Questions tagged [formatting]

Questions about text appearance: styling, placement, fonts, indents, bullets.

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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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1 vote
1 answer
73 views

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 ...
1 vote
0 answers
28 views

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 ...
0 votes
2 answers
68 views

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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-3 votes
1 answer
130 views

Best operating system for the serious writer? [closed]

Windows, Android, macOS or else?
1 vote
1 answer
69 views

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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1 vote
2 answers
118 views

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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0 votes
3 answers
72 views

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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2 votes
1 answer
136 views

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.
6 votes
8 answers
2k views

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 ...
2 votes
2 answers
142 views

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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0 votes
2 answers
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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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0 votes
1 answer
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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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3 votes
1 answer
60 views

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. ...
4 votes
1 answer
63 views

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 ...
2 votes
1 answer
61 views

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 ...
0 votes
3 answers
121 views

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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3 votes
1 answer
87 views

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 ...
0 votes
0 answers
30 views

How to format translated dialogue

I'm currently working on a novel. One of the characters speaks Italian mainly, but because the rest of the novel is in English, I would like to have the translation in there as well. Would it be ...
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0 votes
2 answers
72 views

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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2 votes
2 answers
71 views

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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1 vote
1 answer
96 views

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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6 votes
5 answers
930 views

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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-1 votes
2 answers
132 views

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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1 vote
2 answers
59 views

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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1 vote
1 answer
76 views

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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2 votes
2 answers
60 views

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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2 votes
1 answer
103 views

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 ...
-1 votes
1 answer
256 views

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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0 votes
1 answer
85 views

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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0 votes
1 answer
143 views

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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0 votes
1 answer
124 views

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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1 vote
1 answer
163 views

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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0 votes
1 answer
125 views

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 ...
5 votes
2 answers
100 views

Should I write numbers using words, or the actual numbers?

I'm stuck trying to figure out if I should put numbers or words. Which one looks better? After it took me 4 hours and 24 minutes After it took me four hours and twenty-four minutes
1 vote
2 answers
132 views

How to format quick flash cuts of photos in a screenplay?

I am writing a script where there are quick flash cuts, where the current present action is then 'captured' in a still photo which is representing a 'highlight' on an Instagram post/story shown for ...
1 vote
0 answers
37 views

Giving credit when quoting

I know that, when a work, person or thing is directly quoted, word for word, the author has to be cited, for example: "It always seems impossible until it's done" - Nelson Mandela or &...
0 votes
2 answers
87 views

How to format dialogue about a playing video?

So let's say I have characters A and B who are chatting about a video that Character A recorded of themselves. In between their chatting, the dialogue of the video can also be heard, for example: &...
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1 vote
1 answer
358 views

How does one put text messages in a novel?

I want to add sections within my novel where multiple characters are sending text messages to each other, but don't how to format it or if there's a certain way of doing it. For example, would I do it ...
3 votes
3 answers
161 views

How does one go about describing subtle movements in characters actions?

I'm struggling with figuring out a way to describe subtle movements in a scene that wouldn't normally be picked up on if not shown. For example: A character is being put in a prison cell and another ...
5 votes
2 answers
227 views

How do I change the person a character addresses in a screenplay?

I was formatting my screenplay, and I wondered how to specify that the speaker changes who they are addressing. I figured it would simply be stated in a parenthetical:                 DUIRE What? I'm ...
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3 votes
0 answers
397 views

Scrivener, footnotes are missing/misformated when compiling to PDF (Windows 3; V3.0)

I'm creating a novel in Scrivener 3.0 that makes heavy use of footnotes. In recent compile tests on a chapter, I'm finding that on one page the footnotes are being displayed laid on top of the text at ...
1 vote
1 answer
108 views

Starting a sentence one word before a new line [closed]

I am curious if starting a new sentence right before a new line, in this case leaving only one word before the new line, is correct. I am having trouble explaining even what this situation is, but I ...
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0 votes
1 answer
126 views

How do you indicate that an action is done after a character says something in a script?

How do you indicate that an action is done after a character says something in a script? The action is right after the scene heading, but what happens when an action is done after a character says ...
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2 votes
1 answer
72 views

How do you indicate two people or three people or more saying the same thing simultaneously in a movie script?

How do you indicate two people or three people or more saying the same thing simultaneously in a movie script? There's a place where you put the character name before a dialogue, but what happens when ...
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0 votes
1 answer
61 views

How do you add a sung part of a movie trailer?

How do you add a sung part of a movie script? When the song is unknown and the lyrics are unknown, how do we mention there's a song playing in a movie script? This image gives you a basic idea of ...
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0 votes
1 answer
296 views

How do I write a synopsis for a scientific article? publication?

I want to submit an article under the "Analysis" of a journal. Their website says that authors are required to submit a synopsis first. I know that synopsis is like a summary of article, but ...
1 vote
1 answer
128 views

Action between dialogue

I've noticed I've been putting lots of action between someone's dialogue and have many inconsistencies and wanted to know if there was a difference between different ways of punctuating it or if it ...
0 votes
1 answer
380 views

Is there a standard way to introduce an emoticon in a novel?

Is there a standard way to introduce an emoticon in a novel? Let's say that the main character discuss with someone over text message, is it ok to use emoticons? If so how do you introduce it? Here's ...
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0 votes
1 answer
284 views

Can section headings be questions for APA format?

I would want my first heading to be "What is Lyme disease '.' '?'" , Im not sure if it would be considered a question or a sentence . I want this paragraph to inform the reader what the ...

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