Young Writers Society

Hello dear Campers! Welcome to Camp NaNo in July. Even if you're not participating in Camp NaNo, feel free to read on!

Do you also have some questions about your stories you want to answer but don't know exactly how? Or would you like to be asked questions you've never asked yourself, and broaden the way you think about your plot and characters? Or do you simply want to delve deeper into a hazy idea with some questions?

Then this is the right thread for you! The Question Game is open to everyone and can be a possible help for your next big story!

Here is how to participate:

Step 1: Answer the question that the previous person has asked in their post.

Step 2: Ask a new question in your post.

Step 3: Wait for someone to answer your question.

Step 4: Follow up with the person who answered your question, and ask them a further question.

When you make a reply, remember to tag 1. the person whose question you're answering and 2. the person who answered your question.

Let's start this off with a question! Is there a song or kind of music you associate with your project(s)?

Almost Heaven by Isak Danielson. The title definitely and song fits it well-ish.

Are there any plot holes you are struggling with?

@Moonglade The singer has a powerful voice! Would you say there are shared themes with your story? Like maybe something . . . unreachable? Something to do with spirituality?


As for plot holes, why yes, I have a big and rather literal one: at the beginning of the story one of the conflicts introduced was that the main character has to host a fancy dinner for a bunch of people that dislike her and that she dislikes. (It's part of her accepting a new position of power.) Problem is, even though I've been developing that subplot, I just realised I never actually determined which chapter the dinner would happen in. I have detailed notes for the whole lead up to the dinner, including various problems that crop out, but there's just no climax. Where did it go, Past-Lim?!

The next question I have for any takers is . . . what is your character's favourite food and why?

@Liminality i’m not quite sure what my character’s (Anna) favorite food would be. perhaps sausages, because she is German. maybe also sauerbraten? (which, from my knowledge, is German pot roast,)
to whoever answers, what are some little things about your main character? for example, do they have a bad habit such as biting their nails, or do they love a clean house? do they overwork a lot?

@Liminality the plot has a lot to do with cancer. (Which is firstly inspired by my family. Which has experienced much too much cancer on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family.) About watching how someone you love, who maybe you thought had a cold or overworked die. The incredible disdain of seeing someone like that so slowly die. And about finding happiness again afterwards and finding a higher power to believe in so you can learn to rejoice once again. (My Dad is very religious so I’m dedicating this to him, my aunt, my great-grandfather, my great-grandmother, my great-great grandfather, my great-great aunt and everyone else who has died from or had to experience cancer in my family.) I love the metaphors and Isak’s voice. One of his metaphors which might also be a theme at the grief-support meeting is ”And you’ll never walk on water if you wait for the river to freeze over in Summer.”

I hope you enjoy the dinner and don’t stress too much about. Soon these worries will be only for Past-Lim.

@PaigeFantasy my character… lost their mother to cancer when she was 12. This is back when woman did everything for her house. Since her mother’s death she has to be the woman of the house (with only a little bit of help from her maid.). This is doing school at the same time, no chance for university and a low down job at an account’s office as the secretary. She is incredibly overworked and overwhelmed and confused. She also has a habit of tucking her behind her ears and then playing with it and untucking it.

@Moonglade Thanks for sharing what that song meant to you. It hadn't struck me that that was what the song was about, as I only listened through it once. Best of luck with your project! I'm glad you've found a deep purpose for your writing.

And this is just for anyone who's asked a question and gotten a reply, feel free to ask any follow-up questions as well.

And here is a question for anyone who is new to this thread: how does the setting and place of your story connect with your characters?

Oops I accidentally cut this out of my last reply, sorry ^^

@PaigeFantasy here is my follow up question! When does Anna usually eat those foods? Does she get to enjoy them often, or are they more for special occasions? Or are there particular people she likes to enjoy a meal with?

Hey, @Liminality! There are a few settings in my stories, which all mean very different things to my characters, so here's a basic summary.

London is home to most of the cast, but it isn't kind to them. They're torn between loving the city they live in and hating it for the pain it has caused.

The Mist is a fairytale for most of the cast, but for one, it is a home tainted by grief and failure.

The Underground is a painful reminder of the culture that the UK has decimated. It was once a beautifully vibrant place, but now it's a shallow shell of itself.


And a question for whoever's next! What is one thing your character will never do again, no matter what?

I don't take part in Camp NaNo directly, but I'm referring to a character I already designed last time for Camp NaNo and who probably also fits well into this scheme of answering the question.

My character is Stanley Glocken, in his early twenties, a journalist and engaged. I think from his point of view, he'll probably never mess with the police again. In the course of the story, his future father-in-law dies and then he wants to avoid his fiancée and his fiancée's family, so he takes off and wanders the city. He sleeps on a park bench and runs into a small event where he interferes when a woman is about to be arrested by the police. However, his rather weak stature is not exactly practical, so that he himself has a bloody nose and has to stay in the prison cell with the arrested woman for a few days.

No matter what happens again, he will probably never interfere anywhere again, which will probably lead to problems for him at some point.

My question: If one of your characters actually existed, would you make friends with the character? Why and why not?

Good question @MailicedeNamedy! I'd likely make friends with a few of my characters. One particular one would be Emily, one of the lab techs. She's a fundamentally kind person with a very clear sense of what is right and wrong. She's also loyal to a fault and would be a great friend to have!

My question:
Is your character close with their family? Why/why not?

My character (Stanley) is very close with the family, apart from the brother. So much so that his sister moves in with him after he moves out from their parents.

Stanley has a lot of positive memories of his parents and his younger sister, whereas he doesn't have that with his brother, which is probably also due to the brother's selfish and money-grubbing attitude. Perhaps he is even too close to his family, which leads to him not acting on his own initiative.


New question:

Are there characters where you think are not yet convincing or real enough to fit the story? (Maybe other users can give some tips if there are such characters).

Overall @MailicedeNamedy, I haven’t really had the time to branch out my characters so I am not fully aware of any major problems but I just worry about my main character being so dramatic because so much is happening and she cries a lot because it’s not wrong to cry… but… always worried…

New Question: Are you struggling to describe a place or something in your story?

Hey, @Moonglade! I always struggle to describe my characters. I never know when it’s a good time to drop those details, especially since I write in first person.

Follow up question, @MailicedeNamedy! How do you think Stanley never interfering again is going to affect the story? Is he going to end up regretting this decision?

And next question for whoever responds! How easy is it to annoy or upset your character(s)? Does this fact play a role in your story?

@Liminality, sorry for the late response!
Anna would probably not be able to eat her favorite foods often, due to it being the apocalypse, and due to her traveling and moving to other safe places. it’s not very safe to relax and eat her favorite foods. ghouls (don’t know if i’ll always call them this, kinda a temporary name, or permanent, idk) are always roaming around.