If the answer is "pick a method and be consistent", your question may be one of style.
5
votes
1answer
98 views
How to quote from a foreign journal that has not been translated?
I need to quote from a journal written in Arabic. What should I do? Write it first in Arabic then followed by translation and indicating that it is my own translation (translated by author)? Can I ...
5
votes
3answers
69 views
Deaf speechmarks? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does one present spoken dialogue as a secondary language to signed speech?
I want to write a novel and I was thinking of including a deaf character. I want to know ...
5
votes
2answers
193 views
How can you build an interactive tone into articles?
I was wondering about tone in articles lately. My articles don't tend to be interactive. It feels like most of them are just flowing one way.
How does actually tone contribute to the quality of an ...
4
votes
6answers
443 views
Referring to oneself in first vs. third person in online profiles
Suppose I am writing a post/blog, how should I mention myself?
For example,
Ray Wenderlich (Site Admin)
Ray is an indie software developer currently focusing on iPhone and iPad development. ...
4
votes
7answers
177 views
Unpunctuation: bug or feature?
Cormac McCarthy's style is worthy of a topic all its own. I've read all his books. Hasn't written a bad one, though some owe more or less of a debt to Faulkner. Anyway, to the point: he doesn't use ...
4
votes
3answers
699 views
How to create varying, yet realistic, speech patterns
Different characters speak differently. If someone reads me a letter written by an immediate relative, I can tell right away who wrote it. I believe --and correct me if I'm wrong-- that giving each ...
4
votes
4answers
94 views
Is it a Good or Bad thing to use 'I' Regularly in Magazine Articles?
Do readers want to read articles where the author refers to themselves and their experiences, or would they prefer the author to leave themselves out of the article?
When I say 'readers' I'm ...
4
votes
2answers
156 views
Style of writing as told from the point of view of the main character
What would be a good style for writing a story from one point of view while keeping the narration interesting? I mean you can't go into too much detail as what a person does during the day is fine for ...
4
votes
3answers
209 views
Simplicity is fundamental in design. How about in writing a novel?
I'm a web designer. The first rule in design is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
How about writing a novel? Is simplicity fundamental or just an option?
4
votes
5answers
338 views
How to explain something mid sentence
I'm writing a review for a fiction book and I'm using a lot of terminology that is specific to the book and I feel that it has to be given some context and explanation. Otherwise any reader would be ...
4
votes
4answers
174 views
Does writing in a certain mood change how a writer writes?
I'm not sure if this is right for this part of Stackexchange, but since there is no psychology section, here we go:
I'm currently writing the same short story several times with the intention of ...
4
votes
3answers
96 views
When and how often edit the style and content of a story?
An early story I did I edited again and again to make it better. But in the end, I got the feeling the result was worse than before. Recently I tried to write (short-stories) in one go and only check ...
4
votes
4answers
145 views
Is it acceptable practice to use contractions in a fictional first person narrative for children?
I am writing a children's story in first person, present tense. Aside from the quotes from characters, all of the text is meant to represent the narrator's own thoughts, and either describes what they ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
Writing a Lullaby
I need to write a short folk lullaby as part of my story, but am having trouble getting the feel of it in my lyrics.
What are the general conventions of writing a lullaby? Any general principles ...
4
votes
2answers
757 views
Pros ans cons of writing a plot based on the present and past tense (character's point of view)?
I'm not sure if I should write my first book in the present or past tense.
The book is about a doctor in a clinic who is analysing his patients.
e.g.
I said, VS I say.
I thought for a while ...
4
votes
2answers
72 views
Punctuating dialogue with oneself
I am wondering what is the convention for punctuating dialogue with oneself.
In particular, if a character speaks to himself, does the words need to be put in open and closed quotes. Note that the ...
4
votes
2answers
288 views
What is “head popping” and why is it bad?
Most of my writing experience has been with first person, nonfiction stories. Now I want to try some fiction. I'm working in third person, but I'm a little bit confused about how to pull something ...
4
votes
3answers
118 views
What's the appropriate way to write numbers in educational contexts like papers?
I want to know if numbers should be written alphabetically in educational contexts, for instance:
10 plasma samples out of 1016 cannot be ignored.
Or
Ten plasma samples out of one thousand ...
4
votes
3answers
596 views
Referencing figure in text - capitalize the word “Figure” or not? Why?
I see it quite a lot. It looks a bit like this:
It can be seen in Figure 3 that...
My gut feeling is that there is no reason to scream in the middle of a perfectly calm sentence. I would like to ...
4
votes
3answers
93 views
Floating vs Float
I was writing a short story piece where one person drops something in the water. I got puzzled by the following two choices. Google books seem to be using both of them.
Jena and Mike went outside ...
4
votes
2answers
155 views
How should I approach possibly unfamiliar pop culture in fiction?
So sometimes I get an idea that forms specifically around some aspect of pop culture. They're often song lyrics. If the reader knows the song, they appreciate the symbolism and allegory or whatever ...
4
votes
5answers
227 views
Using uncommon abbreviations
Something which I see all the time in (popular) science writing is the use of abbreviations to indicate concepts. For (a made up) example:
So when we're dealing with Anachronistic Meta Mechanics ...
4
votes
3answers
201 views
Very long sentences: personal style or just bad writing?
I'm writing a story targeted towards children in which the protagonist is a young girl. I find that in writing her dialog and the narrative, I'm producing a lot of very long sentences, to the point ...
4
votes
1answer
674 views
Referencing a website using Harvard style
How can I reference a website using the Harvard style?
How would this be different if no author was listed?
4
votes
2answers
87 views
What are some ways to denote presentation style outside of written text.
I would like my document as I am writing it to be independent of software layouts as I think it would be a better decision to make at the end of the process. What would be good ways to denote ...
4
votes
3answers
232 views
How to achieve a dark and nostalgic feeling/setting in a novel?
I don't want to scare the reader, but I would like to produce a dark and nostalgic feeling.
Pretty much the feeling that gives you this video (both image and music).
The setting of my novel is a ...
4
votes
3answers
183 views
What revisions for this draft would be more readable and/or more humorous?
Notes:
My audience knows that adrenaline and epinephrine are synonyms.
I'm new! I'm sorry if I abuse the site by posting this!
Please critique ruthlessly.
I would send by Facebook message to a ...
4
votes
5answers
375 views
Using dashes in writing dialogue
Does anyone use em dashes (or two hyphens) to denote speakers in dialogue passages? Joyce does this as does William Gaddis. Many others. I practice it, but my only "conceptual understanding" is that ...
4
votes
2answers
71 views
Knowing When To Cite?
In my essay (specifically a recount essay of a moment in the past), my objective is to end with the discussion of Death as a being (because my recounted moment will be related to death). I'd like to ...
4
votes
2answers
155 views
Citing in a paper: one citation for two paragraphs?
I'm writing a short paper on macroeconomics; the professor gave us two tries, I submitted the first try, and now got my feedback.
The feedback is: "The first paragraph could also deserve a ...
4
votes
4answers
63 views
What paragraph style should I use for an e-book?
I have often heard of the advice that "use a style that works best in your situation".
In regard to paragraph styling for an ebook, there are a few options:
A single space (between paragraphs) and ...
4
votes
1answer
243 views
Is there a style / terminology guide for Android OS application documentation?
This relates to my earlier question: My first professional writing job: any advice?
I will be involved with writing documentation for an Android OS business application. Is there an Android style ...
4
votes
1answer
183 views
Pros and cons of using perspectives?
What are the pros and cons of using first person/second person/third person perspective in your story?
4
votes
1answer
82 views
singular or plural for index entries
I am in the final stages of writing a book and currently I am preparing the index. Are there any rules whether index entries should be listed in singular or plural?
Currently I have
Markov chains, ...
4
votes
1answer
194 views
What tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence?
What is the correct tense to use in an academic paper when speaking about correspondence? Say one of my source materials is a letter written by someone named William, in which he says he went to the ...
4
votes
1answer
42 views
What is the proper format/style for using and properly citing code in an APA paper?
I'm working on a paper that covers concurrency in Java, however to properly explain many concepts I feel code samples are basically needed.
However, I don't know how to properly cite code I've ...
3
votes
6answers
541 views
How to separate scenes in a chapter?
I have multiple scenes in a chapter, sometimes from different POVs, or different locations/times. Now I would like to make it clear to the reader that they have left a scene and are entering a new ...
3
votes
2answers
89 views
Creative writing use and abuse
I am wondering what is the limit, if any, of justifying one's writing style as being creative.
I have often seen the use of a single word or phrase as a 'sentence' for creating impact. Example: "It ...
3
votes
3answers
488 views
How to write English in Merlin (TV Series) style?
I find the writing style of the show Merlin to be very good, and much better than current/modern English usage. Details about the show can be found at IMDB's Merlin page, and Wikipedia's entry about ...
3
votes
4answers
5k views
Do you use the word “that” too much?
I find myself using the word "that" too much. How do you really know when you need that "that" word there? Like just now. I don't think I need "that" there. Do you have words you overuse?
3
votes
3answers
206 views
Is it okay to quote a saying, even if i don't know who said it?
If it is okay to quote then how should i quote it. For example,
"Many wealthy people are little more
than janitors of their possessions."
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
Now if i don't ...
3
votes
3answers
119 views
Formatting blog posts like the pros
I am new to writing. I have seen Jeff Atwood's blog and I am really impressed how he writes. I have seen a similar manner on wordpress docs too. I am still confused with some issues while writing. ...
3
votes
3answers
362 views
First Person Voice - Same as speaking?
When writing in first person, if the POV character talks with a certain dialect or type of diction (eg. "I ain't got all day! Hurry it up, will ya?") should they narrate with the same accent, or can ...
3
votes
5answers
233 views
Which English grammar should be followed when writing for a global audience?
In relation to my question on Usage of 'z' in the word serialized in English?, it seems I was mistaken in assuming there is a generally accepted correct variant of English.
The question Which variant ...
3
votes
6answers
299 views
Is it overkill to follow style-guides for technical writing?
I currently work for an engineering company as an electrical engineer. A good chunk of my time is spent writing testing reports or instruction documents. Currently my company doesn't have any sort of ...
3
votes
4answers
496 views
Strunk and White vs “Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace” by Williams and Colomb
I'd like to improve my writing and have been considering getting either The Elements of Style by Strunk and White or Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace by Williams and Colomb. What are their ...
3
votes
6answers
203 views
Please help me improve this sentence…
In a first-person narrative, I’d like to use the following sentence:
It took me nearly a decade to write this script, and now I’d pitch it to the top producer in Hollywood.
I’m not following ...
3
votes
5answers
151 views
Which version of these three lines is more likely to attract the interest of the reader ? (character's viewpoint vs omnicient narrator)
The first one is a suggestion I got from my previous question. The second one is a version based on the character's viewpoint. Which version is more likely to attract the interest of the reader (and ...
3
votes
3answers
146 views
A friendlier way to write charges or fees to clients?
What is a better way to write in an email to tell my client that I will charge him a fee of say $100? Often, I feel very reluctant to write these ways:
I will quote the hosting and development ...
3
votes
3answers
78 views
Is it acceptable to mix how you address the reader in an instructional Wiki?
I'm working on a Wiki article that explains to new developers how our product life-cycle works.
Originally, my goal was to completely avoid the word "you" and use a more general description like "the ...
