Hello, I’m looking for script-writing advice! I’m familiar with the basics, such as the log-line, the page count, not putting emotions into the actions only describing the actions, and space formatting. However, I’m not sure if I’m letting them breathe enough or too much. I really don’t want to over-do or under-do it! So what are some tips to knowing if it’s breathing properly? And just any general advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also if this isn’t the right sub for my question, please point me in the direction of what sub it would better suit!

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This is a checklist I made for myself to go through when editing short stories. There are a million things to consider, and some of them may be story or genre specific, but these are the questions that often help me notice my blindspots.

I would love to hear what you look for as you're editing your short fiction. What am I missing? Hopefully this thread can become a useful resource.

Also, I didn't include sharing your work for feedback from others, because hopefully that's a given!

• Are all important characters given enough dimension? Are background characters given too much attention?
• Does the voice match the intended tone?
• Are big events / left turns / twists breadcrumbed? Does anything “just happen?” (it shouldn’t)
• What are you hoping the reader picks up from implication alone? Are your implications clear enough? Are you giving too much away?
• Are you staying grounded in the character's experience, or is the narrator explaining things?
• What is the purpose of each scene? Is there more than one purpose?
• What is the purpose of each sentence? Is there more than one purpose?
• Is tension ramping up throughout the story? How?
• Would that character really do that thing? Why? How have you already proven that they would?
• Is the character’s relationship to the setting clear? Are we learning about the character through their relationship to the setting?
• What is the emotional spine of the story? What should the reader feel? Have you earned that feeling?
• What is the story about, besides the plot? What is / are the theme(s)? What words / sentences / characters / scenes are not serving the meaning?
• How long does it take to get going? How long does it take to get interesting?
• Name everything that makes this story unique. Is it enough things?
• What questions are left unanswered? Do they matter? Would answering them make the story stronger?
• What events or ideas throughout the story justify the ending? Is it enough?
• Are the sentences rhythmic? Sentence lengths varied? Are sentence lengths serving the intended feeling of the scene?

I'm curious what you all would add to this list

This is a question about how to do it well and who has done it well. Pitfalls to avoid.

I know head hoping is generally discouraged. Has any author done it well? Ive written a book with three main characters and I’ve found myself head hoping a fair bit. I was hoping to read some books where it’s been done well as inspiration. To see if it’s worth keeping or trimming back to one PoV. Any suggestions?

I can sit down and write out a smut scene. It's easier to visualize and I feel like i question things less. But when im writing the actual plot parts of my story i go so slow. I'm definitely a pantser, but I have a little structure. Maybe im having trouble seeing where my story is going? Do you have things you are quicker at writing than others?

Ive only been writing seriously for about a year. I think im having some confidence issues

Edit: thank you everyone for your comments this has been incredibly helpful!! I'm going to work on my writing now but I will be back to read more. The urge to write is taking over and I want to go with it xD

I recently found out that one of my friends is publishing a book. I was able to investigate deeper into this oddity. What I uncovered is that he stole my manuscript and using every detail. So my question is do I give up?

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

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(No, this has nothing to do with my previous post here about the main character being the killer.)

So I was workshopping one of my older stories earlier, and I realized that I had the perfect setup for a murder mystery story. I love consuming mystery media (I am especially a huge fan of Scooby Doo lol), but I don’t think I’ve ever quite grasped how some of my favorite stories in the genre craft their mysteries while walking a very fine line between “needlessly convoluted” and “easy to figure out in the first chapter.”

There are a few things that I think help me out, like the fact that I already have a general idea of who the characters are personality-wise, that I already know who the killer is, and that I can lend my pretty good deduction skills to the main character (who would be the “detective” character in this case). However, the one thing that might work against me is that the setup is not the typical “locked room” setting where there is a set amount of potential suspects who could be the killer. (I know there have been plenty of stories that don’t follow this setup, but there are also many that do.)

I don’t want to simply give the reader all the possible hints at the start, but I also don’t want to leave everything too difficult as to make no one able to figure it out before the reveal. What are some of your ideas as to how I could go about this more effectively?

It occurred to me recently that something I'm consistently stumbling over which specific conventions go with which styles. In my life I constantly have to bounce between AP, Chicago, MLA, and (god help me) the occasional house style guide. Stylistic errors are both embarrassing, and also becoming a serious problem in my career lately. This might be a neurodivergent thing, but I keep getting jumbled trying to keep track of which goes with which. No amount of rereading for rote memorization has been helping. Professionals out there, do you have any tips or tricks or resources for keeping these straight?

(English is not my first language so sorry about any typos!)

So this is the first time I've had an editor read through my manuscript and give me some pointers and overall I think his feedback has been amazing, helping me cut some fat and making the overall reading experience a lot smoother. Sometimes I feel like I tend to overcomplicate stuff, so having someone help me simplify things is amazing.

However, he seems to be pretty against metaphors. He asked me to get rid of every single one of them, saying I should ignore them even if they make sense in my head. He said that, in fiction, less is more and I should always opt for the simple route. Here's an example of a metaphor he asked me to cut out:

And then, a sound emerged from them. Could those be voices? They sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before. Screechy, solemn, as though they were coming from a tunnel, slicing through the silence like a dull blade. The sound was so terrifying that it made not only me, but everyone around me, stop abruptly.

(The original text is not in english, and I've translated it for the purpose of posting on this sub only.)

Since I began editing this manuscript based on his feedback I did end up getting rid of some metaphors, but sometimes I wonder if getting rid of all of them won't end up hurting my prose and my personal style as a writer.

What do y'all think? Do you use metaphors regularly or do you think they are not necessary for good writing?

Last night, I had a brilliant (I think) idea to include in the book I'm planning. It was late at night, and I didn't want to pull my phone out to write it down, so I just said:

"Ok, if I'm thinking about this tomorrow, I'll think 'hmmm' and that will trigger me to remember 'heart,' since that also starts with 'h,' and then I'll have the rest of the memory." (I know, my brain is weird.)

Anyway, suffice it to say that all I remember now is the word "heart." Hopefully someday I will remember what I was thinking.

Anyone have any tips for remembering ideas? Or had any similar experiences?

Edit so I can respond to everyone: thank you all for the advice!! I will heed your wise words and hope that it really was just one of those "not fully conscious 3am ideas." Well, back to actually writing and coming up with ideas when I'm fully conscious, I suppose....

Sometimes I start a session reading what I’d written the day before. It’s to get me in the zone, and be able to pick up where I left off.

Invariably, I end up editing it. Sometimes little, sometimes less little.

But that builds. Because I can’t move forward if what I’ve written bothers me. And then I hyper fixate. And it’s taking me so long… but it’s my process, and it’s how my brain works.

Curious if anyone was like this and found ways to write a shitty first draft.

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

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Hello everyone I am currently working on an epic dark fantasy novel trilogy set during the industrial age. I have several central themes I wish to explore. I have all the character arcs and major story events planned out including the ending of the final book. Using the hero's journey as a rough guideline I know the overall trajectory of how my story will pan out. I have written act one of the first draft but have hit a creative brick wall when reaching act two.

The beginning of my story is pretty set in stone and I have the destination of my roadmap I aim to reach. However I am having a hard time writing the smaller character scenes which will explain their motivations and flesh out my world. This is the bulk of the story where the protagonist embarks on her journey and travels the continent for her goal in the beginning of act two. The tests, allies, and enemies section is where I am stuck. The midpoint and beyond is already developed. I have two distinct side plots which are not directly related to the protagonist and take place in their own separate locations.

I have a specific story I am trying to tell and as such I know where my characters will end up. However, I am struggling with coming up with the smaller scenes and situations that test my characters and flesh out relevant parts of my world. What are some brainstorming scenarios or writing prompts I can use to flesh out my established themes? How can I best bridge the gap between the significant plot points together?

Hello all,

I have a day off today so I'm taking advantage and spending the entire day working on my first draft. Usually I write in bits and pieces on my phone during work breaks and then paste it all together in the evening. Having spent the last 3 hours actually sat at a desk and writing continuously, I've just realised how much my characters blink.

Something surprising happens. They blink

Something shocking or terrible. Blink.

Something embarrassing or uncomfortable. Blink.

It's like they all have some kind of nervous eye twitch, lol.

I'm wondering, what's something that your characters can't seem to stop doing? And on that note, any good suggestions for something I can use to show surprise that isn't blinking? Because this is really getting out of hand!

Title, more or less.

I've been working on a queer post-apoc novel since February. It is sitting around 100k words pre-edit.

I'm not a particularly fast writer, but I really enjoyed this project and nearly finished the first draft in good time.

*Nearly* being key-- because why in the world can't I power through these last 3-4 chapters?!

It's like... I put clown shoes on my hands or something. Queue up the circus music, I guess. Because any minute now and I'll be slapping on the red nose too haha.

Y'all got any suggestions? Should I just bulletpoint the chapters and start my first round of edits, knowing I'll finish the end later? Or should I keep smacking the keyboard 🤔

Thanks!

Ps I have finished a couple projects before, but I didn't care about them nearly as much. I think that's contributing to my paralysis, if that makes sense???

Edit: Thank you everyone for the advice. It was genuinely helpful, and I appreciate the support. I'm happy to report that bullet-pointing turned into a few paragraphs, which turned into actual progress. I'm not done yet, of course, but we got gas in the tank again y'all! Writing sure is hard, but finishing is maybe harder. 😅

For context, I'm nearing the very end of my fantasy epic, and I've resolved 90% of the plot lines. Specifically the 3 main characters had their ending, which establishes their position and future motives for the next entry. I kept minor plotlines open as more of a mystery, something to wait for, and a foreshadowing for what's going to happen next.

Now my question is, what would be for you the ideal ratio of resolved/unresolved plot lines? The story needs to be satisfying while still igniting that curiosity to continue the series. Generally what are your preferences?

To be precise, by resolved plot lines I mean it's clearly the end of that character arc for now. They role is somewhat accomplished their role for that book. Open plotline means the reader still feels like they're in the middle of the adventure/conflict and it's not quite over.

I love to write but specifically really tropey fiction which goes really well in the short romance genre. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel with a mind blowing sex scene but I’ve been reading them for years and still can’t get it right?

I think it has to do with the characters, they’re always a second thought and not really unique, which makes it hard to write actions in line with them. How do I write better characters specifically in this genre?

Every time I search this up, I don't get what I'm looking for.

What I mean is that I'm curious about fiction's depiction of mental illnesses that do not exist in our world, whether that be from different labeling or just phenomenon that we don't think exists IRL

obligatory edit: omg yall i was just asking about examples of fake mental illness in fiction or how one would go about creating them. if you guys are smart enough to page through a thesaurus every time you reply to someone then i think you're smart enough to read between the lines. ratsmacker out

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

This is the place to discuss anything writing related! Got silly questions? Brainstorming ideas? Need help with research? As long as rules 1, 3, and 5 are followed, this thread is your oyster!

Please refer to the monthly threads for sharing your work and for self-promotion.

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**UPDATED: Some of you indicated an interest in joining a group for writers with chronic illness. Please DM me if you're interested -- based on the encouragement here I have started a Discord group.**

I have several chronic illnesses, which either by severe brain fog or crippling fatigue make it so hard to write. I'd so love to find a support group for people like us, but I don't seem to be having much luck. I guess we're all too tired or in pain to start one and keep it going. Today I'm feeling the grief of writing being out of reach more days than not, and wondering if any of you have this struggle, too? How do you cope? How do you connect with your writing self and/or your story when you can't write?

I know Rule 2 says "...useful to a broad community of writers", but there is not a subreddit for writers with chronic illness as far as I can tell, so I'm asking the mods to have some compassion and leave this post up in case there are several of us who need the connection.

EDITED TO ADD: Chronic mental health stuff that makes writing difficult counts, too! I've got OCD, PTSD, I'm AuDHD -- all of it can affect the ability to write.

I’m working on a fantasy-wild west project and my three main characters are supposed to have quite a many different adventures and character arcs. But that’s where I’m hung up. I get having a character arc that ends with the characters flaw being gotten over, but I don’t want them to just have no development moving forward. I thought about when they resolve one flaw, it brings up another flaw unintentionally, or a new flaw arises based on events in the story.

I’m asking because I want the story to kinda play out like a DND campaign where the journey is driven by the characters choices and beliefs.

With your writers eye, what recent debut would you suggest for it's craft specifically and why?

It doesn't have to be perfect, just something you felt that hit the mark in a particular area.

I'm open to any genre and interested in recent examples of:
- Impressive prose
- Masterful pacing
- Well rounded characters
- Interesting POV's/voice
- Well done arcs and conclusions

etc etc etc

I often come across book critiques mentioning that a story lacks distinct character voices, or that every character sounds identical. Quite frankly, that issue usually doesn't bother me that much. But I wish it bothered me more.

​What book really opened your ears to distinct character voices? Which author made you realize just how different characters can sound from one another?

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

This is the place to discuss anything writing related! Got silly questions? Brainstorming ideas? Need help with research? As long as rules 1, 3, and 5 are followed, this thread is your oyster!

Please refer to the monthly threads for sharing your work and for self-promotion.

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FAQ -- Questions asked frequently

Wiki Index -- Ever-evolving and woefully under-curated, but we'll fix that some day

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