6
votes
3answers
129 views

Techniques to write for a wider audience

Many years ago, I wrote a short story that used specific information from my cultural background e.g. a belief that if you dream something, it is a form of a vision (superstition, some may say!). This ...
4
votes
2answers
71 views

Punctuating dialogue with oneself

I am wondering what is the convention for punctuating dialogue with oneself. In particular, if a character speaks to himself, does the words need to be put in open and closed quotes. Note that the ...
4
votes
4answers
174 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 ...
-1
votes
2answers
71 views

Writing style — comma, period and re-referring the object of the first sentence again as subject in second sentence [closed]

Alex look around the room, it's almost empty except few small empty boxes and few clothes. Alex look around the room. It's almost empty except few small empty boxes and few clothes. Alex ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views

A more effective way of writing this dialogue:

I'm translating a story, and there is scene in it where an ex-colleague asks the man who had slapped the female protagonist the reason for his doing so. In reply, all he says is something like, “What ...
9
votes
5answers
365 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
65 views

Does this flow nicely? [closed]

I've started this short story. In essence past this part it's a conversation this intro is to just sort of "set the stage". Does it work? if not what sort of revisions should be made? Man is an ...
0
votes
1answer
115 views

Describing a machine's world in a metaphorical manner

The actual meaning that I want to convey is sort of like a good design covers up the nitty gritty technical aspects of a machine and provides a smooth experience when using it. I want to describe ...
2
votes
5answers
200 views

How do I keep up with current written English language?

I am a speaker of English as a foreign language. I appreciate that English is a living language and that different regions in the world use English differently. I wanted to know how I can keep up with ...
1
vote
0answers
60 views

How to use His/My/Your permutations in adressing persons [closed]

I'd like to understand the rationale of when, why and how His/My/Your are used in titles of addressing people. For example, the standard commonly accepted uses are: "His Honour"("His Grace", or ...
5
votes
4answers
348 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 ...
7
votes
5answers
335 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 ...
10
votes
2answers
285 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 ...
10
votes
9answers
771 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 ...
15
votes
7answers
938 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 ...