"Creative writing" is a vague term, but generally means fiction, or writing that's not non-fiction, technical, or business writing.
21
votes
14answers
6k views
Is there any good time-line software out there?
I write mostly speculative fiction, and use Scrivener for writing and note-taking.
But I'm looking to start crafting timelines to keep track of the exact year and months events in the distant and ...
19
votes
9answers
702 views
Are there jobs that involve creative writing in the software industry?
I've been a developer for some years now, but I've realized that I need a job where I can be more creative (and hopefully work more with people (except dba's)).
Since I love writing, but at the same ...
17
votes
13answers
1k views
How does a code monkey become a novelist?
I have always loved creative writing, but honestly do not see software engineers that write fiction all that often. Heck, I do not see software engineers that read fiction all that often either.
To ...
15
votes
7answers
917 views
What's Essential In A Combat Scene?
I've just been reading a bunch of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books. Although they were the most enjoyable read I'd had in ages I always found myself skimming long segments that described involved ...
12
votes
3answers
274 views
Writers Communities?
I don't mean writer's circles, or "auditioning sites", although some of these have forums tacked on as a by the by. Usually places to talk about the beardy philosophy of writing are moribund places as ...
11
votes
8answers
494 views
What's the benefit of using invented languages in-story?
I'm working on a fictional story set in a fantastical (although coherent) universe; I'm used to seeing, in works like this, invented languages: Tolkien's languages for The Lord of the Rings, or ...
11
votes
6answers
371 views
How can I effectively invent a language?
I want to make a particular language that adapts to the story. And the language has to have x and y and e characteristics for example.
Is there a protocol to follow on the process of making a ...
11
votes
3answers
203 views
Should I remove scenes that I myself find “boring”?
Sometimes, I find myself writing a scene that does everything I think it should do: reveal details about the protagonist, drive the plot forward, show other elements related to the story, etc. There's ...
11
votes
4answers
185 views
How to get feedback about the quality of one's fictional writing from friends unbiased by the friendship?
It is a little strange to ask, but are there ways to get feedback from friends about the quality of fictional writing (whether they liked it, not more objective aspects like spelling/grammar/etc.) ...
10
votes
6answers
717 views
How does one avoid bland, generic fantasy while they write?
I have been mulling over the plot and characters for an elaborate fantasy work for a number of years now. The longer I mull things over, the more possessed I am that this story is worth telling. The ...
10
votes
9answers
757 views
Where to find some good examples of combat or action scenes?
I always learn a lot about about writing by reading other works and following their examples. Right now I'm very bad at writing action scenes; the best I can do is write around them, describing the ...
10
votes
2answers
278 views
Getting emotional while writing, good or bad?
Once in a while I get really emotional when writing.
Writing about love, jealousy or even thinking about a simple scene in which a father plays with his child can get some strong emotional responses ...
9
votes
5answers
355 views
How can I learn how to outline, so I can write like an architect?
I've just watched one part of Brandon Sanderson's lecture on writing, the section entitled Gardeners & Architects and I realised I'm a Gardener, almost exclusively. This often ends up with me ...
9
votes
4answers
416 views
New digital ways of presenting a novel in 2011?
The traditional way of presenting a novel is in a book. I know about e-books too.
Do you know another digital ways of presenting a novel?
For instance, a blog, a twitter novel or something like the ...
8
votes
5answers
430 views
What is a discovery writer?
From an answer to this question: How do I successfully structure a long fiction piece?
I think I can infer the meaning from the usage but some elaboration would be helpful.
8
votes
5answers
431 views
An engineering student wants to write fiction, where to start?
I'm a computer engineering student, programmer, avid book lover and have a very vivid (some would say "screwed up") mind.
I recently thought up an idea for a very cool short/medium story. It's like a ...
8
votes
4answers
258 views
Are there any techniques that make complexity work?
One for the creative writers, although I suppose a lateral shift might put it within reach of journalists/technical writers.
As authors we all want to write, I would imagine:
Something that many ...
8
votes
2answers
172 views
Is it typical to add variation to the words used for a character's name to keep it spicy?
A friend has asked me to read through a chapter of his story and give my opinion.
Lets say he has two main characters Mr John de Havilland and Mrs Sally de Havilland.
I've noticed that the author ...
7
votes
8answers
584 views
What should step one in writing a novel be?
I'm new to this site, though not to StackExchange...I'm excited by the existence of a group like this for (in my case, aspiring) writers.
Here's my issue/question: I have had an interest in writing ...
7
votes
6answers
455 views
How to attract the average reader to an “intellectual” novel?
For instance, If I write a novel which has the following:
“The universe goes through a gradual
transition from one condition, to a
different condition, without any
abrupt changes.”
...
7
votes
7answers
412 views
How to overcome the fact that I can't write long stories?
I have written some short stories (in fact, they are flash fiction). When I'm writing short stories, the ideas and the structure come to my mind by themselves.
Something different happens when I try ...
7
votes
4answers
311 views
Is the first draft of a novel usually shorter than the finished work?
I finished the first draft of a novel I'm writing. Right now, it has 17000 words. I've heard that novels these days range from 60,000 to 150,000 words, so I'm a little bit worried (I'm hoping to have ...
7
votes
7answers
366 views
Are there good tips on being a better *creative* writer?
I'm a student at Case, and while we of course have an English department, it seems the only kind of writing classes/courses available are for learning to be either a "literary" writer, or a ...
7
votes
5answers
495 views
How Do you Stave Off Boredom While Writing?
I have about 20 half-finish novels sitting on my computer, in my filing cabinet, or under my bed. The story with each is the same - I start out with a full head of steam and great ideas, but about ...
7
votes
5answers
328 views
Avoiding cultural differences
I'm not a native English speaker, but I write in English.
I'm now visiting the US, and I have made some very interesting observation regarding the way ordinary life goes on here. It made me think of ...
7
votes
4answers
117 views
Is it a bad practice to occasionally add first-person narrative to third-person narrative?
This is a sample of something I wrote:
Erin watched Ruth as she disappeared between the cars and the
multitude of people crossing the street. She stood there for a moment,
staring at the city ...
7
votes
2answers
159 views
Learning storywriting for videogames - Handling deep nonlinearities
A recent question asked for pointers for writing for games, and the gist of the answers was that it's not very unlike writing books. The underlined differences were only superficial. There's a ...
6
votes
7answers
647 views
Dialogue writing practices?
First time novelist, long time writer here. I'm looking for creative writing exercises to help with my dialogue.
Any ideas?
6
votes
6answers
168 views
Should dull dialogue be removed completely?
The following dialogue is from a novel I'm writing (first draft):
"You're quiet tonight," Erin said to Benjamin, who seemed to be lost
in thoughts.
He looked up and took a sip of his drink. ...
6
votes
3answers
308 views
How to avoid repetitive sentence structure?
I've realized that I always start sentences with (name of character), he, she, it, they, her, his, the, after (a moment/that), and then.
I wonder if there's any useful exercise or tip to reduce this?
...
6
votes
4answers
185 views
Non-cheap ways to make villains evil?
Do you have any tried and true techniques to make villains of your stories truly hated by the audience?
I mean, frequently it's "eh, sure, that's bad, he's got to be stopped" but the audience would ...
6
votes
3answers
405 views
How to develop a story for a novel?
I am looking for some inspiration on where to start writing a novel. I have a general idea for a plot and characters, but I don't feel it's enough for sitting down and starting to write. It needs a ...
6
votes
4answers
152 views
Peeking through character's mask
Normally, I specialize in strong, determined, uncompromising, extroverted protagonists, "If the laws of physics are against us, too bad, they need to be changed." I'm pretty good in getting them ...
5
votes
5answers
379 views
Is a novel less credible if the dialogues are too perfect?
I always find myself trying to make dialogues perfect. For example, the perfect advice, the perfect punch line, the perfect joke or irony. OR maybe if the characters talk continuously without ...
5
votes
3answers
171 views
Is it really necessary to add things like “I thought, I wondered, etc,” in first-person narrative?
Example:
The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my number? I
wondered. I didn't know anyone called Maria.
The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my ...
5
votes
2answers
161 views
Breaking the 'cooling down' rule after finishing the first draft
I've read that after finishing the first draft, you should distance yourself from the project at least a month.
I just finished the first draft of my novel (10 chapters). I've been trying to not to ...
5
votes
2answers
367 views
How to concentrate when writing?
I looked through the questions and didn't see this one so hopefully it's not a duplicate. I often have ideas of stories I want to write and I work on outlines or write down elements and I know what I ...
5
votes
4answers
123 views
How to avoid specifying the gender in English when the original text does not specify it?
I'm translating a short story from Korean into English. One problem I frequently face is the 'antecedent pronoun agreement' when the original text leaves the 'gender' of the subject unspecified (and ...
5
votes
3answers
126 views
Tracing dependencies and emergent plotholes during edits
The fiction I write currently hit a major snag and needs a big overhaul of a major part of the story. A whole, large thread is being injected, a second conflict running in parallel with the main one ...
5
votes
1answer
102 views
Researching sensitive subjects
How do you research subjects for a novel that might be sensitive? Both cultural and jurisdictional.
Example: I usually try to "research" the setting and characters for my texts from real life. When I ...
5
votes
4answers
346 views
What makes a good action scene?
Action, in any storytelling medium, is the relationship between build up and pay off. While cinema may emphasize the payoff (pyrotechnics play well to theater-going crowds) it seems that the written ...
4
votes
3answers
209 views
Deciding whether to use a dialogue tag or an action tag in a dialogue
Example:
"I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about," he said,
then looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't know what
you are talking about."
"I'm not saying ...
4
votes
3answers
122 views
How should I introduce new and complex technologies or tools?
I'm writing a Science Fiction book. While this book doesn't push reality very far, there are some new technologies and tools that I have added. One tool is used more frequently than all the others, ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
In what order should I describe a setting?
For instance I'm describing the park of an art museum in a foggy day. I'm not sure if I should start with the fog, wind, grass, threes, walking paths, buildings, stairs or something else. Is there a ...
4
votes
2answers
121 views
What is the difference between “creative writing” and “fiction writing”?
My college offers many writing courses. I notice, one course is called "Creative Writing" and another is called "Fiction Writing". What is the difference between creative writing and fiction writing?
4
votes
2answers
161 views
How to keep the reader engaged in a novel where “not much happens”?
(Hope I don't get an answer like this).
I'm writing a novel where "not much happens," instead, it focuses on things that could happen. In other words, the protagonist does not directly experience ...
4
votes
4answers
315 views
Does this opening paragraph grab your attention? (very normal setting)
This is the beginning of a short story I'm writing:
Jun was standing motionless at entrance of the 7-eleven. He was staring down,
searching for something in his memory as students picked their
...
4
votes
4answers
133 views
Does writing in a certain mood change how a writer writes?
I'm not sure if this is right for this part of Stackexchange, but since there is no psychology section, here we go:
I'm currently writing the same short story several times with the intention of ...
4
votes
3answers
411 views
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
197 views
It is a sign of bad writing to have many scenes that are disconnected with the main plot?
So my novel look like this (I took this diagram idea from this site, but I'm not sure exactly from whom):
The beginning and end focuses on the mystery that the heroine is trying to solve (main ...
