Questions tagged [formatting]
Questions about text appearance: styling, placement, fonts, indents, bullets.
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Best markup language for a little story?
I'm writing a story in plain text using Vim text editor. It doesn't contain big tables, images. However, there will be short listings of source code in several programming languages and syntax ...
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Format keyboard keys in documents
I'm writing a guide to give step-by-step instructions to complete some tasks on the computer. At some points, I need to indicate pressing keys on the keyboard; how may I format the letter/symbol to ...
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Converting ms-word to ebook vs. writing from scratch?
Can anyone, who has any experience with writing ebooks, recommend a way for me to proceed?
I have a book in Microsoft Word heavy on mathematics: formulas (inline), equations (numbered) and diagrams.
...
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Do any ePublishing systems honor fixed poetry formatting?
As per this article in the Huffington Post, the Kindle discards many kinds of poem formatting.
I use a lot of white space, couplets, triplets, and long lines that cannot break. The Kindle wraps text ...
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How to format news, poems, text messages, and other kinds of written text?
I always find myself wondering how to format written text: news (on TV and newspapers), text messages (from a cellphone), lyrics, and poems. Right now, I just put them in a new paragraph and italicize ...
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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 ...
user23083
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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 ...
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What's a clear way to simulate web text in a story?
My novel includes excerpts of things like text from websites, tweets, and internet chats. I'm using Courier for the main novel font. Does switching to a san serif font make sense to represent the web ...
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Why is the format of a Bollywood film script so different from that of a Hollywood movie?
I was comparing between the formats of scripts from both Hollywood and Bollywood. Following is the first page of the script of Pulp Fiction.
And following is the first page of a Bollywood film, Jab ...
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Page count conversion from single to double-space for submissions
When an agent/publisher limits manuscript submissions to your first 50 pages, and goes on to say it should be double-spaced as an attachment, does that mean your first 50 pages from your single-spaced ...
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Formatting for stage, television, and the silver screen
What are the formatting rules for scripts? Are there significant variations? What differences are there between stage plays, television, and movies?
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Breaking dialogue with actions from another character
This can get... confusing, which is why I tend to avoid it, but sometimes, I really want it there.
“What?!” [said Character B.] I laughed, giving her a minute to process
my words. “You’re getting ...
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How should footnotes be used in non-paginated media?
How should footnotes be attached to a text that doesn't form pages? Say, a lengthy text, over 10,000 words as a single webpage but with formatting limited to static text; I have no options to make ...
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How best to format a novel written in Markdown
I want to use a text editor (Emacs) to write a novel because I don't want to consider page layout and other similar issues. I want to use the Markdown format so that I can convert it to the docx ...
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How to handle a pidgin language?
Question: In reference to this question about how to show a foreign language in a manuscript, I am wondering: What is the best way to handle a pidgin language in a manuscript? In a wider sense: How ...
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Can I add Drop Caps to my manuscript in the Storyist program?
I have a manuscript that I'd like to add Drop Caps to at the beginning of each chapter. I currently have it loaded into my Storyist program on my Mac-book Pro.
Does anyone know how I'd go about ...
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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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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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Correct punctuation for showing a character's confusion
I'm trying to show that the narration (third person limited) is being interrupted by the character's thought process, and I'm not sure what punctuation is best for this situation.
So far, I've tried ...
user36961
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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 ...
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Should a novella have chapters?
Is it appropriate to use chapter breaks in works shorter than novel-length? I feel as though the text requires breakpoints peridocially, and if it were a novel, I'd place chapter breaks there, but in ...
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How should I present a resort brochure in my general fiction?
In my story the protagonist goes to live in a health resort. The receptionist presents her with a brochure of activities. At the moment I have written like this in a word document;
After patiently ...
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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 ...
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Do empty pages need a number?
I would like to start each chapter on the right side of the book, as there are few chapters with a different point of view. I know numbering has to continue on the white page which might appear in ...
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What format should I use when beginning a chapter with the time and location of the events?
What format should I use when beginning a chapter with the time and location of the events?
I was thinking to use:
Nine pm. Sunday, in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
but I don't think it looks good, so I ...
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"Empty-space" vs "three-dot" scene break
What's the difference between the two? I've seen both in the same book. For example in the Bone Clocks by David Mitchell:
Space breaks:
He’s clever, I realize. First he makes you grateful. Right. ...
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Using LaTex medium to enhance writing
I asked my Calculus Professor for a recommendation. He said,
"Sure. No problem. But write me an essay about yourself and since you're a computer guy, do it in LaTeX."
Now I've never used LaTeX ...
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What is the use of "Ends." to indicate the end of a document?
I recall seeing the word "Ends." placed at the end of documents to indicate that, obviously, nothing else follows. Is this acceptable standard usage? It feels rather archaic (not that that's ...
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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 ...
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What is the proper way to write a date containing two days in a row?
I have a presentation that will go from August 4th to the 5th. On my title slide I'd like to list the dates in the most concise and simple way possible. What's the best style?
I currently have:
...
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Bullets vs. Numbering: which to use when?
A writer can either choose to use bullets or else stick to conventional (or in certain cases non-conventional) numbering. Are there set guidelines about when to use what? Is the use of numbering ...
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Need recommendation re: online resume format
I'm drafting a resume for a job opportunity & would love recommendations on a formatting issue. My resume has many bullet points and some tables. However, I'm challenged by online job applications ...
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Including text file name in footer of compiled Scrivener document?
I'm working on a short story collection using scrivener. Each story is one text file in the scrivener document.
I'd like to include the story name in the footer, next to the page number. Is that ...
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What software can handle both revision control and layout?
I'm desperately looking for a book publishing solution that can handle revision control and layouts. My issues/requirements are as follows:
Typists are extremely non-technical and I would like to ...
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Using alternate quotation marks for 'scare quotes.'
The American standard is to use double quotation marks ("example") and the British standard is to use single quotation marks ('example'). Style guides insist that you should be consistent regarding ...
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Can I use an abbreviated two-digit format for year in a resume?
Can I use '14, '15, '16, etc., instead of the full four digits?
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Script Writing as it pertains to TV and Radio lines
If a Radio or TV needs to be audible. How is that written in a Script? Is it written like the characters, or is written in the description in parentheses?
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Is there a standard for describing a form in a programming specification?
I'm a web programmer at a small web firm. When we have a larger programming project, I write a specification document for the client to review, make necessary changes, and eventually approve.
Our ...
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Help Formatting for Kindle Direct Publishing on Mac?
I'm taking up the task of publishing some content to Kindle. I've been reading up on their documentation and been trying to get something to show up in the Kindle Previewer App, using a combination of ...
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How Do I Write a News Broadcast Montage in Different Locations in a Screenplay?
I want to write a sequence in my screenplay where the same news broadcast continues on different screens in different locations. For example, a bunch of people in a bar are watching the broadcast, ...
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In the Windows version of Scrivener for Screenplay formatting, how do format for action/dialogue/shot?
There is a way to automatically change the indices to respect whether it is a line of dialogue or a description of the setting, but I can't find a way to bring the menu up consistently when hitting "...
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Do self publishers need to support punctuation differences for different markets?
I am an Australian, first time author, intending to self publish. I have prepared the manuscript using the Australian English dictionary in MS Word. Many words are spelled differently in different ...
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Sluglines for same location but different periods, real and imagined
I'm writing a short film that has the vast majority scenes set in a pub, with the main male character about to approach a woman, and he imagines/projects some of the possibilities of this - it goes ...
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Front Matter in a Work in Two Volumes
I am writing a thesis, and the material of said work naturally splits into two self-consistent volumes. Which front matter (abstract, preface, dedication, synopsis, table of contents, list of tables/...
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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 ...
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How to plan the font size in a fiction?
I have planned my book to be around 250 pages. Because that is my target audience. In my country I can sell the book of that length for around 250-300 rupees. (*Its just my plan, I don't know yet how ...
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In a screenplay, how do you show people talking over each other?
When writing a script where you have two (or more) people talking at the same time, how is that formatted? Side-by-side columns? Some other vertical grouping? Notes? Does it vary?
Examples would be ...
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Having a character quote an entire stanza of a poem
I am working on a long form fiction item. In this one of the characters will quote the first stanza from a poem. Normally with speech, one opens quotes, adds the text, and closes quotes. However I do ...
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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-...
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How to indicate emphasis in plain text manuscripts
Some short story markets (e.g. Daily Science Fiction) request manuscripts in plain text. How do you indicate emphasis in a plain text manuscript?
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