Questions tagged [formatting]
Questions about text appearance: styling, placement, fonts, indents, bullets.
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Can my narrator's thoughts be in the same paragraph as another character's dialogue?
I'm writing a scene where my narrator (character A) is listening and reacting internally to character B, who is giving a long-winded explanation of something. Though is is a problem I run into ...
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How do I use an image as an epigraph?
There is a "picture that paints a thousand words" that I would like to use in the frontmatter of a book, similar to an epigraph. What is the proper way to lay out the page? Should it have a ...
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How to deal with footnotes in cited sections?
When citing a section from another work, and that cited section has a footnote, how would you go about including the footnote in your citation?
Should I turn the footnote of the cited section into a ...
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Should I write the 'after'?
Alright, so I just finished a really beautiful scene in my manuscript that happened during an event. Let's say it was a party.
So the beautiful scene happened rather in the beginning of the event, ...
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Why is Scrivener using the "First pages" setting for the entire manuscript?
I have a 'project format' template I've been using for a long time that shows a different header for the Front Matter, then starts the manuscript at Chapter 1 with the project title/page 1 etc in the ...
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Format for writing extended dialogue
Is it acceptable to write dialogue in a book in screenplay format? (writing the name of the speaker and a colon, followed by the text)
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Spacing around (and types of) dashes in American English
I'm not a native English speaker, and the way American English texts typically use em-dashes without spaces to separate sentence parts seems very strange and even disruptive for me. For example:
&...
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Can scenes taking place right after each other in the same place have separate headers?
I'm writing a screenplay and in it there are two different scenes that take place in the same place and with one immediately after the other both chronologically and in the script. I want to separate ...
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Am I overdoing it with the em dashes here?
I wrote two versions of the last paragraph for my scene (I included additional context since it also has an em dash). I need help deciding if the second version has too many em dashes and if I should ...
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How should I include the sentence that a character would've said if they weren't interrupted in a screenplay?
I'm writing a screenplay with a scene were characters interrupt each other frequently. I think including the lines a character would've said if they weren't interrupted could help the actors and ...
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How do you handle "mid-word pauses" during dialogues in novels?
How do you handle "mid-word pauses" during dialogues in novels?
I rarely see it being done in novels, so I am not sure what are the various ways to format it. Could you tell me the most ...
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Hidden image in a regular text block
Is there a technique or any example of embedding some shape into an otherwise normal block of prose text, e.g. page in a book? This would probably be a type of Calligram.
It could look like something ...
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How to write a scene where a projector shows clips
I'm trying to figure out the best way to show a projector showing clips like key events over a lifetime. I'm thinking a montage with some dialogue, but I'm not certain that's the correct way.
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Is there a standard style for writing chapter notes in a non-fiction book manuscript?
I am trying to find a standard style for writing chapter notes in a non-academic non-fiction book as per the image below. Is there an online resource where I can find an appropriate style guide for ...
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How do you write a scientific genus name in an already italicized text?
I am currently working on finishing up a thesis about my research in the field of biochemistry. The text that I am using to describe the figures is italicized. My question is: when I am trying to ...
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Can dialogue be put in the same paragraph as action text?
I'm a beginner writer, trying to learn fundementals. I'm editing some work now and I'm confused about proper formatting of paragraphs with dialogue.
I know that you should start a new paragraph when ...
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How to format classical music titles?
I’ve scoured the internet for help, but my search bore no fruit and left me very frustrated. I’m currently proof reading a novel I plan to publish soon and I’ve run into a little snag. So my character ...
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How do you use a heavily poetic style while also using a formatting that's similar to that of modern novel?
How do you use a heavily poetic style while also using a formatting that's similar to that of modern novel? Is there a way to add a poetic spin to the modern formatting seen in novels that was ...
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Multiple Character Dialogue & Action Formatting
I’m editing a first person story and I’m a bit stumped on one thing in particular. I’m not sure how to explain this in a non-confusing way.
Is it okay or correct to mix the dialogue and actions of one ...
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Can the APA references section be broken down into subsections?
I'm writing an article and it's time for references. The problem is it needs to be APA style in alphabetical order. There are so many references, I'd like to put them in sections. Is that acceptable ...
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How do you format a poem inside of a novel?
How do you format a poem inside of a novel? I am not sure how to go about it. What are some popular ways of introducing a poem inside a novel.
Let's say that the character reads a poem from a small ...
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Should I use "***" 3 asterisks or extra blank lines or whatever to indicate the breaks between parallel plot scenes, in a Kindle Vella fiction story?
That is, for example, suppose I have two plots going on, and I've sandwiched (ie. interleaved) them; a few paragraphs of one plot scene alternating with a few paragraphs of a 2nd plot scene.
To ...
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What lies between a Part and a Chapter?
This is for fiction literature. I've got this story where the original chapters became so huge that I had to split them into 5 chapters each. But each original chapter is relatively distinct and ...
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Is there a style convention for how to "format" a book title in plain text (no formatting)?
Typically book titles are ideally italicized or otherwise underlined. For example:
In his book Some Book Title, John Doe describes...
Is there any style convention for what to do if you are limited ...
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Are book and movie titles italicized when mentioned in dialogue?
Just to be clear: I understand the rules on punctuating all manner of titles in writing. I want to know do these rules apply when used in dialogue.
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Are there examples of using text formatting (e.g. color) to disambiguate different instances of the same word in a text?
I've had an idea recently to use color in order to disambiguate several usages of the same word in a text which refer to two different instances of the same concept. Since StackExchange does not allow ...
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Is there a word for when a text is between chapters that enriches the story but is not part of the previous or following chapter?
Is there a word for when a text is between chapters that enriches the story but are not part of the previous or following chapter?
I'm writing fiction and wanted to have in-universe news articles from ...
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Lower case or upper case letters at the beginning of rows and columns in tables?
On a recent review of an academic paper, a reviewer has pointed out that we sometimes use lower case letter at the start of expressions, and that we should check our tables in particular. True enough, ...
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In a collection of stories with multiple worlds, how do you cue your readers as to what world your story takes place?
In a collection of stories with multiple worlds, how do you cue your readers as to what world your story takes place?
Let's say I have a collection of short stories, there are 1,000 science fiction ...
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Use nonbreaking space when cross-referencing and citing?
I am writing a scientific report. In general, should I use non-breaking spaces in my cross-references and citations?
Here are some examples where I use tilde where a nonbreaking space might be used.
...
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Is there a term describing two poems that start simultaneously or in succession?
I am studying a poem called Unbearable Weight of Staying by Warsan Shire. It includes regular type and then indented, italicised type e.g
I don't know when love became elusive.
My mother's laughter ...
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Can I reference italics in academic writing?
I am analysing a poetry collection for college and one poem is 'Unbearable Weight of Staying' by Warsan Shire. She includes both regular and italicised type in the text, e.g:
I don't know when love ...
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How to use parentheses with parenthesis inside
For example,
The model shows a great divergence at zero momentum (see Fig. 5(c))
I am not sure if the last two "))" appear cluttered. I have seen suggestions of using [] on the outside but ...
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How could I format a character that thinks with two voices in her head?
I'm in close third PoV. My character has a specific way of thinking: two voices in her head discuss all the time.
In my paragraphs, I then have three "voices":
The usual, close Narrator ...
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How do you perfectly describe a documentary or similar videos in a novel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEENEFaVUzU
Let's say the protagonist watches a video from a channel like "Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell", how would you go about describing exactly what the ...
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What is the format for referring to un-named characters?
I have read some scripts recently which features a scene that refers to a group of background characters without naming them, but to distinguish between them uses "descriptive names" instead....
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Mixing indirect and direct speech in fiction
I often find myself wanting to include bits of dialogue in narratives where I am summarizing a detailed conversation.
For example, I am inclined to write silly things like this:
Bill and Ted talked ...
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Format when repeating one word from another character's dialogue
I'm trying to find the formatting convention for quoting another character's dialogue when repeating just one word.
An example would be:
'You were the only person I could think of,' said Mike. 'The ...
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Is it acceptable to put 'music' into a book?
I am writing a story about an ancient race of creatures whose culture revolves around music. Each being in the society will have a unique tune or musical motive that represents them (i.e., character X'...
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Can there be text in a section that isn't in a subsection?
Are there any recommendations against having text in a section when it's followed by subsections but that itself isn't in a subsection? For example, compare
Case A:
CHAPTER 1: Title of chapter 1
...
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How do I put "tomato" in dialog when stressing the alternate pronouciation?
I want to have a character say "potato tomato" as a joke, stressing the tomahto pronunciation. How should I write this?
"Potato tomahto." ?
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Referring to an earlier defined phrase so that it's not taken literally
Say I define a phrase like 'pen' or '10 miles'. Then when I refer to these defined phrases inline in the text, how should I refer to them to let the reader know that I am referring to the defined ...
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When do you break a paragraph when transitioning from dialogue back to prose?
Dialogue can get messy, jumping from character to character with beats and prose mixed in here and there. How do you handle all the paragraph breaks? Obviously anytime a new character speaks you have ...
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How do you indicate that two or more characters are speaking at the same time in a comic?
How do you indicate that two or more characters are speaking at the same time in a comic? It would be easy if they said the same thing, then you would just have them share a text bubble, but what if ...
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What are some formatting choices in comics that may make it more difficult to convert it into a webcomics format?
Comics are using American comic print formatting, but webcomics are a new formatting style intended for mobile use, it's intended to be read up and down and makes it easier for mobile user to read by ...
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What's the most standard comic books formats for e-book publishers and comics publishers?
What's the most standard comic books formats for e-book publishers and comics publishers? I am thinking because there are a lot of mobile devices and printing machines, there must be some standards ...
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What are the most widely comic books formats?
What are the most widely comic books formats? Let's say you want to publish online comics across multiple platforms such as Amazon and modern digital platforms. What standards should you use if you ...
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What comic book format should you use to make it easier to turn into a web comic?
What comic book format should you use to make it easier to turn into a web comic? I am thinking 3x3 or 1x3 are the best format and most flexible; otherwise, turning them into webcomics might be ...
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Why do I have so many words per page? I have all the correct novel formatting and am still getting almost 350 words per page!
I'm averaging 340 words per page. The industry standard is 250. I'm using the correct formatting for a novel manuscript - 12 point Times New Roman, 1" margins, double spaced, 8.5 x 11 page, left ...
