Questions tagged [structure]

For questions about the connections between and ordering of elements within a written work.

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2 answers
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Visual collaborative platform to plan a book

I have searched and found some tools for writing, but I need a platform to be able to plan a book - can anyone point me in the right direction? This is for a group of people who want to plan and ...
Chris Gaitanaris's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
125 views

Linear beginning or flash-forwards? [duplicate]

I'm writing this fantasy story that focuses on two main characters. The story was supposed to start with the male protagonist. So, in the first four chapters or so, we get to know his current ...
Erin Tesden's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
314 views

Structure of argumentative writing essay?

When writing an argumentative essay what is a good way to structure my writing? What general rules should I follow when starting off an essay?
vegancheese's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
365 views

Structure to follow while writing very short essays

I have to write essays in two examinations which will be conducted soon. Those exams need essays to be written in 250 words. The topics are given on the time of the exams and are usually anything ...
Severus Snape's user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
233 views

When is there too much of a plot misdirection?

I'm sure that somebody is going to point me to this question, but my case is different. So I and my best friend are currently writing a science fiction novel that has many plot twists and "...
Alexandrang's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
52 views

What could be the turning point for the protagonist? [closed]

What is/are life changing event(s) (positive or negative) that leads a young solitary physicist to enquire into spirituality? [Later protagonist turns into modern monk and figures out way to ...
Ubi.B's user avatar
  • 107
0 votes
1 answer
74 views

How to demonstrate that the main character of your story is narrating a story to other people in a scene?

Being new to writing narratives, I have a query in mind. In one particular scene, I want to show that my main character is narrating a story to the crowd. How can I accomplish this? I am unable to ...
vanillasucceeds's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
52 views

Where does "inaugural" go in this sentence?

I’ve been trying to adjust my short bio/blurb on LinkedIn to include the word “inaugural” in it, but, as soon as I do, it makes everything feel off and I'm not sure why. Here's what I've written (...
AJP's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
1 answer
103 views

What is the best way to plan a series?

I am a young author writing a fantasy series. When I first started writing, I had nothing more then a sentence of an idea, but I went along with it and just wrote what came into my head. I never ...
The-Huntress's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
43 views

How should I structure a small non-fiction book/paper about a groundbreaking product/invention?

I want to write a book/paper about an invention I have thought and developed conceptually. But I'm really struggling on what I should include in it and how to structure the information. Any ...
Kostas Gogas's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
69 views

Fan-non fiction market appeal

I found the discussion of flat vs round characters in the answer to this post pretty interesting: Example of a fictional story without any characters (the story being 1000+ words). Borrowing this ...
Arash Howaida's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
66 views

How to Structure a single-perspective Novel into Chapters?

Now my case is not novel-wide; I have to do this in one part of the novel, but I extended the question to a more generalised one, so that anybody else with the same question will find it useful just ...
undocumented sophistication's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
162 views

How can concurrent/dual dialogue be implemented in short story/fiction writing?

I am currently writing a short story that has two intertwined narratives told in inverse chronological order from each other. The two narratives meet/converge at the moment the protagonists receive ...
Brian Hinman's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
179 views

What is the best way to structure my series?

I am working on an urban fantasy series. The series is currently divided into a number of episodic chapters that follow a "monster of the week" format. Each one is projected to be about 30-...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
2 votes
2 answers
101 views

Would having two time skips close together be weird?

There's a story idea I've been playing with for years now but I feel like I need to do two time skips one after the other which may be weird for readers. I have a prologue where she talks to her ...
Audra's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
0 answers
29 views

How to properly include credits for the author, location, date and time?

I'm working on an amateur article about various topics and want to include my name (as the author), location of where I'm currently writing the article, and the current date and time. I've seen many ...
Arda Çebi's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
70 views

mentioning time span in a thesis (from 2019 to 2020)

I would like to know if there is a need for the word "year" in this part of the sentence: "..., that took place from the 2019 to 2020,...". Should it be: "..., that took ...
tma's user avatar
  • 3
9 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to time "big reveal" and twist moments?

My question is similar to How to best pace information reveals to the reader and in the same general vein as When to finally reveal plot twist to characters?, but I think it's sufficiently different ...
Sciborg's user avatar
  • 8,742
1 vote
1 answer
360 views

Zero-that clause (noun clause with that)

After omitting "that" from a that-clause, is the clause still dependent? Or, does doing this turn it into an independent clause? For example: Before: "I suggested that she not go there." After: "I ...
user44462's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
302 views

What's the difference between the abstract and the introduction in academic writing?

I'm really trying to understand the difference between the abstract and the introduction in academic writing. In my opinion, the abstract just talks about the aim of the article and the structure of ...
M_L_Sing_Jump_Rap's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
56 views

Adjective alongside verb [closed]

"Marlon walked suspicious along the corridor". It's important to stress that Marlon was (still) suspicious (not suspected, nor walking suspiciously) about something (that was already covered in the ...
Louisr's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
38 views

Interrogative section headings are fine in a tech business blog?

I have a feeling that I overuse questioned headings in my writings about tech and business issues. I don't want to give examples of texts but, believe me, I use (or want to use) it very frequently ...
Suncatcher's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
20 views

How to start writing an autobiography [duplicate]

I’m planning to write my autobiography. I don’t know where to start. Please give some tips and tricks to kickstart the project. I know it’s my personal stuff. But still some hacks from experienced ...
Rejin's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
2 answers
136 views

Structuring a book?

So I am attempting to write a book, the first I have attempted yet. My current method has been to just write scenes that come into my mind and I have over 40 pages of 'scenes' so far and have ...
Tricia's user avatar
  • 43
0 votes
1 answer
91 views

Turning a general story idea into a series of events

I don't tend to struggle coming up with ideas for story plots - the 'one sentence summary', as it were. As soon as it comes to breaking that into a series of events and chapters, though, I quickly get ...
1810072342's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
303 views

Vignette-esque story structure?

I'm writing a novel which essentially has the main character go from place to place and retrieve a single object from each person they encounter. My problem is that while I can think of possible ...
Maddi23's user avatar
  • 29
1 vote
1 answer
4k views

Can I put 2 quotes in one sentence in my essay?

In my essay I want to use 2 quotes that are both on the same page but are 4 lines apart. I didn't think I should use ellipsis b/c the passages I want to quote are quite far apart. What I want to ...
Nadia's user avatar
  • 11
3 votes
1 answer
192 views

Is it a big no-no to have different sections in each chapter?

For non fiction writing, is it a must to structure all chapters in the same way? For example, a book has a few chapters, with each chapter having a few sections that name the topic that's being ...
bee's user avatar
  • 41
1 vote
1 answer
92 views

What are these parallel blocks of text called?

What are these boxes of text called that interrupt the flow of text with some aside type comment? source They're usually related to the main body of text, are embedded somewhere nearby in their ...
jxramos's user avatar
  • 111
1 vote
2 answers
557 views

Why is tl;dr at the end?

Why is it in the end, I see this often after reading the material. The definition is too long, didn't read, but by the time I see the tl;dr, I've already read it. It breaks the flow of the whole story ...
LeanMan's user avatar
  • 125
3 votes
1 answer
83 views

Writing structure of a book review

I am writing a book review about the book My name is number 4 by Ting-Xing Ye. The book review is going to have a thesis statement, with 3 supporting arguments. I was wondering including those ...
iiRosie1's user avatar
  • 955
6 votes
3 answers
436 views

Books in a trilogy are significantly different lengths. What to do?

I’ve managed to write a fantasy book, Lord of the Rings-style. That is, a single story that would almost certainly be published as three separate books with multiple branching plotlines. Or at least,...
Galendo's user avatar
  • 311
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Answering an essay question "assess the impact" or "analyse the impact"

If an essay question states "assess/evaluate/analyse the impact of X on Y", does this allow for a discussion of how Z impacts Y? For example, if the essay question is "Assess the impact of Deism on ...
MechtEngineer's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
191 views

Non-sense question about plot structures

Suppose then you have an story in your mind. Then, to write down this finite series of events, you have to translate your imagination into the paper. This process isn't trivial, of course and plot are ...
M.N.Raia's user avatar
  • 683
0 votes
1 answer
393 views

How to link paragraphs in essays and articles?

All I can find online is cohesion and coherence for paragraphs. But in a essay how can I link all the paragraphs. Any good methods for the university level. It would be great if I can find an ...
Dendrobium's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
166 views

Awkward language translation

So I’m currently writing a book that takes place in Finland, though I am American and speak English. My main character’s name can be used as a play on words, and people use it to mock him throughout ...
T.Alb314's user avatar
26 votes
7 answers
6k views

How can I make "acts of patience" exciting?

This answer to the question Averting Real Women Don’t Wear Dresses introduces a distinction between acts of patience and acts of daring. [...] when it comes to telling a story [...] acts of daring ...
sesquipedalias's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
1k views

Research Paper Summary: How much should be citations versus original thought?

I'm finalizing a single-paragraph summary of a multi-page research paper for school and I was concerned when I noticed that most of my summary was in my own words. I mean that most of what I wrote was ...
Cam J's user avatar
  • 13
1 vote
2 answers
407 views

Doubt about the difference between a "Beat" and a "Event"

My main source of research about storytelling/screenwriting/how-to-write-a-book manual is [1]. But, the definition of "beat" given by [1] maybe can causing me some confusion. In [1] we have a ...
M.N.Raia's user avatar
  • 683
7 votes
8 answers
2k views

What are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?

As a novice writer to improve my writing I have taken one online course. I want to ask, what are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?
The White Cloud's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
144 views

How to organize distinct topics in personal letters to friends and family?

I often exchange long letters with family and close friends living far away every 1-2 months to stay connected and give updates on our lives. One characteristic of such a letter/long email is that ...
Tom Bennett's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

Is it okay for a chapter's POV to shift as it progresses?

I have this duo in my novel, they're always together in chapters. Usually the story alternates between them within their plot, though mostly leaning to one of the characters, as he's one of the MCs ...
A. Kvåle's user avatar
  • 4,033
6 votes
3 answers
310 views

Balancing setting, theme, and character arcs: how to deal with a setting that carries emotional weight but is left behind?

When writing a story, how do you find a good balance between the significance of different elements, such as plot, themes, and bold settings and characters, and the character arcs? In my case I have ...
wordsworth's user avatar
  • 3,137
4 votes
4 answers
510 views

From reactive to proactive; When should the protagonist change tack?

In my exploration of story structure, I have encountered some conflicting advice. In some instances, it has been suggested that the midpoint of a story represents the moment that the protagonist ...
Arkenstein XII's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
90 views

How can I efficiently write down my personal problems for further auto-analysis? [closed]

When I have some personal problems in relationships or there are worrying issues about life in general and I am really upset about the situation, in order to “solve it”, or efficiently think about it, ...
Open the way's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
607 views

Any Tips On Writing Extended Recollection In A Novel

So, I've been working for about a month now on my latest novel but have come across some issues in regards to recollections of past events. I'll outline what I mean, because that's a bit general... ...
B. Guilford's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
423 views

Is starting In Media Res compatible with a Three-Act Structure?

I have a story in mind which I am confident will fit a three-act structure very well. However, I am uncertain about the exposition that I have been writing, as it feels a bit stifled, almost as though ...
Arkenstein XII's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
2k views

Should I include an appendix for inessential, yet related worldbuilding to my story?

I'm of the opinion that a story should stand on its own; any worldbuilding that is necessary for the plot and story to function should be part of the story. However, at the same time, the world I ...
Matthew Dave's user avatar
  • 9,134
10 votes
3 answers
236 views

Does a repository of analytical breakdowns of stories exist?

I'm a data scientist and for my next project I'm looking for a location where I can find stories broken down by structure. I.e. The basics of the seven point story structure, or wikipedia dramatic ...
Tolure's user avatar
  • 201
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Having multiple epilogues

According to Wikipedia, An epilogue is the final chapter at the end of a story that often serves to reveal the fates of the characters. Some epilogues may feature scenes only tangentially related to ...
Liquid's user avatar
  • 15.8k

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