Common, repeatable methods of achieving particular storytelling effects or of avoiding narrative pitfalls.
5
votes
4answers
145 views
Best Practices To Learn By Reading?
I've been browsing writers.se for a while and I've noticed a lot of folks state you have to READ to be able to write. I'm currently having trouble working time to read fiction into my daily routine.
...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Maintaining the consistency of voice and spontaneity throughout a piece
So straight to it, I don't write very long pieces. Usually poetry or flash fiction and a smattering of short stories whenever it needs to be longer, though I have aspirations (mostly just dreams) of ...
0
votes
1answer
79 views
What literary tools can be used to make stories more immersive?
That question derived from my previous critique question. That's one of the problems I think is more obvious in my own writing right now and would like to know of ways to address it.
What I know so ...
4
votes
1answer
85 views
Background speech with foreground dialogue
A few days ago, I stumbled upon an issue of the type; meaning I had two characters talking between themselves and another character talking in the background; actually delivering a speech.
What the ...
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, ...
8
votes
6answers
253 views
Effective techniques for describing pain
I've noticed something in writing: it's difficult to convey pain, and even specific types of pain, to an audience who's comfortably sitting at home in an easy chair.
I can hardly imagine pain until ...
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 ...
8
votes
5answers
431 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.
6
votes
5answers
156 views
Writing about a subject on which you have no expertise?
So I signed up for a novel workshop, and within a month the first chapter will be due. Problem is I that want to use characters who are well-versed in mathematics, especially group theory or model ...
1
vote
5answers
97 views
Are there rules for, or guidelines on, time gaps between a plot's scenes/chapters?
I've been reading a host of old favourites, classics and authors outside of my usual reading pool, in an effort to dissect the writing (from plot, characters and environment to voice, pacing and ...
5
votes
5answers
479 views
Inventing names for Sci-Fi characters
How can I invent names for fictional characters in a future-setting Sci-Fi story so they won't be connected to any existing culture?
I considered the following options:
Invent some random names. ...
7
votes
2answers
161 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 ...
13
votes
9answers
521 views
How can I catch more errors when I proofread?
I have a problem where I often proof my own writing and I don't catch all the errors while I am reading through it. I often miss entire words out of sentences or find myself repeating words. I can ...
10
votes
9answers
761 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 ...
64
votes
18answers
2k views
The “Rules” of Writing
There are a lot of axioms that get tossed around in creative writing courses, books on writing, and of course, the internet. Often, these little gems are explained to new writers as though they were ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
How to fix writer's thought muddledness? [closed]
Honestly my problem here is that I've been on writing hiatus for like...a year and half. Apart from writing small stories here and there, I haven't really taken on a story to a larger scale in a long ...
20
votes
14answers
834 views
How to deal with self-criticism?
I write non-fiction articles for my website and a weekly paid newsletter, and I’m doing that for some time now. However, I still struggle a lot with self-criticism, and find it hard to regard an ...
2
votes
2answers
173 views
Issues with Scene/Sequel model
I'm using the Scene/Sequel model to go from an informal outline of my novel to a list of scenes. In summary, during a Scene the POV Character has a Goal, encounters some Conflict, and it ends in ...
5
votes
4answers
141 views
Is there a technique to help me write this character's notebook entries?
I wrote a short story in which the protagonist (Vasily) has a notebook. During my rewrite, I wanted to really emphasize the importance of the notebook and push the reader's focus onto it. I decided ...
24
votes
8answers
1k views
How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing?
The 10,000 hour rule, popularised by Malcolm Gladwell, says that:
the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours
...
17
votes
5answers
2k views
How to describe the point-of-view character without using mirrors
In fiction, the main character is often the first person we meet in the story. Given that the story is written from his/her point of view, how would you describe what they look like? The classical ...
4
votes
4answers
180 views
Are these fictional musings convincing or overwrought?
I've been working for some time on a story about a detective who finds himself alienated, delusional and hopeless while trapped inside a dystopic, postmodern dream. This segment voices some of the ...
22
votes
10answers
458 views
How can one make technical issues more accessible to a non-technical audience?
Most of what I write is non-fiction -- technical books, blog posts on open source topics, political stuff, etc. Lately, I find that some of the topics I am trying to present are much more technical ...
8
votes
5answers
835 views
What is a good methodology for researching a historical novel?
I'm having difficulty with the research aspect of my historical novel. This question was originally going to be "how much research should one do to write a historical novel?" to which, answering my ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Style signatures and uncommon formatting patterns
Style signatures are bits of words and phrases used consistently throughout the entirety of a work (but not necessarily among my unrelated works). I would like to try using style signatures in a work ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Do I correctly utilize my naming adjective concept in this book?
In my story THE GOSPEL OF THE RETURN OF A CHRIST THAT WANTS ANSWERS I wanted to evoke a sense of the middle ages in a modern book. So I utilized a technique where whenever I referred to a character, I ...
4
votes
4answers
174 views
Does this writing create emotion in the reader?
The thing I hear most often about my writing is, "It's too dry." I'm sure this happens to other people too. I'm working on eliciting emotion through writing, and I'd like a critique on some of my ...
4
votes
5answers
742 views
Preventing the symbolic conflict of “Hunger Games” from overshadowing widespread social plight [closed]
SPOILER ALERT: Questions and answers may contain spoilers for all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
Symbolic Conflict as the Climax of Social Conflict
I noticed an ...
5
votes
5answers
157 views
How to write about things which depend on each other
I am writing a technical documentation about a product. Now problem is there are many interrelated and interdependent concepts. I am just confused how to put them in order. I mean if I talk about ...
1
vote
1answer
131 views
What is the name for the literary technique where the author writes him/herself into a book?
In a number of novels by Clive Cussler, the characters are sometimes offered help by a person whose surname is Cussler, same as the author. I believe this also happens in Sahara and Dragon, and ...
5
votes
6answers
436 views
How important is it to know the end before the writing the beginning?
One of the Rules of writing indicates that knowing the end before the beginning is critical to writing. Which I find odd, because in my writing (early days, probably doing it wrong), one of the best ...
4
votes
3answers
395 views
How do I cleanly show the passage of time, with multiple, varying time scales?
Semi-complex idea, more easily seen than explained, but here we go.
I was re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone recently (notice I bring those books up a lot...I think they're brilliant) ...
5
votes
3answers
69 views
Deaf speechmarks? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does one present spoken dialogue as a secondary language to signed speech?
I want to write a novel and I was thinking of including a deaf character. I want to know ...
4
votes
2answers
234 views
What methods does Rowling use to establish Dumbledore as being wise and trustworthy?
In the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore seems to represent ultimate wisdom and authority. Harry (and the readers with him) hold him in awe; many times throughout the series Harry willingly accepts and ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
Is there a way of listing the elements that makes a real fact fun?
For instance I wrote this thing that is real
God’s love is like your parents love /
except for the ‘‘burning, crying, and
screaming for eternity in hell" part
/ if you don’t obey them.
and ...
7
votes
4answers
271 views
Using poetry in novels a good option?
I write fiction as well as poetry. And many a times I use poetry as a tool to bring out that acute feeling of pain or love (as required) in my explanations. What if I use poetry to introduce or end a ...
4
votes
3answers
137 views
Adding more characters as the story moves forwards
I'm 20 and have been writing a lot of fiction since I was 11, and there is a story that I keep rewriting as I get older and learn more about writing and storytelling. Strangely I haven't done that ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
Quality examples of 'in medias res' starting sequences in SF literature
You can find my initial trials here, and, based on feedback, version two here.
I was trying to create a sort of 'flashforward' opening (please don't cite Sawyer) for a novel. That is: of the 45 ...
2
votes
4answers
597 views
How to explain a war scene?
In my novel, I have a part where there is a war scene, and I need to explain it precisely from the king's point of view. How can I explain the war graphics vividly?
4
votes
3answers
635 views
How to create varying, yet realistic, speech patterns
Different characters speak differently. If someone reads me a letter written by an immediate relative, I can tell right away who wrote it. I believe --and correct me if I'm wrong-- that giving each ...
5
votes
8answers
2k views
Good examples of fear/terror inducing techniques used with enemies
I am not completely sure if this is the correct place to ask this, but it is writing related:
What good examples of fear/terror inducing techniques do you know?
Of the top of my head i am thinking ...
15
votes
9answers
706 views
What methods can I use to revise my writing?
Background
I am finding it challenging to transform an early draft into a finished product. My biggest challenges are putting the prose in the proper order and using topic sentences and transitions ...
3
votes
2answers
607 views
On writing an essay, what are some good techniques to teach to schoolchildren?
I am currently teaching the way to write an essay as this:
Step 1, write the topic sentence of the whole essay. Then, in the following first paragraph, develop the ideas that you are going to ...
11
votes
7answers
318 views
Do books have to be written in sequence?
So can we write the interesting action bits first, then add in the in between stuff, that maybe needed to understand the story or characters, but isnt so exciting by itself?
For example the ...
7
votes
5answers
497 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 ...
15
votes
11answers
521 views
Which techniques can I use to become a better editor when editing my own writing?
I'm looking to improve my ability to edit and correct my own writing. What are some techniques I can use to help me with this?
1
vote
2answers
194 views
What literary techniques are evident in this quote?
What literary techniques are evident in the following quote?
I read each bullet scar in the Quai stonework
With an eerie familiar feeling,
And started at the stricken, sunny exposure of ...
8
votes
5answers
659 views
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 ...
13
votes
8answers
1k views
What breaks suspension of disbelief?
So much of Sci-Fi and Fantasy requires the viewer (or reader) to suspend their disbelief: The speed of light can be circumvented, magic works, vampires are real (and may or may not sparkle), etc.
...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
Is there a good textbook for understanding literary techniques?
I want to really understand literary techniques. I want to be able to say "Ah, I see this writer is making use of assonance," or "I think I will use a simile here instead of a metaphor." There are ...
