Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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12 answers

What do you do if you enjoy writing, but have no ideas?

I've done some writing in the past - mostly short descriptive pieces, although I once wrote 9000+ words of a story idea I had. What I enjoy about it are the technical, intellectual, creative challenges involved in every level from the sentence to…
Jack M
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1st person story, but the main character will die in the end and some of the story needs to be told after his death. How to solve this problem?

I personally like to read stories told by the the main character, it's more "alive" to me. But the problem is that my character will die and some of the story will need to be told afterwards. Maybe 1 or 2 pages max. How to solve this problem?
Derfder
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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. This has a disadvantage in that such names are often…
Anixx
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How many errors per page volume is typically "okay" in a book?

Suppose I'm in charge of getting a three hundred page book published. I'll do all reasonable things to get it proofread, but still there is a chance that some errors will persist. Now the book goes to the bookstores and readers start reporting…
sharptooth
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Is there a way to make text feel like an unhinged rant while still being readable?

I want to write a passage of text that makes the reader feel like the person writing it is deranged or otherwise not in the right state of mind. It seems relatively easy to write incoherent, nonsensical text, but I still want the reader to be able…
Finley Baker
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Where can subject matter experts volunteer to work on proofing the technical details in fiction?

I am not a writer (yet!), but I have been working in the computer field for over 10 years and would love to put in some time volunteering my services as a subject matter expert (SME) for programming and computer related story components. Is there a…
Larry Smithmier
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Striking the balance between dialogue and narrative

I am participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. I have never in my life written so much of a single story. Although I am supposed to tell my inner editor to shut up this month, she is constantly nagging at me about my structure. I…
Kit Z. Fox
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How to avoid repetitive sentence structure?

I've realized that I always start sentences with (name of character), he, she, it, they, her, his, the, after (a moment/that), and then. I wonder if there's any useful exercise or tip to reduce this? A sample of my writing: Adele wondered where…
wyc
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Why can I not self-reflect on my own writing critically? How can I self-edit?

When an editor goes over my writing, even if most of their feedback is Writing 101 advice, it's still super helpful because my writing has a lot of flaws. But I never notice these flaws (big picture stuff, and subtle stuff alike) while writing and…
Jack Pan
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How do you ensure that a red herring doesn't violate Chekhov's gun?

Red herrings appear to violate Chekhov's gun, but I've been told that not all red herrings are the same and it seems that some red herrings are OK​ if they serve some sort of purpose. How do you ensure that a red herring doesn't violate Chekhov's…
Sayaman
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In novel writing, should I change the name a character is referred to by when he reveals his name to the protagonist?

I'm a Chinese writer. Chinese people always tend to refer people by their full names, so the first name last name thing shouldn't be an issue. But now I'm working on a novel with a character from the US. Here is the scenario. Let's call the…
fat raccoon
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What is the meaning of square brackets in quotes?

"[t]he company engaged..." I read a quote earlier starting with these words, and I am unsure of the meaning of the square brackets encapsulating the "t". A cursory search online doesn't seem to yield anything relevant. Aside from being used for…
Magikarp
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Which is more readable - array of ints or int array?

A similar example is field of carrots or carrot field. The latter feels better to me, especially in the carrot example, but when asking colleagues they preferred 'array of ints'. I'm not a professional writer, so I don't know if there is a clear…
Nimrod Fiat
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My character surprised me with their behaviour while writing them, should I keep that behaviour or stick to how I had planned them?

I was doing some exploratory writing without much planning/thinking and one of the characters acted in a way I wasn't expecting! In the narrative the character (normally kind/warm) is under stress, but I wasn't expecting them to behave the way I…
ProseFerret
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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 afterwards--really?). Those nicks-of-time rescues.…
FearlessWriter
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