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Q&A How can I edit my own, very old work?

There are three aspects to consider: The plot The characters The writing If you want to know if the project is worth pursuing at all, read the entire thing from scratch. Furthermore, read it an...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Proof reading service

You'll want a copyeditor who specializes in academic writing, if possible one that specializes in journals. Please also note that, when the writer's first language isn't English, some journals re...

posted 13y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What to do when characters disagree with the plot?

Let me see if I've got this right: You've got two characters who are telling you what to do (or what not to do). And you think that's a problem? Writing believable characters who want to write th...

posted 13y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Synopsis for a memoir: Which tense/perspective to use?

Sounds right to me. The pitch is a letter which you write to the publisher, and since the book is about you, the pitch should be from your perspective. Today, those events happened in the past, but...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does this beginning hook the reader?

Two things immediately jump out at me: 1) Granted that this is a very short excerpt, there isn't enough info or setting for me to understand where the characters are, in time or in place (not lite...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Does this beginning hook the reader?

So here's a question I'd like you to consider. You're trying to grip the reader. What, in this passage, do you expect/hope will manage to do that? I'm afraid I didn't find this opening to be very ...

posted 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Ideal blog post size and frequency

I concur that you should post at least once a day, to keep your audience returning. How long each post should be is dependent on your audience and your content (and your willingness/time to write, ...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do I keep up with current written English language?

If you want to keep up with written English, read newspapers and magazines (preferably weekly, but also monthly). Newspapers, meant to be daily, cover news, politics, opinions, business, human int...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to focus a "Final Exam Essay"

Without knowing the course material or the checklist, my impulse is to say that you should look for a theme, or something which most or all of the points have in common. What do they all relate to?...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What is this form of poetry called?

It's sort of an anti-enjambment. I have no idea if it has a formal name.

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it ok to begin an essay/report with a quote?

I kind of like the idea of starting with #2, but italicized and as its own paragraph — almost like an epigram leading off your essay. In fact, if you can get two or three of these short pithy quot...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it ok to begin an essay/report with a quote?

There are pros and cons to starting off with something attributed to someone else. It can lead the audience to expect something derivative so you really have to work to demonstrate why your ideas ...

posted 13y ago by deleted user  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Front-matter or back-matter?

For me it would depend on what would get cut. If the preview is "the first chapter," no matter how long, then leave the front matter at the front. If it's "the first ten pages," no matter where the...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to further improve the flow and crispness in the essay?

The flow isn't bad. You have some wording issues and one large clarity problem. A few months before finishing graduate school, I was starting to visualize my graduate life when suddenly a friend t...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Which words should not be capitalized in Title Case?

If you are referring to "title case," where some words are capitalized and some aren't, there is no one standard rule. The AP stylebook says: Capitalize the principal words, including prep...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to summarize prolonged plot

So what is the highlight? Is it a character study of lunatics? A farce? A satire of a particular genre? A giddy romp across space and time? A surreal exploration of the absurdities inherent in our...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What to do when characters disagree with the plot?

"If all else fails, chase your hero up a tree and throw rocks at him." (I don't know the source of the quote, but it's catchy.) Introduce a disaster. Car crash, random passerby collapses, dog gets...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How to explain a war scene?

How do you explain anything vividly? Observe with all your senses, and add emotions and thoughts. Do the research. I will express hope that you have not personally been in a war scene, so you woul...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Quality examples of 'in medias res' starting sequences in SF literature

From TV Tropes ("In Media Res" and "How We Got Here"): Fight Club starts with Tyler Durden holding a gun in the Narrator's mouth, then goes back to the beginning and catches back up. Kill Bill Vo...

posted 13y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is it okay to attempt to write in the style of another person, and how is that done well?

I can appreciate the feeling, since I started out that way myself, but it's not an adult way to write. The short answer is "No, find your own voice." The longer answer, and explanation: You're suf...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A I suck at plots. Is there a way to sort of train oneself to think of creative plots, specifically in scifi?

Take your eyes off the plot. Focus on originality in your characters and setting. I'm not saying this is easier, it isn't always easy to create new characters and new character dynamics, but this ...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Is writing a light read or "chick lit" a good option for an aspiring literary fiction author?

If you write something "lightweight," and then something "heavy" or "serious" afterwards, the readers of your "light" book might give the "serious" one a try sooner than someone who never heard of ...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A How do you connect a non sequitur hook to a novel?

You can't really insert a hook afterwards. It will feel inserted. The hook needs to be there organically. You've presented a bizarre but intriguing image. In order to use it, you have to build a re...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A What did Norman Mailer mean?

Roughly speaking, it means if you have to pay alimony, you have to earn money. Writing is not a way to earn money (for most of us). He's suggesting that it's insufficient income for an alimony paym...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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Q&A Attributives in dialogue

Sounds fine to me. But then, I don't object to a judicious use of synonyms for "said," either. (grumbled, snarled, sighed, snickered, hinted, etc.)

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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