of ancient mythology in literature?
Whenever I see a movie critic praise Ridley Scott's Prometheus, they seem to be drooling over all the mythological references, although most don't necessarily complement gaps in the story or enrich ...
3
votes
3answers
202 views
What techniques do you use to invent snappy turns of phrase?
We all know clichés are bad[1] and that fresh, inventive and "fitting" phrases will delight and entertain our readers.
What techniques can be used to invent such phrases? Sometimes they just ...
3
votes
3answers
264 views
How to discover clichés
What is the best way to find out if a certain phrase is considered a cliché?
Is there an online resource, a specialized dictionary-like lookup?
EDIT
I found these so far:
Cliché Finder
Movie ...
3
votes
3answers
132 views
Critique a short essay
So There I was in the scorching, afternoon, summer heat of Cairo. It was a huge change from the UK’s mild weather, and together with the fact that I had been fasting - as in no food or drink- for ...
