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Q&A Best Tool to Create User Guides

We are planning to create a user guide for internal use only. It's 150-page document in Word for a self-developed SW tool. The user guide will require constant update. No translation is needed. We ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by xifeng‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it considered faulty language to use Spivak pronouns in an essay?

High school level essay to be exact, but I'd like to also know if Spivak pronouns could be used in papers or publications. Should I just eliminate this option all together, never think about it aga...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by marumarsu‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question style language gender
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Q&A Is it a bad writing practice to end a paragraph with question?

I'm not sure where I picked up this habit. Here are two examples: I pictured An-Mei’s slim fingers running across their smooth surface, her hand, and then the body connected to it. But try as...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Improving my English

I'm keen in writing stories of my imagination. However, my Grammar is not up to the mark. Even I use very simple words and not complicated words like the ones who use in Novels. I read many great b...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Jairaj‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question language vocabulary
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Q&A Referring to sign language in conversations

I am writing a story in which one of the main characters is Deaf, and therefore communicates with other leads using sign language. Not being a native speaker of English, I am having trouble with co...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by visakh‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question language dialogue
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Q&A Craft group exercises or chapters in critique groups?

I am an aspiring writer who feels blocked in terms of writing a novel because I am lacking knowledge of craft. I have taken two continuing education type writing courses in the past five years: ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by user9885‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Alien checking, by making questions [closed]

I'm writing a story with a character from another planet, but also human. At the beginning, people will not believe he comes from another planet, so they will check it out, by asking questions or ...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by greuze‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How can we have foreshadowing in a story that takes place in a universe where the future can't be known beforehand?

In a (non-comedic) story where the philosophical implications of the existence of any way of predicting the future (except by accident) happen to be unacceptable or incompatible with the laws or th...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Sigma Ori‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is there a complete guideline for which tense to use?

There are questions here about specific use of tenses, but I wonder if there is a more complete guide on what tense to use when? For a fictional novel, Past Tense is the accepted choice. But which...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Michael Stum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question fiction tenses
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Q&A Can a plagiarist sue one who plagiarized them?

I sometimes write rather vicious satirical pieces that heavily reference (arguably - but possibly beyond the point of plagiarism; definitely the same setting, the same characters, strong references...

3 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by SF.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is Jaime Lannister a "telling not showing" example?

Warning: spoilers of A Song of Ice and Fire. I was reading through this site that you should avoid telling what a character is by using other characters, example "Dan is the funniest person I know...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by IamVeryCuriousIndeed‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Tactician's Viewpoint and Contradictory Characterization

I have a character who's supposed to be a talented tactician. Because of the setup of the story, this character is contrasted with another character by means of giving them contradictory or complem...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by lea‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Confusion on inconsistent verb tenses in a magazine article

I have an obstacle writing articles that have consistent verb tenses. Generally, I've been told that if I start an article in the past tense, I should keep other verbs in the past tense. But as I r...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by user133466‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question tenses
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Q&A Normal structure for Dialogue paragraphs

Now I'm not sure whether this is something that's an accepted teaching with regards to structuring paragraphs, or just something that is commonly used... I'm talking about paragraphs that are stru...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Dan Hanly‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question structure dialogue
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Q&A Is it okay to end a novel with a cliffhanger?

First thing you should know: I'm writing the first book in a trilogy and I'm at that beautiful moment where I'm ending it. I know exactly how I want to end it BUT there's one problem. I've been rea...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Quellie‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question novel fiction
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Q&A Sluglines for same location but different periods, real and imagined

I'm writing a short film that has the vast majority scenes set in a pub, with the main male character about to approach a woman, and he imagines/projects some of the possibilities of this - it goes...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Spiffeah‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Good tools for writing (game) manuals and sourcebooks

As I had asked in another part of Stackexchange (didn't know about this part until some comments there) I'm writing manuals (mostly for computer games, but in addition to this also for tabletop gam...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Thomas E.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is there a standard for what should be included in an index?

I have a non-fiction book that I want to create an index for. Is there any standard for what items should be included in an index? Some things are obvious like names and proper nouns. But, is ther...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by Questioner‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Should I change POVs in the following case?

I'm writing a story where later on (three or four chapters after) a second main character is introduced. And after that the chapters will alternate between the first MC and this second one. At firs...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Alexandro Chen‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Can't write, can plan

I can plan all sorts of specific aspects in a novel such as characters, locations, and the plot in general, but I struggle to actually write it the way it is in my head. How do I learn to write rat...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by user10166‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question plot planning
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Q&A Best blind sequence? [closed]

I'm trying to write a story in which the sun has essentially gone out and visibility is constantly limited, and sometimes completely gone. Being a very visual person, I'm finding it hard to describ...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by A Blue Shoe‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is writing even profitable [closed]

I know that money isn't a good reason to write, but I am wondering if writing as a new author is even profitable anymore. What makes a book successful? It seems less that it is the story or prose ...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by user10166‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question money
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Q&A Suggestions for revising style and cadence within a children's book

When I submitted a manuscript for a children's book to a publisher, they expressed an interest but wanted me to improve the style and cadence: The syntax and cadence would possibly work well in...

1 answer  ·  posted 10y ago by Gregg‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Handling an Inauthentic Character

One of my main writing projects centers around a character rich with vices. Probably chief among them is self-interest, followed by dishonesty. When I say dishonesty, I mean more than lying to get ...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by lea‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Non-Linear Storyline: Dynamic vs. Static chapter sequence

While this question may be a little nit-picky I realize chapters do help the flow of a book, and, since I'm now plotting a novel, I figured it's a good time to ask. In a non-lineary storyline, I'v...

2 answers  ·  posted 10y ago by i41‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question plot flow