All Questions
10
votes
3answers
157 views
Good books on writing for comics?
Me and a friend of mine has been thinking about joining forces and make a comic. She is an excellent drawer/illustrator while I perform better in the story/character/writing part of things.
I guess ...
10
votes
2answers
113 views
Can a copyright be made in the name of a fictional writer?
Is it possible to copyright a work in the name of a fictional writer? For example, like Nicolas Bourbaki or some pen name of some author? Can I use my own fictional name to copyright the work?
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 ...
10
votes
9answers
369 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 ...
10
votes
4answers
227 views
Can a self publishing author use a Pen name/Pseudonym?
I know that an author can use a Pen name/Pseudonym instead of a true name when publishing the traditional way. This is done by signing contracts with the publisher/agent using the real name ...
10
votes
6answers
415 views
Sympathetic portrayal of an evil protagonist with good motivations
I'm contemplating writing about a character with good motivations whose actions would be considered evil.
In short the story would be about a necromancer killing an entire nation so that he can bring ...
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
3answers
123 views
How can I keep up with my co-author's detail creation?
Keeping track of details invented for a work of fiction is never simple, often requiring writing bibles and continuity editors. But when two people are working on the same book simultaneously, then ...
10
votes
2answers
182 views
What exactly is an editor?
I recently read the assertion that many great works of fiction were chiefly down the contribution of a good editor. I must admit I was a little taken aback by this statement. I had never really ...
10
votes
4answers
381 views
Switching POV: Should it ever be done at all?
When I started, I had a nasty habit of hopping from perspective to perspective to perspective. I forced myself down to one perspective per chapter, but I still wonder if it's acceptable to do it at ...
10
votes
9answers
764 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 ...
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
3answers
1k views
How to handle taxes for a self-published book
I'm thinking of publishing a book on kindle, but I don't currently have a business set up. Do you need a business to publish a book? I'm curious as to how to handle US taxes for the royalties. I ...
10
votes
6answers
412 views
Will blogging my fiction limit its ability to be traditionally published later?
Somewhere, don't ask me where, I picked up the idea that publishers don't like works that the public has already been able to access. When a family member suggested I post short pieces of fiction to a ...
10
votes
3answers
180 views
Is it legal to write about trademarked material and use the terms?
I am contemplating writing a technical book (and probably self-publishing it) on a proprietary programming interface for a well-known software package produced by a very large company. The company ...
10
votes
2answers
333 views
Strategies for shortening texts
When reviewing a text to shorten it beneath a fixed, externally imposed word limit, which strategies are available for shortening the text? What kind of shortening can be expected?
The most obvious ...
10
votes
3answers
215 views
How can I write anonymously (based on true experiences)?
I want to use an experience I had which is pretty unbelievable but true. The majority of the story will be completely true. It's not over yet so I want to use an ending which is NOT true yet works ...
10
votes
3answers
53 views
What effect on literature has the introduction of eBooks and eReaders had?
eBooks and eReaders are still relatively new, but they've had a major impact on literature. What impact has eBooks and eReaders had on the production of literature (specifically books)?
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
2answers
280 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
7answers
230 views
What should I do to promote my books?
My publisher currently does a lot to advertise my books, but what can I do to help spread the word?
ETA: Here's what my publisher said they do to promote their books:
"Dreamspinner invests 10% of ...
10
votes
5answers
859 views
Is there a good project management software for writers?
I would like something in which I can set targets - like write/edit 10,000 words a week, set a final end date for the project, set mini targets, track any lag etc.
The only PM software I've used in ...
10
votes
3answers
139 views
Do publishers really need to translate between UK and US English?
Is there really a need for a book to be translated from UK to US English? I'm nearing completion on my own great work, and just want to know if it is truly worth doing a British and an American ...
9
votes
10answers
619 views
How much sex is allowed in a non-romance novel?
Exactly how much sex would would most publishers allow to be in a today's novel? Does it vary from publisher to a publisher? I'm not talking about romance novels where apparently everything goes. I ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Dialog, just what's the best way to write it?
I've come across the following conventions:
"What’s this for?" asked Jake.
Sue replied, "None of your business."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it looks darned funny sitting here."
"It’s ...
9
votes
5answers
318 views
How do I balance work with my love of writing?
I'm a programmer and an aspiring writer. I love writing. Over the past year, I had been working on my first novel. Making the plot, dimensioning the characters, integrating conflicts etc. And when I ...
9
votes
7answers
2k views
How long should it take to write 100k words?
100,000 words makes a novel. For a perfectionist each line is poetry. How long should it take to write a novel? Not a bestseller. Just enough income to survive in the city.
Question subjective? ...
9
votes
7answers
1k views
Why is “It was a dark and stormy night..” not a good opening?
Also, why has it spawned an award for bad writing?
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
10answers
274 views
An alternative to saying 'users' when describing features
I'm creating some copy describing new web-app features for a number of different audiences (users, managers of sections of the site, owners of sub-sites which use our platform etc.).
I'm finding ...
9
votes
9answers
380 views
Resources for character development
I'm weak at building characters.
What resources are there to create rich characters? I'm thinking beyond name generators: Quirks, biography, diseases like allergies, hobbies and jobs, wealth, omens, ...
9
votes
5answers
432 views
What's “fair use” for borrowing someone else's invented term?
Let's say I'm writing a sci-fi novel. I want to use a word which another writer has coined, which has become well-recognized outside the original book, for the name of an alien species in my story.
I ...
9
votes
9answers
221 views
Will my readers feel like they are reading a children's storybook if there are illustrations in my novel?
I'm writing a novel. I also have good drawing skills. I would like to add illustrations of the setting, locations and characters. I may include 8 or 10 illustrations (the novel is approximately 200 ...
9
votes
5answers
292 views
Why do ebooks often mimic the layout of the printed page?
I was recently editing a novel destined to be published primarily in e-book form, and made a list of pre-press instructions, to be followed when the final text is agreed upon. Some of these ...
9
votes
5answers
579 views
When should a chapter end?
When writing a novel, when should I end a chapter?
Note that I'm not talking about chapter word-count (that topic was discussed here). I'm interested to know when should I end my chapters ...
9
votes
6answers
747 views
What are the tricks to avoid repetition in writing?
After some time of working on my research, I usually have a structured information of my results, which I can best describe in bullets/numbers. Unfortunately, this is not what academia expects. For ...
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?
9
votes
5answers
5k views
How many words/hour should you aim for when writing your first draft?
A couple of axioms here. Firstly, most people agree that you should write your first draft quickly, without too much care on quality, and get something down on paper first. The real writing begins ...
9
votes
2answers
245 views
Is being paid by the word/page making American books longer?
I buy quite a lot of literature, mostly of academic nature. One thing I have noticed is that books by American authors always tend to be more explicit and contain more examples, regarding whatever ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Why shouldn't I use a pen name?
I don't like my name. I feel like seeing my name on the cover of my novel will be an embarassment more than a moment of pride - I just can't take things I've written under my own name seriously, for ...
9
votes
3answers
117 views
How does one go *back* to editing an older piece?
I have a longer work that took me a lot of effort to get through, and the moment I finished it, my life went crazy. That was about 6 months ago, and in the intervening time I haven't been able to ...
9
votes
2answers
182 views
Are online critique groups a good substitute for editors?
I'm thinking of self publishing. Now what all the blogs tell me I have to do is hire a professional editor, who will see any plot / character holes, other story problems etc. (For the moment, I'm not ...
9
votes
7answers
316 views
How little “fantasy” can be in a story and it still be recognizably fantasy?
How little "fantasy" can be in a story and it still be recognizably fantasy, and not mainstream fiction?
The "recognizable fantasy" question is one I struggle with all the time. Fantasy exists on a ...
9
votes
5answers
357 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 ...
9
votes
4answers
900 views
Would a paid-for review from Kirkus give me real insight into quality of my manuscript?
As an amateur writer who has just finished my first manuscript, I want a qualified, non-biased, and thorough opinion on whether what I've written is any good.
I recently heard about a service offered ...
9
votes
3answers
329 views
How can I create my own deadline?
I'm very responsible when I'm writing a tech book or article under contract. I have a deadline, my editor is expecting my work, and I turn it in on time. Sometimes I put it off a bit, but I pride ...
9
votes
4answers
310 views
How do you avoid the problem of all the characters in your story sounding the same?
There's a common flaw that I can easily detect in amateur writing, (and of course my own) which essentially boils down to all the characters "sounding the same", dialogue-wise anyway. Trying to ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
How much time do you spend writing one page on average? [closed]
I'm writing a technical book about one programming technology and would like to compare how much time other authors spend on one page (on average). I rarely write a page and am done with it, quite ...
9
votes
4answers
478 views
How to continue someone else's story gracefully, with fan-fiction?
I've been juggling some ideas for NaNoWriMo and one of them is a Doctor Who story. Now I've not read a great deal of fan fiction but I've never read any that I'd say that compares to the original, and ...
9
votes
4answers
323 views
How do you determine if a plot device is too coincidental?
I see lazy plot devices as anything that is too coincidental. Person One just so happened to be in the 'area' when Person Two was attacked (then they end up running into each other a bunch of times ...
