Hi there,

With submissions for some of the big guys (Kenyon, Granta, etc.) opening up this month, I'm shooting for the stars and sending out my strongest piece. One thing I'm unsure of though is the correct formatting for my submission document, since they don't outline their preferences.

I know standard manuscript format calls for double-spacing throughout, and indents before each paragraph. However, when looking at published work on Kenyon Review's site, all of it is formatted with no paragraph indentations—just two spaces between paragraphs. That is how I'm used to seeing/submitting my work in/to independent lit mags, and why I'm taking pause with what is correct and standard for the major journals.

I know this isn't the secret to getting published in Granta, but since I have a 99.9% chance of rejection anyway, I don't want incorrect formatting to get me written off before the reader can decide it sucks on their own! Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Hi everyone!

Has anyone here ever had trouble being taken seriously after switching genres?

For example, you've become known primarily as a comedy writer, but then you decide to write something much more serious, like drama. Do editors, publishers, or even readers have a hard time seeing you differently because they still think of you as "the comedy writer"?

I was wondering if writers experience something similar to actors. When an actor becomes strongly associated with comedy, it can sometimes be difficult for audiences or casting directors to take them seriously when they move into dramatic roles.

Does the same kind of typecasting happen in writing?

I'm writing short story duologies. Each pair focuses on a central character, but each is from a different main character's perspective.

So, imagine two short stories about Superman, one from Lois Lane's perspective, the other from Lex Luthor's.

Because that's exactly what happened with the first one. It's about a Garrison Captain and I wrote the first one from her husband's point of view and then I wrote the second one from her uncle's POV, who is her enemy in the story.

For the second pair, the central character is a criminal mastermind, and I wrote the first from the perspective of a spicy enemies-to-lovers woman she's into and then the second is from the Garrison Captain, who's trying to arrest her....

Can you see where I'm going with this?!

Every single time, it KEEPS being a lover and an enemy of the central character!

The ONE time it wasn't.... My devilish mind started to betray me and make me ship two of my characters who I've NEVER considered in that type of way, JUST because I put the first in what my brain now calls "the lover slot."

How do I make this stop?! 😅😭 Have you ever found yourself unable to break a weird habit?

As far as I can tell, everyone goes goo goo gaa gaa over setting. 1800 revolutionary France, furturistic techno-dystopia, modern vampire secret societies, ancient Chinese dynastic turmoil, etc. It's not simply skill at writing style, plenty of talented and popular authors tell a grand ol tale that even committed fans will say "Yeah, that representation of Spanish monasteries in 1600 Mexico was clearly written by a British Man" or "His historical drama about Marx's family clearly self inserts his own theological beliefs and doesn't fit in with the German culture of the time." Even with fantasy or scifi, adding magical realms and galaxies of planets, suspending disbelief for massive worldbuilding projects involving science, magic, entirely artificial creatures and rules to reality is a difficult task. Culture, history, and especially background characters seems to define the environment in which the characters, main, supporting, side, or stock, get to operate in.

Why have there been so few stories without background characters? Only ones that seem to do this are (A) survival stories, like horror monsters or trapped in the wilderness or (B) closed room dramas, like murder mysteries, or the medium of stage plays. Either unstable environments, from a single house to a large uninhabited area, versus stable environment, usually indoors with very defined and limited areas. Is it just because of characters are not trapped in a small area, and are not cut off from society, the story doesn't really make sense or have a believable setting/environment without background characters?

Thoughts?

I'm writing my first novel. (Yay!) It's going pretty well, but I think my 3rd act is going to be a little bit shorter than I expected. I understand there aren't "rules" to writing, but I'm wondering if it's too short, and if anyone has tips on writing a better 3rd act.

I think the reason my 3rd act is shorter is that most of my protagonist's conflicts are internal.

My character's challenge is the realizing what to differently, but once she does, there are only a few situations to put her in to show that.

So my act 2 is longer, and the protagonist gets so frustrated by the end of act 2 that by act 3, she still has some fear, but she knows how to keep going despite it.

I'm not sure how to come up with extra metaphorical dragons for her to slay, though.

Maybe it's not a problem... but if anyone has been in a similar situation or has advice, please share!

I had an idea for a novella about a topic that’s very important to me (read: I’m angry about it all the time). I had an outline and motivation. I envisioned myself spending the summer in Walden-esque tranquility, letting 25k words flow from my brain onto paper.

I got about 7k words done, and I can’t only blame the constant 80%+ humidity.

Has anyone else ever had this experience—one where maybe you’re too close to the story, and so even though you have no conscious blocks, something gets in your way?

What happened to that story? If you did finish it, what helped?

Welcome to our daily discussion thread!

This is the place to discuss anything writing related! Got silly questions? Brainstorming ideas? Need help with research? As long as rules 1, 3, and 5 are followed, this thread is your oyster!

Please refer to the monthly threads for sharing your work and for self-promotion.

---

FAQ -- Questions asked frequently

Wiki Index -- Ever-evolving and woefully under-curated, but we'll fix that some day

You can find our posting guidelines in the sidebar or the wiki.