What topics can I ask about here?
I did not find a webpage that explains what's on-topic here (although I'm not hugely familiar with the site).
Question: What topics can I ask about here?
It seems plausible that what's on-topic at Writing.SE differs from what's on-topic here. Moreover, since this site endeavours to be independent of Stack Exchange, it's probably worth whipping up an independent post or webpage that states what is and isn't on-topic.
3 answers
Monica asked me to write up a 'what's on topic' text for a future help page, based on the SE on topic page. Below is what I have. Note that I have condensed the guidelines to follow and show more what I feel are the guiding principles. Note also that while I've included examples of what is off-topic, I have also included examples of how to ask the same questions in a format which is on-topic. This is exactly what I have always done at Writing SE, and I feel it is more helpful to writers with a specific question than just saying, 'no, you can't ask that.'
This text is open to revision and criticism. Please keep comments concise.
This website is intended for use by professional or aspiring writers of fiction, nonfiction, technical writing, and other types of professional writing, such as bloggers and reviewers. This is not a comprehensive list, but is meant as a guideline to suggest who will find this website useful. Below are some guidelines to using this website.
This is not a chat room or discussion-type forum. This is a Q&A website, intended for clear and concise questions, followed by equally clear and concise answers. Please keep that in mind when asking and answering. Also, please note that all questions must be answerable. Do not post a question which is a rant/discussion in disguise.
These questions are on topic:
- Questions about nonfiction, technical, or any kind of professional writing, including the presentation of charts or diagrams
- Questions about fiction, including poetry, scripts, or song lyrics
- Questions about copywriting, general writing style, or organization
- Processes related to writing (publishing/editing), where the focus is on the relation to writing (more below)
The focus of this website is to help other writers. As a general rule, if your question is going to help no one but yourself, it is probably off-topic (details on that below). If, however, your question can be applied to other writers, it is most likely on topic. Please refrain from asking questions which apply only to yourself, as these will not help anyone else.
As follows from the above paragraph, be aware that these types of questions will be off-topic:
- Requests to proofread, edit, analyze, or critique any length of writing. This will help only you. This also applies to works not written by you. That is out of the scope of this website.
- Questions asking what to write, or how to write something. Remember, this is not a discussion-type forum, where people bounce ideas off of each other. Such questions will almost always only benefit yourself.
- Grammar, English, and syntax questions. While these might conceivably help other writers with similar questions, they are beyond the scope for this site. (English is mentioned here because this is not - currently - a multilingual site. SE was built that way, but then SE also had sites devoted to other languages. This will be something we might want to discuss further down the road.)
- Questions seeking professional writers, agents, publishers, or similar professional persons, or referrals to such persons. Again, these questions will only benefit you, and do not relate to the writing process. Publishing and the like is a completely different field.
However, you will often find that you can reword questions so that they are on topic. This usually comes down to rephrasing your question to ask something general which will benefit others, and then using your specific problem as an example. These questions would be on topic:
- Don't ask for criticism. Instead, identify what you think the problem is, and ask how to handle it. You may include the passage in question as an example.
- Don't ask a question looking for ideas. Ask a question about how to generate or find ideas. This will help other writers in a similar situation. If applicable, you may supply guidelines for the general idea you are looking for, but only as an example of what methods will and will not work.
- Don't ask questions about proper grammar or English. Instead, ask questions about how to improve your own grammar or English. This will benefit other writers in similar situations. Please keep these questions focused on writing, meaning don't start asking for referrals to grammar textbooks. Instead, ask how you can improve your grammar or English in your writing. You may include brief examples, to show where you are having problems.
- Don't ask for professionals. Ask questions about how to find professionals, contact them, etc. Please keep these questions focused on writing. So asking about what you should know about the publishing process as a writer is a good question, while asking how publishers advertise your work is not.
Two final notes: questions asking about how to express an idea are on topic, as long as they focus on how to do the expression (helpful to others), and not the idea you are trying to express (helpful only to you).
Also, answering your own question is perfectly fine, and even recommended if you have an answer which has solved your problem, and has the potential to solve other writers' similar problems. Sharing knowledge is what this website is built on.
If you are unsure if a question would be on topic, please ask in Meta or the official Discord channel first before posting your question.
Here's how I would envisage writing the on-topic page. It's incomplete---it's better written by someone more familiar with the nuances of the site. Hopefully you can understand where I'm going with this.
I'd further recommend re-affirming each on-topic and off-topic reason in individual meta posts: it's not necessarily the same here.
Codidact: Writing. What questions are welcome?
The overall mission of Codidact: Writing is to facilitate writing via a community-based question and answer (Q&A) website.
Questions need to be answerable, which requires that they are narrow and focused, and perhaps accompanied by an illustrative short passage. Questions are expected to be of benefit beyond the original author.
Questions that our community welcomes are:
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On-topic: The publication and editing process, and working with publishers, agents, illustrators, etc.
[add example(s)]
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On-topic: General editing and copy-editing procedures, and resources support the process of writing and specialized writing tools.
[add example(s)]
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On-topic: Questions about how to generate or find writing ideas.
[add example(s)]
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On-topic: Grammar or English self-improvement. [ed: Why only English?]
[add example(s)]
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On-topic: Questions asking about how to express an idea, provided they are not limited to a specific instance.
[add example(s)]
[ed: What have I missed?]
Codidact: Writing. What questions are considered off-topic?
The community has declared certain questions off-topic, specifically:
Off-topic: Requests to proofread, edit, analyze, or critique any length of writing regardless of authorship. [ed: Add link to meta discussion.]
Off-topic: Specific requests for how or what to write, or judgments on specific grammar instances, and questions requiring specialist knowledge. [ed: Add links to meta discussion.]
Off-topic: Recommendation requests for professional writers, agents, publishers, etc. [ed: Add link to meta discussion.]
Codidact: Writing. What to expect.
Codidact: Writing is a community-based Q&A site for professional or aspiring writers. We write fiction, nonfiction, technical writing, and other professional writing (blogs, reviews, etc.). Self-answering is fine, and even recommended if you solve your own problem.
Still don't know if your question is on-topic? Please ask on the meta site prior to posting.
Here's a draft for now [work in progress], to give a rough idea of what I think it should look like. I'll have to peruse the Writing.meta.SE posts to get a better understanding of the site-specific issues.
Most importantly:
The on-topic page focuses on what's on-topic, not what's off-topic. Moreover, the on-topic material is at the start, made obvious, and there's concrete examples so the reader can think "my question is like that" (or "I can make my question like that").
It's succinct (we're literally asking the reader to write concisely---we need to lead by example). Netizens are not going to read a wall of text: they don't care about our motivations. I also strive to avoid vague writing (e.g. what does "help other writers" mean?).
I say the word "community" a lot. I highlight how what's on-topic and off-topic is based on community decisions.
Great start!
from this:
Publishing and the like is a completely different field.
...are we going to assume that, with publishing off-topic (for now, I know that this is all pretty rough) should we assume similar topics like publicity, marketing, and finding an agent are out of bounds also?
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