Questions tagged [formatting]
Questions about text appearance: styling, placement, fonts, indents, bullets.
12
votes
4answers
633 views
Indicating multiple different modes of speech (fantasy language or telepathy)
All the viewpoint characters in my story are orcs and speak Orcish as their native tongue, but some are bilingual: they use English to talk to humans. Additionally, the main character has a magic ...
3
votes
1answer
46 views
Is it good formatting to bookend quotations with a comma when they occur in the middle of narration?
Consider the sample sentence below from a novel.
As he stared at it, Emma announced “Its blackberry cake! It’s the best cake you’ll ever taste. Honest!” And with that, she stuffed in another big ...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
How do I mix linear and non-linear “choices” in an interactive novel?
In my interactive novel, I'm trying to keep the word count between choice prompts fairly short and consistent, but that means sometimes breaking up longer text into a few sections….
I've been using ...
1
vote
4answers
103 views
Is it a bad idea to use footnotes to describe new technologies in a science-fiction novel?
I am wondering if we can use footnotes to describe technologies used in a science-fiction novel instead of describing it by switching from an omniscient POV, that describes everything in a poetic way, ...
4
votes
1answer
71 views
Distinguishing between unreliable frame narrator and narrator of framed story
I'm writing a work which is bookended by a frame story with an unreliable narrator.
How do I prevent confusion for the reader when the frame narrator interjects? In the framed story, the characters ...
1
vote
3answers
111 views
End-of-line hyphenation - how should it be used?
End-of-line hyphenation is the process of breaking words between lines to create more consistency across a text block. (source) A long word is broken across a line-break by means of a hyphen. It helps ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Quick punctuation request on a sentence containing a list with a colon per listed item
This is being used within a blog article, however, I want to primp it up for use in a more public and professional platform. My intrigue pertains to grammar and punctuation of the listed items in the ...
2
votes
1answer
27 views
Where best to insert images using Scrivener for ebook/kindle etc
My father wrote a book in Word and I have edited/formatted it so it looks clean in PDF, but now I know that was a bad idea because when we put the book on Kindle all the formatting was lost and the ...
3
votes
3answers
112 views
How may a book and movie be one?
How could a movie be paired to coincide with a book and come out at the same time?
I would like to know if a book and a movie can be written to complement each other? Many times I hear how a book or ...
3
votes
2answers
55 views
Spell out numbers before times, days, months?
The general rule I follow is to spell out numbers < 10. Also when use numbers before measurement I don't spell out.
For example:
I bought nine apples
We need 5 mL acid for this reaction
How ...
2
votes
2answers
81 views
What's the correct way to write 3 x 10^6 (three million)?
I am reviewing some research reports and found myself diving into the black hole of technical writing style.
My question is what is the best way to write numbers in millions? I am not writing a ...
1
vote
2answers
34 views
What are good guidelines and practices for word emphasis? [closed]
I struggle on what to highlight, and when to use quote marks. I also exaggerate specific words.
Example:
Please Sign-out and Click "Delete my sign-in info" before logging back in.
Please provide ...
8
votes
1answer
111 views
Show outline or table of content using presets in Scrivener?
Google Docs has this neat feature, where an outline is generated based on the text you've set to a specific style, such as title or heading:
Word has a similar feature. Is there a way to generate an ...
1
vote
2answers
91 views
Formatting for a visual medium: Screenplay or transcripts?
I have a specific way of writing when it comes to describing things in a visual medium, like video games, movies, or shows. I'm not a prose writer; I always wanted to write for visual media, not ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
Should I start a new paragraph after a dialogue if the action is being taken by a new person?
I am currently editing an original work of fiction, and one of the things I'm having the most trouble with is dialogue and paragraphs after certain character's actions. I know it sounds a little ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
Formating of table explanation in email to colleagues
Regularly I find myself writing emails to my colleagues which include some form of "column explanation". Which is the best way to format a HTML email for readability?
Example:
I send out a link to an ...
4
votes
4answers
146 views
Are paragraph spaces used for emphasis?
I am writing a story and I have these 3 sentences that elaborate on the ending of a first page. This way the reader will continue to read my story.
My question is, am I allowed to place paragraph ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
Punctuating dialogue that is interrupted by thoughts/internal monologue rather than action?
So I've got a bit:
Alta blinked. She pushed on, smiling, “—the argument. When the argument succeeds, which I still don’t fully deem, even after that—it looks to me like you’ve still got to do all ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Standard Margins for 6x9 Size Book
I'm editing/formatting a book for a client and I've run into a bit of a technical issue--I've never formatted a book for print before and I can't seem to find the answer to the following question:
...
0
votes
2answers
71 views
Writing a Non Fiction: Need to Format a Continuous Side Bar
I am writing a novel with two stories simulatenously running alongside each other. That is, on each page there is a main story, taking the body of the page, and there is a 'side story' which runs ...
1
vote
2answers
56 views
How to stylize notes/book-passages being read inside my story?
In course of joining a friend of mine during her NaNoWriMo escapades, I tried myself at actually writing a story set in a world I'm building.
I've found there are certain rules when writing a novel. ...
3
votes
6answers
241 views
Everything I write ends up being a rhyming poem, or lyrics maybe
I have been writing for awhile and decided to write a memoir, except I can’t seem to write anything but poetry. However, I don’t know for sure if poetry is the proper term. My work uses cuss words, &...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
Formatting a dream inside a flashback
I'm writing a first-person POV in which my MC has flashbacks/memories of previous lives. As these happen several times throughout the novel, I use italics for these scenes to help the reader ...
2
votes
2answers
68 views
equation referencing in parentheses
My PhD examiners have asked me to refer to equations using Eq. (6) rather than Eq. 6. This seems simple enough, but often I have sentences of the form:
"This is a fact related to an equation you ...
5
votes
5answers
780 views
Writing a song as the hook
I am at the free-writing stages of writing my high fantasy novel. I am looking at or experimenting with different methods for hooking the reader and driving their attention towards the rest of my ...
2
votes
1answer
117 views
How to get alternating page headers in Scrivener? [duplicate]
Can anyone please help me with a small issue that I am facing right now with the headers in my Scrivener project. I am trying to add alternate headers to my project - Every even page to have the name ...
3
votes
2answers
62 views
Can I include a short biography of the person to whom my book is dedicated?
I am writing a non-fiction, somewhat historic book and I want to dedicate it to a person who did pioneer work on Education in Science in Brazil. She has
passed away recently and was professionally ...
4
votes
3answers
110 views
How to write an online screen name in dialogue?
Might be a bit nitpicky - but I really want to get the formatting correct - especially because this is one of the first lines in the script. The screen name is: ArgyleMan29
Like this?
JACK:
Online I’...
9
votes
3answers
675 views
Should I use a series of shots for this scene?
Should I use a series of shots for this?
(context- Joe previously raged in his room - knocking things over)
INT. JOE’S ROOM
Joe stands up the nightstand. Plugs in the lamp. Takes the alarm clock, ...
9
votes
2answers
87 views
Is there a definition for formatting plain text documents like they are on TLDP.org?
Is there a formal specification for authoring plain text documents like they (mostly) are on http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/text/?
If so, what is it called? Where is it documented?
I'm looking for a ...
7
votes
1answer
116 views
What is the name of the technique where quotation marks are not closed but reopened to indicate a break in speech
The wizard slid the application over to the goblin. "I'm afraid, Mister Barnes, we cannot accept your letter of resignation at present. You are simply too ugly to qualify for an exit scheme, and you ...
1
vote
1answer
239 views
How many book pages would 891 words be?
I'm writing something and the font is Alegreya in 13 font size. So far I have 891 words and 4 pages. How many pages would that be in a book?
3
votes
0answers
51 views
How to link two sentences properly? [closed]
I have two sentences:
In general, the better the equipment, the higher quality of
production you will end up with.
We choose our equipment very carefully.
To link them together, I have to use the ...
7
votes
7answers
1k views
Do writers copy other writers?
Good artists copy; great artists steal.
This famous Picasso quote often reminds me that the best artworks are rather a mix of many other artworks instead of something completely new. Walt Disney ...
3
votes
3answers
103 views
Trying to figure out the correct type punctuation for dialogues
I'm currently writing a story so far is going well, but I reached I point on the story where I don't know how to proceed. when a character is talking I write their dialogue just like this: "I went ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
How to write a telephone conversation in a novel?
If Closed Captioning on TV is any guide, then dialogue heard over a phone would be in italics, not in quotes. The same would apply to dialogue audible when the phone is on speaker and as over a walkie-...
3
votes
2answers
369 views
Multiple ways to emphasise words
tl;dr : I need a way to emphasise the names of special skills without it becoming annoying or it overlapping with the formatting already present in the story.
I'm writing a story in an RPG-like ...
2
votes
2answers
343 views
Is blending a largely illustrated book like James Gurney's “Dinotopia” and a dramatic and more serious plot a bad idea?
So, I don't know if any of you have heard of Dinotopia by James Gurney, but it's written in a format with large pages, and lots of illustrations:
While it is not exclusively a children's book, and ...
3
votes
1answer
77 views
Leaving out names/pronouns to speed up the flow of a script?
Example: Jane digs in the flowerbed for her ring. Moves to the yard.
I’ve seen this a bunch of times, but it still feels sort of wrong when I do it. I just want to know if this is “normal”.
...
3
votes
1answer
368 views
Epigraph placement
Me and my friend are arguing about the placement of an epigraph in our scientific report. I want the epigraph to be placed on the page before the table of contents, right above the middle of the page, ...
2
votes
2answers
80 views
Is it discouraged to format a list of items vertically?
In my writing, I tend to format lists of items:
The school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions, potatoes, and carrots during their free time.
as actual vertical ...
1
vote
1answer
36 views
Question mark in use with colon
Do you use a question mark in hand when you use a colon, if yes how?
I Will Fix Any Error Or Bug is the title of the service.
Should I place the order in: I Will Fix Any Error Or Bug
Should ...
19
votes
7answers
3k views
How do you mix dialogue with actions of a character?
I'm not talking about if it's right to go like:
"See you later, Mom!" Sierra grabbed an apple and ran out of the front door.
I'm more concerned with something I remember seeing but can't remember how ...
6
votes
3answers
231 views
Formatting of Text in Technical Writing (Procedure Writing)
In a procedure, when describing a UI component, we use the bold font to represent UI components. We also match the text with the letter case of the UI component. But do we need to match the font style ...
4
votes
1answer
88 views
Is it okay to use “Off This—“ in a spec script?
I feel like it’s a great tool for transitioning scenes.
Off the Sargent’s grimacing face—
Off the dead cheerleader’s tramp stamp—
But is this considered camera direction?
Is this too specific for ...
11
votes
7answers
22 views
What are standard techniques that indicate to the documentation reader that they are to substitute their own appropriate text (e.g. username, domain)?
When reading manuals or guides, I can easily get confused between what is meant to be example text, and what is actually meant to be used.
For example, sometimes the username to login to use a ...
15
votes
3answers
28 views
How to make documentation accessible to vision-impaired audiences?
Nowadays, governments and corporations alike are putting an ever-increasing number of accessibility laws in place to ensure that disabled audiences are not put at a disadvantage. How can technical ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
How to Paraphrase a narration which is written by a first person perspective
If teacher asks you to paraphrase a paragraph which is like "I went there etc" then how will we paraphrase it? Will it be like "The writer made his way to that place" or I'll be like it's me who is ...
4
votes
2answers
406 views
How do I remove Nikkud (vowel marks) from a Word 2016 document?
I am working on a commentary on Ethics of the Fathers and I want readers to be able to read sources I'm quoting in their original Hebrew. I am getting most of my sources from sefaria.org and ...
3
votes
1answer
82 views
Writing a phone call scene in a screenplay
I’m writing a scene that is on a phone call. I don't want to hear one person in a voiceover. Instead, I want to cut back and forth between the two people speaking.
Do I have to use a new scene ...
