Questions tagged [style]
This tag should be used for questions that deal with a consistent style in your writing, such as when asking about typical ways to introduce a certain aspect to your reader by showing-telling or if you are concerned that your readers might feel that a change in the point of view might be perceived as inconcsistency.
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Epigraph translation, according to Chicago Manual of Style
There is a book by John Doe in which there is an epigraph by Goethe, which is translated into English by Jim Oe.
Chapter 1
Rosen sind rot,
Veilchen sind blau.[1]
...
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Why is simpler prose more popular these days?
People repeatedly tell me to write simply. Some complain when I don't, and some say they dislike complex writing.
I thought that, back in the 19th century, many people liked sophisticated prose. Why, ...
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Stuck on a scene of characters going from one location to another
So the context is that two characters have to go from Country A to Country B. They have to travel through various airports and take a cab in order to reach Country B. The main story starts after they ...
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Why are the titles of certain types of works italicized?
On Wikipedia and other encyclopedias, the titles of certain types of works (movies, video games, books) are often in italic type. Is there a reason for this?
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Should a hyphen be added if a URL is broken across a line?
Normally if a word is too long, one can add a hyphen to split the word in two, making part of the word on the next line:
This is an ex-
ample of a te-
xt that uses
hyphens as li-
ne breaks.
If I'm ...
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Simple Writing vs Complex Writing
Numerous online articles say that simple writing is better. They say it is easier to read. They also say that people aim for complexity in their writing to show off.
However, I enjoy reading both ...
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Portraying synesthesia in prose
How can an author effectively portray a character with synesthesia, where their sensory perceptions are intertwined, without confusing the reader or disrupting the narrative flow? What techniques and ...
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Is there a term for this academic writing issue?
I'm new at reviewing articles to be published in an academic journal. In one journal I'm reviewing, the author repeated these phrases around 20 times: Students need..., Educators need to..., Teachers ...
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How can you type 3 paragraphs about being prompt and present at school?
How can you type 3 paragraphs about being prompt and present at school?
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How do I use writing techniques more purposefully?
What are some exercises, tools, or lessons that serve the purpose of identifying the stylistic elements of my writing to facilitate practicing incorporating those elements as part of my writing ...
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What methods can I use to pinpoint my own stylistic choices?
I will admit that I am years out of practice in consistent writing on a personal, professional and academic level. Even even when that wasn't the case, I have always had difficulty understanding what ...
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Is there a better style guide?
In the past, I've read the Elements of Style, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, and Steven Pinker's Sense of Style. The first two advice the utmost brevity, the Elements of Style giving it ...
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Appropriate Prose Style for a Personal Letter
Sometimes I write my mother a letter, attempting a lyrical prose style, (although I often fail at it, due to rushing to send it and not double checking what I wrote), but after I send it, she ...
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Reading Aloud to Write in a Lyrical Prose Style
Most of the time when I edit my words, I never read aloud to see if my language flows, and the last time I tried it, I struggled to yield the sound that I wanted when editing. I also fear that when ...
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Formatting cover letter
This website gives several examples of cover letters. They typically begin:
December 1, 2010
Miriam A. Nunberg
Staff Attorney
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
32 Old Slip, 26th ...
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elongating words in fiction work
I've found and been advised on different points of view on this matter. Is there an accepted manner as to how this is done? It's conversational and colloquial. In that, the persons within the ...
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How can I keep my writing consistent?
I struggle with keeping my writing consistent and fear this is hampering my ability to finish my novel (currently in the editing stage).
Some scenes are brilliant, they add flavour to the story, the ...
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What is this literary device called where a quote is changed for comedic effect?
A direct quote from the Bible is changed for comedic effect. Is it an allusion? maybe a paronomastic pan?
And God said: “Let there be cake. And there was cake. And God saw that it was good.”
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How should I format a surprise scene change such that it reads coherently but is still a surprise?
In the current WIP chapter of my most popular web serial, there is a scene at the beginning that is presented as happening "now" (that is, having regular story focus) only to be suddenly ...
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Difficulty describing a complex image in a single sentence
I am having difficulty explaining that the sun evaporated the fog that had brushed up against the blooming hills. When I add "with spectacular wildflower blooms", it sounds as if the sun ...
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Drafts and Sentence Complexity
Some writing has complex sentence structure. Many times, this is because its authors derived it from drafts that had complex sentence structure already. But I read that writers can combine simpler ...
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How do I introduce my readers to new words as gracefully as possible?
Let me apologize in advance if this question has been asked before. The ones I found only discuss this issue in the context of writing in general and do not touch on writing narrative fiction.
I am ...
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If a quotation makes up all of a person's speech does it still need to be in its own quote marks?
I have the following speech in a book I'm designing:
Seeing him hesitate, she said lightly, ‘“‘There’s both meat and music here,’ quoth the dog as he ate the piper’s bag”!’
Essentially someone is ...
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Do constrained writing exercises improve verbal skills?
If one writes daily, not aiming to strengthen any one writing skill of theirs, will they enhance their prose style? People are told often that daily writing will strengthen their writing skills. And ...
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How can I write in a very high and sophisticated style, not being pompous, but showing empathy?
A fundamental trait of good writing which I've often neglected is empathy, the encompasser of many good qualities of prose. Whether the King James Bible, (whose style I had long wished to imitate, ...
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A Question on 'Topical Progression': How to Address Internal Inconsistencies in the Framework
(This question has been moved from English Language Stack Exchange on account of relevancy.)
In my mission to improve my writing, I have come across a concept called 'topical progression' (discussed ...
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How do I fit the scene ideas to the plot?
I have lots of very cool and developed scene ideas, but when I think about them, they seem to be seperate from the plot. It's like instead of the protagonist sailing on a boat down a river, they're ...
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Is it better for me to add more advanced words into my book, or is it better to use easy words that any average English-speaker can understand?
To be completely honest, my English vocabulary isn’t that advanced. Currently, my writing-style is very simple and easy to understand. It doesn’t use extremely advanced wording to express things. I’m ...
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What's the best way to write a 2-person story, primarily involving interaction?
I am writing a short story that only has 2 characters, and is written in the third person. I am deciding between script-type writing:
Character 1: "Wow! these are my words!" He smiles
...
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How exactly are you supposed to write a paragraph that contains a consistent theme throughout?
I have noticed as a writer that one of my greatest weaknesses is writing paragraphs. I never really learned exactly how a paragraph is supposed to support one single theme. For instance, this is a ...
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Which Is Clearer: 'Being pressed' or 'Pressed'?
Consider these two sentences:
[1] Being pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
[2] Pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
I've recently spent some time reading grammar ...
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How can I recognize and take constructive criticism?
Personally, for me, I have ADHD and mild autism, so at times I don't have the same views as the majority. For example, I like the ending/plot of this one book/show/movie, only for me to find out that ...
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How does one write a paper "in character?" I don't know how to begin
For the course project, you will write about a historical event between 1865 and the present day from the perspective of a historical figure who participated in the event.
You will need to research ...
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Thoughts on using "looking to" in marketing content
I've been writing content for years, and over the last 6 or so, in marketing for software companies. Very often, I'll see sentences include "looking to" as a way to explain that the reader ...
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How Should We Implement the Given-before-New Principle in Fiction?
It's safe to say I've become a bit of a grammar nerd since I started writing my first novel. Three years after my first words landed on the page, I'm only now coming to the end of my final round of ...
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Conveying to someone through eMail that they are the one millionth customer of my product without sounding suspicious
Say I owned a website, game, product, etc. and wanted to tell someone by eMail that they are the one millionth customer of mine, and maybe even promise them a reward.
The problem is that eMails of ...
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Is it better to create a new word, or add anew connotation to an already existing word? Does it matter?
This question arose from another question I asked on the English Language & Usage Stack: "Is there a specific name for that singular exhalation laugh that happens when you read something only ...
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How to refer to alternate versions of a character in a non-sci-fi way?
I'm writing a story featuring a plot element which is a variation on A Christmas Carol involving the multiverse. A character is escorted to other timelines, where she looks at where those versions of ...
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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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Non finite (..ing) v finite (..ed) verb form correct usage
The rhythm of these 3 excerpts below are different, they read to me more or less the same though. Are any actually grammatically wrong? It's funny the sort of questions that pop up when you start ...
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Are fake movie titles mentioned in dialogue italicized?
So, a made-up title like All Loud on the Eastern Front, in dialogue, would it be italicized?
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How to make a scene from the point of view of a drunk person dramatic?
This is sort of related to my previous question because I'm preparing to write the same scene, but this is different enough that it warrants its own question.
So I'm working on a scene where a ...
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How to write a drunk person's train of logic?
I've read some of the other questions on this site about how to write a drunk person (this link, this link, and this link) but what I'm not clear on is writing a drunk person's train of logic and how ...
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How to organize writing of short, concise, meaningful sentences?
I am working on a fantasy language and wondering how I could write like the Tao Te Ching, short meaningful poetic sentences which are easy to grasp and visualize. In English we have the tendency to ...
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How do I make my writing flow?
I'm in the skeleton stage, but to get into the rhythm of writing, I write short stories every few days. Upon reviewing them, I've realised that unless I am specifically aiming for abstract and vivid ...
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How to provide translations, moods, and registry in multilanguage dialog within an narration in English?
I am starting a serious writing project (a novel book from a story I once drafted as a TV show; I am not a script writer either). Furthermore I decided to write in English, which is not my native ...
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Is using diverse verbs on action beats to tag speech frowned upon?
Watching a video from an editor yesterday, she said authors should refrain from using too many verbs on action beats, instead relying mostly on "said" and "asked".
I think it is ...
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How to write a character who's better than you at sounding professional and doublespeak
I have a character who is an expert at using language to his advantage. Both in terms of doublespeak, subtle put downs and deliberately avoiding the point and making the conversation about something ...
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Stylistic markers in male and female writings
Are there any stylistic markers (sentence structures, vocabulary choices, or anything else) which may help the reader suggest, even if only tentatively, the gender — male or female — of the author, ...
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How do I get my writing to be more thrilling?
I started writing not too long ago, but I've been struggling to actually make the readers get into the reading. I've been told that my writings are too "straightforward" or "too direct&...
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