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How NOT to Write a Novel
- 915 statements
- 180 feature instances
- 39 referencing feature instances
How NOT to Write a Novel | type |
TVTItem | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | label |
How NOT to Write a Novel | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | page |
HowNotToWriteANovel | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | comment |
How NOT to Write a Novel is a 2008 self-help Book on Trope by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman. It deals a lot with tropes (and improper use of them), and even contains some tropes itself.The book, naturally, is about how not to write a novel. It is probably the only self-help book that you'll want to read over and over, because it's actually amusing to read. It includes many "samples" (written by the authors, though they claim they're based on submissions they received as editors) of writing that range from "good prose, but used tropes vitally wrong" to "OhgodIcan'tlookbutIhaveto."Take the quiz here! | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | fetched |
2024-04-11T11:30:37Z | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | parsed |
2024-04-11T11:30:38Z | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to GenreBusting: Not a Feature - IGNORE | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to ShaggyDogStory: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to SmurfettePrinciple: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to SoBadItsGood: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingComment |
Dropped link to TalesOfTheUnexpected: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | processingUnknown |
SmurfettePrinciple | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_10f35f3a | type |
Creator Breakdown | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_10f35f3a | comment |
Creator Breakdown: Invoked in "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served in Public" (Where the author has failed to move on). The passage featured is quite blatantly the author taking revenge on his ex-girlfriend after an acrimonious breakup. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_10f35f3a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_10f35f3a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_10f35f3a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_11bc87bc | type |
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_11bc87bc | comment |
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: "Channeling the E! Channel" says there's nothing wrong with basing a character on a celebrity, but directly saying "She looked like a blonde Julia Roberts" is a no-no. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_11bc87bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_11bc87bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_11bc87bc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_12b1f5f3 | type |
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_12b1f5f3 | comment |
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: Discouraged under "Voice in the Wilderness." Editors will not pick up your novel that's controversial just for the sake of being controversial.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_12b1f5f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_12b1f5f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_12b1f5f3 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_137f2d7 | type |
Card-Carrying Villain | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_137f2d7 | comment |
Card-Carrying Villain: "Inside the Mind of a Criminal" advises against characterizing antagonists as committing villainous acts purely For the Evulz. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_137f2d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_137f2d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_137f2d7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_177a6464 | type |
Genre Shift | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_177a6464 | comment |
Genre Shift: "'And One Ring to Bind Them!' Said the Old Cowpoke". They emphasize that if you want to do this, it still has to be set up with foreshadowing and the like, or else it comes across as very similar to a Deus ex Machina. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_177a6464 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_177a6464 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_177a6464 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_18e2980 | type |
Poirot Speak | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_18e2980 | comment |
Poirot Speak: Discouraged in "El Foreigner", along with other ham-fisted means of depicting foreign accents, like Funetik Aksent and You No Take Candle. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_18e2980 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_18e2980 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_18e2980 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1b75022a | type |
The Law Firm of Pun, Pun, and Wordplay | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1b75022a | comment |
The Publishing Firm of Pun, Pun, and Wordplay: In their warning against sending in a manuscript to any agent or editor charging a fee, the authors call their unscrupulous agency "Fuxom and Snickers." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1b75022a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1b75022a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1b75022a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c3e4c9 | type |
Gratuitous Animal Sidekick | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c3e4c9 | comment |
Gratuitous Animal Sidekick: Discouraged. "It does not work to give a character a pet to make him or her sympathetic. People are often at their least sympathetic when cooing over a bored cat." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c3e4c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c3e4c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c3e4c9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c5002bc | type |
The Stoic | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c5002bc | comment |
The Stoic: Exaggerated in "Failing The Turing Test". See Angst? What Angst? above. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c5002bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c5002bc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1c5002bc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1d8733d3 | type |
Overly Narrow Superlative | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1d8733d3 | comment |
Overly Narrow Superlative: "I love you more than any woman that I've met on the Upper West Side in a really long time." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1d8733d3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1d8733d3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1d8733d3 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1e7487cd | type |
Breaking the Fourth Wall | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1e7487cd | comment |
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In "The Court Reporter". "I'm afraid so. The author is actually going to list all the specials." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1e7487cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1e7487cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1e7487cd | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1ec3eb0a | type |
Take Our Word for It | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1ec3eb0a | comment |
Take Our Word for It: Heavily discouraged in "Words Fail Me" (where the author stops short of communication), since it defeats the purpose of literature. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1ec3eb0a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1ec3eb0a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1ec3eb0a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1fc3d0a8 | type |
Captain Obvious Aesop | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1fc3d0a8 | comment |
Captain Obvious Aesop: invokedDiscouraged in "The Educational Film"; | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1fc3d0a8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1fc3d0a8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_1fc3d0a8 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21586e8c | type |
Padding | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21586e8c | comment |
Padding: "The Second Argument in the Laundromat" (using more than one scene to establish a single fact), "The Redundant Tautology" (the author repeating him or herself), and "The Skipping Record" (a character's thoughts repeating themselves). They also make passing reference to "The Second Fellatio in the Laundromat" (multiple sex scenes involving the same characters under more-or-less the same circumstances).invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21586e8c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21586e8c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21586e8c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21d70919 | type |
Crapsack World | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21d70919 | comment |
Crapsack World: "The Diane Arbus Retrospective". They discourage the excessive application of this trope where everybody you meet is a miserable degenerate, because it will give the audience no one to root for.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21d70919 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21d70919 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_21d70919 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_22cf536c | comment |
Chekhov's Gun: "The Gum on the Mantelpiece" uses a version of Chekhov's law: if there is gum on the mantelpiece in the first chapter, it must go on something by the last chapter. For bonus points, the example text is a Chekhov pastiche. They also approve the use of this trope as a Red Herring. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_22cf536c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_22cf536c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_22cf536c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2534ee67 | type |
In Medias Res | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2534ee67 | comment |
In Medias Res: "The Waiting Room" advises that this can be used to provide chunks of exposition without delaying the plot.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2534ee67 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2534ee67 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2534ee67 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_259d5879 | type |
Anachronism Stew | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_259d5879 | comment |
Anachronism Stew: "Xeno's iPod" for objects that just 'appear,' "The Vegan Viking" for anachronistic attitudes and beliefs, and "Yo, Charlemagne, how dost thy big war?" for modern-sounding dialogue in a historical setting. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_259d5879 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_259d5879 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_259d5879 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_25b5600 | type |
Captain Ersatz | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_25b5600 | comment |
Captain Ersatz: Alluded to after a long speech on why not to try to sell fanfic which ends with "now go back and change all the names."invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_25b5600 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_25b5600 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_25b5600 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_273b3163 | type |
Vanity Publishing | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_273b3163 | comment |
Vanity Publishing: Discussed, with the subsequent Protection from Editors not necessarily being a good thing.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_273b3163 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_273b3163 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_273b3163 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2821d59c | type |
Anatomically Impossible Sex | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2821d59c | comment |
Anatomically Impossible Sex: "The Superhuman Feat" (Wherein a man performs). It is generally not a good idea to write sex scenes that move out of the domain of physical possibility. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2821d59c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2821d59c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2821d59c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_285f34c7 | type |
World of Symbolism | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_285f34c7 | comment |
World of Symbolism: Strongly discouraged in a discussion of symbolism following "The Timely Epiphany": | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_285f34c7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_285f34c7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_285f34c7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_294ed981 | type |
Bilingual Bonus | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_294ed981 | comment |
Bilingual Bonus: Several jokes in foreign languages. In many of the examples, the characters offhandedly use foreign "expressions" that either make no sense in context, or even constitute commentary from the authors. In addition, see an example quoted several times on this page. "Deus ex machina" is not, in fact, French for "are you fucking kidding me?" Folie adieu is used to refer to a sudden Tone Shift at the end, causing crippling Mood Whiplash that makes the novel unsellable. It is a pun on a folie a deux, a "madness shared by two," and translates as "Goodbye madness". In "El Foreigner", a Spanish speaker reprimands a Korean's (supposed) Foreign-Language Tirade by saying, "Hijo de puta! Hold the tongue!" "Hijo de puta" is Spanish for "son of a whore". Many "food items" with French names, if translated, are anything but. Peau de hommeblanc, for instance, means "White Man's Skin". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_294ed981 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_294ed981 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_294ed981 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_299d33f2 | type |
IKEA Erotica | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_299d33f2 | comment |
IKEA Erotica: "Assembly Instructions." One of the scenes in "The List of Ingredients" deserves a mention as well. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_299d33f2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_299d33f2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_299d33f2 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2cc736e4 | type |
Bondage Is Bad | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2cc736e4 | comment |
Bondage Is Bad: Discouraged in "When To Kiss And Tell" because, as Real Life will attest, it's not: | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2cc736e4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2cc736e4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2cc736e4 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2d409194 | type |
Unsettling Gender-Reveal | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2d409194 | comment |
Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Joseph Mengele "got radical plastic surgery and began life again as Josephine Womengele". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2d409194 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2d409194 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_2d409194 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3451fdb2 | type |
Wall of Blather | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3451fdb2 | comment |
Wall of Blather: The front cover, with the background text being some sort of proto-Twilight Vampire Romance. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3451fdb2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3451fdb2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3451fdb2 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_35ab4cec | type |
You Watch Too Much X | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_35ab4cec | comment |
You Watch Too Much X: "'The Unruly Zit' — When the author has read too much Bukowski." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_35ab4cec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_35ab4cec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_35ab4cec | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3684532f | type |
Never Heard That One Before | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3684532f | comment |
Never Heard That One Before: "The Newborn Dinosaur." Never use jokes that everyone knows. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3684532f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3684532f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3684532f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_384dbbbd | type |
Purity Sue | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_384dbbbd | comment |
Purity Sue: Invoked and discussed in "Too Good to Be True", noting that it's usually an attempt to make a character sympathetic but which has overshot the mark and made them nauseatingly perfect instead. Naturally discouraged, as being in the presence of perfection tends to breed not admiration but resentment. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_384dbbbd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_384dbbbd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_384dbbbd | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3b16449 | type |
Plot Tumor | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3b16449 | comment |
Plot Tumor: With the conveniently similar name of "The Benign Tumor". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3b16449 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3b16449 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3b16449 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3c0a4666 | type |
Noodle Incident | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3c0a4666 | comment |
Noodle Incident: The "spaying incident" that is mentioned in a few segments. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3c0a4666 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3c0a4666 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3c0a4666 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3dd3a9eb | type |
Tone Shift | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3dd3a9eb | comment |
Folie adieu is used to refer to a sudden Tone Shift at the end, causing crippling Mood Whiplash that makes the novel unsellable. It is a pun on a folie a deux, a "madness shared by two," and translates as "Goodbye madness". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3dd3a9eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3dd3a9eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3dd3a9eb | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3e99593b | type |
Freakier Than Fiction | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3e99593b | comment |
Freakier Than Fiction: "Why Your Job is Harder Than God's". A Contrived Coincidence can resolve a conflict in real life, but for fiction, the reader will expect the resolution to be set up within the context of the plot. As a rule, major coincidences can be used to set a plot in motion, but not to resolve it. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3e99593b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3e99593b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3e99593b | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3ec27f76 | type |
Costume Porn | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3ec27f76 | comment |
Costume Porn: "The Joan Rivers Pre-Novel Special" and "The Sharper Image Catalog". They discourage it whenever it interferes with the plot or slows down the pace of the novel, but acknowledge that there are genres where it is practically mandatory. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3ec27f76 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3ec27f76 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3ec27f76 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3fca462c | type |
Deus ex Machina | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3fca462c | comment |
Mistranslations of "Deus ex Machina". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3fca462c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3fca462c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_3fca462c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_415b3315 | type |
Stylistic Suck | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_415b3315 | comment |
Stylistic Suck: Every mistake comes with an (often quite humorous) excerpt of writing. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_415b3315 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_415b3315 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_415b3315 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4192763e | type |
Malaproper | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4192763e | comment |
Malaproper: Strongly cautioned against in "The Crepuscular Handbag" and "Are Sticks and Stones Still an Option?" (Where the author mangles common expressions). Also used for humor in other examples. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4192763e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4192763e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4192763e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48d9e12d | type |
Funetik Aksent | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48d9e12d | comment |
Funetik Aksent: Discouraged in "El Foreigner", e.g. an Italian man saying "He's-a gotta pretty-a daughter-a". Also discouraged are Poirot Speak and You No Take Candle. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48d9e12d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48d9e12d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48d9e12d | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48f0ca7f | type |
PostModernism | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48f0ca7f | comment |
Postmodernism: "Hello! I Am the Author!" They recommend not trying it because it's really, really hard to do well. This includes using: Author Avatar (at least when the author is actually a character in their own novel) Footnote Fever Unconventional Formatting | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48f0ca7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48f0ca7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_48f0ca7f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49b1fe0 | type |
Beige Prose | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49b1fe0 | comment |
Beige Prose: "The Minimalist" (wherein synopses take the place of writing) and "The List of Ingredients" (wherein lists substitute for description). List of Ingredients has a particularly humorous example of bland description gone bad: | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49b1fe0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49b1fe0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49b1fe0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49d59be9 | type |
Scenery Porn | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49d59be9 | comment |
Scenery Porn: "Vacation Slideshow" features endless descriptions of exotic landscapes, with no bearing on characterization and story. The trope is discouraged because these tend to run too long and add no substance. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49d59be9 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49d59be9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49f6a9e4 | type |
Most Writers Are Writers | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49f6a9e4 | comment |
Unusually for a guide to creative writing, these tropes are averted; since Most Writers Are Writers, the authors observe that "Write what you know" results in an abundance of novelists writing about authors. That said, they encourage extensive research about topics with which the author is unfamiliar, and they also note that unskilled writers who stray too far from writing about the sorts of people they know end up basing their characters on stock characters and archetypes which may unintentionally offend (such as the Magical Negro or Camp Gay). invoked The idea the authors promote is not "Write what you know," but "Know what you write." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49f6a9e4 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49f6a9e4 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_49f6a9e4 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4cf9fe88 | type |
Clueless Mystery | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4cf9fe88 | comment |
Clueless Mystery: "The Service Interruption" advises against having sudden blackouts in the Point-of-View narrative once a scene is underway, e.g. to enforce Unspoken Plan Guarantee. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4cf9fe88 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4cf9fe88 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4cf9fe88 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4eaa9b84 | type |
Author Tract | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4eaa9b84 | comment |
Author Tract: "The Educational Film" (wherein the deck is stacked). In the example, everything the saintly hippie protagonist encounters is somehow an example of corporate greed, and everyone she meets is someone opposed to her beliefs who goes out of their way to bully and humiliate her. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4eaa9b84 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4eaa9b84 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4eaa9b84 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4fc92b68 | type |
Suddenly Always Knew That | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4fc92b68 | comment |
Suddenly Always Knew That: "And by the Way, I'm an Expert Marksman!", in which the protagonist, when forced to dive through a long tunnel, suddenly reveals that he grew up with oyster divers in the South Seas. Obviously discouraged, while tying "Why Your Job Is Harder Than God's" to it for further discussion. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4fc92b68 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4fc92b68 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4fc92b68 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4ff19e3d | type |
Defenestrate and Berate | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4ff19e3d | comment |
Defenestrate and Berate: Deconstructed in "Prince Charming Doesn't Deserve Me" (Wherein the bad boyfriend is more sympathetic than the protagonist). Melinda cheats on Joe and throws his clothes out on the lawn for the heinous crimes of "not wanting to help with her mother's taxes on their anniversary" and "buying her the wrong colored roses". The example paints Melinda as petty and vindictive, tormenting Joe at the slightest provocation rather than giving him his just deserts.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4ff19e3d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4ff19e3d | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_4ff19e3d | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_517f8d71 | type |
Delusions of Eloquence | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_517f8d71 | comment |
Delusions of Eloquence: "The Crepuscular Handbag," where the example story is a dramatic rape scene turned into unintentional comedy by using all the wrong words. ("Ululating under his breath, he perused her bikini to the floor and embroiled himself in her well-endowed bust.") Also used (although not discussed) in "The Long Runway", with words like "brolly", "merkin", and "pangolin" being misused. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_517f8d71 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_517f8d71 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_517f8d71 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55bf1a48 | type |
At Least I Admit It | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55bf1a48 | comment |
"The Fig Leaf", where the author lovingly describes some vice, but has a viewpoint character pronounce it disgusting, implicitly because the author's trying to distance themselves from their own kink. They discourage it, because no one will be fooled; if you want your work to indulge in some form of smut, you might as well be honest about it. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55bf1a48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55bf1a48 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55bf1a48 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55ec42d7 | type |
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55ec42d7 | comment |
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: "Yo, Charlemagne, How Dost Thy Big War?" Discouraged for much of the same reasons as "The Crepitating Parasol"; it's all too easy to get incorrect, and it will break the immersion of your story. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55ec42d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55ec42d7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_55ec42d7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5977de6c | type |
Write What You Know | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5977de6c | comment |
Write What You Know: Unusually for a guide to creative writing, these tropes are averted; since Most Writers Are Writers, the authors observe that "Write what you know" results in an abundance of novelists writing about authors. That said, they encourage extensive research about topics with which the author is unfamiliar, and they also note that unskilled writers who stray too far from writing about the sorts of people they know end up basing their characters on stock characters and archetypes which may unintentionally offend (such as the Magical Negro or Camp Gay). invoked The idea the authors promote is not "Write what you know," but "Know what you write." In keeping with this point, a lot of the in-book examples are clearly written by an author who is trying a bit too hard to spin their own — often apparently rather mundane — life circumstances into compelling fiction, with less-than-successful results. Such as one author who seems to be desperately trying to spin an exciting thriller out of an optometrist's office, and another trying to make ergo-hydralics sound like some kind of exciting MacGuffin. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5977de6c | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5977de6c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5977de6c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5eb3a0a0 | type |
Audience-Alienating Premise | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5eb3a0a0 | comment |
Audience-Alienating Premise: "Voice in the Wilderness" provides an example, where the story paints a sympathetic picture of an SS officer desperately trying to save the inmates in his concentration camp from disease and starvation (while the Allies have invented The Holocaust as a piece of perfidious propaganda). Whether the author sincerely holds widely-reviled beliefs, or is simply seeking attention, the book strongly discourages airing such views in public.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5eb3a0a0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5eb3a0a0 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_5eb3a0a0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_615fdb1f | type |
Dream Sequence | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_615fdb1f | comment |
Dream Sequence: "Mr. Sandman, on Second Thought, Bring Me a Gun." An attempt at pseudo-Freudian stream of consciousness narrative in the form of a bizarre dream with no obvious connection to any plot. Discouraged. invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_615fdb1f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_615fdb1f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_615fdb1f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_626f55cc | type |
Said Bookism | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_626f55cc | comment |
Said Bookism: "Asseverated the Man" highlights the unusual tendency for beginning writers to avoid using the unadorned word "said". Experienced authors know that it is in fact an "invisible word" like "the", "a", or "it". Using flowery synonyms as speech indicators or using too many adverbs will only draw attention to the writing and break the reader's immersion in the story. However, the authors concede that an adverb can be helpful when it adds nuance that the dialogue alone may not convey. They comment that "'I love you, all right' he said jokingly" is worlds apart from "'I love you, all right' he said coldly." But adverbs that add no meaning ("lovingly") or are unusual and distracting ("effervescently") are best left off. There's a wonderful example in the text on the front cover: '"This is silly!" she scoffed glibly.' | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_626f55cc | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_626f55cc | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_626f55cc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_63357bac | type |
I Just Write the Thing | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_63357bac | comment |
I Just Write the Thing: Discouraged in "The Fig Leaf". The authors note that most of the time you don't have to include your Author Appeal in your work in the first place. But since they can't actually stop you from doing so, they insist that if you're going to include it, then you should at least be up front about what you're doing, since no one's going to be fooled anyway. The example demonstrates this by having an author, who clearly enjoys visiting strip clubs but equally clearly doesn't want anyone else to know this, combine a lovingly detailed description of the club and the strippers working there with a viewpoint character who sniffily declares how beneath him he finds everything as much as possible. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_63357bac | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_63357bac | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_63357bac | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_641cf81d | type |
Viewers Are Geniuses | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_641cf81d | comment |
Viewers Are Geniuses: "The Crepitating Parasol." Discouraged, since it runs the risk of being considered pretentious rather than clever (or, in the case of "Gibberish for Art's Sake", too baffling). | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_641cf81d | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_641cf81d | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_641cf81d | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6627695f | type |
Author Appeal | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6627695f | comment |
Author Appeal: "The High Colonic by Mail" advises against this, particularly if what appeals to the author is unlikely to appeal to anyone else. "The Fig Leaf", where the author lovingly describes some vice, but has a viewpoint character pronounce it disgusting, implicitly because the author's trying to distance themselves from their own kink. They discourage it, because no one will be fooled; if you want your work to indulge in some form of smut, you might as well be honest about it. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6627695f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6627695f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6627695f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_66755d29 | type |
Author Avatar | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_66755d29 | comment |
Author Avatar (at least when the author is actually a character in their own novel) | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_66755d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_66755d29 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_66755d29 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_67d5984e | type |
Mills and Boon Prose | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_67d5984e | comment |
Mills and Boon Prose: "The Purple Blue Prose". Discouraged since it can make the sex scene sound too funny. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_67d5984e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_67d5984e | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_67d5984e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6977c45e | type |
Purple Prose | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6977c45e | comment |
Purple Prose: "The Puffer Fish", "Mouth-Watering World-Class Prose", which reads like advertisements or blurbs, "Gibberish for Art's Sake", which purposely tries to sound like the classic authors did. It also gives an example of "The Purple Blue Prose", which is a sexual version. And "The Crepitating Parasol," in which that fundamental line between "clever" and "stupid" is crossed due to suffocating the prose with obscure references and jokes. Naturally, it's discouraged. The authors do acknowledge that big fancy words can have their place in writing, but they are insistent that they should be used sparingly and only when the word in question is the correct word for the idea that is being expressed. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6977c45e | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6977c45e | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6977c45e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6b35bdff | type |
Serious Business | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6b35bdff | comment |
Serious Business: A lot of the excerpts have their authors attempt to create a lot of drama out of seemingly non-dramatic scenarios. Such as the eternal battle for ergo-hydraulics, a love affair based on a mutual love of toggles, and a lot of funny business surrounding an optometrist. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6b35bdff | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6b35bdff | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6b35bdff | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: They discourage using names where the symbolic meaning of the name is blatantly obvious to any reader (for example, "Vivian", a character who symbolizes life, against "Mort", a character who symbolizes death). Doubly so if the author feels the need to stop the narrative just to point out the symbolism. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6bda9a30 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6f61b60b | type |
Trope Breaker | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6f61b60b | comment |
Trope Breaker: They specifically refer to the damage done to the techno-thriller genre by the fall of Communism, and also to several genres by the invention of the cellphone. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6f61b60b | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6f61b60b | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6f61b60b | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6fcfbf9c | type |
The Plot Reaper | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6fcfbf9c | comment |
The Plot Reaper: "Goodbye, Cruel Reader!" They discourage having Bob the Villain kick off just for narrative convenience. If this trope is going to be used, the writer needs to set up Bob's impending death so that it doesn't just come out of nowhere (heart condition/suicidal fixation/unsafe building etc.) | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6fcfbf9c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6fcfbf9c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_6fcfbf9c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_714741cc | type |
Like Reality, Unless Noted | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_714741cc | comment |
Like Reality, Unless Noted: This is provided as the reason why research and thorough world building are needed for historical fiction, sci-fi or fantasy. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_714741cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_714741cc | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_714741cc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_71e8a5c5 | type |
Trauma Conga Line | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_71e8a5c5 | comment |
Trauma Conga Line: Discouraged in "Compassion Fatigue". A character whose life is nothing but pain and misery and a hero who never gets anything right will quickly turn readers off. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_71e8a5c5 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_71e8a5c5 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_71e8a5c5 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_720ef89f | type |
Unconventional Formatting | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_720ef89f | comment |
Unconventional Formatting: Not only do they advise against abnormal formatting in the writing in "Hello! I Am the Author", but they break convention with providing a proper format for submitting to publishers. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_720ef89f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_720ef89f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_720ef89f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_737a65f4 | type |
The Watson | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_737a65f4 | comment |
The Watson: They encourage this to avoid the problem of people telling each other things both of them already know. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_737a65f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_737a65f4 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_737a65f4 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_743d2893 | type |
The Woobie | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_743d2893 | comment |
The Woobie: "Compassion Fatigue" is when this trope is done badly, with a character whose misfortunes are so manifold that they seem beyond rescue.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_743d2893 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_743d2893 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_743d2893 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_74f57438 | type |
Cell Phones Are Useless | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_74f57438 | comment |
Cell Phones Are Useless: Discussed in "The Padded Cell", which suggests a number of plausible ways of cutting off communication. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_74f57438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_74f57438 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_74f57438 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_76d233f9 | type |
Straw Feminist | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_76d233f9 | comment |
Straw Feminist: The excerpt of "The Fearless Exposé" stars a man who lives next door to a group of these, who berate him for keeping one of their toddlers from falling into a swimming pool, live like animals, and advise their sons to "remember to be ashamed of your penis". Use of them (and strawmen in general, for that matter) is discouraged in favor of more nuanced and three-dimensional characters, at the very least because you'll be stepping on people's political toes, and it will bring all the wrong kind of attention. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_76d233f9 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_76d233f9 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_76d233f9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7719cf90 | type |
It Began with a Twist of Fate | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7719cf90 | comment |
It Began with a Twist of Fate: They note that a plot being set in motion by an arbitrary coincidence or decision is acceptable, but a plot being resolved thereby will likely frustrate and annoy readers. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7719cf90 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7719cf90 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7719cf90 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_77552932 | type |
Character Shilling | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_77552932 | comment |
Character Shilling: Writing characters just to laugh at the protagonist's jokes or gush about how awesome they are is a big no-no. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_77552932 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_77552932 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_77552932 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7c0bc759 | type |
Cheater Gets Cheated On | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7c0bc759 | comment |
Cheater Gets Cheated On: The novel encourages this if you're going to have the protagonist cheat on their significant other with someone else. If a writer doesn't do this, they run the risk of the significant other looking Unintentionally Sympathetic. The writer has to make sure the significant other is clearly worse than the protagonist, and having them cheat first is a good way to establish how awful they are.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7c0bc759 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7c0bc759 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7c0bc759 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7e74d66f | type |
Politically Correct History | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7e74d66f | comment |
Politically Correct History: Discouraged in "The Vegan Viking" and, to a lesser extent, in "Hello, I Am the Medieval Knight!". While it's usually done to avoid Values Dissonance, giving your 14th-century character neoliberal attitudes towards homosexuality (or neoconservative attitudes towards economics) will merely undermine your efforts to persuade readers that your story is taking place in the 14th century. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7e74d66f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7e74d66f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7e74d66f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7febc23b | type |
Establishing Character Moment | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7febc23b | comment |
Establishing Character Moment: Discussed in one segment to explain why it's not a good idea to have a character's first appearance involve them doing something lewd unless you want them to be thought of as a pervert by the readers. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7febc23b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7febc23b | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_7febc23b | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8010bd0c | type |
The War on Straw | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8010bd0c | comment |
The War on Straw: "The Fearless Exposé" features a Straw Feminist neighbor. Also crops up in the example for "The Educational Film", wherein everyone the hippie protagonist meets isn't just opposed to her beliefs, but is a cruel bully who goes out of their way to humiliate and attack the innocent, angelic protagonist. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8010bd0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8010bd0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8010bd0c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_808cbaeb | type |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_808cbaeb | comment |
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "The ranks of the would-be novelists are filled with Holocaust deniers, men who question whether women have souls, followers of Ayn Rand..." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_808cbaeb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_808cbaeb | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_808cbaeb | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_83743fe3 | type |
Mary Sue | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_83743fe3 | comment |
Mary Sue: Several of the hypothetical examples appear to have been written by authors placing themselves in the story too directly. Such as what appears to have been an action thriller written by an ergonomics expert. invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_83743fe3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_83743fe3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_83743fe3 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8409a385 | type |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8409a385 | comment |
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Subverted. While it's a tongue-in-cheek guide to writing a bad novel, the actual purpose is to teach the writer how to avoid the obvious mistakes and (hopefully) produce a good one. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8409a385 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8409a385 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8409a385 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84abb088 | type |
StereotypeGay | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84abb088 | comment |
Stereotype Gay: Discouraged in "Priscilla, Queen of the Clichés", along with any other obvious stereotype characters. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84abb088 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84abb088 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84abb088 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84dbbd8c | type |
Foreign-Language Tirade | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84dbbd8c | comment |
In "El Foreigner", a Spanish speaker reprimands a Korean's (supposed) Foreign-Language Tirade by saying, "Hijo de puta! Hold the tongue!" "Hijo de puta" is Spanish for "son of a whore". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84dbbd8c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84dbbd8c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_84dbbd8c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_85557b38 | type |
Reality Is Unrealistic | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_85557b38 | comment |
Reality Is Unrealistic: "Why Your Job Is Harder Than God's" explains that just because something unbelievable could happen or has happened in real life is not a pass to do so poorly in fiction, which is more scrutinized. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_85557b38 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_85557b38 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_85557b38 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: "Oh, Don't Mind Him" (Where a character's personal problems remain unexplored). In the example, this character is the protagonist's brother, an alcoholic war veteran who seems to exist only to provide the protagonist with an inspirational conversation before he goes to Yale. "The Gum on the Mantlepiece" is similar, a kind of unintentional Red Herring. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_863fa679 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_870bbf64 | type |
Show, Don't Tell | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_870bbf64 | comment |
Show, Don't Tell: Many examples allude to this concept; for example, they advise against the use of adverbs when reporting speech because the writer is in effect telling the reader what to think about their dialogue, rather than showing them. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_870bbf64 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_870bbf64 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_870bbf64 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_89434320 | type |
Protagonist-Centered Morality | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_89434320 | comment |
Protagonist-Centered Morality: "Prince Charming Doesn't Deserve Me" is closely related to this: The main character cheats on her husband and throws him out of the house for what would be, objectively speaking, very minor flaws. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_89434320 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_89434320 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_89434320 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8b6e8d7 | type |
Anachronic Order | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8b6e8d7 | comment |
Anachronic Order: They have no problem with this trope at the level of the broader form and structure of the novel (even recommending the use of In Medias Res if the chronological opening of the story is rather slow). "Linearity Shrugged" is their example of how not to use it: the chronology and subject matter change after every other sentence, making the narrative impossible to follow. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8b6e8d7 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8b6e8d7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8b6e8d7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8bd16732 | type |
The Law of Conservation of Detail | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8bd16732 | comment |
The Law of Conservation of Detail: Underwrites a lot of the book. The details you provide will set up reader expectations about the plot, characters, love interests, etc. If you add too much extra detail, or direct the reader's attention to something and don't follow up, your novel will be dead no matter how good it is. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8bd16732 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8bd16732 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_8bd16732 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94680696 | type |
Shaped Like Itself | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94680696 | comment |
Shaped Like Itself: The Sight Gag (In which there is a sight gag.) "Ask yourself: 'do I know this word?' If the answer is no, then you do not know it." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94680696 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94680696 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94680696 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_946bf555 | type |
Snowclone | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_946bf555 | comment |
Snow Clone: "Hello, I am the [example]!", "The Second [example] in the Laundromat" | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_946bf555 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_946bf555 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_946bf555 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94ce222f | type |
Sobriquet Sex Switch | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94ce222f | comment |
Sobriquet Sex Switch: After getting sex reassignment surgery, Joseph Mengele started going by "Josephine Womengele". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94ce222f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94ce222f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_94ce222f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9593e2d7 | type |
Stereotype | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9593e2d7 | comment |
Stereotype: Dealt with in various forms in "The Road to the Trash Heap is Paved with Good Intentions".invoked Also featured in "Obsession, by Calvin Klein (you know he's Jewish, right?)" (when the author is unaware that his ideé fixe is showing), in which the male narrator states that "women got no more pleasure from sex than I would from scratching a mosquito bite". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9593e2d7 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9593e2d7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9593e2d7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_95bca4c9 | type |
Tuckerization | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_95bca4c9 | comment |
Tuckerization: Ever heard of the Marquis vin Diesel? | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_95bca4c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_95bca4c9 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_95bca4c9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_97c8b5b0 | type |
Tyop on the Cover | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_97c8b5b0 | comment |
Tyop on the Cover: "'Spellcheck' Isn't in My Dictionary" straight-up tells the author to fix all of their typos. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_97c8b5b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_97c8b5b0 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_97c8b5b0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9843be73 | type |
As You Know | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9843be73 | comment |
As You Know: "But, Captain..." is a direct translation; "Hello, I am the Mommy!" and "Hello, I am the Medieval Knight!" are similar, with exposition about the characters and the setting clumsily inserted into dialogue, often as a case of Shown Their Work. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9843be73 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9843be73 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9843be73 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_987be393 | type |
Gambit Roulette | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_987be393 | comment |
Gambit Roulette: "The Riddler" (Wherein the nefarious plot is more complex than string theory). Naturally, they discourage it, because it will make your story way too hard to follow and make your villain seem way too competent to be believable.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_987be393 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_987be393 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_987be393 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9c224098 | type |
Deliberately Bad Example | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9c224098 | comment |
Deliberately Bad Example: Though supposedly based on real literary submissions, many of the samples provided are so outlandishly atrocious that any competent-to-good aspiring writers will find them more entertaining than informative. That said, there are plenty of tips following these samples that can be genuinely helpful even to those who already have a decent grasp of the subject. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9c224098 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9c224098 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9c224098 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fb8b0ac | type |
Textual Celebrity Resemblance | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fb8b0ac | comment |
Textual Celebrity Resemblance: Noted as a generally bad idea in "Channeling the E! Channel", since describing a character as "a young Angelina Jolie" means the reader's imagination is now off somewhere trying to picture a younger Angie instead of staying with the story. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fb8b0ac | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fb8b0ac | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fb8b0ac | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fc04a54 | type |
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today? | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fc04a54 | comment |
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: The entire point of "I Am Expressing My Sexuality." They recommend against it. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fc04a54 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fc04a54 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fc04a54 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fe35833 | type |
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fe35833 | comment |
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas/Evil Virtues: This said to be frequently used a cheap way to get reader sympathy or at least respect for otherwise one-dimensional, loathsome villains, illustrated in an example in which a character takes a moment off from gleefully forcing young girls into prostitution to reminisce fondly about his mother. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fe35833 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_9fe35833 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a07afea2 | type |
Random Events Plot | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a07afea2 | comment |
Random Events Plot: Implicitly discouraged — for the section dealing with "Plot", the subtitle is "Not just a bunch of stuff that happens". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a07afea2 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a07afea2 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a07afea2 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a0c0ab8c | type |
Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a0c0ab8c | comment |
Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: A section dealing with unintended shipping ("The Deafening Hug"), Ho Yay ("We're Going to Need a Bigger Closet"), and suggested pedophilia ("Alice in Lapland"), and the actual article deals with accidental Brother–Sister Incest shipping.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a0c0ab8c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a0c0ab8c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a0c0ab8c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a1d753b6 | type |
Featureless Plane of Disembodied Dialogue | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a1d753b6 | comment |
Featureless Plane of Disembodied Dialogue: "The Convention of the Invisible Men". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a1d753b6 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a1d753b6 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a1d753b6 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a237392c | type |
Detective Animal | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a237392c | comment |
Detective Animal: Discussed. The writers observe that unless the protagonist's cat Bartok is the one solving mysteries, Bartok should receive about as many words in the narrative as the couch he is sitting on. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a237392c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a237392c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a237392c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a3912d0e | type |
Sexy Discretion Shot | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a3912d0e | comment |
Sexy Discretion Shot: Discussed in "The Hays Code"; they point out that if the genre you're writing in (such as a steamy 'sexploitation' romance novel, for example) is one where the reader expects to see sexy fun times, then coyly using this trope is a bit of a cheat. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a3912d0e | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a3912d0e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a4c37cbe | type |
Mood Whiplash | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a4c37cbe | comment |
Mood Whiplash: Discouraged in various forms. "'And One Ring to Bind Them!' Said the Old Cowpoke" deals with an abrupt Genre Shift with zero foreshadowing near the end of a story. "The Underpants Gnomes" is for when the writer suddenly skips to the end, the protagonist's problems having been solved off-screen. "Dear Penthouse Letters" is about the importance of setting up sex scenes properly. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a4c37cbe | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a6c69bd | type |
MacGuffin | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a6c69bd | comment |
In keeping with this point, a lot of the in-book examples are clearly written by an author who is trying a bit too hard to spin their own — often apparently rather mundane — life circumstances into compelling fiction, with less-than-successful results. Such as one author who seems to be desperately trying to spin an exciting thriller out of an optometrist's office, and another trying to make ergo-hydralics sound like some kind of exciting MacGuffin. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a6c69bd | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_a6c69bd | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aa42306e | type |
Totally Radical | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aa42306e | comment |
Totally Radical/Two Decades Behind: "I, Youngster" suggests that older authors do their research and apply common sense when writing a young, hip character, and not make clichéd assumptions about youth culture. They also suggest the practical alternative of writing a novel about young people at a time when the author themselves was of that age, for purposes of accuracy and realism.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aa42306e | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aa42306e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aabe2fb | type |
Deliberate Values Dissonance | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aabe2fb | comment |
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Encouraged for historical settings; see Politically Correct History below. If a character in that time and place really would believe x, that has to be part of their characterization, even if social attitudes have changed to the point where it risks alienating the audience. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aabe2fb | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_aabe2fb | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ac0cd9fc | type |
Little Professor Dialog | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ac0cd9fc | comment |
Little Professor Dialog: The example of "Sock Puppet" has a group of plucky kid detectives speaking in the same voice as the narration. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ac0cd9fc | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ac0cd9fc | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ac0cd9fc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ad22fa80 | type |
Apocalyptic Log | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ad22fa80 | comment |
Apocalyptic Log: "'And One Ring to Bind Them!' Said the Old Cowpoke" jarringly morphs into one (from some sort of Chick-Lit pastiche, no less!) | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ad22fa80 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ad22fa80 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ad22fa80 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_adfd3165 | type |
For the Evulz | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_adfd3165 | comment |
For the Evulz: "Inside the Mind of a Criminal". Generally discouraged, if the author wants to create a believable villain. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_adfd3165 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_adfd3165 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_adfd3165 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b11ac9f5 | type |
Abusive Parents | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b11ac9f5 | comment |
Abusive Parents: Discouraged in "A Novel Called It", with the explanation that they are simply hard to write well and hard to read about without puking. They also suggest that horror is the best genre for handling this trope well, using Carrie as an example. Another problem they mention is that this trope is a Dead Horse Trope, with them claiming entire cities could be populated with the number of abusive parents that show up in unpublished works. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b11ac9f5 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b26cc887 | type |
Just Between You and Me | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b26cc887 | comment |
Just Between You and Me: "The Retirement Speech" and this quote, "Now that I have you in my power, I shall tell you my whole life story!" | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b26cc887 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b26cc887 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b26cc887 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b486877f | type |
Squick | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b486877f | comment |
Squick/Nausea Fuel: Overuse of this is discouraged in "The Unruly Zit" (with a sly Take That! at Charles Bukowski). They say it's fine if individual scenes in a novel that are meant to be disgusting and horrible are described appropriately, but if everything in the novel is described as such, then no one will want to read it. The romantic version of this is also discouraged in "The Funny Valentine" (wherein the protagonist settles for less). invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b486877f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b486877f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b537784e | type |
Fauxlosophic Narration | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b537784e | comment |
Fauxlosophic Narration: "The Overture" (Wherein the prologue is a brief guide to the meaning of life) and "Now With 20% More Homily!" (similar, but at the end of the work). Both discouraged. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b537784e | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b537784e | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b5914444 | type |
Noodle Implements | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b5914444 | comment |
Noodle Implements: A hypothetical example is discussed in which a character called Joe is terrified of raisins because his father and the parish priest did something traumatizing to him as a child with a raisin. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b5914444 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b5914444 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b593baf1 | type |
Author Filibuster | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b593baf1 | comment |
Author Filibuster: "The After-Dinner Sermon" (in which the author wields a mallet) is specifically about this, but several of the other excerpts (such as "The Educational Film" and "Voice in the Wilderness") are clearly written by an author who has A Very Important Lesson Or Opinion To Share and has decided that the best way to share it is to hector their unfortunate reader with it at every given opportunity. The authors discourage it; while they don't exactly deny the room for some kind of moral within fiction, they generally take the opinion that novels are entertainment first and foremost, and that pious sermonising or lecturing is neither very fun to read nor as successful at persuading a skeptical reader to accept a new viewpoint as these authors seem to assume. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b593baf1 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b707726f | type |
Hypocritical Humor | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b707726f | comment |
Hypocritical Humor: The section advising against clichés ends with the line "And in your heart of hearts, you know this is true." And then there's the gem, "This point is worth repeating: don't reiterate." See also Stylistic Suck below. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b707726f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b707726f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b707726f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b7b1e990 | type |
Emphasize EVERYTHING | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b7b1e990 | comment |
Emphasize EVERYTHING: "I Mean This!! It's Important!!!" Needless to say, they advise against it. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b7b1e990 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b7b1e990 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b7b1e990 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b913a5df | type |
Accidental Innuendo | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b913a5df | comment |
Accidental Innuendo: "The Deafening Hug." The example text is an embrace between a pair of siblings which is described in such erotic terms that the reader can only infer Brother–Sister Incest.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b913a5df | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b913a5df | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_b913a5df | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ba753dc9 | type |
Wangst | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ba753dc9 | comment |
Wangst: Warned against in "Compassion Fatigue":invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ba753dc9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ba753dc9 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ba753dc9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bc00493f | type |
Precision F-Strike | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bc00493f | comment |
Precision F-Strike: "Deus ex Machina" is cited as a French expression which means "Are you fucking kidding me?" | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bc00493f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bc00493f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bc00493f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd188274 | type |
Description in the Mirror | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd188274 | comment |
Description in the Mirror: "What Color Am I?" (Where the character must be in front of a mirror to know what she looks like). They discourage it, naturally. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd188274 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd188274 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd188274 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd79d896 | type |
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd79d896 | comment |
Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: In "The Manchurian Parallax of the Thetan Conspiracy Enigma", a murder with a frozen leg of mutton leads to a Conspiracy Kitchen Sink involving Those Wacky Nazis led by a transgender Josef Mengele plotting to destroy Winnipeg. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd79d896 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd79d896 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bd79d896 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bf1f379a | type |
Sense Freak | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bf1f379a | comment |
Sense Freak: "The Hothouse Plant," where sensory descriptions overwhelm the rest of the writing. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bf1f379a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bf1f379a | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bf1f379a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bfc2ec8a | type |
That Makes Me Feel Angry | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bfc2ec8a | comment |
That Makes Me Feel Angry: Discouraged. Characters should not baldly announce the emotions they are experiencing (even in internal monologue, never mind dialogue), but rather these emotions should be depicted indirectly. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bfc2ec8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bfc2ec8a | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_bfc2ec8a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c325f125 | type |
Ho Yay | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c325f125 | comment |
Ho Yay: invoked"We're Going to Need a Bigger Closet", specifically for unintentional homoerotic subtext. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c325f125 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c325f125 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c325f125 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c3448a6f | type |
Informed Attribute | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c3448a6f | comment |
Informed Attribute: The dialogue equivalent is shown in "Said the Fascinating Man" (Where the author tells you what you think of his dialogue). | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c3448a6f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c3448a6f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c3448a6f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c37a7e2b | type |
No Yay | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c37a7e2b | comment |
No Yay: "Last Tango in Santa's Village".invoked (Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.) If you have a non-sexualized character in your story, for the love of God, give them some sex appeal before making them hook up with someone. Otherwise, your readers will just be bored, confused, and/or disgusted with the relationship. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c37a7e2b | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c37a7e2b | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c37a7e2b | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c4bb17a1 | type |
Pet-Peeve Trope | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c4bb17a1 | comment |
Pet-Peeve Trope: While it's hard to disagree with most of the advice given, some of the tropes mentioned are more mild annoyances the authors have rather than ones you should actively avoid to not be seen as the worst writer ever, such as the Pet's Homage Name and their heavy discouragement of Post-Modernism. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c4bb17a1 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c4bb17a1 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c4bb17a1 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: They occasionally make random references, some named, some unnamed. These include Harry Potter, the Underpants Gnomes, A Child Called "It", HAL, Gone with the Wind, Gravity's Rainbow and so on. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c75df49a | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c82e751f | type |
Unspoken Plan Guarantee | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c82e751f | comment |
Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Dealt with in "Deja Vu." Specifically, the authors state that any plan should always go wrong (or at least have unexpected complications) if spoken out loud; otherwise, the author has essentially written a spoiler into their own story. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c82e751f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c82e751f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_c82e751f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_cabb2632 | type |
Dead Horse Trope | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_cabb2632 | comment |
Dead Horse Trope: This book is written by people who have worked for publishers, so they point out several tropes that they've seen time and time again. They do acknowledge that these tropes aren't inherently bad and they can be handled well. However, they often show up in poorly written works, leading to them being associated with bad writing. This means stories will get rejected if too many of these tropes pop up. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_cabb2632 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_cabb2632 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_cabb2632 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ce0b2b21 | type |
Monochrome Casting | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ce0b2b21 | comment |
Monochrome Casting: "The Country Club" discourages having all the characters be of the same ethnicity. They note that unless one's novel happens to be set somewhere like rural Sweden, the reader may start to get the undesired impression that some form of ethnic cleansing has taken place. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ce0b2b21 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ce0b2b21 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ce0b2b21 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d05cf3f | type |
Footnote Fever | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d05cf3f | comment |
Footnote Fever | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d05cf3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d05cf3f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d05cf3f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d33456e7 | type |
Improbable Age | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d33456e7 | comment |
Improbable Age: Noted under "Magic-onomics", pointing out that it is perfectly fine to explain where a character's wealth comes from by giving them a backstory in which they were a partner in a law firm — but not if the character is twenty-five. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d33456e7 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d33456e7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d33456e7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d52d28b6 | type |
Hypocrite | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d52d28b6 | comment |
Hypocrite: The author of the example in "The Fig Leaf" clearly enjoys visiting strip clubs but is vaguely aware that this is something that shouldn't be boasted about in polite company, so combines a lovingly detailed description of the club and the ladies working in it with the viewpoint character sniffily declaring how above it all he is in a transparent attempt to cover his tracks. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d52d28b6 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d52d28b6 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d52d28b6 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d5ed0c51 | type |
Humor Dissonance | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d5ed0c51 | comment |
Humor Dissonance: invoked"A Confederacy of Shills" advises against having characters laugh uproariously at every joke during a conversation. At best, it alienates readers by, in effect, telling them when to laugh; at worst, if the jokes are truly weak, it disorients the reader the same way as would having characters cry or smash things for no reason. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d5ed0c51 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d5ed0c51 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d5ed0c51 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d7117f01 | type |
Angst? What Angst? | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d7117f01 | comment |
Angst? What Angst?: "Failing the Turing Test", in which Professor Johnson finds a college student lying naked in his bed instead of his wife... and emotionlessly asks why she's there. She pulls out a gun and says that she's going to kill him... and he simply asks why. When she says that it's because he gave her a bad grade, he says he'd be willing to reconsider if she does him a favor. And then, when she assumes sex is the "favor" and tries to seduce him, he asks her to be his cat-sitter.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d7117f01 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d7117f01 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d7117f01 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d8f6a563 | type |
Good Night, Sweet Prince | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d8f6a563 | comment |
Good Night, Sweet Prince: Used in a completely out of context Shout-Out in one segment. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d8f6a563 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d8f6a563 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_d8f6a563 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_daa79d2f | type |
Unintentionally Sympathetic | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_daa79d2f | comment |
Unintentionally Sympathetic/Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Discussed and discouraged in "Prince Charming Doesn't Deserve Me"; in the example provided, the author clearly intends the protagonist's boyfriend to be unsympathetic, but only gives him minor flaws, whereas the supposedly sympathetic protagonist would immediately be recognized by anyone sane as an unreasonable, selfish harpy.invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_daa79d2f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_daa79d2f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_daa79d2f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbca2c99 | type |
Red Herring | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbca2c99 | comment |
Red Herring: They encourage these ("The Red Herring on the Mantelpiece") to give a novel more depth, though they warn authors to watch out for unintentional examples (see What Happened to the Mouse?). | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbca2c99 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbca2c99 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbca2c99 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbccae32 | type |
Slow-Paced Beginning | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbccae32 | comment |
Slow-Paced Beginning: "The Waiting Room" advises that exposition and background should wait until the actual plot is kicked off, lest readers lose interest. It also advises that In Medias Res can be used to provide chunks of exposition without delaying the plot. invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbccae32 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbccae32 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dbccae32 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6ce5db | type |
Artistic License | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6ce5db | comment |
Artistic License: Discouraged with prejudice. They are adamant that any novel which makes use of some form of specialized knowledge (especially historical novels) must be an accurate depiction. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6ce5db | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6ce5db | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6ce5db | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6dcee0 | type |
Tradesnarkâ„¢ | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6dcee0 | comment |
Tradesnarkâ„¢: On using product names in fiction (Kmart Realism)-"TM?" | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6dcee0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6dcee0 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_dd6dcee0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e0d20ea6 | type |
Intentionally Awkward Title | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e0d20ea6 | comment |
Intentionally Awkward Title: Some of the headings parody awkward prose this way. Notable examples: "The Penis-Like Sausage" and ""Fuck You!" He Said Profanely". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e0d20ea6 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e0d20ea6 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e0d20ea6 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e10cdc1c | type |
Gay Best Friend | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e10cdc1c | comment |
Gay Best Friend: "Priscilla, Queen of the Clichés". Discouraged, as examples tend to be one-dimensional stock characters, which can seem rather patronizing and insulting. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e10cdc1c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e10cdc1c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e10cdc1c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3109dae | type |
Switching P.O.V. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3109dae | comment |
Switching P.O.V.: "Grabbing the Mike: Wherein the point of view momentarily strays", "The Tennis Match: Wherein the point of view bounces back and forth", "The Democracy: Where everyone is heard from", and "The Service Interruption: Wherein the point of view suffers a temporary blackout" are examples of how not to do this (in a word, "inconsistently"). They also recommend against writing from the perspective of a background character who only exists so that they can witness some key event (unless the novel already has numerous points of view). | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3109dae | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3109dae | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3109dae | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3da6e6c | type |
Deus Angst Machina | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3da6e6c | comment |
Deus Angst Machina: invoked"Compassion Fatigue". Strongly discouraged; a character whose life is nothing but a parade of misery and misfortune is difficult to sympathize with, and Too Bleak, Stopped Caring will set in pretty quickly. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3da6e6c | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3da6e6c | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e3da6e6c | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e46fabf7 | type |
Observation on Originality | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e46fabf7 | comment |
Observation on Originality: In the "how-clichéd-are-your-characters" quiz, the ideal score is a balance of formula and novelty, i.e. somewhere in the middle. Too many predictable notes are boring; too many erratic beats are jarring. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e46fabf7 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e46fabf7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e46fabf7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e545d293 | type |
Narm | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e545d293 | comment |
Narm: All of the bad writing examples are intentionally over-the-top bad, but the chunk of text on the cover takes the cake. invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e545d293 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e545d293 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e545d293 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e624f0e8 | type |
Suspiciously Specific Denial | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e624f0e8 | comment |
Suspiciously Specific Denial: It's fine as long as the author is doing it on purpose. Doublespeak highlights how easily this can be done by accident. "The Service Interruption" talks about this being done wrong, by having the POV effectively blank out in order to maintain suspense. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e624f0e8 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e624f0e8 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_e624f0e8 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eae0129f | type |
Anti-Advice | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eae0129f | comment |
Anti-Advice: In a tongue-in-cheek way — the authors list things that generally indicate a bad novel, from which the reader is meant to conclude that it would be best not to do those things if they want to get published. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eae0129f | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eae0129f | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eae0129f | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec36b7f3 | type |
Overly Pre-Prepared Gag | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec36b7f3 | comment |
Overly Preprepared Gag: One segment has a detective from Belgium who's made long-winded solely so one of his monologues can end with "the Belgian waffled". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec36b7f3 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec36b7f3 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec36b7f3 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec3ff1f7 | type |
In Which a Trope Is Described | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec3ff1f7 | comment |
In Which a Trope Is Described: All the sub-headings of the examples have this or variations. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec3ff1f7 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec3ff1f7 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ec3ff1f7 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_edebe3c8 | type |
Plot-Based Voice Cancellation | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_edebe3c8 | comment |
Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Discouraged in favor of Instant Mystery, Just Delete Scene. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_edebe3c8 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_edebe3c8 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_edebe3c8 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ee8ac7f9 | type |
Alice and Bob | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ee8ac7f9 | comment |
In an Alice and Bob sort of way, they use several characters multiple times: Chip; Jack and Synthya; Leonard Cohen; Joe and Melinda, the evil Nefaro, Santa... there are many, occasionally unrelated. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ee8ac7f9 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ee8ac7f9 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ee8ac7f9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eeb4a5eb | type |
Anti-Climax | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eeb4a5eb | comment |
Anti-Climax: "I'm Melting!" (Wherein the villain conveniently gives up). | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eeb4a5eb | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eeb4a5eb | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eeb4a5eb | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eef90616 | type |
Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eef90616 | comment |
Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: When discussing "monogamy", or two characters in a novel who only ever interact with each other: | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eef90616 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eef90616 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_eef90616 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ef20d7bc | type |
A Minor Kidroduction | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ef20d7bc | comment |
A Minor Kidroduction: Discouraged in "The Long Runway". Describing the main character's childhood is often only an excuse to put off getting to any actual plot. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ef20d7bc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ef20d7bc | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ef20d7bc | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f0d8db11 | type |
Fanon Discontinuity | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f0d8db11 | comment |
Fanon Discontinuity: The real life variety, historical negationism, is discouraged in "The Voice in the Wilderness"; the example is a story in which the Holocaust is a lie. invoked | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f0d8db11 | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f0d8db11 | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f0d8db11 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f168fc9d | type |
Pet's Homage Name | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f168fc9d | comment |
Pet's Homage Name: They discourage using the trope, noting that if your novel's protagonist must have a cat, do not name it after a composer (such as Bartok), after a writer (Hemingway), after an ancient Greek (Socrates), or after a person that reflects the character's political leanings (Trotsky), among several other examples. | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f168fc9d | featureApplicability |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f168fc9d | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f168fc9d | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f1d3f0c9 | type |
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f1d3f0c9 | comment |
"Ask yourself: 'do I know this word?' If the answer is no, then you do not know it." | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f1d3f0c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel | hasFeature |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f1d3f0c9 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f23ad6de | type |
Food Porn | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f23ad6de | comment |
Food Porn: Discussed and discouraged in "The Food Channel". | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f23ad6de | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f23ad6de | featureConfidence |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f2a5f7f2 | type |
Expospeak Gag | |
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Expospeak Gag: "The Puffer Fish" notes how abusing Purple Prose can create these unintentionally. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f300ca44 | type |
Cliché Storm | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f300ca44 | comment |
Cliché Storm: "Breeding Contempt" advises against using too many hackneyed turns of phrase. While they usually became clichés for a reason (they are vivid and evocative), and they are sometimes so commonplace that they have entered the common vocabulary (e.g. "drop dead gorgeous"), relying too much on them will make an author's writing seem unimaginative.invoked | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f37c192 | type |
Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f37c192 | comment |
Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma/Bold Inflation: "I Mean This!! It's Important!!" — "While commas, often appear, randomly in unpublished manuscripts - and there is an epidemic - of unnecessary — em-dashes, it is the exclamation mark which takes the most punishment." It also talks about Capitalizing Words The Author Thinks Are Important, and compares it to Ironic Capitalization, a combination of which is Repeatedly Used On This Very Wiki. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f75cf3bd | type |
Terrible Interviewees Montage | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f75cf3bd | comment |
Terrible Interviewees Montage: Discouraged in "the Second Argument At The Laundromat", stating that while this works well on film where three scenes pass in 30 seconds, it becomes a repetitive drag on paper. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f9f2c33 | type |
Running Gag | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_f9f2c33 | comment |
Running Gag: In an Alice and Bob sort of way, they use several characters multiple times: Chip; Jack and Synthya; Leonard Cohen; Joe and Melinda, the evil Nefaro, Santa... there are many, occasionally unrelated. The phrase "medium-sized breasts" (or "perfect breasts" for variety.) Misuse of the word "ironically" Mistranslations of "Deus ex Machina". And the eternal battle for ergo-hydraulics. At least two people in the samples own cats named Bartok. The leg of mutton. It was the only clue. "The Second [insert incident here] at the Laundromat." Nefarious plots and doings surrounding an optometrist. The third date and all things associated with it (anniversaries, wine, etc.). | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_fa6bfde9 | type |
Have a Gay Old Time | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_fa6bfde9 | comment |
Have a Gay Old Time: Among words you aren't advised to use just for the sake of making the writing fancier (see Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness below) is "ejaculated" in its old sense of "exclaimed". | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_faa71569 | type |
Romantic False Lead | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_faa71569 | comment |
Romantic False Lead: Discussed in "Prince Charming Doesn't Deserve Me": They don't recommend against the trope per se, but they do caution against making the False Lead too Unintentionally Sympathetic or the protagonist too Unintentionally Unsympathetic in the process. They also recommend that the nice-but-dull variation can be traded in for a better model, but only if the protagonist shows an appropriate amount of remorse rather than glee.invoked | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_fab3235a | type |
Easy Evangelism | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_fab3235a | comment |
Easy Evangelism: Discouraged. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_faf4a043 | type |
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_faf4a043 | comment |
Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: Discussed in "Prince Charming Doesn't Deserve Me"; in particular, they recommend at the very least having the protagonist's significant other cheat first, as what the protagonist does after that "doesn't feel like cheating". Otherwise, well, the protagonist can still be unfaithful, but will then be in the wrong and must be acknowledged to be such. | |
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WhyWereBummedCommunismFell | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_fd3680e7 | comment |
Why We're Bummed Communism Fell: Jokingly referenced in "The Padded Cell". | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ff5a74c8 | type |
Talking Is a Free Action | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ff5a74c8 | comment |
Talking Is a Free Action: Discussed (and discouraged) in "Hello, I Must Be Going". | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ff7f34c5 | type |
Pet the Dog | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ff7f34c5 | comment |
Pet the Dog: "But He Loves His Mother". Using this to make a one-dimensional villain seem human is a bad idea; it's better to make the villain not one-dimensional and make his evilness believable. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ffad4e9f | type |
Shown Their Work | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ffad4e9f | comment |
Shown Their Work: "The Research Paper." "...But the glories of the Calvin cycle, and the further intricacies of the Krebs cycle, essential to cellular respiration, were little comfort now that...". While the author needs to know what details are accurate to the setting, he/she also needs to know how to make those details a natural part of the narrative instead of just dumping them in. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ffb79066 | type |
Chromosome Casting | |
How NOT to Write a Novel / int_ffb79066 | comment |
Chromosome Casting: They note a particularly extreme version of the male form of this trope, called "The Stag Night", in which not only the main characters but apparently every person in a novel's fictional universe appears to be male. They also note that it's curiously common in Science Fiction. | |
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How NOT to Write a Novel |
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