Questions tagged [fiction]
Fiction is a form of prose writing that deals with at least partly artificial or imagined events and characters. This tag should be used for any questions relating to fiction, including fiction formatting, techniques and publishing.
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In first person narrative, how do I use shakily, fear and trembling in story writing
Who's this?” She barked. My heart was pounding beneath my chest as I struggled to breath well under tension.
One thing my aunt hated was me talking to anyone at all, especially boys. How would she ...
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How to refer to different versions of a character?
In my historical spy thriller, there are five different characters named Miku that our protagonist has to fight. So initially, they're refered to as Idol Miku, Vampire Miku, etc. etc. etc. But then ...
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How should I choose what happens to my protagonist?
The main plot of my story is that a girl named Arabella signs up for a dance competition and practices for weeks. Fearing that the other dancers are too good, she invites them over to a practice ...
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Showing the readers what the villains are doing in 3rd person
I am currently writing a YA detective mystery. It involves a group of detectives who work to keep their city safe, but there is an organization that has infiltrated every level of the government. They ...
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How to provide translations, moods, and registry in multilanguage dialog within an narration in English?
I am starting a serious writing project (a novel book from a story I once drafted as a TV show; I am not a script writer either). Furthermore I decided to write in English, which is not my native ...
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I want to describe a young man sitting astride on a chair, leaning his forearms on the top of the back
I want to describe a young man sitting astride on a chair, leaning his forearms on the top of the back. I am aware that I am focusing too much on the mechanics of the posture, and I will deal with the ...
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The Dread of Planning a Timeline
I'm working on the second draft of a novel series, and I already have 800 pages written. After re-evaluating the characters and most of their arcs, I've started planning a timeline for each book in ...
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Are there any theories as to what makes a story's premise good or compelling?
John Truby, in Anatomy of Story, says you shouldn't write a story that doesn't have an exciting premise.
But what makes a premise good, bad, boring, compelling, or exciting?
This is what Truby says ...
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Do men fall "in love" (romantic, sensual or desire) with fictional characters?
I was having a discussion over coffee with an aspiring author friend of mine and we had an interestingly productive but annoying argument about in-novel crushes.
He said that he had never had ...
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Urban or Epic Fantasy? [closed]
I can't decide what I want to write about: Should I go with urban or epic fantasy? And what are the pros and cons of them?
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Interested in editing fiction novel as co-author? [duplicate]
I've written a fiction novel that is intended to be the first in a series of five. I have not edited to novel and want to know if any writer is interested in giving it a read and would like to edit/...
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How do you correctly write a Father-Daughter Relationship?
The two main protagonists aren't actually related and the initial relationship they have is filled with mistrust and irritation, but eventually it turns into an unspoken father-daughter kind of bond.
...
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Do I have to follow a formula to write good fiction?
When writing fiction, do I need to follow a formula or can I author a story the way I see fit?
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I am seeking for a partner to finish a fictional story. Where can I find somebody to work with me?
I have written a fictional novel of about 40,000 words with a very bad translation to English. I need someone to expand it with 30,000 more words to reach 70,000 and become a partner with me for ...
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How to correctly portray sign language between multiple characters
I am writing a book where one of the main characters only uses sign language to communicate, and all of the speaking characters communicate using ASL whilst also speaking aloud at the same time.
Is ...
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I need help writing a scene or experience about air being knocked out of you
How would you write a scene of someone trying to breath again after getting the wind knocked out of them?
I am trying to describe the experience and how your body reacts physically while your brain ...
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I'm trying to write a love triangle, but the relationship with the second companion seems unnatural
I will start by saying this isn’t a romance, but has your classic love triangle within the plot.
The problem is, within my writing, I got in too deep with my first two characters' love story, and now ...
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Help with writing letters!
In a story I'm writing, the two main characters write letters to each other frequently. The characters are close, and have a romantic relationship that starts midway through the story. The story takes ...
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Tips on writing a character with bipolar disorder
I am writing a novel about a young man who is grieving the loss of his mother. He's also been diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder in the last two years.
I really want to do his character justice, and I ...
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How to write character names in mystery novel where they are supposed to have their mind erased?
I'm writing a story about 5 characters without any recollection of their past and their journey to get their memories back.
I want to reveal their identity at the end of the story and I am struggling ...
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How do I determine if the premise of my story is believable?
This post is part advice and part discussion.
How do you determine if a story's premise is believable?
Is the believability of a story's premise more of a demographic thing? Do people determine how ...
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Inciting incident in Fantasy
In my fantasy story, there is about 10,000 words before the inciting incident. I originally intended to land the end of my story at about 40,000 words. This is partially due to the fact that a lot of ...
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What is an inciting incident?
I've been struggling to find a clear definition of what exactly an inciting incident is.
According to Masterclass, an inciting incident is:
The inciting incident of a story is the event that sets the ...
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Can I write a story based in a world without humans?
I have this world I'm building that I want to write a story on, but there's absolutely nothing human in the world.
It's entirely built around elemental creatures including the protagonist.
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Is there a term for a fiction piece that goes after the prologue but before the epilogue?
I'm writing a long non-fiction text that describes a fictional setting.
I came up with a fiction piece for that setting, to include as further illustration.
I decided it would work best if I split it ...
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Swapping between third and first person in a book
So, I was wondering in the case of a book is it okay to swap from 1st person to 3rd person? Like on the spot swaps, almost like breaking the 4th wall. So, for most of the book it'll be a third person, ...
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How to write symbolism into a story?
I'm writing a dark academia/Gothic romance. It's about this guy named Humphry who accidentally summons a ghost girl named Cal after a failed experiment. He at first is freaked out and wants nothing to ...
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How to convert indirect thought to film voiceover without it sounding contrived?
I am trying to convert a fiction book into a film script. The book uses third-person past tense narration that switches between several characters from chapter to chapter and thus is always from a ...
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Writing about drug induced hallucinations and paranoia
Not long ago I wrote a short story about a mathematics graduate student on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The young student is innocent and working to finish a difficult mathematical derivation ...
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Writing an accent and evolving
Sometimes I read written accents in books, most notably maybe Hagrid in Harry Potter. I find it a fun way to add a layer to a character that sets them apart from the rest.
Could you "evolve" ...
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Do hard to pronounce names break immersion?
I have a character in my book named Jiolluav (with the correct accent, Zholl-you-of or /ʒōl-'yoo-äv/), and I've written my entire "novel" (it's a work in progress) using this name. When I asked a ...
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How can I create good character names? [duplicate]
I find that a problem that I run into quite often is the fact that I can't create names that sound real, but also have a nice ring so that they fit the character. Does anyone have any suggestions on ...
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Is it necessary to describe a character's physical appearance in a novel
I am writing a novel and I realized that I did not describe any of my characters, like practically, no reader would be able to place or imagine the character which I feel is not right. That is why I ...
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Can I switch the POV of a main character? [duplicate]
So I'm momentarily writing a fictional story for a class I'm taking, and I've run into a problem. I have one main character, but there is a scene where that character passes out. Is it possible to ...
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How do I make a situation that looks like a planet will be destroyed, but without actually destroying it? [closed]
Here are some details for context:
There are two civilisations, A and B. B is significantly smaller, around a few hundred people.
B is visiting A's home world via a magic item that can teleport a ...
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Describing exclaimations from a group
My character, an old woman, has been knocked down, injured and can't get up. There is a crowd of people, spread across a park, who all witnessed the accident. From her view, at ground level, she is ...
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Blending First and Third Person: A Wording Question
I'm writing a book with a blending of first and third person, and it switches whenever I need it to and not across chapters. The third person follows every character until the perspective changes to ...
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Is there a format to write a good treasure hunt story?
I'm writing a story for an Indian movie that revolves around a bunch of estranged siblings, who come to live in their father's abandoned house a year after his death. They do so because they receive ...
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Is a self-introduction of the main character speaking to the reader appropriate to start a novel?
I'm authoring a horror/corruption/murder novel. The book starts off with the Main Character telling the reader about who he is and his physical appearance (now in his 60s), how he got to be ...
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Should I flesh out the start of my fictional story?
The plot I’m thinking of goes from very normal, with fleshed out characters, to surreal towards the end. I want to wrap it around to have strange foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book to ...
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Can I use a place from another book in my own?
I am starting to write a book. I have original characters and plot (it should be original). It is about Greek mythology but Camp Half-Blood is not in it. I want my character to go to Olympus. Can I ...
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When does a story benefit from or is made better by not having a central theme?
On online forums, I often see the argument that not every story needs a theme. This is the flip side version of the question of when a story needs a theme. I felt that those arguing that some stories ...
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How Should We Implement the Given-before-New Principle in Fiction?
It's safe to say I've become a bit of a grammar nerd since I started writing my first novel. Three years after my first words landed on the page, I'm only now coming to the end of my final round of ...
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Is it inadvisable to use a racial slur in my story?
I’m currently writing a story which is an erotic thriller/romance set in the music/TV industry. The protagonist is a Taylor Swift-type confessional songwriter who is the biggest popstar in the world, ...
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If a character has multiple names, how can my narrator refer to them?
I'm writing a story about a spy. The narrator is third person omniscient. However, our spy has multiple names.
Her fellow spies refer to her as "Spy 94" but her real name is "Kafu"....
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Writing diversity
I am writing a military sci-fi novel about an international military force facing aliens. My cast is very diverse: the MC is Yemenite-Israeli, his love interest is German, his room-mates are from ...
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Fictional settings & fictional towns - how to be realistic with geography for a realistic setting?
I've been writing a short story - and the setting is semi-important to it, it's not just a backdrop.
It's historical fiction of a sort - the 2000s is the era it's set in. Would this qualify as a ...
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How do you know if it is morning or evening if I write 9 o'clock?
If I write 9 o'clock in my novel - or any o'clock - how does the reader know if that's morning or evening?
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Can I make a living as a novelist?
I enjoy writing, I really do. I don't want to kill my time to make a living. I want to enjoy earning money. I don't want to be rich, I just don't want to be poor. Can I make a living as a novelist? I ...
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I'm trying to find enough sensory description for my book
How do I describe when a person falls unconscious with enough sensory details?
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