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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1523 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 10, 2026

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Re-reading How Not to Write a Novel. Not really for the writing advice at this point, but because it's genuinely entertaining, especially the snippets of deliberately bad writing throughout.

Oh man, I've worn out multiple copies of that book. I'm constantly recommending it to people as worth reading even if you have zero interest in writing a novel or fiction of any kind. I can quote so much of it from memory.

  • A sex scene that is only half right is like half a kitten. It is not half as cute as a whole kitten: it is a bloody, godawful mess.
  • This particular kind of ending is called a deus ex machina, which is French for "are you fucking kidding me?"
  • This particular kind of plot twist is known at the folie adieu, which is French for "are you fucking kidding me?".

Great book.

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