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I’m pre-writing a long fantasy series and the final “act” always seems to be a build up to one great big battle scene. Are there any other options for sci-fi/fantasy writers’ third act instead of a great big world-ending battle? That would be a great … read more »
The attitude here is that writers should tread lightly with marginalised cultures that they don’t belong to: don’t try it if you’re not fully prepared to research heavily, to accept insider input, and to give credit where it’s due. I agree with all of that … read more »
Hey guys, so in my story I have several main characters, the problem being that one of them doesn’t do much until later on but I still want them to be involved. She is the heir of her father’s kingdom, but not really because, haha, … read more »
I think I have some pretty positive disability portrayals in the story. I have an old mage based on a wonderful person I used to know, who (just like his real-life inspiration) has a hunchback and a pronounced limp. He’s also missing much of one … read more »
How do I convey a dazed character? I know it’s bad to confuse readers, but what if I want them to feel the hero’s confusion? If he experiences a sudden event too fast for him to process, like being hit by a car, or a … read more »
Hello, not sure if this is something that has been answered in a previous article, pretty sure I haven’t read all of them, so I apologize if it has. Anyway, in my story, the protagonist is a part of a noble house-ish thing that is … read more »
I saw an article you had about “bury your gays.” At first I thought that my story was exempt from that because multiple characters of different orientations die, but then I read the examples you gave and started doubting myself. You said “a big factor … read more »
Hello again, I’ve decided to include a character with schizophrenia in my story. I have schizophrenia, and I’ve decided that I want one of my contributions to the world to be a depiction with a character with my condition in a speculative story that isn’t … read more »
Is there any way to set up a divinely mandated masquerade in a setting involving deities from historical pantheons? The myths I’m going on don’t have a precedent for non-interventionism, as (for example) the Greek and Norse deities regularly got involved in mortals’ lives. I’m … read more »
My story project (urban fantasy / horror mystery) is expansive enough that I’ll need to divide it into 3 or 4 books. It’s very much a single story and not a series, although I’ll make sure to line up different parts of the story with … read more »