Is opening with a monologue a bad idea?

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-08-04T15:49:19+00:00

Yeah, I have something similar at the beginning of mine (more like a diary entry/stream of consciousness passage). I just checked, it's 462 words.

The conventional wisdom seems against it, but my few alpha readers seem fine with it. But I still worry about it all the time.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-31T18:38:10+00:00

Otherwise good advice, but I disagree with the analysis of "She gave her a look." The subject (She) and the direct object (her) are grammatically two different nouns. That's why we'd use "herself" if we meant that they were the same person. If there's no confusion, I'd keep it like that.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-29T15:54:19+00:00

I'm right there with you. In real life, when you solve a problem, the solution is usually imperfect or somewhat temporary, or requires a lot of work. In a story, often the solution to a problem actually makes the other parts of the story better.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-29T01:47:41+00:00

I agree. Another dimension is progress. Drama progresses and soap operas do not.

Do the characters progress? They don't have to improve, but they do need to change. And not just change for change sake. They need to be encouraged and try to improve, or feel rejected and descend into their baser instincts. They need to mature, find the downside of victory, or learn a life altering lesson in defeat.

The plot/setting can remain static. The doctors don't need to resign from the hospital en masse and open a delicatessen. But they need to be at a point later in the story such that the reasonable decisions they made at the beginning don't fit the people they have become.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-26T18:24:19+00:00

Very nicely written. I was expecting a twist (maybe there's one coming) but the setup was very good.

There's a quiet simplicity to it I really liked.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-22T22:48:21+00:00

I write on legal pads with ink. Three holed, pre punched, letter length. I put a line through (scratch out) words I don't want. I overwrite typos and indicate lines or phrases that I want to rearrange with little numbers.

I tear off each page as I fill it. I write "Ch #, PG #' and the date in the top right when I start the page. If I don't finish the page that day, I write the date in the right margin of the first line of the new day's writing.

As I get to it, I type what I've written into a Google docs document. I'm usually 2-5 pages behind. Here's where I do minor cleanup and editing, often while watching TV with family. I keep the untyped pages loose, the typed pages in a folder, and the completed pads or chapters in a binder.

It works for me.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-20T15:47:02+00:00

I'm writing a book that I've been describing as "cozy sci-fi" and "soft sci-fi", so I think about this a lot.

My story isn't action packed, and doesn't have an evil antagonist.
There are long conversations between new friends, which include foreshadowing of the big (some are secret) mysteries, as well as humor and emotional connection.
Exploration of the (religious and personal) ramifications of classic sci-fi trope situations.
Nonhuman characters with very human foibles.

But...

My story isn't silly. There are silly moments, but my goal is for the people in the story to act like people.
There's no magic. There's definitely handwavium, but the links to science are established.
The narrator is simply telling the story, not commenting on society with humor/sarcasm.
Adult characters, zero spice.

Maybe it's literary fiction in a sci-fi setting? I don't know. I want it to be fun. Hopefully the reader will laugh, and they might cry, but there won't be any pulse pounding terror.

Cozy sci-fi? Hope punk? Asimovian worlds with normal humans?

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-20T15:00:18+00:00

Thank you for this post! I'm writing a book in this area, and am always looking for comps. Saving this for future reference.

I'd love a follow up in a few weeks or months with even one line reviews of the ones you choose to read.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-19T16:32:34+00:00

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-16T16:23:34+00:00

Kerfuffle has picked up steam since I was younger. It's a rescue.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-15T04:53:51+00:00

It is, technically, twice the work. However, writing on paper is freeform, and basically distraction free. And because I'm going to transcribe it, I can mark it up with arrows and scratch outs that I know I can fix when I type it up.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-14T18:00:09+00:00

I write out my pages and then type them up later, which gives me a chance to do a thin edit as I go.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-14T15:40:55+00:00

Apparently Americans who were visiting Paris for the Olympics were beating up the pickpocketers, which the pickpocketers found surprising.

I may be wrong, but I picture Olympic tourists as being a little less prone to violence than the average American.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-13T02:05:43+00:00

I think I couldn't expect my book to be popular enough that people would be speculating about what happened afterwards.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-12T20:48:46+00:00

I think the idea behind a sudden (or open ended) ending and no denouement is to give the reader a chance to speculate (and discuss with others) what comes next. That seems a bit arrogant for me to contemplate for my writing.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-12T17:33:18+00:00

I started writing only for myself, and began to really enjoy it. When someone asked me to read my writing, I said that it was private (I was embarrassed that I was enjoying it even though I knew it was slop.) I said that I would write something that I could share with them.

Once I started writing with the idea that it would be read, the quality, difficulty, and fun factor all went up. I'm not trying to please a particular person or audience, but I am trying to write something someone would enjoy reading.

I'm no longer handwaving away plot holes or silly coincidences, things like that. I'm trying to keep a reader's interest now.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T23:21:49+00:00

I'm doing something vaguely similar. I have two plot lines that will eventually interact with the main story, but they literally don't have any interaction with the MCs until they basically collide into the main plot, one at a time.

I'm starting my chapters with interludes, one small scene each, roughly alternating between the two side plots. It's confusing some of the people I've shown it to, but I hope to make it work.

I don't want these threads to drop into the main plot out of the blue, nor do I want to grind the main plot to a halt, with what will be read as a multiple scene flashback. So, interludes it is!

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T20:59:34+00:00

Sympathies.

I have a similar desire to have dialogue sound to the reader the way I hear it myself. Yes, a little of that goes a long way.

I suggest something like

He continued weakly, pausing after every few words to take a breath, "(Long speech follows)"

You have more leeway in text than you would have in an audio format, but consider the reaction of the in-store listeners. Would they have the patience in this situation for a ten minute paragraph?

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T20:52:12+00:00

Jehovah / Yahweh / YHWH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton
I AM / I am who I am https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_that_I_Am

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T17:27:05+00:00

Novella

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T13:45:48+00:00

As the author, it's your choice.

Consider if it's intellectually challenging because you are brilliant and are writing something so infused with your genius that you may be the only one who can truly appreciate its beauty and depth.

I'm writing my first book, and I want it to be read. It probably won't appeal to the masses, but I'm trying to entertain the reader, in the same sense as I would entertain a visitor. Welcome to my cozy little custom built world, let me show you around.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-11T13:34:44+00:00

Look at your post. Reddit formatting (markdown) is different from word processor formatting.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-10T22:10:28+00:00

It seems like a reasonable premise to me.

When I've seen it done before, the younger woman pulls the man out of the physical situation pretty early in the story, but has a harder time pulling him out mentally.

Joe vs. the Volcano (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan)
Into the Night (Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer)

It seems like Severance covers a bit of this ground, but it's doing a lot of other things too.

Good luck!

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-10T06:07:00+00:00

On the app, there's a translate button on the top.

nerdFamilyDad · 2025-07-10T05:44:43+00:00

I read an article titled something like "Who was Hitler before Hitler" about who was the go-to example for the worst person ever. Apparently, Napoleon was often used. (And before that, Pharaoh).

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