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I gave you an upvote for your question: I wish more on SO would ask it. Good SO questions and answers are hard work. I try to improve my questions by finding and studying good questions. I think t...
One key to academic writing is to think about grammar. Unless you are a completely fluent speaker who has spent much time thinking about grammar in the past so that it is effortless to get it corr...
Sounds fine to me. George R.R. Martin's been doing it for about five thousand pages so far. ETA: Martin makes the vast array of characters work by starting slow, with one family, and building outw...
The most important thing to remember when writing the opening of the story is that you have to keep the reader interested. If it bores the reader, there is a high chance that he or she will put th...
I think it's less about which language is the main or secondary (or tertiary or...fourthary?) and more about differentiating between them (as I stated in my answer to the other question). But broa...
When in doubt, make it count for something. Many authors begin the story at a place which is or will be a pivotal part of the plot. Only you will know where or what this is, of course. That is not...
There have been a bunch of good suggestions already. I think what I'm offering up is coming from a slightly different angle. My first question to you is how do you want to write your story, or ho...
When it comes to actually writing the signer's line, I tend to write them between apostrophes. I find it easier and a little more visually appealing than italics, but still allows the reader to dif...
Your query is meant to introduce the book and make clear why it's compelling. That doesn't require you to explain its plot in detail, particularly if the plot isn't the compelling aspect of it. On ...
Yes, italics is exactly how I'd do it. Dean Koontz did that in Watchers, as I recall.
The standards for ePub aren't as set as for printed works, but you should keep the copyright information at the front (and don't forget that your e-version requires its own ISBN -- the one in the p...
To a large extent, a plot-centric book should make its central conflict clear as early as possible. If the reader needs to get past hundreds of pages of exposition to find out what the book is "abo...
Read. Read more. Listen. Listen more. Luckily, there is no one place to suggest as an answer. If there was- the language would be dying.
I enjoy reading Michael Quinion's World Wide Words e-mail newsletter. Quinion works on the Oxford English Dictionary and has written a number of popular books on English besides. The newsletter ran...
Length: Max. 300 words for me. No limit on images and the works. Frequency: As a rule, post a blog every time you feel strongly about something, and do it while it's hot. Readers love topicality an...
You can find urbandictionary.com useful. Probably that's the only adequate source of evolving English language available.
In my opinion, if you are feeling that a reader might get bored, then the readers might actually get bored. Consider the following: Start the novel with the central conflict. Give a teaser, then ...
Take a look at creative nonfiction. This approach relies on facts like a journalist, but uses the literary techniques of a novelist. Lee Gutkind has promoted this genre extensively through Creativ...
In our college days, my best friend used to write his reports as diplomatic communiqués from Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. Fortunately, the teacher was also a Trekkie, and appreciated the humor. YMMV...
I'm not aware of any term for it, but I would suggest that it's a bad idea. Unless the consistent repetition occurring at the end and beginning of every line is arguing, somehow, for some kind of l...
Depending on what you do with your writing, you may end up having to produce a Word document. For example, many academic journals take only Word format (even, in one case I am aware of, when they ...
If there are any "rules" at all, they are domain dependent. Unlike in printed chapter lengths, counting words in blog is simple, isn't it? Just look at some blogs comparable to yours, and emulate...
This is similar to your other question. You must do the homework about the university. Investigate what they are known for. Are they a leader in a particular field? Do the professors publish books...
I have just been through the experience of having obtained a Kirkus Review. I paid for the expedited version. I feel violated. The review was worse than disappointing. The review gave an introduct...
The second sentence feels grammatically incorrect because it's not a sentence; it's two fragments joined by a semicolon. That doesn't make it wrong, but that's probably why you're reacting that wa...
