All Questions
47 questions
3
votes
1
answer
150
views
Is sacrificing "clarity" for sounding smarter on a college continued interest letter a good idea?
I put "clarity" in quotes because I know it is not the right word but I cannot think of what the correct word should be.
I am writing a continued interest letter for my top college. I have ...
- 145
0
votes
0
answers
46
views
Best Order of Semantic Parts in a Clause for Clarity
It is not that I want all my writing to be so easily understood, but in some writing of mine, perhaps, I want to be as easily understood as possible, such as in certain kinds of fiction, which I plan ...
user25421
0
votes
1
answer
52
views
How to clearly express "A so B" besides "...as many as ten. And so, that there is..."
Preample: This is a "How do I express this idea?" question. I hope that it is sufficiently on-topic here. I'm a native English speaker but have no formal understanding of the English ...
- 245
1
vote
2
answers
132
views
Is it a bad habit to omit conjunctions in poetry?
When writing a verse for a song a lot of times I find it easier to sing if I leave out function words (demonstratives/conjunctions). Is this a bad habit? It seems to cause lack of clarity but I see ...
- 53
0
votes
1
answer
126
views
Why do I lose focus and direction in my songwriting?
Today while writing my song, every line seemed to fight me. It seemed to wander without direction. I don't always have this problem but would like to figure how to avoid writing songs that wind up ...
- 53
1
vote
5
answers
222
views
How much opinion do you need in order to decide how "readable" something is?
How much opinion do you need in order to decide how "readable" something is?
If one person, even if experienced, says "this is not very well readable", then I think it not enough ...
- 165
2
votes
2
answers
154
views
Does Simple Writing Lead to Passive Reading? [closed]
a quick question here about non-fiction writing styles:
It is said that the German philosopher Immanuel Kant intentionally wrote in a difficult and opaque style so as to force his readers to pay ...
- 149
0
votes
2
answers
257
views
When should I end a sentence?
I like to write long sentences, but people complain that I move from thought to thought in the same sentence, and that it ought to be split into multiple sentences. Although I'd like to correct this ...
user25421
0
votes
0
answers
64
views
Flow of Today's Recommended Style
I know I've already posted many questions about the rhythm and flow of prose, but now I am asking a sort of specific question about the principles of style in relation to such things.
All the style ...
user25421
2
votes
1
answer
54
views
Where does "inaugural" go in this sentence?
I’ve been trying to adjust my short bio/blurb on LinkedIn to include the word “inaugural” in it, but, as soon as I do, it makes everything feel off and I'm not sure why. Here's what I've written (...
- 21
0
votes
2
answers
213
views
How do I write with a rhythm/cadence without losing command of the English language?
I'm sorry. I know I've been posting a lot of questions lately.
Many times in the past, when I tried to write words with cadence and showed them to people, they said that I had poor command of the ...
user25421
1
vote
3
answers
233
views
Is my novel Fantasy or Sci-Fi?
I have a Wattpad account and I've been entering contests... I've been using the fantasy genre to describe my novel, but I just saw descriptions of fantasy and sci-fi and now I'm wondering if my novel ...
- 13
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Which manual of style suggests using parentheses within parentheses?
When it comes to nested parentheses, there are two options. (The first is to use square brackets for the inner text [like this]. The second is to simply use parentheses (like this).)
I believe that ...
- 181
1
vote
3
answers
181
views
Does the excessive use of parentheses around part of a word make writing fuzzy?
I would like to hear opinions about the use of parentheses around a word or part of a word to allow for more than one reading of a sentence.
I see this quite often in scientific English written by ...
5
votes
2
answers
190
views
How to clarify between imagined sensations and "real" fantasy events?
I feel like the title is worded really bad, but I seem to be unable to find a better way. I am not a native speaker.
Scenario A: A character is in an exceptional state of mind (i.e. drug use etc.) ...
user13402
1
vote
1
answer
284
views
Should we avoid "nonsensical" or "unclear" metaphors?
Should we avoid "nonsensical" or "unclear" metaphors? I am not sure if this is a case of "nonsensical" or "unclear" metaphor, but sometimes you have certain phrases that doesn't seem to be suited for ...
user36239
5
votes
1
answer
139
views
How to write a puzzle without being too descriptive or vague?
I have recently joined the Puzzling.SE site and I am excited to ask few puzzles there. However, I am stuck, rather confused as to how a puzzle qualifies as good and precise. I want to ensure its ...
- 1,987
6
votes
2
answers
121
views
Is a parenthetical reference to a later part of the text redundant in non-fiction writing?
The response will either be an evasion (we will come to that later),
or it will be . . .
Is the above (or similar) parenthetical redundant?
(I couldn't find a suitable tag for this question, ...
- 263
6
votes
2
answers
302
views
How can one provide more clarity and still be concise? [closed]
I am working on revising a petition because one of my friends said that it needs a lot of revision. For one, they said that it needed clarity, and for another, it needed to be concise.
My question is,...
7
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Two magical realities, ours isn't one of them. How do I stop my readers from getting confused?
I'm writing a story with a world that has different physics, alchemy rather than chemistry, and biology that relies somewhat on magic.
The protagonist is not of this world, however he is not of our ...
- 1,098
1
vote
4
answers
157
views
Can the narrator refer to a character with an alias instead of their true identity?
This is related to my previous question.
Let's say I want the readers to not be sure of who my character really is. They'd know her as Olivia, but think she might be Beatrice, or maybe Helena...
One ...
- 701
0
votes
1
answer
62
views
Where can i correct my work for clarity and grammar issues? [closed]
Our eyes are mysterious; driven lenses, full of exposure. The moonlight stood still in the face of adaptation. Looking forward, i saw growth. Her eyes were dull. Iris, like the flower. Her mustard ...
2
votes
2
answers
377
views
How can I make the relevance of a story thread more apparent?
The story I'm writing has multiple story threads, which relate to each other subtly at first, while gradually converging over the course of the story.
The trouble is that one particular thread of the ...
- 1,525
5
votes
3
answers
137
views
Is there a widely accepted standard for representing simultaneous ongoing events in a screenplay?
Let's say I'm writing a scene where Arnold and Jo are arguing over whether to go out tonight or not.
While they do this, though, Rupert is also in the process of constructing a house of cards, and ...
- 1,525
1
vote
5
answers
105
views
Can this sentence have the same detail and yet be simple to comprehend? [closed]
While inside the weatherbeaten maternity hut lit by a single candle,
out of the dark shadow of its mother's womb, the most unusual child
ever seen in the village was delivered; and while the child
...
- 111
2
votes
1
answer
236
views
Suffixing words with -ness, -ish, -like, and others
Background
In a huge amount of the books I read the author has coined a little term to help them describe something, or an onomatopoeia. Like:
Kindish (adding -ish to the end of a existing word)
...
- 4,439
2
votes
0
answers
82
views
Timestamps in fictional writing: yay or nay? [duplicate]
The setting of my latest story is a alien world that uses a different calendar and timekeeping system. This is because the planet spins at a slower pace than Earth, so the days are longer.
However, ...
- 1,495
0
votes
1
answer
51
views
Page turnings clarification [closed]
In my story, to go to next page I wrote "I completed my sentence and turned the page.". But now I want to go back to my previous page, I wrote "I realized that I have missed something, so I turned the ...
- 103
0
votes
2
answers
100
views
Is it bad to have sentences that are too long? [closed]
The sentence in question is:
As players move around the board, they buy, rent and sell properties from and to each other with each player trying to maximize his or her own wealth in a zero-sum game ...
- 179
10
votes
7
answers
1k
views
How should I introduce new and complex technologies or tools?
I'm writing a Science Fiction book. While this book doesn't push reality very far, there are some new technologies and tools that I have added. One tool is used more frequently than all the others, ...
- 523
5
votes
3
answers
252
views
How can I express this fragment more clearly and concisely?
For the 'who is this application for' section of an application user guide, I have the following alternatives, I'm not happy with either one. How can I convey both elements more clearly and consisely?...
- 153
8
votes
11
answers
9k
views
How to distinguish if a novel is science fiction or fantasy?
Through the process of writing my novel, I've found that I really don't know where it fits in the written realm. I believe I should have a clear understanding to identify what genre my book belongs in....
- 565
3
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Do parentheses inhibit clarity?
I find it easier to write many things with parentheses, but I don't know if this is considered good practice. I would expect some might say that parentheses are indicative of excessive digression and ...
- 149
3
votes
3
answers
17k
views
How to write a powerful but uncomplicated conference biography?
I am working on a bio for a development conference I am presenting at. My writing style causes my Flesch Reading Ease score to trend high. While I like what I have below I'd like to simplify it a bit ...
- 247
1
vote
3
answers
186
views
Is calling this process a "convergence" accurate and clear?
I planning to write about the convergence of our real world and the computer reality world. My plan to develop on this idea is to describe this convergence as a "merger" between our real world and the ...
- 345
1
vote
1
answer
745
views
How to further improve the flow and crispness in the essay?
I am writing an essay in which I used a simple chronological flow. Setting first the background, then the circumstances I was involved in and the decision I took, and finally my conclusion after the ...
- 169
1
vote
2
answers
892
views
Does this essay demonstrate flow, clarity, and passion?
I am applying to school and, after 3-4 weeks of thinking and writing essay iterations, I ended up with the essay below.
What are your professional objectives? (300 words)
I have one ...
- 169
4
votes
5
answers
6k
views
How can this technical message be made clearer?
How could this technical sentenced be improved for better clarity?
Cannot translate the ‘name1’ concept1 to the ‘name2’ concept2 because the higher
precedence ‘name3’ concept3 also exists, which ...
- 145
1
vote
4
answers
198
views
How can I express this more clearly or concisely?
I'm documenting a block of computer code and would like to make it clear and concise. I'm describing a function that populates a field on a user input screen. Here's my best shot but it still seems ...
- 141
2
votes
4
answers
132
views
Advice on interface text in a videogame
[This fits somewhere between technical writing and user experience, so perhaps this is the wrong board]
I'm developing a modification to a popular videogame (a Playstation One RPG), with the ...
1
vote
2
answers
117
views
What is the expression/common form to express that one will stay long term somewhere? [closed]
Say I've briefly lived somewhere but now I want to return and stay there longer. Here is a paragraph of how I express it. Please suggest improvements.
The new development looks really awesome. I ...
Fedor
1
vote
1
answer
219
views
Please advise on this comma among semi-colons and provide a more concise sentence [closed]
I created this question for two reasons:
I want to know if it is proper to place a comma after the word and (in bold) below.
This sentence is kind of clunky, like many of my sentences, and it helps ...
- 209
2
votes
4
answers
219
views
Is this description of my small productivity application clear enough?
I wrote a small productivity application, Tomate. Since I'm not a native English speaker, I'm afraid the description of the project may not be clear enough for potential users. Can you help me improve ...
- 123
3
votes
4
answers
264
views
Is this clearly expressed: "The real power is information"
I want to say that information is the real power in the world. I want to say it in one clean (short) sentence. Is the following good enough? (My mother language isn't English.)
The real power is ...
- 133
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Is my essay on group learning clear and well-organized?
I'm looking for all-around advice on this essay (I'm a foreign student, and learning English), but primarily, I wanted to ask is whether my essay is well-organized and clear enough. I mean, the first ...
- 257
5
votes
3
answers
224
views
Feedback on technical blog post
I've recently composed a blog post about World of Warcraft Authenticators and would love for some feedback as per the quality of writing.
Obviously no matter how many times I read it there's no ...
- 221
3
votes
1
answer
109
views
Personal Page - review request [closed]
I have created my personal about page, based on "The Personal Page" template. As a non-native English speaker I worry, that my attempt at telegraphic style is riddled with questionable use ...
- 133