Hot answers tagged style
8
Grammar "violations" are perfectly fine in fiction, as long as they create the effect you desire in the reader.
Incomplete sentences can (sometimes) pick up the pace, or make the reading choppy and staccato. When you want those effects, use incomplete sentences.
Starting a sentence with a conjunction can (sometimes) make sentences flow together in an ...
7
I had a similar problem with my book, since it was aimed mainly for Portuguese speakers but the two main Portuguese speaking countries - Brazil and Portugal - have really different cultural scenes and even the language is somewhat different.
In some cases, I had to use footnotes and explain outside of the narrative what somethings were. At other points, my ...
7
In most instances thought is presented as italicised text.
If they’re physically talking I’d present it as normal text.
Thought - Damn it, what’s the matter with me? She thought as she closed the door.
Speech - ‘Damn it, what’s the matter with me?’ She cursed as she closed the door.
6
The question of whether a blank verso facing a chapter title carries its page number is a question of style determined by designers (if their publishing house does not already have a fixed policy.)
Since there will be nothing on the page to index, the number is not "necessary" for that purpose. Nevertheless, it will often be be printed simply because it is ...
6
Ask advice in any domain of creativity; art, photography, writing, movies, and you'll hear the same answer:
Learn the rules of the trade, then break them.
Any rule can be violated. Grammar, logic, style, pacing, anything! But you don't just go about writing, forgetting the rules, missing or misunderstanding them. You don't just know the rules perfectly, ...
5
If these are insignificant details, footnotes or mentions by characters are okay.
If these are more central to the story but not likely to be widely known, a cabbagehead may ask for detailed information.
If it's central to the story, the culture and all characters, something quite a bit too common for a cabbagehead to ask, or too broad to answer, write a ...
4
In the absence of a particular style guide, I would put the page numbers on the top of the page, toward the outer side. When printing single-sided, this means put them in the top right corner. When printing double-sided, this means put them in the top right corner on odd numbered pages, and top left corner on even numbered pages.
Putting the page number at ...
4
Abuse of adjectives and adverbs is the hallmark sign of pulp writing, showing the author has a poor grasp of the language.
You usually use adjectives and adverbs when you try to make given noun or verb, respectively, more precise, more descriptive. This is fine when there is no better way to achieve this goal, but in a lot of cases there is a better way.
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3
If you want to appeal to an universal audience, you should talk about universal problems. You can use footnotes and very detailed descriptions but if the readers don't relate to them (because they don't identify with your culture) then it's probable that they won't find any appeal in your story.
Regarding your case, I think the concept of dreams as ...
2
"Before I start my reply, I want to point that, afaik, in Portuguese speaking countries, the most common way to delimit dialogues is to use only dashes. The quotation marks are reserved for thoughts and, sometimes, foreign words. I'm answering based on that criteria."
I handle that in my books as a normal dialogues.
– How could I be so complacent? ...
1
Writing is tricky. As someone telling a story, you have to find the balance between describing something and moving the plot forward. If your description (be it an adjective, adverb, or even a couple of sentences of prose) adds to the information the reader needs to know, is a relevant detail, or gives a better image of what's going on, keep it in. If it ...
1
Use something like:
He folded his arms and sat up straight. "And you suppose he had a different motive?"
or
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
I also like to use this style in an ongoing conversation:
"You're telling me that I'm fired," Jeremy muttered.
His brother, the current president of the company, shook his head. "No I'm not."
"Then ...
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