All Questions
54 questions
3
votes
2
answers
93
views
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 ...
- 61
1
vote
1
answer
130
views
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 ...
- 75
0
votes
2
answers
100
views
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 ...
- 453
2
votes
3
answers
118
views
What is good introductory book to learn scientific academic writing and publishing process?
I would like some help to find a good reference or textbook that covers the following points regarding scientific academic writing :
What are the types of different publications and explaining their ...
-1
votes
1
answer
595
views
Cautioning against, from, or about?
Is it proper to use any preposition to say "caution against" "caution about" or "caution from" in e.g. the sentence —
The fact that the ... has happened before and could ...
1
vote
1
answer
108
views
What is the best way to plan a series?
I am a young author writing a fantasy series. When I first started writing, I had nothing more then a sentence of an idea, but I went along with it and just wrote what came into my head. I never ...
- 488
0
votes
0
answers
49
views
How to properly include credits for the author, location, date and time?
I'm working on an amateur article about various topics and want to include my name (as the author), location of where I'm currently writing the article, and the current date and time.
I've seen many ...
- 101
3
votes
1
answer
56
views
Adjective alongside verb [closed]
"Marlon walked suspicious along the corridor".
It's important to stress that Marlon was (still) suspicious (not suspected, nor walking suspiciously) about something (that was already covered in the ...
- 133
0
votes
2
answers
196
views
Non-sense question about plot structures
Suppose then you have an story in your mind. Then, to write down this finite series of events, you have to translate your imagination into the paper. This process isn't trivial, of course and plot are ...
- 683
1
vote
2
answers
502
views
Doubt about the difference between a "Beat" and a "Event"
My main source of research about storytelling/screenwriting/how-to-write-a-book manual is [1]. But, the definition of "beat" given by [1] maybe can causing me some confusion.
In [1] we have a ...
- 683
7
votes
8
answers
2k
views
What are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?
As a novice writer to improve my writing I have taken one online course. I want to ask, what are good ways to improve as a writer other than writing courses?
- 2,399
1
vote
4
answers
514
views
Is there something "wrong" with my writing? How do I improve it? [closed]
So I usually use stackexchange as a last resort, but I'm completely stumped. If this question is inappropriate here, I will gladly delete it.
None of my teachers say that anything is wrong with my ...
5
votes
1
answer
175
views
Turning away from the 3-act structure - what guides my pacing now?
Not all stories follow a 3-act structure. As an example, Les Misérables is rather episodic in its nature: first there's the story of Bishop Myriel and how he meets Jean Valjean, then there's Fantine's ...
2
votes
2
answers
118
views
Advice on how to beat word repetition in dialogue [duplicate]
Long story short: I default to simple words like "Said" in dialogue much too often. I'm hesitant to abuse the thesaurus due to advice I've been given, as well.
Slightly longer version: When I'm ...
3
votes
5
answers
692
views
Ordinary writing or Prose: how to make it immersive?
As a beginner, I have a frequent problem when writing: I know what I want to write, but I fail to put it in good sentences that reflect my thoughts.
Often, this appears in dialogues when I try to ...
- 610
11
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Mentioning quickly repeated events in first person?
When writing in first person, is it better to mention as little repetition of events as possible? Or can it improve writing in some cases to have a character duplicate previous events and have them ...
- 111
3
votes
0
answers
55
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 ...
- 303
1
vote
1
answer
136
views
How to combine 3 sentences into one? [closed]
I have a character limit and hence would like to reduce my sentences from three to one or at best two. I am not sure how I could simplify this.
Are you looking for an explainer video for your ...
- 303
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
How to confidently attract the other party to your side?
I have the following sentence:
Once they realize they have no chance of defeating you, they'll end up joining you.
I feel this sentence may come across as a bit "cocky" because I would want the ...
- 303
1
vote
1
answer
56
views
How to link two sentences? [closed]
I have the following sentences:
Anyone can use stock footage.
and
Only you know how to use it correctly.
I am wondering if it makes sense to combine them as such
Anyone can use stock ...
- 303
2
votes
5
answers
111
views
Length as action [closed]
I was wondering if using length in this sentence would add to take away from the message. Also am I constructing the sentence correctly.
A sudden outburst drew my gaze from lazy sky to chalk ...
- 23
4
votes
2
answers
446
views
Is it too long for each chapter of a 12-15 chapter novel to be around 10k words in length?
I'm writing my first novel and I wanted to try and write around 12-15 chapters about 10k-ish (give or take a thousand or two) words each. The idea behind it being each chapter covers a very large arc ...
- 141
3
votes
5
answers
466
views
How to simplify a sentence so that a younger audience can understand it?
I have the following sentence:
Pocket squares are a standout amongst the most vital apparatuses for a
man of style. It's important to have the correct pocket square for the
correct event.
I ...
- 303
1
vote
1
answer
25
views
Help with phrasing a survey question [closed]
I think this sentence is awkwardly worded: Do(es) you/your company add job questions on job applications currently?
I think it should say: Do you or your company currently add job questions on job ...
1
vote
1
answer
237
views
How to sound confident but not cocky?
I am working on this slogan, and it comes out like this.
On the road to success.
What I mean by that is that I have positioned myself to accomplish something, but while I am not there yet, I have ...
- 303
1
vote
1
answer
103
views
About the Scope of Sections and Paragraphs
Consider a document structure like this:
1. First-Level-Heading
Some text to give an overview about what I want to tell in this chapter. In LaTeX, this heading would be produced using the \section-...
- 111
5
votes
7
answers
1k
views
How to make my story structure less repetitive?
Someone told me that the way I write is almost like I'm writing from a template, how do I break away from this?
I always end up with this: Saying what the person is doing in the present tense, ...
- 81
-1
votes
2
answers
146
views
Classical Style vs. Modern Innovation
For some time now, the matter of classical versus modern writing has weighed heavily in the discussion of my mind-congress. Here is my thought: given the sheer reverence that is given to classical ...
- 123
8
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Why do typesetters capitalize the first few words of a new chapter?
Something I've always wondered. You've probably noticed that in some newspapers or books, the first few words of a chapter/story are bolded or capitalized, similar to initials. For example:
This ...
- 183
7
votes
4
answers
31k
views
How can I make my roleplay sentences more interesting, and less lengthy?
For the past four months, I've been writing back and forth with a friend of mine in a form of roleplay. Depending on what's happening, our replies range from a few sentences (usually with dialogue) to ...
- 73
6
votes
5
answers
470
views
Can fiction be written without a coincidence?
Does every fiction has a coincidence? Is there any evidence for a fiction not having a coincidental occurring at all ?
I understand by the time we get to the coincidence part it might not seem a ...
- 455
2
votes
3
answers
52
views
Is there a template for how to write a movie summarization?
Is there an official or de facto standard for how to write a movie summarization for an encyclopedia, magazine, newspaper or other kind of media?
For instance, are there widespread templates, ...
- 121
0
votes
3
answers
103
views
Is it bad to divert from the topic in a paragraph and continue in the next?
Here's an example from my own writing (this is a first draft so there might be errors):
Turn for Kazuo's eyeballs. I take them to the table, but I don't eat
them immediately. I look at them ...
- 12.4k
3
votes
2
answers
170
views
Style-less writing -- Lack of real structure for blog article
I used to write a lot when I was younger, and I like to think that I was even decent at it. It's been years since I've tried to write anything other than code, though. I'm quite out of practice, and ...
- 133
4
votes
2
answers
843
views
Turning normal phrases into gerund phrases: What's the effect in the reader?
For example, what's the difference between:
She closed her eyes and thought about her life.
He was so confident and handsome women circled him like vultures.
And this:
Closing her eyes, she
thought ...
- 1,143
-1
votes
1
answer
116
views
How to write a short, and persuasive headline? [closed]
I have the following sentence that I am thinking of using as headline `
Shop online. Locally.
`
However, I am not sure if this headline connects well with it sub-headline.
Pick up the goods ...
- 303
0
votes
4
answers
224
views
using double negatives and sentence structure
This is an extract from a book I am currently reading, the author escapes me at this minute, but i will update.
OFTEN IN ACTUAL LIFE, and not infrequently in the myths and the popular
tales, we ...
- 103
3
votes
2
answers
257
views
Why are news articles in the US structured so non-linearly?
Even after almost two years of daily consumption of US print (well, online) news, in particular, the NY Times, I still cannot get my head around the structure of their articles. I'll elaborate an ...
- 179
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
Short Stories - Questions [duplicate]
How many Stories would be required for it to be considered as a Collection of Short Stories ideally?
What would be the approximate Word Count for a Short Story?
- 11
1
vote
3
answers
4k
views
Suggestions for ways to say "I'll come back to this later ..."
I'm looking for several suggestions for techniques to handle 2 similar cases ...
While writing my current non-fiction book, there are a few times where a section ends with somewhat of a teaser of a ...
- 446
1
vote
2
answers
117
views
Habitual use of -ing follows -ed -- is this wrong?
I have recently noticed that I consistently follow an -ed clause with further action or elaboration using -ing. I feel like something is wrong here, even though it sounds and reads well enough to me. ...
- 11
7
votes
2
answers
211
views
Sentence openings variations to avoid repeating determiners and pronounces
I have a question regarding sentence openings in English language.
When I write most of my sentences start with determiners and pronouns (personal and posessive). This gets repetative quickly.
For ...
- 857
7
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How do I stop using 'which' to explain things
I've been recently writing a lot of graduate school papers and I've noticed that I consistently use the word which to explain concepts. I have a feeling that there is a better way to express my ideas ...
- 173
3
votes
2
answers
205
views
What referencing style is this?
I was reading a book and I’m curious about the referencing style that is used.
When you go to the reference page it is sorted by chapters and then it lists then the references for each particular ...
- 31
6
votes
4
answers
394
views
Defining a Prologue
I came across prologues of several novels, and I noticed that they all were different from each other. Some had a short excerpt picked somewhere from the novel, a few included some private notes from ...
- 195
11
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Choosing between your Mother Tongue and another language
OK, I know I was warned, but what can I do? I had this question for a very long time. I have decided where to write (platform like computer or notepad), I am in the middle of deciding my way of ...
- 257
1
vote
2
answers
942
views
Name of writing style or structure of novel that is in non-chronological order
What is the name of the structure of a novel that is not in chronological order but moves between characters (viewing the same or different topic)?
- 11
6
votes
6
answers
638
views
On the role of "accidents" in "realistic" stories
Accidents are a part of our real life. It is possible to see an old friend accidentally. It is possible to find a fallen comet accidentally. It is possible to kill someone by an accident, etc. Many ...
user6242
2
votes
3
answers
158
views
How to list concepts and tie them in together?
The green pieces of paper folded up in your pocket, the balance in your checking account, your mortgage, and that time you paid for dinner with your friend and she said that the next time is on her. ...
- 179
1
vote
1
answer
169
views
What does "MC" in section break mean?
I saw - I think at least a few times now - authors separating sections of a story with
~MC~MC~MC~
or something similar. What does that mean? Is it an acronym for something, or just some odd ...
- 15.4k