MASTER QUESTION LIST
For ease of organization, I'm dividing questions into thematic groups. You'll see that I'm NOT deleting multiple instances of a question because in general, each of these questions addresses a HUGE topic and there's a lot more room for discussion than can be covered in a single Answer Post. For example, sprat's awesome first post addressed some techniques for writing sex scenes, but we could probably talk about writing sex every week and not explore everything. So, if you have an idea for a post that covers similar-but-not-identical turf as one already done, you can totally claim it!
For guidelines on what makes an appropriate question about craft, please see the series' introductory post.
MASTER QUESTION LIST
Writing Kissing/Sex
What goes into writing a good kiss?
Writing kisses is something I'm all in favour of learning more about. Writing sex scenes as well.
~Answered by sprat here.
How do I avoid writing generic sex scenes?
~Answered by belmanoir in a three-part series that begins here.
How to deal with so many "he"s in a sex scene without leaving the reader confused or sick of both character's names.
Writing Plot
How do I organize casefic?
How to make plotty police-work type plots go. /forlorn wail
~Answered by nos4a2no9 here.
Something about case fic pretty please.
Something about plot development.
I'm thirding (or fourthing?) the request for advice on the plot/crime/case elements. Are there useful sites for things like ranks and hierarchy within the CPD and/or RCMP? How much is writing purely non-case-related fic justifiable as focusing on characterization, and how much case-action is needed to remind us of who these guys are and what their duet was originally based on--which is to say, how can I show them working well together without having to show too much of what they're working on, which is not really where I want to focus?
What does it take to write a good misunderstanding fic?
How to construct a plot outline (for a plotty casefic).
If anyone knows anything about it, I'd really like to see a post about marking the passage of time through a story. As in, if the first half of your story is going to take place across several months, and the second half is all going to happen in a day, how do you give the reader a sense of time passing and the emotional development of the characters without it feeling like a cheap shortcut?
What is life like in the wilderness: what are some of the issues you might need to deal with regarding writing genuine post-Call of the Wild fics?
If Fraser is living in the far North, where would he (or anyone else, such as potential bad guys, witnesses, red herrings, etc.) get their pornography?
~Coming soon from nos4a2no9.
Structure & Style
How do I use setting in _________ circumstance?
How to break up the endless internal monologue, or showing instead of telling.
Is it possible to write exposition in a graceful, unobtrusive kind of way? If so, what's your trick?
~Answered by vienna_waits here.
Titles. Where does one find a title? What makes a good title?
~Answered by sprat here.
Also, story openings, ditto. How to hook the reader from line one.
How to know when you've reached the end. I often cut off as soon as I see an exit sign, but sometimes that's too early, but I don't figure that out until much later.
~Answered by dkwilliams here.
Long/short, substantial/spare, warmfuzzy/coldprickly: how do you find the balance point between the extremes?
How can you pull off a reveal, when the character who's POV you are following DOES know what's going on?
How to write action scenes and chases and the like--things that don't have much dialogue in them.
~Answered by china_shop here.
How do you figure out what the theme(s) of your story is/are?
How to make parallel timelines work.
How to do good foreshadowing--noticeable but not over-the-top.
~Answered by sageness here.
Life in northern Canada: Like Falling into a Duvet
~Answered by nos4a2no9 here.
How do we "show" and not "tell", particularly in exposition-heavy stories like AUs and crime plot fics?
What's the best way to structure a story that doesn't use a conventional A-B-C plotline? I want (desperately) to write a story that manipulates time and incorporates a lot of flashbacks/flash-forwards but I'm not sure how to go about it, or what to avoid. Can someone help?
Writing Characters
Can I ask for something about OCs in longer fic? I mean, witnesses, police officers etc.
Something about developing voices/dialogue? You hear about writers "hearing" a character's voice, but how do you reach that point lacking a lightening bolt?
~Answered by sageness here.
How can you write a convincing narrative voice from RayK's POV, and balance his canonical plain talk with the needs of your story?
~Answered by chesamus here.
How do you manage to keep the guys in character when they want to take on personalities of their own?
~Answered by brynnmck here.
How to show that your narrator is unreliable.
~Answered by omphale23 here.
A post about Fraser voice (not just about POV, but dialogue-based as well).
~Answered by primroseburrows here.
I'd like to see a post on writing villains. Who should be the bad guy? Who should we avoid? And how do we distinguish between a villain and an antagonist? Ideally I'd like to see a discussion about the way women (Victoria, Thatcher, and Stella) are often cast as villains in dS stories, and if that's acceptable or not, and how we can avoid reinforcing sexist stereotypes while still creating a convincing portrait of villainhood. (Which is totally a word, despite what my spell-checker tells me).
~Discussed in small part in sageness' post here.
How do you write from a non-human's perspective (like Dief)?
~Answered by ultra_chrome here.
Kidfic. Writing OCs is hard, especially when they're children. Any tricks/tips/helpful suggestions? What are some resources that will help ensure my fictional children are behaving in ways appropriate to their ages?
~Answered by texasbek here.
Tell me everything I always wanted to know about the RCMP. :)
~A special feature from nos4a2no9 here.
Are there any secret tips or tricks for giving good Vecchio? Especially post-Vegas?
Writing Process
Oh, I've got questions about setting up/casting AUs, what's kosher or not (given the assumption that everything is acceptable, but some things are more acceptable than others).
~Answered by llassah here.
Writing in a language that isn't yours and a setting in a place you've probably never been to. How to still write it, avoiding pitfalls and other crevasses.
~Answered by ximeria here.
Revision Process
Where do you find good beta resources? What kinds of things do you look for in a beta reader? What are some tips to give new or prospective betas?
~Answered by dragonflymuse here.
Things to Avoid
How about a 'What not to do' post - what really makes a story cringe-worthy or unreadable in terms of plot or character or description? What should we avoid at all costs?
Please add new questions in the comments of THIS post, and I will edit them in. To volunteer to tackle any of these questions, please do so at the newest Volunteer Call post. Thank you!! :D
For guidelines on what makes an appropriate question about craft, please see the series' introductory post.
MASTER QUESTION LIST
Writing Kissing/Sex
What goes into writing a good kiss?
Writing kisses is something I'm all in favour of learning more about. Writing sex scenes as well.
~Answered by sprat here.
How do I avoid writing generic sex scenes?
~Answered by belmanoir in a three-part series that begins here.
How to deal with so many "he"s in a sex scene without leaving the reader confused or sick of both character's names.
Writing Plot
How do I organize casefic?
How to make plotty police-work type plots go. /forlorn wail
~Answered by nos4a2no9 here.
Something about case fic pretty please.
Something about plot development.
I'm thirding (or fourthing?) the request for advice on the plot/crime/case elements. Are there useful sites for things like ranks and hierarchy within the CPD and/or RCMP? How much is writing purely non-case-related fic justifiable as focusing on characterization, and how much case-action is needed to remind us of who these guys are and what their duet was originally based on--which is to say, how can I show them working well together without having to show too much of what they're working on, which is not really where I want to focus?
What does it take to write a good misunderstanding fic?
How to construct a plot outline (for a plotty casefic).
If anyone knows anything about it, I'd really like to see a post about marking the passage of time through a story. As in, if the first half of your story is going to take place across several months, and the second half is all going to happen in a day, how do you give the reader a sense of time passing and the emotional development of the characters without it feeling like a cheap shortcut?
What is life like in the wilderness: what are some of the issues you might need to deal with regarding writing genuine post-Call of the Wild fics?
If Fraser is living in the far North, where would he (or anyone else, such as potential bad guys, witnesses, red herrings, etc.) get their pornography?
~Coming soon from nos4a2no9.
Structure & Style
How do I use setting in _________ circumstance?
How to break up the endless internal monologue, or showing instead of telling.
Is it possible to write exposition in a graceful, unobtrusive kind of way? If so, what's your trick?
~Answered by vienna_waits here.
Titles. Where does one find a title? What makes a good title?
~Answered by sprat here.
Also, story openings, ditto. How to hook the reader from line one.
How to know when you've reached the end. I often cut off as soon as I see an exit sign, but sometimes that's too early, but I don't figure that out until much later.
~Answered by dkwilliams here.
Long/short, substantial/spare, warmfuzzy/coldprickly: how do you find the balance point between the extremes?
How can you pull off a reveal, when the character who's POV you are following DOES know what's going on?
How to write action scenes and chases and the like--things that don't have much dialogue in them.
~Answered by china_shop here.
How do you figure out what the theme(s) of your story is/are?
How to make parallel timelines work.
How to do good foreshadowing--noticeable but not over-the-top.
~Answered by sageness here.
Life in northern Canada: Like Falling into a Duvet
~Answered by nos4a2no9 here.
How do we "show" and not "tell", particularly in exposition-heavy stories like AUs and crime plot fics?
What's the best way to structure a story that doesn't use a conventional A-B-C plotline? I want (desperately) to write a story that manipulates time and incorporates a lot of flashbacks/flash-forwards but I'm not sure how to go about it, or what to avoid. Can someone help?
Writing Characters
Can I ask for something about OCs in longer fic? I mean, witnesses, police officers etc.
Something about developing voices/dialogue? You hear about writers "hearing" a character's voice, but how do you reach that point lacking a lightening bolt?
~Answered by sageness here.
How can you write a convincing narrative voice from RayK's POV, and balance his canonical plain talk with the needs of your story?
~Answered by chesamus here.
How do you manage to keep the guys in character when they want to take on personalities of their own?
~Answered by brynnmck here.
How to show that your narrator is unreliable.
~Answered by omphale23 here.
A post about Fraser voice (not just about POV, but dialogue-based as well).
~Answered by primroseburrows here.
I'd like to see a post on writing villains. Who should be the bad guy? Who should we avoid? And how do we distinguish between a villain and an antagonist? Ideally I'd like to see a discussion about the way women (Victoria, Thatcher, and Stella) are often cast as villains in dS stories, and if that's acceptable or not, and how we can avoid reinforcing sexist stereotypes while still creating a convincing portrait of villainhood. (Which is totally a word, despite what my spell-checker tells me).
~Discussed in small part in sageness' post here.
How do you write from a non-human's perspective (like Dief)?
~Answered by ultra_chrome here.
Kidfic. Writing OCs is hard, especially when they're children. Any tricks/tips/helpful suggestions? What are some resources that will help ensure my fictional children are behaving in ways appropriate to their ages?
~Answered by texasbek here.
Tell me everything I always wanted to know about the RCMP. :)
~A special feature from nos4a2no9 here.
Are there any secret tips or tricks for giving good Vecchio? Especially post-Vegas?
Writing Process
Oh, I've got questions about setting up/casting AUs, what's kosher or not (given the assumption that everything is acceptable, but some things are more acceptable than others).
~Answered by llassah here.
Writing in a language that isn't yours and a setting in a place you've probably never been to. How to still write it, avoiding pitfalls and other crevasses.
~Answered by ximeria here.
Revision Process
Where do you find good beta resources? What kinds of things do you look for in a beta reader? What are some tips to give new or prospective betas?
~Answered by dragonflymuse here.
Things to Avoid
How about a 'What not to do' post - what really makes a story cringe-worthy or unreadable in terms of plot or character or description? What should we avoid at all costs?
Please add new questions in the comments of THIS post, and I will edit them in. To volunteer to tackle any of these questions, please do so at the newest Volunteer Call post. Thank you!! :D