meta user
network profile
| bio | website | |
|---|---|---|
| location | Etaoin, SH | |
| age | ||
| visits | member for | 2 years, 4 months |
| seen | 14 hours ago | |
| stats | profile views | 507 |
The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it's the difference between a lightning bug and the lightning. — Mark Twain
Editor for Hire! laurenipsum47@gmail.com
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Apr 7 |
comment |
What tools are available for world building? Dude, if Scrivener did THAT, I would have finished my novel two years ago. ;) |
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Apr 6 |
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What's the best practice for displaying a personal website url in a resume? If the resume is in Word, I wouldn't object to pipes. There's only so much you can do in Word for formatting. I wouldn't align those elements against the margins; I would center the entire block. |
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Apr 5 |
answered | When should I use punctuation with bullets? |
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Apr 5 |
revised |
When should I use punctuation with bullets? deleted 1 characters in body |
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Apr 5 |
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What methods can I use to revise my writing? that's because in my first answer he said my solution was "too Mac-dependent" and that he only uses Latex. I confess I have no idea how one writes on rubber gloves. But for the record... you can do this in Scrivener. ;) |
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Apr 4 |
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What methods can I use to revise my writing? @John Smithers: for the record, I don't work for Scrivener. Maybe I should take the hint and start asking for commissions, though! :D |
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Apr 4 |
answered | What methods can I use to revise my writing? |
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Apr 4 |
comment |
Third person POV @Panda: Is that the correct term? Thank you. It's been a while since I learned the terms in school. :) I use the movie example as an easy way to explain to writers whom I'm editing what a specific character (and thereby the reader) can and cannot know: "Imagine you're watching a movie. Tony is jealous of Rico because Rico is flirting with Lola. But the only way we can know that is Tony's expression, words, and behavior. Don't say 'Tony is jealous;' describe him BEING jealous." To me, any movie which is giving a voiceover of a character's thoughts is being told in first person. |
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Apr 4 |
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How credible is wikipedia? Yep. Wikipedia, like logic, is the beginning of wisdom, but not the whole. :) and go click those sources. If Woodward and Bernstein needed corroboration, so do you. |
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Apr 4 |
answered | Third person POV |
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Mar 30 |
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Can I shop an unfinished novel? I'd like to see one about vampire zombies, just to be different. |
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Mar 30 |
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How do you make a story succeed in spite of an unsympathetic main character? +1 for ASOIAF. Excellent example. I was staggered at the end of Book 4 when I found myself horrified that a particular person was in prison, even though her actions, by any other measure, would have earned her a place there. I wound up sympathizing with several of those family members despite their despicable actions. |
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Mar 29 |
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Common words to avoid when writing formally I have never heard of the stricture against "to be" in the construction given above. Why would it be considered immature or simple? |
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Mar 29 |
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“…and the fire from the stove engulfed him” or “jumped on him” or “covered him” or “devoured him” or what? (cont'd) In your example, the flames aren't choosing to burn him; it's just an accident. So I really feel like you have to put the movement of the flames roaring out of the oven in the same sentence as what the flames did (burn him). In a fistfight, there are a series of movements: fist raised, drawn back, punch. It takes a second. In your example, he opens the oven and the flames hit him instantly. Almost no time elapses. My sentence structure captures the sequence more accurately, I think: "Flames roared out, catching him full/right in the face." |
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Mar 29 |
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“…and the fire from the stove engulfed him” or “jumped on him” or “covered him” or “devoured him” or what? @brilliant: ask away. :) 1) Yes, you can add "full" or "right." 2) No, the idiom uses "the," not "his." It's understood that he couldn't catch the flames in somebody else's face, so the face has to be his. 3) I am reluctant to accept your revision because the flames, not being a sentient actor, need to be attached to the action (burning his face). If this were a fistfight, you could say "He opened the door and Nancy rushed out. She swung her fist, and he caught the punch full in the stomach." (cont'd) |
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Mar 28 |
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“…and the fire from the stove engulfed him” or “jumped on him” or “covered him” or “devoured him” or what? Sorry, English idioms can be a little confusing, and my fire example is inverted. The "catching" comes from the movement of the item (flames, fist) towards the person who is surprised. Let me reword: "He caught the punch in the stomach = he was struck by the fist in the stomach" and "He caught the flames in the face = he was struck by the flames in the face." Flames don't strike, but the movement is out of the oven at and his face; the other example is that the fist moves towards the person and strikes him in his stomach. The flames do not receive a blow from X. The flames ARE X. Clearer? |
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Mar 28 |
answered | What's your favorite keyboard? |
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Mar 28 |
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What's your favorite keyboard? I think this is a "tools" question. I definitely research peripherals like keyboards before buying, and peer reviews are part of that data. |
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Mar 28 |
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“…and the fire from the stove engulfed him” or “jumped on him” or “covered him” or “devoured him” or what? @brilliant: You can say "in the face" and drop "full" if you want. "Full in the face" is an idiom which emphasizes that it went straight into his face and has covered his entire face. "He caught X in the face" means that X struck him in the face and he was surprised by X. A variant might be "He caught the blow [meaning the punch] in the stomach" meaning "The other guy punched him in the stomach, he was surprised by the punch, and he didn't defend himself." Does that help? |
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Mar 28 |
answered | “…and the fire from the stove engulfed him” or “jumped on him” or “covered him” or “devoured him” or what? |
