Posts by Monica Cellio
PDFs use a fixed layout that doesn't scale with the device or window size, so they're not as friendly for smaller screens. Some people do read PDFs on some phones, though -- some screens are prett...
One way to show passage of time is by referring to time-based events. Over the course of a year you can use seasons for this; if we see your characters walking through the snow, and next see them ...
I haven't tested this (which would require registering with them and obtaining an ID), but CrossRef provides a web service that appears to do what you need. From the documentation: Crossref qu...
You haven't specified any preferences for format (source or output), and that's going to be relevant. If it's up to you, for your source I recommend a text (not binary-format) markup language -- H...
This is a rhetorical question and, used well, can enhance the essay. The key to using this device is to first raise a question, issue, or concern that the reader might reasonably have, and then to...
Using "he/she" will annoy some of your readers; using singular "they" will annoy others. And referring to a user as "it" will seem weird to most people. What I do is to write around the problem wh...
One approach is to write separate chapters (maybe alternating, but maybe in this case more from her?) with the writer identified at the beginning of each. A similar approach was taken in the Jumpe...
I am one of several authors on a fairly new shared blog. The blog has a mix of serialized and one-shot posts. Because it's a new blog (2.5 months, ~30 posts so far), there is quite a variety of p...
First, if your institution has a style guide, follow its recommendations if there are any. But assuming it is silent on this point or you don't have one: It's helpful to provide an outline of the...
There are a few relevant factors: Use diagrams when they add value I see plenty of formal writing that includes diagrams -- technical flow diagrams, trend graphs, timelines, resource-allocation c...
You can imply rather than say things with descriptions. For example: He picked his way down the garbage-strewn street, stepping aside to yield to an over-sized rat. The reek of stale beer and...
I am assuming that your organization does not have an official style guide, or that this is a personal project. (If you are bound by a style guide, consult it.) I am also assuming that you aren't...
A longer post can work on a blog that usually tends toward shorter posts if you take some care in structuring it. "Here are 20,000 words, plus equations" may send some people to the "back" button ...
"Private" doesn't mean just one recipient; it just means "not public". When you throw a by-invitation party in your home it's a private affair even if there are 50 people there. Email is the same...
It depends, but probably you want the distributed approach where the chapter on X tells you everything you need to know about X, even if some of that is only relevant if you're using feature Y. Ho...
When I'm editing technical documentation (and, ideally, when I'm writing it in the first place), I try to make every word earn its place. If both words in your phrases need to be there to make you...
If you're self-publishing and not doing it through a company, use your real name: "Copyright (C) 2015 John Doe". Under the Berne Convention (which applies in most countries), you own the copyright...
No. All that is required is that the reader know who is speaking. The conventions of dialogue do a good job of that. Bob continued, "blah blah blah." "But wait", Sue asked, "what about b...
Consider how your reader will use the book. In an academic work (which this is not), readers: are likely to already be familiar with the cited works (they're also researchers in this field, af...
While there might be a payoff coming in the fourth chapter, if readers get frustrated enough on the way there, some of them will bail and never finish your book. So while you can ask your reviewer...
A supplement to this answer: All the shared-world anthologies I've read had "framing" stories written by the primary author, the one who came up with most of the setting and is driving the proces...
In many ways you approach this the same way you would approach any other new project: Review any available high-level descriptions (like functional specifications) and user stories: what is this ...
Why not test the hypothesis, starting with the negative test? You are unhappy in your current career. You have some background but nothing official. A BA in English might or might not be a meani...
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. First, check any license terms that accompany Company S's documentation. They might have published it with the intention that other vendors will in...
You cite the (or a) source that you used. If you read it in Book A and that book says it came from Book B, you cite Book A because that's your source. If you choose to follow the reference and se...
