All Questions
12
votes
7answers
369 views
What helpful writing exercises do you use?
The two I do most are dialog and description related. When I meet a person or I'm just sitting people watching, I try to write their description in my head as if I was describing a character in a ...
7
votes
7answers
390 views
What linguistic tools do you use?
I've got a Flip Dictionary, a Thesaurus, my trusty Strunk&White, and I use the almighty GOOG(le) should I ever be unsure of the definition of a word. What does everyone else use? Is there some ...
20
votes
7answers
2k views
Do most novels not get published?
If a person writes a novel, grammar alright, decent story, word count, etc. everything okay,
Is it a crap shoot for that person to get published? Is it just like the lottery or maybe better ...
20
votes
17answers
1k views
Fan Fiction: a crutch or a good start?
Writing is writing, but I am not confident enough to take on creating a whole world from scratch. Will writing fanfic or writing in other shared world spaces be beneficial, or will it simply allow me ...
17
votes
3answers
5k views
How Much Can You Make From Writing a Book?
Obviously this question has a lot of different answers. I'm interested in the typical total profit that a writer might expect to see from:
A NYT Bestseller
A diet or self-help book that sells ...
16
votes
9answers
850 views
Tips for expanding my vocabulary?
Looking back through my texts, I noticed that I often use a lot of the same words and resort to using quite a basic vocabulary. I was wondering if there are any good exercises or anything else for ...
13
votes
9answers
755 views
Tips for humor writing
Are there any techniques you can use while brainstorming to find humor to include in an article?
11
votes
8answers
1k views
How do I better handle my nameless main character when trying to retain mystery?
I have written a short story, and the main character is referred to as "he" right the way through - the idea being that this character is very guarded and mysterious.
My plan was to not reveal the ...
9
votes
3answers
269 views
Lists of Suggested Magazines to Submit To
I recently began writing poetry again. I would like to look into submitting my poems to a magazine.
Where can I find a list of literary magazines through which I could sort to find a possible fit?
...
7
votes
14answers
1k views
Is the iPad a convenient medium for writing work?
Does anyone here write on an iPad at all? The iPad 2G is due this summer and I have waited since March 2010 already, so I am planning to purchase one. However, I don't really need an iPad at all; ...
7
votes
7answers
483 views
What are the best authors to read if you want to get better at humor and comedy in writing?
I’ve read humor like Three Men in a Boat and PG Woodhouse, but those comes nowhere close to folks like Dave Barry or Rory Blyth.
What are some sources, Blogs, Books, Articles, Authors, etc. that you ...
16
votes
8answers
774 views
Is it frustrating not to know the narrator's gender?
I have written a 1st person piece and reading it I realize it's very difficult to tell if the narrator is male or female. There are one or two clues, and they come pretty late in the piece.
Would ...
15
votes
3answers
759 views
How do you make a character quintessential, but not cliched or cartoony?
I think it's hard to make a character standout and embody their traits without becoming cliched or cartoons. How do you do this? What are some tips to enlivening a character and making them memorable?
...
13
votes
4answers
1k views
Using the real world in writing
To what extent can you use locations, businesses, etc. from the real world in fiction? I know someone cannot copyright a city, but what about a particular location in the city that's private. Can I ...
13
votes
3answers
227 views
How do I write a synopsis?
I have to write a synopsis to submit to an agent. Are there any guidelines for writing a good synopsis?
12
votes
8answers
351 views
How much leeway can be expected from an editor regarding my preference for nonstandard punctuation?
As I hope to present a unique style to the world, as I am not especially tolerant of being told I'm doing things "wrong" when that's a subjective statement related to writing style, and as I've never ...
11
votes
10answers
498 views
Why do writers use pseudonyms?
It's common enough -- recently I was looking for Seanan McGuire's newer book only to find it was published as "Mira Grant".
Why would an author do this?
11
votes
2answers
2k views
What's a good writing software for Android phones/tablets?
Everyone once in a while while I'm out I come up with something I want to add to my story. Are there any good writing apps for Android phones and tablets? Most places that recommend mobile writing ...
10
votes
2answers
382 views
Is publishing to Amazon Kindle-alternative eBook markets worth the time and effort?
I have published a few collection Kindle eBooks, and am planning on publishing at least 3 more in the not-too-distant future. While my experience with the Kindle marketplace has been mostly positive, ...
10
votes
9answers
310 views
Sympathetic portrayal of devout, rule-abiding characters
I'm having trouble portraying religious, devout characters as protagonists or viewpoint characters. When I try, I get the sense that the reader - not sharing the characters' beliefs - will have ...
8
votes
6answers
261 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 ...
8
votes
5answers
550 views
A rhyming dictionary worth bookmarking online or purchasing?
Has anyone come across any really good rhyming dictionaries? If so, what makes it worth having/bookmarking? (eg. completeness/ease of use/absence of really sketchy suggestions)
7
votes
9answers
870 views
How to write realistic female dialogue
I just can't make my dialogue sound like it's being said by a woman. As a friend of mine pointed out, "This woman talks just like you, Jack."
I tried imitating the speech patterns of various females ...
7
votes
2answers
474 views
Finding the 'voice' of a character
This is a very general question that I want to throw out there just to get some insight into different approaches used. I have my own, but am intrigued to know what others might try.
I'm wondering ...
6
votes
5answers
388 views
What is the most cost effective way for me to get my book printed?
I have written a book that I would like to get printed. I am not looking to have it published at this time but would like to get a limited number of copies (100-200) printed up for family and friends. ...
5
votes
2answers
243 views
How do you come up with a fictional character name in a historical era/region?
How do you research to find character names? Especially when it's long ago, not European, and the culture was totally different from what the region has now. For example, how would you generate names ...
19
votes
6answers
879 views
Decide on a theme/overarching meaning before writing a short story?
When writing a short-story, is it typically a better practice to construct a point to exemplify through the short-story when writing to highlight a certain truth?
In other words, construct the ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
What is a beat?
I keep hearing the word "beat" in Writers.SE, as in "... break your scene into beats" from this question. What is a beat? How is it different from a scene?
13
votes
6answers
845 views
Keeping track of multiple plot lines
How do you track several plot lines woven together?
I usually run 2 or 3 plot-lines in parallel, so I detail those plots each in a separate document. But as the book goes on, it is sometimes ...
12
votes
4answers
490 views
How do you make a story succeed in spite of an unsympathetic main character?
I'm looking for techniques specific to a story with an unsympathetic main character. Confederacy of Dunces, for example. Why does that work, and why wouldn't that work with a likable hero?
12
votes
5answers
431 views
Can I self-publish, and how much would it cost?
With the barrier to having a publisher sign a new author seemingly high, especially without prior success or experience, are there any good author-funded alternatives out there to the repeated mailing ...
11
votes
3answers
16k views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of writing in first person?
A lot of people are either on the side of first person or the side of third person. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of writing in first person for fiction?
10
votes
3answers
272 views
What's the distinction between “vanity publishing” and “self publishing”?
This question came up on the pros and cons of publishing avenues question; when I tried to look it up, I found the results confusing.
For example, SFWA's explanation of publishing types gives the ...
10
votes
4answers
164 views
What are the usual methods for getting a daily word count?
Do, normally, only words which are eventually to be kept count, or do you also count rewrites? For example, if I rewrite a 50 word paragraph 10 times, is my daily count up to 50 or up to 500?
10
votes
9answers
370 views
Initial Writing Medium
I am curious which is better for a beginning writer (or writer) starting a new story. Pen and paper or the computer?
Pen & Paper is a lot more sketchy (like the layout of this site) which gives ...
9
votes
2answers
210 views
What's the best version control system for a book writer?
I'm a writer—no programming, only prose in text files, mostly in Emacs org-mode, some in markdown-mode.
I want to implement a version control system for my writing projects.
I work with two types of ...
9
votes
4answers
472 views
Ways for main character to influence world following their death
The main character of a story dies before the story itself ends. Nothing new here, you can keep a story interesting following their death. But I have an additional requirement: The dead main character ...
9
votes
1answer
183 views
What are some regular contests unpublished short story authors might enter?
One good way for new authors to become recognized is a contest. What contests exist that:
Accept short stories
Occur on a regular (annual, semi-annual, bi-annual, etc.) basis
Are friendly to ...
9
votes
8answers
316 views
What is Literary Fiction?
I keep hearing about literary fiction, and how it is so much better than genre fiction. What exactly is literary fiction?
8
votes
5answers
299 views
Our note in footnote of a book
How do I designate the footnotes that are mine inside a quote?
I tried "our note", "note ours" and "remark is ours". Which one is the correct one and most commonly used?
Or is there some other way?
...
8
votes
4answers
4k views
How do you calculate the length of your manuscript?
Say I have a 100 page manuscript in Courier, 11pt, double-spaced. How many paperback pages is this roughly equivalent to? Is there a better font/spacing to use?
8
votes
3answers
360 views
7
votes
2answers
315 views
Converting ms-word to ebook vs. writing from scratch?
Can anyone, who has any experience with writing ebooks, recommend a way for me to proceed?
I have a book in Microsoft Word heavy on mathematics: formulas (inline), equations (numbered) and diagrams.
...
7
votes
6answers
290 views
How can I break up a lengthy explanation?
I have a setting in one of my stories where a character has to describe a very long series of events, giving the history of an object so that others know more about it. This not only provides the ...
7
votes
3answers
273 views
How to practice location descriptions
When trying to strengthen my writing on how to correctly describe a location I try to write a small text on each location I am. (These are then saved in Evernote so that I can search for them) I found ...
7
votes
6answers
414 views
Publishing and selling ebooks [closed]
What are my:
options
caveats / pro's & con's
reasonable expectations
for publishing my work digitally as e-books?
I remember Stephen King did something along these lines with his 'Dark Tower' ...
7
votes
2answers
368 views
Is there any hope of a fictional short story being published?
I mean under 100k, probably less than 50k because it's a short story. Actually, I'm not sure how many words a short story has so I have two questions. How short is a short story and is it worth the ...
6
votes
3answers
212 views
Is there any standardized definition of a “Mary Sue”?
I've heard the term "Mary Sue" thrown around a lot, and it seems to mean different things to different people, but is always something negative about the way the character is written, not necessarily ...
6
votes
3answers
260 views
How do I start editing my novel?
I had written the first draft of my book and put it in the freezer almost 6 weeks ago. Yesterday I took it out, and after going through a first read to note my reactions, I have decided to start work ...
5
votes
5answers
483 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. ...
