Title: Creative Writing — LearnCoachAssist

Q: What are the three acts in the three-act structure?
A: The three acts are Setup (introduction of characters, world, and conflict), Confrontation (rising action, complications, and midpoint), and Resolution (climax and denouement).

Q: What is Freytag's Pyramid and what are its five parts?
A: Freytag's Pyramid is a dramatic structure model with five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement (resolution).

Q: What is the inciting incident in story structure?
A: The inciting incident is the event that disrupts the protagonist's ordinary world and sets the main conflict in motion, typically occurring in Act One.

Q: Name the twelve stages of the Hero's Journey (monomyth).
A: The stages are: Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests/Allies/Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, The Road Back, Resurrection, and Return with the Elixir.

Q: What role does the mentor play in the Hero's Journey?
A: The mentor provides the hero with guidance, training, or a gift that prepares them for the challenges ahead — e.g., Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

Q: What is the climax of a story?
A: The climax is the turning point of highest tension where the protagonist faces the central conflict directly, and the outcome of the story becomes inevitable.

Q: What is denouement?
A: Denouement is the final part of a narrative where loose ends are tied up, consequences are revealed, and a new equilibrium is established after the climax.

Q: What is the difference between a flat and a round character?
A: A flat character is one-dimensional with few traits, while a round character is complex, multi-faceted, and behaves in surprising yet believable ways.

Q: What is the difference between a static and a dynamic character?
A: A static character remains essentially unchanged throughout the story, while a dynamic character undergoes significant internal change or growth.

Q: What is a character arc?
A: A character arc is the transformation or inner journey a character undergoes over the course of a narrative, often moving from a flaw or false belief to growth or truth.

Q: What is a positive character arc?
A: In a positive arc, the character begins with a flaw or false belief and gradually overcomes it, ending the story in a better state than they began — e.g., Ebenezer Scrooge.

Q: What is a negative character arc?
A: In a negative arc, the character deteriorates over the story, succumbing to a flaw or embracing a false belief — e.g., Walter White in Breaking Bad.

Q: What is a flat character arc (in terms of arc type, not dimensionality)?
A: A flat arc is when a character already holds a core truth and does not change internally, but instead changes the world or characters around them — e.g., Captain America.

Q: What is subtext in dialogue?
A: Subtext is the unspoken meaning beneath the surface of dialogue — what characters really mean or feel, as opposed to what they literally say.

Q: Why should writers avoid on-the-nose dialogue?
A: On-the-nose dialogue states feelings or intentions too directly, lacking subtext. Real people rarely say exactly what they mean, so it feels unrealistic and dramatically flat.

Q: What is dialogue attribution and what is the simplest best practice?
A: Dialogue attribution is the tag identifying who speaks (e.g., "she said"). The best practice is to use "said" most of the time, as it becomes invisible to the reader.

Q: How can dialect be conveyed in dialogue without overwhelming the reader?
A: Use a light touch: suggest dialect with word choice, syntax, and occasional phonetic spelling rather than heavy phonetic transcription, which slows reading.

Q: What is first-person point of view?
A: First-person POV uses "I/we" as the narrator is a character in the story, giving direct access to their thoughts but limiting knowledge to their perspective.

Q: What is second-person point of view?
A: Second-person POV addresses the reader as "you," placing them in the role of the character. It is rare in fiction but used in interactive fiction and some literary novels.

Q: What is third-person limited point of view?
A: Third-person limited uses "he/she/they" and restricts the narrative to the thoughts and perceptions of one character at a time, though it can shift between chapters.

Q: What is third-person omniscient point of view?
A: Third-person omniscient uses "he/she/they" but the narrator has access to all characters' thoughts and can comment on events with god-like knowledge.

Q: What is an unreliable narrator?
A: An unreliable narrator is one whose account of events is biased, incomplete, or deliberately deceptive, forcing the reader to question the truth — e.g., in Gone Girl.

Q: What does the principle "Show, Don't Tell" mean?
A: It means conveying emotions, traits, and situations through action, sensory detail, and dialogue rather than stating them directly — e.g., showing clenched fists instead of writing "he was angry."

Q: Give an example of telling vs. showing.
A: Telling: "She was nervous." Showing: "She twisted the hem of her sleeve and glanced at the door every few seconds."

Q: When is telling acceptable or even preferable in fiction?
A: Telling is useful for transitions, summarizing unimportant time, and pacing control — not every moment needs to be dramatized in full scene.

Q: What is a metaphor?
A: A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as" — e.g., "Time is a thief."

Q: What is a simile?
A: A simile compares two unlike things using "like" or "as" — e.g., "Her smile was like sunshine."

Q: What is irony in literature, and what are its three main types?
A: Irony involves a contrast between expectation and reality. The three types are verbal (saying the opposite of what is meant), situational (events contradicting expectations), and dramatic (the audience knows something a character doesn't).

Q: What is foreshadowing?
A: Foreshadowing is planting hints or clues early in a narrative that suggest events which will occur later, building suspense and cohesion.

Q: What is symbolism?
A: Symbolism is the use of an object, person, or event to represent an abstract idea or concept beyond its literal meaning — e.g., a white dove symbolizing peace.

Q: What is alliteration?
A: Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely connected words — e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Q: What is personification?
A: Personification attributes human qualities, emotions, or behaviors to non-human things — e.g., "The wind whispered through the trees."

Q: What is hyperbole?
A: Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or effect, not meant to be taken literally — e.g., "I've told you a million times."

Q: What are key conventions of the fantasy genre?
A: Fantasy typically features imagined worlds, magic systems, quests, mythical creatures, and often a clear battle between good and evil. Worldbuilding is essential.

Q: What are key conventions of science fiction?
A: Sci-fi explores speculative concepts grounded in science or technology — space travel, AI, time travel, dystopias — and often examines how these affect society and humanity.

Q: What distinguishes hard sci-fi from soft sci-fi?
A: Hard sci-fi prioritizes scientific accuracy and plausibility, while soft sci-fi focuses more on social sciences, character, and speculative ideas with less technical rigor.

Q: What are key conventions of the mystery genre?
A: Mystery revolves around a crime or puzzle that must be solved. It includes clues, red herrings, suspects, and a reveal. Fair-play mysteries give readers enough clues to solve it themselves.

Q: What are key conventions of the romance genre?
A: Romance centers on a love story with an emotionally satisfying, optimistic ending (HEA or HFN). The relationship arc is the primary plot.

Q: What are key conventions of the horror genre?
A: Horror aims to evoke fear, dread, or disgust. It often features threats (supernatural or human), atmospheric tension, isolation, and explores primal anxieties.

Q: What is worldbuilding?
A: Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world with its own geography, history, cultures, rules, and systems to create a believable setting for a story.

Q: What is the iceberg theory of worldbuilding?
A: The iceberg theory (attributed to Hemingway, applied to worldbuilding by Tolkien) means the author should know far more about the world than what appears on the page, lending depth and authenticity.

Q: Name three key elements to consider when worldbuilding.
A: Key elements include: magic or technology systems (and their rules/costs), political and social structures, and history and mythology of the world.

Q: What is the difference between revising and editing?
A: Revising addresses big-picture issues like structure, character arcs, and plot holes. Editing (line editing, copyediting) focuses on sentence-level clarity, grammar, and style.

Q: What is a developmental edit?
A: A developmental edit evaluates the manuscript's overall structure, pacing, character development, and plot coherence, often resulting in significant rewrites.

Q: What is line editing?
A: Line editing focuses on the prose style at the sentence and paragraph level — improving word choice, rhythm, clarity, and voice without changing the story's structure.

Q: What is copyediting?
A: Copyediting corrects grammar, spelling, punctuation, and consistency errors. It ensures adherence to a style guide and factual accuracy.

Q: What is proofreading?
A: Proofreading is the final check before publication, catching remaining typos, formatting issues, and minor errors that slipped through earlier edits.

Q: What is a useful self-editing technique for catching awkward prose?
A: Reading your work aloud. Hearing the words exposes awkward phrasing, repetition, unnatural dialogue, and pacing problems that the eye may skip.

Q: What is a query letter?
A: A query letter is a one-page pitch sent to literary agents, containing a hook, a brief synopsis of the book, comparable titles, and the author's credentials.

Q: What does a literary agent do?
A: A literary agent represents an author, submitting manuscripts to publishers, negotiating contracts and advances, and managing subsidiary rights — typically earning 15% commission.

Q: What are the main advantages of self-publishing?
A: Self-publishing offers full creative control, higher royalty percentages, faster time to market, and no need for agent or publisher approval.

Q: What are the main challenges of self-publishing?
A: Challenges include the author bearing all costs for editing, cover design, and marketing, potential stigma, discoverability difficulties, and no advance payment.

Q: What is a manuscript in the publishing process?
A: A manuscript is the author's completed, unpublished work formatted according to industry standards — typically double-spaced, 12pt Times New Roman, 1-inch margins.

Q: What are the four main types of conflict in fiction?
A: The main types are character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. society, and character vs. nature. Some lists also include character vs. technology and character vs. fate.

Q: What is internal conflict?
A: Internal conflict occurs within a character's mind — a struggle between competing desires, moral dilemmas, fears, or beliefs (character vs. self).

Q: What is external conflict?
A: External conflict pits a character against an outside force — another character, society, nature, or technology — creating obstacles to achieving their goals.

Q: Why is conflict essential to storytelling?
A: Conflict drives the plot, reveals character, creates tension and suspense, and gives readers a reason to keep turning pages. Without conflict, there is no story.

Q: What is pacing in fiction?
A: Pacing is the speed at which a story unfolds. It is controlled through scene length, sentence structure, dialogue-to-description ratio, and the balance of action and reflection.

Q: How can a writer speed up pacing?
A: Use short sentences and paragraphs, rapid dialogue, action scenes, and chapter breaks or cliffhangers to accelerate the pace.

Q: How can a writer slow down pacing?
A: Use longer sentences, descriptive passages, internal monologue, and reflective scenes to give the reader time to absorb information and emotion.

Q: What is the role of scene vs. summary in pacing?
A: Scenes dramatize events in real time (slowing pace, increasing immersion), while summary condenses time (speeding pace, covering less important events quickly).

Q: What is theme in literature?
A: Theme is the central underlying message, idea, or insight about life that a story explores — e.g., "power corrupts" or "love transcends death."

Q: How does theme differ from subject?
A: The subject is the topic (e.g., war), while the theme is the specific insight or argument about that topic (e.g., "war destroys innocence").

Q: Should a writer state the theme explicitly?
A: Generally no. Theme is most powerful when it emerges organically through character actions, plot events, and imagery rather than being stated directly by the narrator.

Q: What is tone in writing?
A: Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject matter or audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and stylistic choices — e.g., sarcastic, earnest, detached.

Q: What is mood in writing?
A: Mood is the emotional atmosphere experienced by the reader — the feeling a passage evokes, such as dread, joy, melancholy, or suspense.

Q: How do tone and mood differ?
A: Tone reflects the author's or narrator's attitude, while mood is the emotional effect on the reader. A sarcastic tone might create an uneasy mood.

Q: What role does setting play in a story?
A: Setting establishes time, place, and atmosphere. It can influence character behavior, create conflict, reinforce theme, and immerse the reader in the story world.

Q: How can setting function as a character in fiction?
A: When setting actively shapes events, mood, and conflict — like the moors in Wuthering Heights or the ocean in The Old Man and the Sea — it takes on a character-like role.

Q: What is verisimilitude in fiction?
A: Verisimilitude is the appearance of being true or real. Even in fantastical stories, internal consistency and believable details create a convincing fictional world.

Q: What is a red herring?
A: A red herring is a deliberately misleading clue or detail designed to divert the reader's attention from the true solution, commonly used in mystery and thriller genres.

Q: What is in medias res?
A: In medias res ("in the middle of things") is a technique of starting a story in the middle of the action, then filling in backstory later, to immediately hook the reader.

Q: What is a prologue and when should it be used?
A: A prologue is an introductory section before Chapter 1. Use it only when essential information cannot be woven into the main narrative — e.g., an event from a different time or POV.

Q: What is an epilogue?
A: An epilogue is a section after the main story ends, showing the aftermath or future state of characters. It provides closure or sets up a sequel.

Q: What is voice in writing?
A: Voice is the distinctive style, personality, and perspective that comes through in the writing — it's what makes one author's prose recognizable from another's.

Q: What is the difference between author voice and character voice?
A: Author voice is the writer's overall style and sensibility. Character voice is how a specific character sounds in dialogue and narration, shaped by their background and personality.

Q: What is a plot twist?
A: A plot twist is an unexpected development that changes the direction or meaning of the story. Effective twists are surprising yet inevitable — supported by earlier clues.

Q: What makes a compelling antagonist?
A: A compelling antagonist has clear motivations, believes they are justified, poses a credible threat, and ideally mirrors or challenges the protagonist's values.

Q: What is dramatic irony?
A: Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something a character does not, creating tension, suspense, or humor — e.g., the audience knows the killer is in the house.

Q: What is situational irony?
A: Situational irony occurs when the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected — e.g., a fire station burns down.

Q: What is Chekhov's Gun?
A: Chekhov's Gun is the principle that every element in a story should be necessary and irreplaceable — if a gun is shown in Act One, it must be fired by Act Three.

Q: What is a motif?
A: A motif is a recurring element, image, or idea throughout a narrative that reinforces theme — e.g., recurring references to water symbolizing rebirth.

Q: What is free indirect discourse?
A: Free indirect discourse blends a character's thoughts with third-person narration without quotation marks or attribution, creating intimacy — e.g., "She couldn't believe it. The nerve of him!"

Q: What is an archetype in storytelling?
A: An archetype is a universally recognized character type, symbol, or situation — e.g., the Hero, the Trickster, the Shadow, or the journey into the underworld.

Q: What is a foil character?
A: A foil is a character who contrasts with the protagonist to highlight specific qualities of the main character — e.g., Draco Malfoy as a foil to Harry Potter.

Q: What is exposition and how should it be handled?
A: Exposition is background information the reader needs. It should be woven in gradually through action, dialogue, and detail rather than delivered in large info-dumps.

Q: What is an info-dump and why is it problematic?
A: An info-dump is a large block of exposition delivered all at once. It halts narrative momentum and feels like a lecture rather than storytelling.

Q: What is the "Save the Cat" beat sheet?
A: "Save the Cat" (by Blake Snyder, adapted for novels by Jessica Brody) is a 15-beat story structure template including beats like Opening Image, Catalyst, Midpoint, All Is Lost, and Finale.

Q: What is a cliffhanger?
A: A cliffhanger ends a chapter or scene at a moment of high suspense or unresolved tension, compelling the reader to continue reading.

Q: What is narrative distance?
A: Narrative distance is how close or far the narrator feels from the character. Close distance immerses the reader in the character's thoughts; far distance provides a more objective view.

Q: What does "kill your darlings" mean?
A: It means being willing to cut beloved passages, characters, or scenes that don't serve the story, even if the writing itself is beautiful.

Q: What is a query synopsis?
A: A query synopsis is a concise (usually 1–2 page) summary of the entire plot including the ending, submitted to agents alongside a query letter.

Q: What are comp titles (comparable titles) in a query letter?
A: Comp titles are recently published books similar in genre, tone, or audience to the author's manuscript. They help agents and editors quickly understand the book's market positioning.

Q: What is head-hopping and why should it be avoided?
A: Head-hopping is switching between characters' thoughts within a single scene without clear transitions. It confuses readers and weakens point-of-view consistency.

Q: What is a frame narrative?
A: A frame narrative is a story within a story — an outer narrative that sets up and encloses an inner tale, e.g., Frankenstein or The Princess Bride.

Q: What is pathetic fallacy?
A: Pathetic fallacy is attributing human emotions to nature or weather to reflect a character's emotional state — e.g., a storm raging during a character's grief.

Q: What is an unreliable narrator useful for?
A: Unreliable narrators create mystery, tension, and surprise. They force readers to read critically and can deliver powerful twists when the truth is revealed.

Q: What is backstory and how should it be delivered?
A: Backstory is a character's history before the story begins. It should be revealed in small, relevant doses through dialogue, flashbacks, or brief narration — not in large blocks.

Q: What is a MacGuffin?
A: A MacGuffin is an object or goal that drives the plot but has little intrinsic importance — e.g., the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. It matters because characters want it.

Q: What is purple prose?
A: Purple prose is overly ornate, flowery writing that draws attention to itself rather than serving the story. It overuses adjectives, adverbs, and elaborate metaphors.