Questions tagged [formatting]
Questions about text appearance: styling, placement, fonts, indents, bullets.
389
questions
0
votes
1answer
19 views
Formatting new line options with actions and dialogue in fiction
I am getting confused about whether rules determine new paragraph positions or if it's sometimes arbitrary. Some choices seem clear cut, but in the sentence: 'I regarded...' it reads fine to me in ...
-1
votes
0answers
15 views
Google Sheets query [closed]
I am trying to make it so i can pull date from multiple tabs from the second link and put it on the 1st link sheet. I got it so it pulls from one tab but can't get the others. I was also wondering if ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
Is there a way to include your Patreon page when the credit rolls after a movie?
Is there a way to include your Patreon page when the credit rolls after a movie?
Me and some friend are going to release a short movie and we want to add a Patreon page during the credits, is there a ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
How do I fix this automatic indentation in listing?
I listed items but somehow it starts automatically indenting. I faced similar problems earlier and somehow they always start at number 10. How do I fix this?
3
votes
1answer
80 views
What is the proper format for filetype extensions in technical writing?
We are writing a collaborative paper that will include various examples of data types. When stating the data type file extension, how should it be presented?
For example,
"The platform will be ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
How do you add information about the music, sounds, camera actions in a trailer script?
Format your script elements. There are several different parts of the
script that require specific formatting so that they conform to
industry standards:[10]
Scene Heading: This is also called a “...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
Microsoft Word Formatting issue with KDP (How to move titles in the middle of the page?)
I have my nicely formatted word file to upload to the KDP page for Kindle publishing. When I launch the preview the titles are too high up on the page. This is not a problem for chapter titles, since ...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
How can I add an hyphen to the chapter titles of my index without adding it to the titles of the actual chapters?
I'm going to give you an example, just for clarity (I'm using Word). Here is what I'd like my index titles to look like:
Chapter 1 - The Great Return
Chapter 2 - Lucy's Dinner
etc...
Whereas the ...
2
votes
4answers
196 views
How should I include foreign language into my story if the main character/s is/are multilingual
I am writing a story in English and my main character is bilingual and of a different culture. The characters and narrator uses common words in the familiar language (e.g. Spanish).
Do I need to ...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Using em dash in a sentence spanning over multiple lines [duplicate]
When using em dash in a sentence which runs to multiple lines, especially in poetry, can it be the last word of the continuous sentence? For example, let us consider the following Wordsworth poetry.
...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
How do you write a YouTube description for a music clip?
How do you write a YouTube description for a music clip? Is there some kind of conventions? What are some of the conventions and are there templates out there that shows you how to properly credit ...
2
votes
2answers
123 views
Structure to follow while writing very short essays
I have to write essays in two examinations which will be conducted soon. Those exams need essays to be written in 250 words. The topics are given on the time of the exams and are usually anything ...
4
votes
3answers
84 views
Mixing prose and verse
I’m writing a novel and one of my characters speaks in poetic verse, should I format her dialogue differently to my characters who communicate in the traditional manner?
10
votes
8answers
2k views
Is italicizing parts of dialogue for emphasis ever appropriate?
Is it ever appropriate to use italics to emphasize parts of dialogue to show which words the speakers is putting emphasis on? I used to do this quite frequently, but I was told that this was a sign of ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Should I use a comma or a colon? [closed]
I am a bit confused as to whether I should use a comma or a colon for the following sentence:
Art quickly became a world where I could trust my abilities, a world where I can share my emotions and ...
6
votes
2answers
346 views
In story writing, can I switch between stating the character's thought in italics to indirectly narrating them?
For example, if I am stating my character's thoughts in this way:
That was scary! He thought.
Can I switch to saying something like the below further on in my story?
He thought it was scary.
Or should ...
2
votes
1answer
49 views
Correct typography for the name of an event [closed]
When you write the title of a book, you put it in italics. What about the title of an event, such as the Super Bowl or the World Cup? Of everything I looked at, this has the most information, but ...
0
votes
2answers
80 views
Presenting a Character's Thoughts
Is this an acceptable introductory paragraph to a fictional character's memoir? I'm not sure if the first sentence should be in quotations or have its own line and be italicized..
How often do you get ...
0
votes
2answers
34 views
How should I format chapters in my manuscript?
I'm in my final stages of editing before I send my manuscript to beta readers. I'm wondering how I should format chapter titles. Do I put them as a header, or as a slightly larger, bolder font?
(This ...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
Format for Historical Fiction Book
I am close to finishing my historical fiction book, and I need to know the following:
Should you indent at the beginning of every paragraph?
If you do indent, what size should the indent be?
Size of ...
8
votes
1answer
135 views
Should I capitalise a lower-case last name at the start of a sentence?
I have a fairly quick question. I am wondering if I should capitalize a last name when it comes at the start of a sentence if it starts with a lower-case letter.
Example: In my essay, I am citing ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
When writing and formatting a novel, what are the rules for scene breaks? Is it okay to use both asterisks and double spaces?
I have found information on this topic of scene breaks available on the internet to be quite conflicting and I've frustrated myself into a lot of confusion. Some authors use only double spaces to ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Writing Style Guides
I am a college student and I find myself writing more essays, citing sources, and formatting papers according to their style guides (APA,MLA,...). However I found that most style guides are updated ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Open Office sequential page numbering left pages
I have a document where I have left pages only (Format > Page > Layout settings > left only), so the page numbers start from 2 and increases by 2 every page (2-4-6...). Instead, I need them ...
0
votes
2answers
154 views
How do I punctuate a slogan?
I have the following slogan:
I sell, I build
I want to make sure it's clear and concise. I did not add a period, because I know it's not a full sentence. However, I want to make sure it's ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
How do you format dialogue within a parargraph?
He made his way over to the crimson red telephone box that basked in the afternoon sunlight. Ted knew she was hiding in there. “You can come out now." He swung open the door, with a callous look ...
2
votes
2answers
43 views
Correctly phrasing a sentence containing “along with” followed by a list
I have the following sentence structure and I am wondering about the best way to phrase it:
"Along with A, B, C and D have been shown to influence the production of E."
What I am trying to ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
In a book manuscript, what are the spacing guidelines?
What is the spacing distance between the chapter title and the first paragraph?
If I am using double spacing between sentences, is it the same for between a title and a paragraph?
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Short Story versus Novel format [closed]
I have just completed a draft erotic short story I have never professionally published fiction before but I believe this story "sizzles". This story is around 4000 words. I have rough ...
0
votes
4answers
110 views
How exactly does a book go from typewritten pages into an actual mass-produced unit ready for the consumer, and do authors have any control?
I want to be clear that I'm asking about this both for the present time, where nearly everyone does everything digitally, and for "back in the day", such as the 1970s or 1950s or 1920s or ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
How to properly include credits for the author, location, date and time?
I'm working on an amateur article about various topics and want to include my name (as the author), location of where I'm currently writing the article, and the current date and time.
I've seen many ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Birth-death dates in exhibit catalog
I'm editing an art exhibit catalog. The paintings featured are primarily portraits, most often titled simply with the subject's name. What is the best practice for including birth-death dates of the ...
1
vote
2answers
33 views
Formatting a story collection for submission to publishers
Anyone know of a definitive online resource on formatting a story collection for submission to publishers and agents? One knotty question in particular: does one use the title of the book throughout ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
How do you write a large number in a sentence?
I was there for 45,400,000 (forty-five million, four hundred thousand) seconds
I was there for 45,400,000, forty-five million, four hundred thousand, seconds?
3
votes
4answers
84 views
Hyphen for “multiple-response”?
I'm writing a help document for a website that tests people. In much of the copy for the website, I've referred to "multiple-choice" questions with the hyphen.
Now, I have to write about multiple ...
2
votes
2answers
156 views
Referring to groups and unnamed individuals from groups in a screenplay
The following extract is from a screenplay I'm writing. I could really use some advice on how to format it, particularly around referring to groups of people and an unnamed person from a group.
Bob ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
How to start writing an autobiography [duplicate]
I’m planning to write my autobiography. I don’t know where to start. Please give some tips and tricks to kickstart the project. I know it’s my personal stuff. But still some hacks from experienced ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
How Would I Go About Sharing a Word Document to a Literary Agent?
I was wondering, how would I go about sharing a Word document to a literary agent? I currently have all my professionally proofread novels formatted. They are formatted as the following: 1 inch ...
3
votes
2answers
116 views
Screenplay dialogue tags for unintroduced characters
I am writing a screenplay for a TV show in which a character who will become important later in the series has a line of dialogue in the opening scene. However, he is offscreen and will not be ...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Is there a way to make MS Word or LO Writer to automatically indent paragraphs in a section except for the first paragraph?
I would like to make a style in MS Word or LO Writer that will leave the first paragraph of a section or chapter (i.e. anything that follows a heading) unindended, but indent all the paragraphs that ...
0
votes
0answers
51 views
Title within a title: How to format properly using Chicago style
Would this be an appropriate way to format the title of my essay, or should it be different? I am using the Chicago style. I am using two book titles within my own title.
Would this be the proper way ...
2
votes
1answer
84 views
How to present a 1st-person Narrator with a 3rd-person account of the same incident
I am writing a Historic Fiction novel.
The story is being narrated by someone.
The entire story is from the Point of View of the Narrator, based on information she knows.
What is the best way to ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Bibliography format with multiple citations from same book? (APA)
I'm writing a paper where I've included multiple citations from a book, each citation is not a direct quote from the text but rather a in-text citation so according to APA guidelines these citations ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
Pictures in my book
I have recently been diagnosed with ALS. I was keeping a journal on the CaringBridge site, and I got enough feedback about it that I have decided to turn it into a book. I have added memories of my ...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
When should a chapter end and the next chapter begin? [duplicate]
I writing a short story and I would like to know when I should end a chapter.
2
votes
2answers
62 views
Quoting italicized text: keep formatting?
I'm quoting a sentence from Carl von Clausewitz' On War. He has part of the sentence italicized though:
Obstinacy is a fault of temperament.
Is it necessary to maintain his formatting? Ideally, I ...
1
vote
1answer
201 views
Should the first paragraph after a chapter be indented if it is quoted dialogue?
In my manuscript I generally do not indent the first paragraph following a chapter heading. This generally looks good and reads well with the exception of starting a chapter with quoted dialogue. See ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
Is it ok to underline or italicize the topic sentences of each paragraph of an essay?
I'm writing a casual essay which is intended for one of my friends. I wrote it so that it's quite easy to grasp the gist even if you read only the topic sentences of each paragraph.
Would emphasizing ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
How do I cite and translate poetry in MLA format?
I hope to translate poems from other languages to English, but I don't know how I am supposed to cite the original author and include myself as the translator in MLA format.
I will translate from ...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
How to format my book before sending it to a publisher?
I am looking to send a copy of a horror anthology that i finished recently to a publisher and don't know what the editing format of the pdf should be or how the letter to the publisher should go.
...
