General Q&A about the craft of professional writing, editing, and publishing. Questions about all types of writing are welcome -- fiction, technical documentation, scholarly articles, poetry, scriptwriting, blogs, and more.
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Are there any (books, articles or other online) resources that give practical guidance on writing non-fiction to a general audience at a level less technical than a pure scientific paper? I am spec...
I have written poems in iambic meter before, and they didn't seem to be wordy. And for a long time I have wanted to use metrical effects in my prose, which is called prose rhythm. But I am wonderin...
I had been maintaining two blogs focusing on two different niches - tech stuff(computer world) and lifestyle(life hacks and short stories) - but now I want to get my own domain. I have heard that...
So, I'm not much of a writer, in fact the last time I wrote a story was when I was 10 (Been nearly 10 years since). Where I usually write is in roleplay situations. Where my characters are constan...
I completed a draft of a fiction book that several friends have read and enjoyed. Assuming I can raise the money on Kickstarter, what services should I employ to maximize success of the book? I pla...
I am writing a novel of historical fiction containing a short scene in which the city of Kiev is bombed on the first day of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Twenty-two people were k...
Here's a question that's nagging me. I want to cite different authors from one edited anthology in Harvard style inline citations. Note, this is not for one particular quote, but throughout the pap...
I am looking for a reliable professional editing service where I can get my papers reviewed. Searching google returns gazillion options but its very hard to determine which one is truly professiona...
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 ...
Is there an appropriate amount of paragraphs to a chapter, I have honestly been trying to compact some techniques in my head, I have just been curious if there is an amount of paragraphs when i kno...
I enjoy writing, I really do. And also, I don't want to kill my time to make a living. I want to enjoy earning money. I don't wanna be rich, I just don't want to be poor. Can I make a living as a n...
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 m...
I have a client who is based in London who wants between 500-1000 word blog post written each week. How, much should I charge? The blog post will have a few images in it. The quality should be high...
I am trying to create a documentary about the history of a sports team, and have identified some compelling story arcs. However, as we know in reality, stories do not begin and end one at a time: ...
(Apologies if this question has already been asked. I've looked around but can't find this specific question, only related ones.) The general advice seems to be "don't start your story with dialog...
I've written a scene in a short story where the character and her party are suddenly attacked in the night. It's written in first-person and the character had just been shaken awake from a nightmar...
I am writing a realistic-fiction novel set in the USA during the Great Depression. I intend to use some stock characters to make the story colorful and to flesh out the culture of the period. Stoc...
The Background: I'm writing a novel that is set in the working quarters of a cruise ship. It's named after the "stage identitiy" of the main characters. (Let's call her Nancy.) All the subplots I h...
A story I’m trying to write have several characters who have been raised in foster families. None of them have been physically or emotionally abused, but I still felt like their childhood sould hav...
I am writing a World War 3 Novel, and I want to write the backstories of the main characters as prologues. It's really short, so I can't make another book. Is it even possible to make multiple pro...
Let's imagine a book where my character holds the power of light. Reason being, everyone in his country is born with telekinesis. He however, is the only one with enough grasp of the (maybe a littl...
Assume a manuscript written in AmE (if it matters, also assume an American MC). It would be relatively easy to change spelling, word choice, etc. to make a BrE manuscript. However, since I write ...
I see many similarities in films to the point where I can often guess what will happen next,even if the part was intended to be suspenseful. is that bad writing? should "plot twists" always be surp...
I've noticed that authors often show the main character's though process in third person using the prose itself, almost as if the character were the one narrating. Made-up-on-the-spot example: ...
I am under the impression they do but I have colleagues who believe nobody reads blogs anymore, and that if you must blog, video blogs are better. Any thoughts on this? Is writing becoming redundant?
I'm writing (planning to write) a fantasy novel. I'm done with the worldbuilding, rules of magic, main characters (even though I think I will add some more in the future) and their initial plots an...
Assuming that all of the characters are unique, interesting, and stand out from the rest of the cast, is there a limit to how many characters I can introduce in the first chapter before my reader s...
I am working on a book that will have 8 music albums as a soundtrack (one for each chapter). I am thinking about submitting my work to some publisher, but I am not sure if I could then also sell m...
I'm writing a fantasy novel where antagonists have ability to steal skills/abilities from any creature (actually it's more like replacing own skills with others). I need ideas what skills they migh...
Is there any legitimate use for using bold to emphasize something in written speech within a sentence? I understand that bold can be used for formatting and highlighting, but I am looking to unders...
Here are two lines of dialog: "I don't know what order to put this in," says Max. "I don't know what order to put this in," Max says. When is it better to use one over the other? Is one preferred...
For example, in the case of this sentence: I drove past the empty stables and servant's quarters, and after another quarter mile I entered a very large circular driveway. Is it implied t...
I have to further explain my intent here. I'm writing down some procedures in operating manuals and servicing manuals. I mostly use numbered lists and sometimes just bulleted lists. Recently I star...
So, in my story, a main character gets sick with a virus. (Not a real one). I alternate POV's, and she is one of my favorite to write. I'm pretty sure her mindset would change slightly. But how? Pl...
I try to, but always end up shutting down and thinking it's stupid. Especially when I haven't been writing it for long. Help!
I've finally decided to give a protagonist a happy ending, but what is there to avoid? What makes a happy end too cheesy? For example, if the story is about a anti-hero, who destroys his enemies, w...
What is essential for a character-driven story - except, obviously, appearance?
So what do you ask them? Do you have a questionnaire?
Sales reports for my book from the publisher (about 2 per quarter) are grossly inconsistent with visits to the novel's Web site (about 100 per month) and people who've told me they bought a copy. ...
For example my story is placed in WW3, well the second chapter is placed in WW3, and yet I struggle, to write a plausible WW3 scenario. I have planned to make it about false flags committed by one ...
In preparation for IELTS I want to write on "It is important for children to learn the difference between right and wrong at an early age. Punishment is necessary to help them learn this distinctio...
Please, before flagging this question as subjective or generic, take a moment to read it through. IMO this is a valid, specific question, albeit a bit complex. To try and unpack the admittedly obs...
Suppose the outline of my PhD thesis looks like this: Acronyms Preface Introduction Part I: some topic Chapter 1: ... Chapter 2: ... Part II: another topic Chapter 3: ... Chapter 4: ... Con...
Can I use famous art work images that were created prior to 1900 in my book and sell the book legally? Are all artworks prior to 1900 Public domain? I want to use images of paintings made in 1800 t...
I want to write a short horror story. What are the best ways to set a dark tone or mood to the story? Just in a short introduction, if I want to introduce a character or place as a place I would no...
I'm working on an engineering project and lots of the design decisions I've made are based on application notes or application reports made by manufacturers, like this one: http://www.ti.com/lit/...
How do online journalists report on things if they aren't actually out in the field reporting? I'm assuming they simply watch mainstream news, listen to government/organizational websites, etc?
I'm currently writing a story with a strong theme of spirituality and divinity. At around the halfway point my protagonist has a religious experience which changes them. This experience is a highly...
I would like to publish my book. I would like to publish it as print on demand. I don't like the idea of giving my book away to a publisher. I want to have control and remain responsible for market...
