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Happily Ever Authors (Free)
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Marlowe and Christie Writers
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8 contributions to Marlowe and Christie Writers
10d •
Writing Prompt
Quick 5-minute writing spark:Your reflection in the mirror stops copying you. Instead, it starts telling you the one secret you've been hiding from everyone—even yourself. What does it say? Write the first line of dialogue (or the whole short exchange) below.
3 likes • 9d
"Don't be afraid. I've inhabited you since you were too young to know what 'you' meant and you failed to identify me from among the tsunami of character traits that make up you...but I'm not you...I'm me...and I've come with an ultimatum that you really have no choice but to consider, otherwise I may never leave you...to be you...ever again; forever destined...to be me."
Jan 9 •
Anyone ever had to start their end again?
Hello everyone, Not sure whether I'm looking for sympathy or advice, probably both, but I wanted to ask: has anyone else redrafted their WIP about ten times, only to discover the ending is far too complex and doesn't make sense? I've been working on this for years and I seem to remember the end was brilliant. But looking at it with fresh eyes over the Christmas break, I realise the final chapters are too complicated and a bit ridiculous. (You know that feeling when you cringe at your own work?) I'm with you @Lorna Riley when it comes to new ennui, but I was thinking some of you may have experienced this sort of crushing epiphany moment in your own writing lives. If you have, please could you share what you did next? Thanks 👍
1 like • 14d
It's good to read and re-read your work at different times and in different moods. Each mood is like a new character and is able to detect grammatical issues, plot lines and other details that need to be fleshed out or condensed. I find that every time I re-read, I amend and something improves, even if it is only the wording in one paragraph. If you decide after all your work that it needs more work, do it. Just remember to save your previous work as a previous version so you can still revert to the old version if you change your mind. However, sometimes, it is your own soul, knowing the work you have put in, urging you to tweak and perfect it before deciding it is complete. Once you have changed your ending to read more clearly and flow more satisfyingly you will be pleased you put the effort in. Most important thing is to enjoy it. Get wrapped up in the story and love every bit of it.
14d •
Silly grammar question?
Hi everyone! I had a conversation with one of my alpha readers (aka critique partner) around a sentence from my novel. Please see below. "I’m tidying up the last things before heading out. One final look at my inbox, then I grab the trench coat, and switch off the Sonos." According to my alpha reader, grabbing "the" trench coat is not grammatically correct, and the sentence should read "I grab my trench coat." Not having defined the trench coat or not having given enough context doesn't warrant the use of a definite article. Basically, we don't know anything about it, so it cannot be called THE trench coat. If, for example, I'd said "I look for something warm in the wardrobe. I grab the trench coat and leave", that would have worked, because we are already in the realm of clothing and the character is looking into a wardrobe. Now, I can totally see where this is coming from, but to me it feels there's enough context? And I struggle to see how it becomes a plain grammar mistake. The character is clearly heading out, and performs a number of actions typical of who gets ready to leave the office, including grabbing a coat that can just assume is his. I do trust my alpha reader, who is a linguist and a translator, but I wonder whether the precise, academic grammar might have got in the way of what we can and cannot say in fiction? Or I am simply plain wrong, which is equally fine, but I'd like to know why :D What do you think? P.S. I know this is an easy fix and not a biggie at all. At this point, it's mostly an intellectual curiosity for me :)
0 likes • 14d
I'll be honest. I don't know what an alpha reader is. Sometimes AI or computer technology is not to be followed implicitly especially if it adds confusion and removes you from your natural, human flow. I see no issue with "I grabbed the trenchcoat..." Perhaps it would have sounded different if you had added "I grabbed the blue, speckled trenchcoat that my mum had bought me for Christmas and switched off the Sonos." It is as if the grammer tool is trying to force you to define it as yours but in the real world full of grammatical nuances, nobody but an AI assistant would pick that up. I would trust your gut. Don't overthink it. The writing is straight and to the point. You are the writer not the alpha reader. If in doubt, override and trust your own capacity. :) Or you can have an editor sort it out later. Good luck.
16d •
Getting it Done
What’s the one thing stopping you from finishing your current WIP right now? Procrastination? Perfectionism? That endless research rabbit hole? We are have something - share yours below.
0 likes • 16d
I don't plan. I just start making it up as I go along. When a new character is invented I add them to my character list. I note down dates, places, the era, the style of the time and important features I may need to refer to later. I take notes on new developments and plot twists, adding them to my contents page where I almost write out the entire novel by outlining the titles of each chapter. I am almost 50K on 2 different novels and 30K on a third. It's definitely spending hours reading and re-reading what I did at my last sitting that takes the longest. Each time I re-read, I tweak, add, improve. Slow and steady wins the race...that being the race with my own impatience. :)
Jan 4 •
Prologues
Apropos nothing: prologues are very much the fashion, based on what I've seen lately. Do we have any thoughts on this?
0 likes • 20d
I like a good prologue. It is the ambiguous mystery, like a question that the story must answer. Who did it? How did she end up there? Why were they driving? Where were they going? How are they going to get out of this one? Who are these people in the first place? Like a first scene in many films. Breaking Bad the TV series always had an opening scene which worked like a prologue. The episode then explained the scene so we would know what the story was behind the ambiguous images.
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@soom-bard-9898
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Nothing pleases me more than lose myself in an adventure or tale I or another has woven together.
Active 8h ago
Joined Jan 8, 2026
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