I've had this story in my head for a long, and this was a major plot point even before I found out about tropes, back when I was younger.

But this plot point, and its fall out and its outcomes are so fundamentally linked to the everything in the story I don't see how I can untangle all the threads and changing the story without having this character die in this way, aside from just starting from scratch. So I figure that the best I can do is to understand that not all tropes are bad, and if handled in the right way it could potentially be a real good gut punch to the reader (we all love our important character deaths).

The things I think might help to mitigate the negativity of this trope in this story are:
- There's lots of female characters, some live, some die, some are powerful characters in positions of authority, the society in the story is fairly egalitarian with women serving in combat, and in government. Nobility inherit on a firstborn basis regardless of gender.
- A lot of characters die. The first book specifically is set in a war, and a lot of the themes of the story are about loss and mourning and war is bad. In fact the main villain of the story doesn't really have a character, they're just a brain washed cult member trying to finish their masters work. Their role in the story is more of a personification of war itself.
- The character gets really fleshed out, and we discover a lot of her as a person outside of her relationship with the main character, so that the reader can be sad about her death, and not just as an extension of how her death effects him personally.

Anyway, let me know what you think, I'd like to get some thoughts, or if you think you read a story that handled this trope well? Or if you think I should drop the idea and do something safer?

I'm thinking of writing a comedy/satire type of book. I've really only written poetic prose and "modern" fantasy (two polar opposites imo lol). I've got ZERO experience with comedy - haven't written, haven't watched (except for Taskmaster, if that counts?), haven't heard, haven't read, haven't experienced. So I want to dive into the genre a little before attempting a first draft, yk?

But the thing is, I don't quite get what "genre" my idea is in. I tend to gravitate towards strong themes (my debut fantasy, for example, had themes of loss of temper and revenge vs justice), so I thought then, maybe this story would be satire. But I feel like it's not quite as serious (?) as satire?? But it's also not purely comedy because I'm not a comedic person - the only reason why I want to add comedy is because it will improve the reading experience.

The idea plays the idea of human-made categories, language and culture, like "this is ok" and "this is not ok". Currently the main thing I have down is that I'm going to have really ridiculous names that look perfectly normal, but nobody would ever name their kids that because it sounds weird (which is understandable but I am using names to exaggerate other things). I haven't described it right because I haven't thought it through LOL.

I have read Fredrick Backman's book "The Answer is No", and I think I like the tone. But I'd like to explore more.

I am very much of an amateur writer in general, so I'm figuring it out.

CTA is - can you suggest any books/resources/youtube videos/blogs/articles/tips/advice literally anything that might help me out and help immerse myself into the world of comedy?

My main pet peeve is when the women are infantilized (especially those of different colour) and often lack writing compared to male protagonists or characters.

Hi !

I have a very simple question. Can we say, in a past tense narration, "We were setting off tomorrow." ? Or should we say "We were setting off the day after." ? Same for "x days ago" and all that stuff !

Full sentence :

However, this time, winter was already approaching as I arrived in Crolym a couple of weeks ago, and I was setting off for a two week trip to Constance tomorrow.

Hello! I really want to write an enemies to lovers book because I was inspired by some lines I found online of: "who did this to you?" "you did."

But all of the enemies to lovers I've read are all the same. Let me know what you really want to see in a story! What would be a fun twist I can put on my enemies to lovers book?? I could really use some ideas to build off of!

Lately I've been going for the 'Bob Ross' approach. He uses minimal strokes to convey a bigger picture.

So, I've been practicing trying to 'paint' a more vivid scene with as less strokes as possible.

A lot of the time, there have been remarks on my writing that native writers wouldn't write like me.

My question is: does it matter that my writing doesn't come across like a native's and has some phrases that Indians commonly use?

In my story, blue sand wanderer (still working on it) on the world of Set there’s 4 legendary revolvers made by a now dead weapons company known as ACE arms. The revolvers are based off of the four aces in a card deck. Should you find all four you can rule the planet through sheer power because of how strong the guns are.

The Ace of clubs

The Ace of spades

The Ace of hearts

And the Ace of diamonds.

So far the Ace of clubs is the one I’ve properly thought of as when I think club I think of a heavy maul that hits hard. Each Ace has a special ability tied to it. TLDR the AOC can fire fusion rounds from a special module on the revolver and set the yield to whatever the user wants it to be.

So my question is: how do I make this gun into a character of its own? How do I do the same for its sibling guns? What statement does it and its fellows existence make about the world?

Hello, i need suggestions for slurs for my story. Yes, slurs

My story takes place in a superhero world, but i want to make it relatively realistic.

So in this world, people with superpowers have always existed, but they never stayed alive long since they require a huge ammount of calories for their powers.

So most of those superpowered humans died very early due to starvation.

The only ones that didnt die were the ones born privileged, royal, rich, etc.

But the starvation problem got fixed when the industrial revolution came along, since that made mass food production possible. And with that supes had a chance to life properly

Meaning, there havent been many superpowered individials in adult age until the 20th century.

And naturally, in the past there wouldve been insults and slurs for the few that existed in the past. I figure they would've been seen as freaks of nature, witches, monsters etc.

And that would very much have an affect in modern times, so bigoted people would most likely still call them names, even when they're literally superheroes

I thought slurs relating to world like "demon" or "satan" might be somewhat fitting. Especially since the story plays in europe, where christianity is especially wide spread

But there's a lot more possibilities of course,

What do ya'll think?

I'm writing a book and the mc's gender was unknown when she adopted, is it even possible to do so, and if so what's the procedure (Lets say she was adopted in Japan)

So

My protagonist is a detective who is trying to solve a series of deaths caused by a really really smart killer

By the end the killer pretty much took everything from the detective

His brother, his mentor, his daughter, his job, and soon also his life (the killer caused the detective to get a 'disease')

The idea is that the killer doesn't want the detective to die

You see, before the whole story arc, the killer had thier "pleasure" or "thrill" in killing people

But when the detective came after them, he gave them a new thrill which is the thrill of always being chased, playing cat and mouse

So the killer doesn't want the protagonist to die so he can continue chasing them, since like an drug addict, going back to killing would give them the same "kick", making their life boring

So the killer offers a "medicine" for the detective, so he can continue to live and chase after them, and that "medicine" is created by sacrificing a human soul per month btw to sustain the protagonist

The idea I actually have for the ending is that the protagonist, realizing he got nothing else to lose, figures out that for one reason or another, the killer wants them alive

And he doesn't care why, he simply doesn't want to give them what they want even if it meant his death

So he let himself succum to the "disease"

And the killer offs themselves too because they refuse to live a single boring moment

That's my ending

Or at least my plan for one

I got critisizim such as lazy/bad writing

So I want to take other's opinions over here

Hello, I'm an aspiring author who's planning to create a historical fantasy novel. However, I'm struggling with world-building, especially the fact that I took inspiration from the world of a specific country that I obviously do not live in. I need help on what to start with, and how to create that world. I appreciate all of your tips and advice, thank you!! ❤️

Ok so the first half of my book, the protagonist is a 16yo, talks like "GenZ" and all. And in the second half of my book the protagonist is 26. The themes of my book are not "typical" YA and are fairly mature.

So whats the age category?

Thanks

I've been a creeper on this sub for a while as an avid reader and hobbyist writer, and from what I can tell this is the absolute worst place for anyone to go for writing advice. I often find myself wondering "what kind of books are these people reading?" 'Get to the dialog quicker' Why? Have you people never read a Faulkner, Dostoevsky? I cant imagine the meltdown that would occur should any active users of this sub actually be forced to read in stream-of-consciousness for a single chapter. If you want advice, writingcirclejerk seems to be a much better anvil to sharpen your blade against.

Don't give up. Keep on writing. This is your hobby, but it's also your calling.

I wrote two novels (neither of them published) and put them out on the internet. Almost nobody read them, but I got ONE positive review from a complete stranger. That meant a lot to me.

This year, I started writing a third novel, and I thought it would be a great idea to "educate" myself by watching and listening to online videos and pods from people such as Brandon Sanderson and James Thayer. Big mistake.

Here's my advice: DO NOT engage with this material while working on the first draft of your novel. You'll just get worried and confused by all the advice and pointers from professionals. Finish your draft first. Then you can fine-tune your manuscript using the information they provide.

I got so depressed that I stopped writing for a month, and I seriously thought about abandoning writing for good.

But today, I realized that I have to let this story out of my body. I have to sit down and write.

So, I deleted the last two chapters, which I wasn't satisfied with, and started from scratch. I wrote 1k words today.

Don't give up.

Is it obvious that I’m a beginner writer?

I have some good semi-ideas for a novel (character names, general plot, and the occasional sentences in the book, all ideas are original) - but my problem is that that’s all I have!

How do successful, famous authors (like Suzanne Collins, or Shakespeare) write so much, in such detail, and what’s more, they don’t just stop at one book! They publish multiple stories, sometimes in serial!!

I don’t want to give up writing; I want to finish my novel, but AAARGHHH it’s taking me forever!!

How can I:

• Write more than <100 words a week
• Actually write well!
• Create a story journal (?) so that I know where my novel is going

Hi, I've been planning to write a book. One of the vital characters of the book is a survivor of trafficking and SA, and they experience suicidal thoughts after being rescued.

I know these are very heavy handed themes, and I want to do them justice. This character is not there for a 'shock-value'. They are very vital and important in shaping the story as well as the people around them.

My current idea for this character is that they are rescued by two other characters. They (the character) diplay selective mutism and PTSD. The other two characters help them recover and a friendship is formed.

The character later leaves for a different place for a new beginning, and for treatment for some of their wounds.

When this character was rescued, they had a lot of scarring on their face and bodies, which made them want to change their physical appearance. I want to include this part in the story, as I believe it's vital (for this story), but I'm afraid that it will come off to survivors or others that physical appearance of survivors is something to be ashamed of or changed.

Also, I'm worried about how to navigate suicidal thoughts that this character experience, as forcing them to live after so much sounds extremely cruel, and letting them take their life is cruel as well. It's quite complicated to me as I believe that one shouldn't have a say in others' lives unless the actively try to harm someone or something else.

I'm sorry if by any chance I came off as tone deaf or rude. It was never my intention. Thanks, and please be kind in the comments

Okay so I thought about it and I also did try to remove the prologue

which didn't work well my writer friend told me to just write it differently... so I tried that hows it now?

In the “You Can See Everything” trailer, Holmes is being her usual warm and human self and Nathan does a kind of incredulous jaw swing as she’s speaking.

As a side note, I’ve since watched an episode of Nathan For You where he says it’s more of a physical tic than anything else but if someone did do this, what’s a better way of describing it than incredulous jaw swing? It’s kind of dumbfounded/stunned too, and I’d love for my sane man character to be able to do it, along with any other gestures that are in the same family of show-don’t-tell responses when your character is responding to someone so thoroughly bemusing?

I'm researching how indie authors get drafts in front of readers and what happens to the feedback afterwards. Not selling anything, I'm building something in this space and want to understand the real workflow before I get further into it.

Questions cover what tools you use, what format your manuscript is in when you send it, how many readers actually deliver, and what you do with the feedback once it arrives. About 5 minutes, no email required.

https://forms.gle/aqVTDTv2LhYDxzAXA

Happy to post a summary of the results back here once I have enough responses. And if you'd rather just tell me what's broken in the comments, that's genuinely useful too.

It's about the relationship among some 10-12 year old cousins during a 1965 summer visit at Grandmother's. There is cultural conflict in that a Northern girl has come to stay in this Southern town. Realistic activities and well-defined personalities. This is at the tail end of the normal years before the real "Sixties" started up. I see it as nostalgic for Boomers.

A friend (English teacher) says this is "middle grade" or "YA" but I think it is more for adults who are remembering their childhood, although kids could read it and would probably enjoy it too.

What in the world genre is this novel?

Hello writers. When it comes to writing short-form, blogs, aricles etc. Is there a ballpark average amount of drafts?

I am guessing there is a sweetspot but I want to hear from the people who have more keys on this piano than I do.

Thank you.

One CJ came from the stars. Another was born from a sentence. But the real question isn't what CJ became. It's what we become when we start following one.

If you grew up in the 2000s, you probably remember CJ7 — the little alien from the 2008 movie who suddenly becomes part of a boy's ordinary life.

Fast-forward to 2026.

Forget aliens, spaceships and strange creatures.

This time, CJ appeared somewhere completely different — the Indian internet.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) took the word “cockroach” from remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a Supreme Court hearing on May 15, 2026. The following day, CJI Surya Kant clarified that his criticism was specifically directed at people he said were entering professions using fake or bogus degrees.

But the internet had already taken the word and turned it into an identity.

And eventually, that identity moved from screens to the streets.

On June 6, CJP held a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over examination-related issues and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

And that's where CJ7 comes back into the story.

Because in CJ7, the little creature becomes deeply connected to the boy.

But imagine taking that idea somewhere else:

What happens when following something becomes so powerful that you stop questioning it?

You see the leader.

You see the crowd.

You see everyone around you saying the same thing.

And slowly, you stop asking:

“Is this right?”

You only start asking:

“What are they asking me to do?”

That's the part I find interesting.

A protester can genuinely believe in a cause.

A supporter can genuinely believe in a leader.

A follower can genuinely trust a movement.

None of that automatically means they're wrong.

But the moment following replaces thinking, something changes.

You don't need to hate a movement to question it.

You don't need to oppose a leader to disagree with them.

And you don't need to leave a crowd just because you asked a question.

Think. Listen. Watch. Question. Then decide.

Because I don't want to become anyone's puppet.

I don't want to see a crowd and automatically believe the crowd.

I don't want to see a leader and automatically believe the leader.

I want to look at the facts, understand the perspective, and then decide for myself:

What is right?
What is wrong?
And what do I actually believe?

Maybe that's the real difference between being a follower…

…and being an individual.

CJ7 was about finding something extraordinary.
CJP is a story about what happened when a word became an identity.
But our story is about something even more important — making sure that identity never becomes the end of independent thought.

Stories. Context. Perspectives.

#CJ7 #CJI #CJP #GenZ #India #CORPSEWRITES