Neil‭

There's no single standard about this. Whether you engage your readers is up to you, in some cases up to your editor at the publication in question (or perhaps their policies). Barring that kind o...

posted 11y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

I was recently editing a novel destined to be published primarily in e-book form, and made a list of pre-press instructions, to be followed when the final text is agreed upon. Some of these instruc...

4 answers  ·  posted 15y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Is there a way to see a list of tags? When I want to answer questions, it'd be helpful if I can zero in on areas of interest.

0 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Neil‭  ·  edited 6y ago by ArtOfCode‭

Art is obsession, and how well (or badly) it's dealt with seems to fascinate artists. Ernest Hemingway was the focus of Dan Simmons's The Crook Factory, a faux-historical novel set mostly in Cuba...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Your English writing skills could use a little smoothing out, if the question above is representative. However, that will improve in time with practice and the help of a good editor. If you have th...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

A map can be a nice touch, or it can be a hindrance. Are there are particular scenes where a map would let you snip out several paragraphs of tedious explanation? If there are only one or two such ...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

What's the most important thing that your readers need to know right way? What's the scene that will drag them into your story? The answers to those questions will tell you what should come first. ...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

On the test, I'm in the "slight" category on three out of the four axes, which includes the judging - perceiving one that you're concerned with. I tend to work with outlines, but if the story takes...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

This is a good question. Unfortunately, outside of the programming realm, there's no system for tracking changes at the character level that I'm aware of. (If there is one, I'd love to know about i...

posted 13y ago by Neil‭  ·  edited 5y ago by Canina‭

In everyday writing, (say on the web, or an email) I'd use bullets where possible. I think they're more accessible and quicker to scan. Unless there were some reason to actually number things. The ...

posted 12y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Webster's New World Rhyming Dictionary: Clement Wood's Updated This is the rhyming dictionary I turn to first. It's an update to Clement Wood's classic 1943 reference. The phonetic distribution of...

posted 16y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

In academic writing, following style guides is particularly important for citations and notes. Are you editing to APA style or another style guide? I'd absolutely check that first and do as the s...

posted 15y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

Is there a good reason for the expository sections to be in the book? If you were to remove them entirely, would the book suffer? If the answers to both of these questions is "no", then I suggest r...

posted 15y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

The same problem applies to writers who wear their research on their sleeve. Did you ever read a novel and realize that half of it could have been pared away, that half the book was unnecessary sce...

posted 15y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭

In the UK, what are the equivalents to Chicago Manual of Style, the Associated Press style guide, Yahoo, APA, MLA, etc? Most importantly, what are their intended audiences? (AP is used for journali...

1 answer  ·  posted 15y ago by Neil‭  ·  last activity 7y ago by System‭