Kibble

Could you have two separate documents, open them both and then resize the windows so that each one takes up half of the screen?

You've probably read a lot of books where the "collect things" plot is done in a cliche way, right? The fact that it has been done many times in a ...

I think it does depend on whether the narrator is looking back and giving commentary (eg. To Kill a Mockingbird, Gallagher Girls series ), or it's just first person past ...

I think it sounds like a good idea. The alleyway/night thing is the only cliche I see -- maybe you could think of a more unusual place to find a ...

I would definitely avoid "rich" stereotypes, because not all rich people are mean, snobby etc. I think rich people may take things for granted, but I imagine a few downsides: ...

Difficult questions but I have to agree with tori1234. I think with the friend's parents, usually I think "x's mum", rather than their name! And most people I know talk ...

I agree with Hawkie: knowing a lot about characters and not putting it in your story (but possibly hinting that there is more) builds a believeable world. Even if you ...

Thanks for the help everyone! That really simplifies things a bit. As for gathering the courage to actually send the query... *gulp*

I think this works out. The first novel I ever finished (okay, second, but that other one doesn't count because it was only 30 000 words), I skipped one scene, ...

I'm writing my query, and odd as this may sound, it seems that I need to convey the phrase "SIM Card" (that plastic chip in your cell/mobile phone that holds ...

This is kind of pragmatic, but if you really want to change the names but just can't write with the new names, you could write the stories with the original ...

I agree. Well, since my novel is in present tense, I use: Says Asks More rarely: Replies Answers Very rarely: Adds Shouts Since it is also in first person, at ...

In A Small Free Kiss in the Dark , "Skip" is the main character's name he made up for himself. I don't recall his real name ever being mentioned.

Very good point Horserider. I've even been nervous about posting my query online, but it always worries me when I see entire novels posted. I did hear a literary agent ...

I definitely think varying the format of novels is great if not done excessively (of course, if the entire novel is letters etc then that's okay). The problem is that ...