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Writer’s Toolbox

Ask The Writer

All Categories

Your most pressing and perplexing questions about writing answered here by Gotham teacher Brandi Reissenweber.

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  • Adaptation
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Pacing

I am writing a story about a girl who is ten. Her early life is important and dramatic, but will I discourage older readers with a five-year-old main character? Are flashbacks appropriate in this case?
Does a story always have to have a definite conclusion, or can it be a mysterious ending, where it is up to the reader to decide what happened?
I am so paranoid about having a "sagging" or boring middle. I think it makes me afraid to write. I'm not sure of all the things that need to happen, despite knowing the last part of the novel. Any suggestions?
What is in medias res?
How do I jump from one time to another without confusing the reader?
How do I know where to break for a new chapter when writing a novel?
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