SF.

2,797 reputation

111

bio	website
	location
	age
visits	member for	6 months
	seen	yesterday
stats	profile views	16

	2,797 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	6 months
111 badges		location			seen	yesterday

summary answers questions tags badges favorites bounties reputation activity

159 Comments

suggestions reviews revisions comments badges posts accepts all

May 15	comment	Best Grammar checking software It's funny to see a question of the format so unwelcome on StackExchange because "choosing the best is subjective" or "this will create an endless list of answers, all valid" when the answer to the question is "none". We have fairly good spellcheckers but it's still a good several years before a half-decent grammar-checker is created. (that doesn't mean none exist, simply none good exist.)
May 15	comment	is this the correct site for feedback? This type of questions belong to meta.writers.stackexchange.com, where we discuss things related to this site, as opposed to writing in general.
May 14	comment	How many words in 350 pages typed and double spaced? In OpenOffice, the easiest approach is to write a page or a few, then go to Tools=>Count Words
May 13	comment	What do you do if you enjoy writing, but have no ideas? I wish for software that would be easy and robust enough to easily store that kind of data. I tried concept-mapping software but it usually focuses on pretty presentation, not on getting the whole grid jotted down without getting muddled in the details like sizes of the text boxes. I've got in the works something so complex I can't keep it whole in my head and that problem is really a roadblock. If you want to contact me, try randomblank@derpymail.org ; Random Blank is generally the nickname I use in the MLP fandom.
May 12	comment	What do you do if you enjoy writing, but have no ideas? @Mussri: I have a good memory for "grid of dependencies" style data: maps, algorithms, storylines, structures. Don't be too protective about ideas: If you forgot it, it wasn't good enough to stick in your memory anyway ;) Also,see edit to the answer. About MLP: as my inspiration dried out some 10 years ago, it rekindled it recently, but as side effect about all my current works are MLP fanfiction. Including this one.
May 11	comment	What do you do if you enjoy writing, but have no ideas? @Mussri: I'm no speed demon typist. I don't concept-write at all; the concept is too malleable for any medium, even computerized - I try to hold it whole in my mind. I type on a computer, still, it's thinking that takes most of the time. I used to handwrite a lot but computer editing capability is far too helpful to go back to that. ps, how do you feel about "My Little Pony"?
May 8	comment	Is it possible my book could be taken off-line for sale if there is a cease and desist letter? YOU may take the case to court if the C&D is wrongful. In this case you may demand compensation on lost sales.
May 7	comment	What are some online guides for starting writers? There's an advice for beginning painters: "Imagine there is 10,000 bad pictures in you, which you must push out of yourself before you start drawing good stuff. So just draw a lot and don't worry that it's bad." The same applies to writing. There's roughly 10 bad books worth of bad writing in each of us and you need to write that away before you start writing good stuff. Of course learn, of course read, accept criticism, try to improve, but above all, write.
May 7	comment	How to format dialogue with an embedded long monologue Just a note on punctuation: if one person is speaking (“monologuing”) more than one paragraph of text at a time, you open each paragraph with opening double quote `“` but close only the last paragraph (with `”`).
May 6	comment	Does writing in a certain mood change how a writer writes? I'd say yes, there is - but not direct. I wrote some of my most cheerful, sweet and nice stories while heavily depressed and far from these moods, but just so that you wouldn't think it's a simple reversal, some of my vicious and mean works were written under quite vicious moods.
Apr 30	comment	Is it strange if a novel starts the first chapter without one of main characters? Uncommon but not weird at all. It's not entirely uncommon for stories to start with secondary characters finding and "activating" (freeing, hiring, convincing, blackmailing) the actual protagonist.
Apr 29	comment	How to assure your plot isn't a carbon copy of another story? @Mussri: It's then your duty to prove it isn't, by actions in the story. It doesn't solve the problem, it just buys time, keeps suspension of disbelief a little longer. This is to solve the problem of the reader dropping the story after the first chapter "because it's another rip-off" when you must keep significant differences to appear only after third chapter or so. The reader is informed "have some patience, it will be worth it in the long run, this is not a rip-off", but if you fail to deliver in the end, you will disappoint grievously...
Apr 26	comment	How can I get my students to better integrate their sources into their writing? Oh, I thought it was one source = one card, and that of course wouldn't be very helpful.
Apr 26	comment	Questions about APA style @Fischer: You should not use [number] of spaces, you should use TAB and adjust tabulation size. You should not press enter [number] of times, you should press enter ONCE and edit the document heading style for specific spacing left above and below the header. Do not use a word processor like one uses a typewriter - spaces for indents and enter for extra vertical spacing is NOT the right way.
Apr 26	comment	How can I get my students to better integrate their sources into their writing? I'm afraid that still keeps the information even more segmented instead of making it blend, flow and intersect.
Apr 26	comment	Using a world created by someone else for your own fiction Note if you don't plan to publish commercially - fanfiction while a gray (and a darker shade of gray) area is generally welcome or at least not fought actively. As long as your work attracts customers to the original instead of competing with it for money, the creators are quite willing to close an eye on your "IP violations".
Apr 25	comment	Why Use Excessively Short Chapters? A single very short chapter - like half a page - thrown between normal, long chapters carries immense impact and weight. If you want to give a short event a special frame of importance, give it such minimal chapter. But then, that's not what you're asking here...
Apr 25	comment	Critique: Make excerpt more visual/flow better I could but this is not a subject for answering in a comment under an answer. I suggest you phrase this as a full question and post as such for all to answer. "What literary tools can I use to make my writing more immersive?" or such. Fixing continuity mistakes will be probably one of the points of my answer if you do.
Apr 25	comment	The value of labeling book sections @tylerharms: If you have good names for parts, there's nothing wrong about it. Usually coming up with these is rather hard so authors tend to skip that.
Apr 25	comment	Critique: Make excerpt more visual/flow better @Jerry: It did work - but it wasn't enough. Currently it's much more immersive. There's a little continuity break between where Chill is just a voice behind the crowd and when Peter can see him taking the steel feather, but the piece rings in a quite satisfactory way to me.