• Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work

Index of existing threads on popular Basic Writing Question topics

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Sophia

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I thought it might help some of the newbies to have a post where links to existing threads on the most frequently asked questions were gathered. The links here are to search results for the topics named, and will update, I hope, automatically. This isn't supposed to stop anyone asking these questions, but to give people an idea of some of what has already been said on the topics.

I've tried to pick topics which include some 'standard' advice, rather than those which rely a lot on personal preferences and individual approaches to writing. If this post is worth keeping up, I can edit it with suggestions, if anyone wants to make them.


What genre am I writing?


Prologues

Epilogues


POV (Point Of View)

1st person

2nd person

3rd person


Omniscient


Present tense


Character-driven stories

Plot-driven stories

Outlines


Character sheets


Chapter length

A novel's word count


Writing a synopsis

Writing a query


Active voice / passive voice

Flashbacks

Dream sequences

Showing and telling

Using swear words in your writing

How to "tighten" your writing


Em dashes


Should there be one or two spaces after a period / full stop?

Using italics to show thoughts


Using brand names in your stories


Novel-writing software
 
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dgiharris

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Even though this isn't a thread per say, thought i'd stick this here :D

I developed a Spreadsheet for Tracking all of my short stories and articles. It is color coded. I created a generic template that shows how to use the spreadsheet. Within the spreadsheet, just put the cursor over any little red triangle (comments) and a pop-up window will show up with an explanation of the section.

On the bottom of the spreadsheet you will see different tabs for different sections.

I loaded the spreadsheet on an online file storage site: www.box.net

The user name is: dgiharris
email address is: [email protected]
password is: spreadsheet

it is in a folder titled AW spreadsheet (the only folder)

go there, download my excel file and enjoy

Mel...
 

Soccer Mom

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Adding in an excellent post on "Tightening" by Ruv Draba.

Tightening cast: John, 11 is the main character. In scene 3, a policeman comes to tell him that his mother was hit by a car. In scene 5, a social worker comes to take him into foster care until his mother recovers. If we make the social worker the policeman, that's one less character we have to write and one less character the reader has to remember.

Tightening plot: Professor Cornbluth is strangled in his kitchen, using mountain-climbing rope. But the rope isn't a special clue about the murderer -- it's just something Cornbluth had in the house. So replace the rope with a dog-lead snatched from behind the kitchen door and that's one less piece of confusion in the plot.

Tightening story: Say there's a subplot in which Laura's mother divorces her father. In scene 23, Laura's mother calls her to say she's thinking of leaving Laura's father. Laura tries unsuccessfully to argue her out of it. In scene 27, Laura's mother arrives on her doorstep, asking for a place to stay. If nothing else has happened in the subplot in the meantime, it may work better to delete scene 23, and just keep scene 27.

Tightening scene: Scene 12 opens with 500 words describing the weather, but it's just a mood-setter, and has no bearing on the characters, situation or subsequent plot. Cutting it back to 100 words may yield the same mood and spare the reader 400 words of tedium.

Tightening text:
Jane was distraught. She paced back and forth, and didn't know what to do. Her heart hammered, sweat beaded her brow and her palms were clammy. "What shall I do? What shall I do?" she wailed. But she had no idea.

There's a lot of redundancy in the paragraph above, and a mixture of showing and telling. We could replace with:
Palms clammy, Jane paced, her heart hammering four beats with every step. "What shall I do? What shall I do?" she wailed. But no ideas came.

Hope that helps.

You can read the whole thread on "tightening" here.
 

Siren of Triton

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So is the idea that if we don't see stuff on this list, we should just create our own?

I don't see anything about nonlinear narrative but I have trouble believing there weren't earlier posts about it.
 

dpaterso

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Sure, if you don't see what you're looking for in this thread then just Google
"nonlinear narrative" site:absolutewrite.com
...or whatever you're seeking. Remove the quotes for a much wider search.

-Derek
 

amblack

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Even though this isn't a thread per say, thought i'd stick this here :D

I developed a Spreadsheet for Tracking all of my short stories and articles. It is color coded. I created a generic template that shows how to use the spreadsheet. Within the spreadsheet, just put the cursor over any little red triangle (comments) and a pop-up window will show up with an explanation of the section.

On the bottom of the spreadsheet you will see different tabs for different sections.

I loaded the spreadsheet on an online file storage site: www.box.net

The user name is: dgiharris
email address is: [email protected]
password is: spreadsheet

it is in a folder titled AW spreadsheet (the only folder)

go there, download my excel file and enjoy

Mel...



This has been supremely useful, thanks!

And, off-topic but your Dalek gif made me giggle!
 

writeontime

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I've been stumbling around looking for an answer to my question until I encountered this thread.

Thanks for putting it together!


 

benluby

practical experience, FTW
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While this is great, I still have a massive problem. How the hell does one format their word for fiction? I've dug and dug, and can find nothing that makes it fairly easy for the computer illiterate.
 

Sarahjonesca

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Great job breaking down the info, and giving clear examples for us to follow.
 

Uncle Poop

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As someone who has no clue how to get started writing, this post is awesome. I am going to take the next few days, weeks and months going through the links posted. Thanks for this...
 
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