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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Is it okay to have just two chapters of split time switchover alternating with the present?

Is it okay to have just two chapters of split time switchover alternating with the present (chapters)?. I.e. the second and fourth chapters portray the story of the protagonist's ancestors, which has ...
Franklin McCoy's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
149 views

How to write in a way that makes it easier for an ESL reader to parse and understand?

This question recently began percolating in my mind after some conversations at work, and hopefully it's not been asked here before and is applicable to this site. After searching I wasn't able to ...
Sciborg's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Strong verbs for energy and clarity, or artistic use of all parts of speech for voice/style?

In not a few books I've read on style, the author pushes the use of strong verbs, as opposed to nominalizations, and certain kinds of adverbs and adjectives, to energize every sentence a writer writes....
garbia's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
409 views

Why does Faulkner get a pass for purple prose?

I've been accused of purple prose for single words. People will go through my work with a fine-tooth comb and interrogate me. "Why this big word?" It feels like, if everyone doesn't ...
Dan's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
6k views

Ways to show someone is whispering without using "he whispered"

I've seen a lot of advice that says you should scrap all non-'said' dialogue tags. I can see the value of this, but I'm not sure how to make it work in every instance. It's pretty easy to show things ...
aurorajack's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
137 views

Least confusing way to structure 2 plot lines merging when one starts several years before the other

My story has two POV characters, Delilah and Jack, who start separate and meet ~ 1/4 of the way though. Delilah's story starts several years before the Jack's and is the entire reason he even has a ...
aurorajack's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
158 views

How "subjective" is "good-readability"?

How "subjective" is "good-readability"? Are there quality studies that can explain this? I'm confused about that I perceive that different people seem to have different preferences ...
mavavilj's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
912 views

How do you make superpowers interesting in a written medium?

Superhuman powers, with the exception of psionic abilities like telepathy, are primarily an element of visual spectacle. This is primarily why fiction with people with some form of superhuman ...
user2352714's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
153 views

Does Simple Writing Lead to Passive Reading? [closed]

a quick question here about non-fiction writing styles: It is said that the German philosopher Immanuel Kant intentionally wrote in a difficult and opaque style so as to force his readers to pay ...
John Smith's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
440 views

How to write scenes of negotiation? [closed]

I'm looking for general tips on writing a negotiation scene, and would be interested in some example novels/short stories in which there are scenes of negotiation (preferably light-hearted but any ...
abrac's user avatar
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1 vote
5 answers
215 views

How to avoid "character said" when there is a group of people talking?

I am at a certain part in my book where a group of six people travel and talk with each other. I would like to make them all talk, as that would be what would happen in real life but I can't really ...
Jan Kirchner's user avatar
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1 answer
764 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 ...
Evelyn Pedraza's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
343 views

Does Blake Snyder's Save the Cat only apply to a story as a whole?

I'm curious to know if it can apply to an episode, volume, season, or an individual book of a trilogy. If it does apply, how do you apply those individual episodes into a whole story whilst following ...
Dewux's user avatar
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0 answers
2k views

Indianisation of "Thank You, M'am" written by Langston Hughes

Thank You, M'am To Indianise the story, along with the name of the character & place, the story has to be adapted in an Indian context and style. Both style and context are critical here. Langston ...
Sayak Banik's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
63 views

Punctuating consecutive usage of "and"

What should a transcriptionist do if the speakers utters, "You need to accept the consequences and deal with the problem and focus more on growth." Be informed that transcription ...
user51841's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
58 views

Can rhetorical final drafts come only from rhetorical rough drafts?

In order to end up with a finished work, in which there are parallelism and all kinds of other rhetorical devices, do you need to do anything to prepare for it in your rough draft, or can you add this ...
garbia's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
50 views

Referring to one of the coauthors--should I simply use his or her name?

For example, Wang and Zimmermann are writing a research paper together. In their paper, they want to refer to Zimmermann's previous work (possibly with other coauthors). Should they write "In the ...
LiEcon's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
135 views

Can I mix different writing styles within a single work?

My editor uses the Chicago Manual Of Style and has told me that even with names ending 's' to show possession, it is still necessary to use 's. I really hate that. Is it acceptable to pick and choose ...
Charity Bailey's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
372 views

How to communicate characters' inner states?

This is a huge question, parts of which have been answered on this site. However, this is one of the biggest challenges writers face, and so I think the question's relevancy matches the amount of work ...
A. Kvåle's user avatar
  • 4,033
2 votes
3 answers
739 views

How best to write an anxious character?

A character is shy, anxious, anti-social, nervous, etc. So, when speaking, she often pauses or makes noises like “uhm”, err”, “uhh”, etc. I’m asking a couple questions: What would be the best way to ...
Bill's user avatar
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0 answers
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What is a format for writing Introduction part for a economics/finance paper?

I read a couple of papers in economics and finance areas. I saw that in the different papers they used different styles. Is there any outline for writing an introduction with easy-to-follow ...
Phil Nguyen's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
209 views

What are the possible driving factors of betrayal scenes?

I've been having a hard time thinking about a good way to create a betrayal scene without forcing it. Even if I somehow wrote the scene, I just can't feel the emotions behind the betrayal; the sadness,...
Dewux's user avatar
  • 21
9 votes
6 answers
3k views

How to avoid overdoing deconstructive tendencies in writing?

The Issue I'm a person who likes to take things apart to see how they work, and someone who likes to poke holes in ideas. As a result, it's not surprising that I've always been drawn to a writing ...
user2352714's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
58 views

How do you format a song when it's part of a larger spoken piece?

I'm editing a children's book which includes songs. I usually format the songs as a block quote in a slightly smaller type size and centred on the longest line. However, I've just come to a song that ...
Daniel James Smith's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
100 views

Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style?

Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style? Would that be considered to be essentially a normal writing style. If not, how will this be done? (Structurally ...
Koffee's user avatar
  • 13
3 votes
3 answers
221 views

Does an omniscient narrator have to be objective?

When writing a story narrated in the third person, I often find passages in my text where the narrator's opinions seem to conflate with the opinions of the character the narration is following: ...
Maciej Stachowski's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
128 views

How do I write in a sophisticated manner (though not convoluted)?

I would like my writing to be sophisticated, but find it difficult. I think this is since I have trouble understanding sophisticated passages. So no matter how well I know grammar, I can never arrange ...
garbia's user avatar
  • 1,510
3 votes
1 answer
298 views

Do I use a comma before "and" in a list? (Canada)

I was wondering if I should use a comma before "and" in a list. Example: I like Science, Math and Writing. or I like Science, Math, and Writing. I heard that the first one is more ...
oofman's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
1 answer
111 views

Is "small-c conservative" or "capital-T Truth" redundant?

In English speech, it's perfectly normal to refer to the capitalization of a term to clarify if it's a proper noun or not—"The party's new approach is small-c conservative", because the ...
stylingquestion's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
268 views

How do you avoid "rushing to the good stuff" with poor pacing as an inexperienced writer?

I was recently watching a writing review talking about the pacing in the recent Invincible adaptation. One thing that the author of this video pointed out is that when authors are very inexperienced ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
1 vote
2 answers
78 views

When a character is mentally recalling prior dialog verbatim, how should it be quoted?

When a character is mentally recalling prior dialog verbatim, should the dialog be surrounded by double-quotes or single-quotes, be italicized, or get no special treatment at all? For example: O'...
dhinson919's user avatar
-4 votes
1 answer
72 views

What kind of prose style do most people like? [closed]

What kind of prose style draws in and delights the most people?
garbia's user avatar
  • 1,510
1 vote
1 answer
91 views

What to focus on while writing haiku?

I started writing haiku as a hobby. What techniques can help with writing this particular form? What should I focus on? A few examples of my haiku: "Mountain" Mountains under snow Cold air ...
TeslaXba's user avatar
  • 121
-2 votes
1 answer
104 views

Do modern readers like to read rhetorically saturated prose? [closed]

I’m on the path to beginning a short story, of which I will form the plot, the setting, the characters, the conflict, and every element of story according to a plan. But even though I've moved past ...
garbia's user avatar
  • 1,510
1 vote
3 answers
209 views

What is the typical mood and style of light novels?

My friend has asked me to give feedback on a light novel that he's writing, and I've been clueless on how to proceed. I'm an avid reader of non-fiction, and although I don't read much fiction anymore, ...
Nspace's user avatar
  • 13
1 vote
1 answer
105 views

What type of rhetorical figure is this?

What type of figure of speech/rhetorical figure are the following: “You are dearer to me than myself, as you yourself can see.” (Bob Dylan) “Them I will forget, but you I’ll remember always.” (Bob ...
286642's user avatar
  • 207
3 votes
2 answers
303 views

Humanoid vs Bipedaloid Word Diction

I'm doing an extensive write-up project, and I'm stumped for how an alien species similar to the human analogue morphology (Two Arms, Two Legs, and Plantigrade-Bipedal standing/maneuvering) should be ...
Nagaraja's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
49 views

Where do prose rhythms come from?

Do you think that the rhythms of poetic prose compositions are produced by their author with a sense of rhythm in mind, or by tinkering with their wording until they arrive at a rhythm they like? I am ...
garbia's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
371 views

How do you realistically create a breakup/betrayal scene?

This happens in a war setting. I have a female protagonist who, in her childhood, met a prince who was banished and felt betrayed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the female lead decided to help the ...
Dewux's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
60 views

Does perfect brevity always flow?

Most of the style guides say to make every sentence as concise as possible. But does this kind of writing always flow? Don't you sometimes need to add to a sentence an extra word or two in order to ...
garbia's user avatar
  • 1,510
3 votes
5 answers
304 views

How do I save my novel from myself?

It should be clearly understood that I am not an avid reader and I accept I may be missing a lot of things about writing. I want to write a thought-provoking and a deep story with interesting ...
Ishan2077's user avatar
  • 486
2 votes
4 answers
259 views

Overuse of commas?

I've noticed I have a thing for commas, but I don't know if it's a big enough deal. I do try to sparse my longer sentences, but it leaves these lingering ones with probably an overuse of commas? I ...
Ultimate Qwerty's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
551 views

How should I go about writing a character that is a goth?

I have a character in my story who openly identifies as part of the goth subculture. I've taken pains to make sure they have a three-dimensional personality and aspects to their character beyond just ...
user2352714's user avatar
  • 4,685
0 votes
2 answers
119 views

Formatting new line options with actions and dialogue in fiction

I am getting confused about whether rules determine new paragraph positions or if it's sometimes arbitrary. Some choices seem clear cut, but in the sentence: 'I regarded...' it reads fine to me in ...
Bertbarber 's user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
896 views

Usage of comma vs dash

Which sentence works best in regards to ',' or '-'? If you don't, the track record will become diluted or If you don't - the track record will become diluted
Sigge Thorén's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
30 views

What Note / Bib citation style uses parenthesis around the publisher?

What citation style is this? C. van Hoeten, The Alien in Israelite Law (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991). D. A. Hubbard, Beyond Futility (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976), pp. 20-21. J. N. Sevenster, ...
Albert.G's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
110 views

Is there a tradition/style of novel writing that is closer to screenwriting?

What I really like about screenplays is that a lot of them have minimal descriptions of objects or the environment. By contrast, novels usually have detailed descriptions that I have difficulty ...
Ameet Sharma's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
115 views

What are some strategies to integrate historical facts to a storyline?

What are several different ways to incorporate true facts into historical fiction without just giving a massive info dump? Whether big or little details, I want to inform the reader of facts without ...
user11111111111's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
123 views

How to remove filter words from dialogue actions in first POV

While editing my story's first draft, I read a blog about filtering words. When it came to editing, I realised it's not that easy to remove those words when you are editing an action after a dialogue, ...
Momobear's user avatar
  • 255
1 vote
2 answers
146 views

Is it okay to write short adjacent story of a second lead in the main story?

I am writing a story of a slice of life of a teenager girl who seeks her forgotten past and run away from her forced marriage to follow her dreams. I want to add another story of her cousin and her ...
Veronica Park's user avatar

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