Posts tagged style
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, ment...
I think there's a problem in my writings, that I can describe as not being fluid, and lacking in smooth transitions. Based upon this, I'm interested in tips at shifting focus smoothly between par...
I have an idea for a novel however I don't know if it is possible as the story line is very controversial and being young I write in a very immature style. This would make the novel very conflictin...
When writing stories in past tense (which is majority of the time) whether it be an essay for class or an unassembled essay for home and in my own time, I often find myself writing some of my sente...
I am writing about a person who is transported 10 years into the past, and has the chance to relive their life (actually being able to: 'knowing what I know now I would...') The trouble is I keep ...
The vast majority of fictional books are one continuous story, which are closer in style to what films are in a visual medium. I was thinking about why we don't see more books that would be closer...
This might seem like an obvious question, but I'm curious if there's been any research into whether popularity correlates with linguistic simplicity. Furthermore, do popular novels use linguisti...
Each and every time I read my stories to people, only one comment is usually made, albeit in different ways... I'm just not sure if they're being honest, or if I am actually doing something right. ...
In one book I read about writing, “Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace,” the author tries to teach you how to write with clarity and grace, but among the principles which he sets forth, not one...
For example, if I make the claim: "there are experts in the field that think X is fascinating." and if I insert a footnote source, like this: "there are experts in the field that think this way[...
I'm as novice a writer as one can get so please bear with me. I have read many times that a writer shouldn't mislead the reader otherwise the reader will lose trust in the author and lose his engag...
One of the answers to this question movitated me to ask this. I don't agree 100% with the answerer, however, I think he has good points. Do you really weaken the focus if you mix dialogue and acti...
I find myself writing these a lot: "Thanks." She tilted her head shyly to the side. As soon as she did, her chin-length hair slid off her face, revealing the bowl-sized bruise that made her...
I've just approved my typeset manuscript and re-reading the book, I'm aware that it sounds very far away from my internal voice. Whilst it has all of the elements in practice, the colour and fluenc...
I have read Steven Pinker's Sense of Style, which is a great book. In chapter 4, he talks about how to form lucid coherent sentences, and in chapter 5, called "Arcs of Coherence", he extends his ...
So I'm writing a story that features an alien character, who happens to be a really "internet troll"-ish type with a somewhat godlike tech and a personal army of robots. He/She (?) is fond of Eart...
I know (I think) many stories that have a point they want to present to the audience. However, I wanted to focus on the excitement of the adventure first. The result always seems to devolve into a...
If I want a character to respond with anger, I want the reader to understand why the character is angry. I want the reader to be caught up in the the events that lead to that anger and be given rea...
In the current draft of my book, the evil dictator whose body is encased in a silver alloy talks basically by allowing magic to move to seep into the silver shell, dispelling it and causing vibrati...
I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but these do exist. I have some examples here, and some of them include movies. Feel Good Tragedies Empire Strikes Back The Prestige Order of the Phoenix. De...
I'm not an author, but I often wonder if I was to write a novel would it be best in third person or first person? I like being able to delve into the main character's thoughts in first person, but ...
I have had several people ask me who is the main character of my thriller novel. But, the novel involves multiple characters working as a team who rise and fall as the need occurs. At first I thoug...
I'm writing the first draft of a story, I've found that increasingly, I'm writing sentences in a format (I don't know the technical name of this) similar to below - Coming to a stop at the foot...
I'm writing in third person because I want to express the standpoint of both of my characters. Everything's running smoothly except for the part where I want to describe their kiss. I'm in conflict...
It dawned on me the other day, after struggling through a fight scene, that I am lost when it comes to writing action. I usually write slower, dialogue-heavy scenes, and I have become used to takin...
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 l...
NOTE: I've heavily rephrased the original question in a last attempt to clarify it. Background to the question While studying Portuguese literature in secondary school, one learns several rhetori...
When writing Fantasy, Historical Novels, or even Science Fiction - language patterns and terms are incredibly different back then (or in the future), then we have now. How can you properly convey...
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, an...
I wonder, when I hear JFK, Obama, Lincoln, Gandhi, Modi. The sentences, phrases in their speeches are so impressive. The content of their speeches are wonderful. I desire to be a successful orator ...
I wasn't entirely sure how to phrase this in the question box, so it may seem like a duplicate. But, I did look at these questions (What are the tricks to avoid repetition in writing?, How to avoid...
I struggle with writing an awful lot and would like to improve. One of my main problems (and the reason why writing seems to take me a very long time) is that I seem to be unable to write in shorte...
I'm working on a revision of my novel and noticed that I mark the passage of a very brief time, of a hesitation, using a small number of descriptions that become repetitive, e.g. variations of ...
I have a primary source whose editor often has editorial comments in his footnotes. There are occasions when I would like to quote these remarks, but I cannot understand how to correctly do this fr...
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 g...
I would like to put the following code in an article that is written in AP Style: puts 'Hello, world!' How do I do this? If I were to put the code (C++, Ruby, whatever) in an article that was wr...
In a story I use the Japanese words konnichiwa and kawaii: "Konnichiwa!" greeted a voice. "Wanna cuddle with a cutie for a couple of minutes?" She beamed a kittenish kawaii smile. I t...
"You have to excite yourself to excite others" Starting with this quote, that I listened to a conference, I really would know the "magic formula" (even I imagin there isn't) to excite readers with...
I am writing a fiction. I start in first person(I) and then because I had to describe emotions of other characters simultaneously I switched to third person, (referring as she, they or the name of ...
I'm in the process of planning a story right now, without the intention of sharing it it with others, but I would like it to be comprehensible if I do. It's set in the 1880s and is formatted like a...
I am currently working on a novel. currently two girls are the only active characters. I am curious if I need to separate the dialogue and action when one character is acting and another is actin...
My work presents proposals with information divided by numbered headings. Under these headings, the technical writers use a variety of paragraphs, numbered indentations, and indented bullet points....
I needed some help with feedback with my writing. I am new to writing and would really appreciate if someone can read it and provide feedback. Any kind of tips and tricks or suggestion are welcome....
What's the term or name of the literary device/technique employed when a novel is mostly written in first person from the protagonist's view, but events as yet unknown to the character are written ...
I was critiquing a friend's novel and I noticed that all the characters seem to have the voice of my friend. Speech fillers, vocabulary, sentence structure all seems the same throughout. How c...
I'm writing a short story. In it, someone hires a professional assassin to kill a young woman. While the killer is investigating his target he unknowingly starts having feelings for her but he only...
I need both information about the material as well as about the time it requires to learn to write. What could be a comprehensive reading list of exemplary works for a solid base? And a good readi...
In the story I am writing, the main character is not in control of the events of the story, I did this to create a strong sense of powerlessness, but I have found a problem. I am having difficultie...
I would like to know how to write in accordance with the Oxbridge tradition. I would like to know more about their writing style and if possible get a book that teaches it, or something similar to ...
So I've come across this little (but very annoying) problem when writing my first novel in the present tense: I'm second guessing my choice of tenses all the time, very much afraid to end up being ...
