novelWriter – open-source plain text editor designed for writing novels

Re:novelWriter – open-source plain text editor designed for ... by crooked-v on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @12:21PM (#27449752)

You seem to be entirely overlooking the existence of books that have very limited stakes and don't even feature "bad guys" in the first place, like Andy Weir's The Martian.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:novelWriter – open-source plain text editor designed for ... by Jeff_Brown on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @01:07PM (#27450410)

Fighting to survive alone on an alien planet seems pretty high stakes to me.

But you're right, there do exist such books. I said "almost entirely". I admit I'm limited to the sample I've experienced personally but it's over 90%.

Also I admit it omits children's lit and romance novels, which are two huge omissions.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:novelWriter – open-source plain text editor designed for ... by crooked-v on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @01:25PM (#27450600)

If the survival of a single person is "high stakes" in fiction, then what do you even consider "low stakes"?

> I admit I'm limited to the sample I've experienced personally but it's over 90%.

You need to read a wider selection of books, then. Try, say, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Of Mice and Men, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, The Grapes of Wrath, The Time Machine, Dune, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Foundation series, anything by Ray Bradbury... there's a very long list of books that are not driven by simplistic good vs. evil conflicts.

[ Parent | on HN ]