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Q&A

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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Want to Expand my Writing Career as Freelancer [closed]

I've been working as a content writer and blogger for a few local agencies. I want to start freelancing this year but am slightly afraid to start. Could anyone help me how to start freelancing as a...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by proptijohn‭  ·  closed 1y ago by Mithical‭

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Steps in writing a university assignment paper

Can someone please explain me the steps in writing a university assignment paper.

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Baleonkennedy ‭  ·  last activity 8mo ago by deleted user

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Why didn't 18-19th century Anglophone authors shorten their sentences, by starting more with Majuscules? Why lengthen them with commas, (semi)colons?

Shorter sentences have been proven more readable. Thus why didn't the authors below sunder their lengthy sentences, prolongated by commas and (semi)colons? Why not divide them into shorter sentence...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by TextKit‭  ·  edited 1y ago by TextKit‭

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Need basic tools and ways to practice and polish my writing skills

What are the ways to practice and improve basic writing, like content and creative writing? I am not planning to write or learn to write fictional stories. By creative writing, I mean the essentia...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Michael16‭  ·  last activity 3mo ago by tripleee‭

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What is the Current State-of-the-Art / Any Successful Experiements with EPUB Format?

As a zipped web-page, EPUB has long offered the possibility of completely changing how a book looks and feels with dynamic content and interactive content. But since EPUB came out (2007), I really...

3 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by James McLellan‭  ·  last activity 10mo ago by James McLellan‭

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Why didn't 18-19th century Anglophone authors shorten their sentences, by starting more with Majuscules? Why lengthen them with comma + conjunction? [duplicate]

Shorter sentences have been proven more readable. Thus why didn't the authors below sunder their lengthy sentences, prolongated by comma + conjunction? Why not divide them into shorter sentences s...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by TextKit‭  ·  edited 1y ago by TextKit‭

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What is the correct way to mark a section as a translation?

I am often in the situation where I would like to cite a source in another language, and as such include my own translation alongside the quotation. I have been told that translation is a form of ...

1 answer  ·  posted 1y ago by Moshi‭  ·  last activity 1y ago by dsr‭

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Sphinx: API documentation: How to turn off creating links to Parameter/Argument link creation

For projects with API documentation generated by Sphinx, I've noticed that some project's don't include links to the Parameter/Argument types (str, file-like object, int, etc) and some projects do....

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by CodeFarmer‭  ·  last activity 6mo ago by rnxzhydsozh‭

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block-quotation narrative with dialogue

Over on the Judaism site, I summarized a narrative text in a block quotation. Because the narrative is well-known, I expected many people to skip the block quotation; therefore, I did not want it t...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by msh210‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by Mark Baker‭

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How do I know when I should rewrite vs. editing my first chapter

A little context for my question... A long time a go, I started writing little vignettes for a character I was playing in an RPG group. The vignettes ended up joining up and becoming sort of a ba...

3 answers  ·  posted 3mo ago by pureferret ‭  ·  last activity 2d ago by What?‭

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How do I brainstorm for writing positively about myself?

I've always struggled writing about myself, but I need to apply for a program and the application has a lot of very broad but personal questions like, Tell us why you would be a good leader Exp...

2 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Sigma‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Should writers shun cognate stems that share roots, because readers take longer to process these stems? [closed]

Question 1 Here I am asking about merely reading and writing. Do human readers take longer to distinguish between stems (and bases) that share the same root, even if merely picoseconds? For exa...

0 answers  ·  posted 1y ago by TextKit‭  ·  closed 1y ago by Canina‭

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Everyone's a woman: how do you show that through gender-neutral language?

In my latest short story I'm playing around with common gender misconceptions. It's set in a near future society were men have disappeared, and all roles are taken up by women. The theme is played ...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by Liquid‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Prahara‭

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Which parts of a character's plan should be revealed beforehand?

Two characters (one is a PoV character) come up with a plan to break a third out of prison. They succeed, with only minor complications. If I describe too many details of their plan beforehand, it ...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Razetime‭

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What are some ways to encourage team members to contribute and maintain a centralized wiki?

I joined my current company and department a few years ago. We had some documentation for processes but most people had been around for a long time and never needed it, so it was very sparse. Sinc...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by Sigma‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by Mark Baker‭

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How do we get Flare to stop modifying .gitignore?

We use Madcap Flare for our documentation, and the project is checked into git. (In case this matters, this is a locally-hosted git server, not GitHub.) The project uses a .gitignore file to aver...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by Monica Cellio‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Why closed questions tend not to get reopened? [closed]

This post is about Q&A websites in general. In StackExchange there is a culture of closing questions which do not reflect "the standards"; it's a culture that I as someone who uses SE since 20...

0 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by deleted user  ·  closed 2y ago by Canina‭

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How can I pinpoint a story's moral dilemma?

In this answer, Mark Baker makes a statement about story: All story ideas are basically a variation on one thing. A man (or woman, or child, or small furry animal) has two desires, both of which h...

4 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by icanfathom‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by DPT‭

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What is the possessive form of et al.?

When referring to a paper with multiple authors by using the name of the first author and "et al.", how does one indicate possession? For example, is it correct to write, "Einstein et al.'s paper ...

3 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by BR11‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by celtschk‭

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Dealing with Audience's expectations

Over the years I gained small audience and I love them. My last work quite disappoint them in regard of one character and I feel bad about it. I felt like character's struggle she went through woul...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Prahara‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Liquid‭

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Why does the second act 'reaction' and then 'action' need to be drawn out?

I subscribe to the school of writers who like to (and often must), outline their stories before writing them. For a long time however, I did not use the 3-act structure. My mentality on that has no...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Kevin‭

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Technical Writer Skill Set

As technology and industry demands evolve, what tools/skills should one focus on learning/improving as a technical writer?

2 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by yashikaissrani‭  ·  last activity 4mo ago by Monica Cellio‭

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For starting a blog, is a niche blog or general/misc content better?

I am thinking of starting a blog and wondering how I should approach it. Is it better to have a niche blog or is general/miscellaneous content fine?

5 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by yashikaissrani‭  ·  last activity 2mo ago by Mithical‭

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How can garden path sentences be used (and misused)?

"A garden path sentence is a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that a reader's most likely interpretation will be incorrect; the reader is lured into a parse that turns out t...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by Paul A. Clayton‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by gmcgath‭

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How can I shorten a piece of writing effectively? [duplicate]

I always face the problem of word limit. How can I shorten a piece of writing without causing its original essence to mar? How can I be effective in doing that? Are there any general rules? For ex...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Stacy‭  ·  closed as duplicate 3y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Is writing policy pages in a lighthearted manner harmful in any way?

Recently, I threw together a draft of a policy page about promotional content, with some guidelines on what to keep in mind to avoid spamming. (Incidentally, this is for Codidact itself.) I decided...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Mithical‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Mark Baker‭

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How to train readers in Argot or Slang

I have a character which is typical street thug, criminal and did his time in jail. He is using a lot of underground Argot and thug slang. Example below At the end we got the ice, gravy train if y...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by Prahara‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Canina‭

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Are there any websites that show you the popularity and regional use of words?

There are some words and phrases in my manuscript that I think are used in America. However, a beta reader tells me my character sounds British. Are there any online sources I can use to check the ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by writersam‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Do scenes, sequels, and MRUs apply to mystery novels?

I'm in the process of writing a mystery novel/novella and it conforms to the traditional/classic mystery novel, emulating that of Agatha Christie or A.C. Doyle. I'm having doubts as to the proper w...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Raj Narayanan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How would you pop the reference to a minor case into the ‘Application' section of an essay?

I don't understand the example emboldened below. Can't you add just a superscript number in the text, then in the footnotes cite that "minor case"? Unquestionably one superscript cannot "detract fr...

0 answers  ·  posted 2y ago by TextKit‭

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Basing my protagonist on myself

(I asked another question about this novella here.) In a novella I'm writing, I explore the lives of a young Hispanic woman, Ramona, and her brother, Rafael, in an Orwellian-esque future America w...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by weakdna says reinstate monica‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Amadeus‭

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What's the difference between time-tested and formulaic?

Maybe this is all in my head, but it seems that novel writing for a lot of genres has become mainstreamed to the point of formula. We have articles, podcasts, and books telling us how to: Create ...

4 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by icanfathom‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by sesquipedalias‭

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Is there a good reference book on allegories used in literature?

Is there a good reference book on allegories used in literature? I am looking for a reference book that gives references to use of allegories in the creative literature. For example: If a novel use...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Do I need to change the title of my book because it is similar to the Transformers Universe?

I used the name Primus and Primes for my book and these are from the transformers universe. My concept is totally different. Is this a copyright infringement? I introduced a secret society named ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Niranjan Mahajan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How to find an editor to my poems?

I have written some poems, is there a way to get them edited before I send them to publish. What services can be preferred for editing by a Publishing Company?

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Sarath‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Should I use made-up words for spells? [closed]

I put work into making up my own names for spells. However, I feel like they come across as childish when I read over my writing This was also my impression when re-reading Harry Potter. It really...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by klippy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Do readers primarily identify with or judge heroes in a novel?

In this article about different categories of heroes, Matt Bird states that sensitive and unlucky heroes are hard to write because audiences have a hard time caring about them. He says: "Americans...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by icanfathom‭  ·  edited 2y ago by Canina‭

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In a young adult, what would cause development of a high sense of duty?

This is a question related to my previous question about child's morality, but different criteria are applied. Criteria and Question: My desired kid would be born commoner but from merchant class, ...

2 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Prahara‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by gymbrall‭

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How to differentiate between two people with the same name in a story?

I am writing a story in which at some point two characters with the same name interact each other. I can't use their last name to differentiate because it's necessary for them to have no last name....

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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In this day and age should the definition / categorisation of erotica be revised?

My experience tells me that a disproportionate number of wannabe writers are prudes. I recently wrote a scene where a female character is watching TV. The build up is complicated so I'll have to ex...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Surtsey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How to show powerful emotion in a character trying to hide it?

This question deals with showing the emotions of characters when those characters are actively trying to hide their emotions. If the emotion is something subtle, like apprehension or annoyance, you...

3 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Prahara‭

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Writing a novel that is set (semi-)inside an established universe

How free are we to write a story that is set inside another universe, that doesn’t necessarily mention anyone or anything specifically about said universe? For example, let’s say that I want to wr...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Tetris Boy‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How do you use the interjection for snorting?

How do you use the interjection for snorting? I was told that "snort" is an onomatopoeia, but I disagree. "Haha" and "Heh heh" would be onomatopoeia, because they are pronounced the way they are wr...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by blackbird‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How do we prevent Madcap Flare from injecting non-breaking spaces in our documentation?

We use Madcap Flare for our documentation, and it has an annoying property: if you happen to have the shift key down when you type a space, it inserts a non-breaking space (&#160;). Our docume...

1 answer  ·  posted 2y ago by Monica Cellio‭

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Questionable behavior by editor

Last year, I worked for an organization that published a weekly blog on its website. The blog was also published as a newspaper column and was included in a weekly e-newsletter. One day, the owner...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by revazsurg‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Two footnote numbering sequences

Inspired by this question, a more complex question: how can I have two simultaneous sequences of footnotes? For example, suppose I am translating a book. The book contains footnotes, numbered in s...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Will an unrealistic character be out of place among other realistic ones?

Most of the characters in my story are well thought out and have realistic motivations and backstories, as I think most people agree that believable characters are important in writing (if you’re g...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Grace‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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When am I using "I" too much?

Chuck Palahniuk is an author quite well known for writing first-person stories. He has a simple piece of advice for others who wish to do so as well: "Have your narrator say 'I' as little as possib...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by thanby‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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Can overwriting be made to look intentional from a first-person narrative?

I am an aspiring author, trying to get my 80,000-word traditionally published, though I will self-publish it if that doesn't work out. this article suggests that we avoid it altogether. I've used ...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by HeavenlyHarmony‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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How do I start off in web comics?

I’m a beginner writer planning on learning how to write webcomics. My main one is an adventure/fantasy webcomic and the other is a card battle webcomic (I draw a lot of inspiration from anime and m...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Voizex ‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭