Activity for Neil
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comment | Post #279019 |
I think this is basically a good plan. It removes most duplicate content, forks the rest, and gives users an opportunity to speak up and salvage anything they like. (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
| Comment | Post #278912 |
I was a mod on the other site, and I agree the imported content has a distinct feel of the sunk cost fallacy. Yeah, we put a lot of work into those questions and answers, but that was another time. (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
| Edit | Post #74810 | Initial revision | — | almost 4 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Shall we showcase some of our fiction, poetry, and other work? Asking general questions about writing is useless if the lessons learned aren't put into practice. I agree that we need a section for manuscripts. Talking about writing in a hypothetical sense is... talking about writing in a hypothetical sense. Any community of writers that won't critique each o... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
| Comment | Post #39406 |
@artofcode Thanks! (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39406 | Initial revision | — | about 4 years ago |
| Question | — |
Is there a tags page? 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. (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39404 | Initial revision | — | about 4 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: What topics can I ask about here? 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 als... (more) |
— | about 4 years ago |
| Comment | Post #3693 |
This is definitely correct. Since posting this question, I've tried out the infinite scroll feature in Kindle on my phone, and there is a subtle difference in usability. I've changed back to page-by-page view these days. (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Comment | Post #39219 |
Good to see this going on! (more) |
— | over 4 years ago |
| Answer | — |
A: Ambiguous sentences: How to tell when they need fixing? Alyssa is upset with her sister. Assuming that this will be make even more obvious by context, I think the text is fine as it is. You could make the sentence perfectly clear, but keep in mind that this isn't tech writing. The protagonist is angry here, and probably not thinking logically. Trying to ... (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: Brands to use, brands not to use This is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer. Great question! I think the answer lies in this: > But what about a big known brand, like Google? In a story set in our time, it would be rather weird for the characters to use a search engine that isn't google - we even use 'google' as a verb, as in ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Does Microsoft Word give a correct Word Count? Different versions of Word count words slightly differently. For files that are just text, this isn't generally a problem, it's things like text in graphics and footnotes that throw this off. There's more information in this related question on SuperUser: What is MS Word counting or ignoring when it ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to handle a character's failure? People don't behave rationally all the time, and neither do characters in fiction. Your characters don't need to make the right choices all the time, they just need to make believable choices that we understand. Spending some time on the character's motivations for taking this risk will help sell hi... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Using direct references to Marvel without being sued I am not a lawyer, but I'd avoid doing what you suggest. Here's why: Will this get noticed? Maybe not. If it is, can you get sued? Definitely. You don't need a justification to sue someone, just a lawyer who'll file the paperwork. (Or, more likely, write the cease-and-desist letter.) Just for anyon... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Finding beta-readers for science | religion non-fiction Getting eyeballs on the manuscript is a good way to reality-check what you've written. I can think of a couple of options: One strategy is to try posting on discussion boards where fans of science and religion hang out, trying to find test readers that way. Your best bet is to participate in the com... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Does a screenplay include dialogues between the characters? Yes, dialogue is included in a screenplay. The word "screenplay" is movie-speak for "script", and it's exactly the equivalent of a play's script. (The TV version of "script" is "teleplay".) In addition to dialogue, A screenplay includes actions and descriptions. Sometimes it's appropriate to includ... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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A: Is there a template for how to write a movie summarization? There may well be such guidelines but they'd probably be publication-specific and situation-dependent. They'd also have to be developed ahead of time. For example, an encyclopedia would have only a certain amount of space available for entries, and might even have guidelines about entry length. The... (more) |
— | almost 7 years ago |
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A: How to handle translation of a language in a comic, while preserving a sense that the language is significant? This has been handled a few ways in comics: - Have the text in word balloons be a translation of the original, with a footnote indicating "translated from other-language-name". You can graphically remind the user of this as you go along by having the other language be in a different typeface, have t... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
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A: Are rhymes bad in prose? Are rhymes bad in prose? Sometimes yes, it depends on the prose and the rhyme and how it's used. Poetic devices like rhyming and alliteration can be used in prose but it's not at all easy to do well. The rhymes here, "together" and "forever" are noticeable, and I think they do the piece a disservice... (more) |
— | about 7 years ago |
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A: Do screenplay writers work by an established plot, or do they improvise without one? Whether to outline a story thoroughly or not at all is a question that's been asked for a long time. But some general information may help. If you're writing on your own, you can write however you like. There's no reason you can't just start typing a screenplay and, when you're done, edit what you'v... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Generally would an onomatopoeia come before or after the source action is implied This isn't a comic strip, it's prose. Written this way, the slap seems cartoony. I'd much rather you describe the action than simply recite the sound it makes. (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: How Can I Reliably Find Well Written Novels? Reading broadly is one of the best things a writer can do, aside from writing a lot, but reading only what you consider good writing is somewhat limiting. Books that have issues have a lot to teach you, too. If you avoid issues you're shortchanging your education as a writer. If you keep finding you... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Quoting an expletive in a high school essay? Since you're writing this for your exam, your teacher is the authority on how to handle this. I'd ask them. If they're not available, you'll need to make this decision on your own. In the absence of any guidance from your teacher I'd err on the side of caution and censor the word as you've done above... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Subplot with no established POV character present This doesn't have to be a problem at all. A "B" plot is an opportunity to enhance the main story by setting it off with something that feels a bit different and gives the reader some variety. It's generally not a good idea to underestimate readers. Most of them are perfectly capable of understanding... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: writing with color, skin tone I don't know a single person who uses "of African descent" in everyday speech and the people I spend time with are pretty accepting, liberal-Democrat New Jersey sorts of people. The black people I know call themselves "black" when talking to me. While it may be language a narrator would use (dependin... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Where to put a description of characters that have a uniform? We can't tell you how to write your story, but this is a kind of question that comes up from time to time, the sort that asks: "What is the correct way to do this thing?" Making a rule for yourself about where to describe a thing means that you're making your fiction formulaic and consistent. Good pr... (more) |
— | over 7 years ago |
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A: Would employing the use of philosophical ideas in fiction without citing the sources be considered plagiarism? Footnotes and citations in fiction (and, in particular, children's fiction) are extremely rare, and I recommend against using them. It's often said that ideas are common; it's how they're used and implemented that matters. Nevertheless, fiction writers who feel they owe a debt to another writer's id... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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Writer's Market Is Writer's Market a viable place for a freelance editor to find possible clients? As I understand it, the book is geared towards writers finding agents/publishers, but I've never even paged through a copy; does it have other uses? Are there similar resources that I might find helpful for my purposes... (more) |
— | almost 8 years ago |
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A: How long is too long for a blog post? The best advice I can give you is to write a post that fits into the blog where you're going to publish it. Universe Factory seems to favor short posts, and I see a couple of multipart posts, so I'd do that if you can. Some blogs regularly run shorter pieces, and some will run multi-thousand-word es... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: What are the drawbacks of writing too much in the active voice? The passive voice is a grammatical tool, and like any tool it can be overused. However, passive voice does have legitimate uses; there are times it makes sense to use it. This is particularly the case in fiction and personal essays, where mood is important and economy of phrasing can contribute to pa... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Non-linear style used by *Arrow* I don't think there's a name for the technique aside from nonlinear storytelling or nonlinear narrative. A story is "nonlinear" when it's not told in the order in which events occur, but the for a story to be truly nonlinear, we should be talking about a structure more complex than just a flashback o... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Foreword/introduction to the translation There's nothing wrong with writing a foreword to a book; ones written by the translator are sometimes called something like "Translator's Foreword" or "About this Translation", etc. Whether you should write this foreword is a question that can be answered simply: Is what you want to say of interest ... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Should I write the actual death scene? We can't tell you what should happen in your story. (In fact, questions asking what to write are off-topic here.) But perhaps you can ask yourself a few questions: - If the scene is described graphically, in gory detail, what effect will that have on the reader? Will it help to further the story, or... (more) |
— | over 8 years ago |
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A: Manuscript format: Straight or curly quotation marks? Check the manuscript guidelines of where you're submitting. Anything else is a personal style preference. Some manuscript guidelines require straight quotes, some ask for curly quotes throughout. In general, short fiction tends to require straight quotes (particularly when submitted in the body of ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How Does the Publishing Process Work? In a very general sense, the publishing process for new writers works something like this. This is not comprehensive: there are alternate routes, and there are always exceptions! 1. Author writes a novel. A writer will writer their first novel; this is self-explanatory. 2. Author edits the novel. ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Should you publish or share poetry that was written simply in an angry or sad rant? I don't think it matters what your state of mind was when writing; if anger motivates you to write, then why not use that as a muse? What matters is whether the finished work is any good or not. I'd suggest rereading and possibly editing the work later on, when you have a clear head and can be objec... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How to format multiple inner voices, differentiating the text from dialogue? and omnipresent inner voice Using first person might work best for a situation like this. You'd be able to easily convey inner thoughts, use quotation marks for strictly dialog, and have the option to format intruding other "inner" voices differently... > As I approached the burnt-out shell of the stone building, I thought it ... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: Dealing with quick shifts in emotion Just because a shift in expression or body language happens quickly doesn't mean you have to describe it quickly. You could expand the above to something more descriptive. For example: > C1 doubled over cackling maniacally at the scene in front of him. The fires of hell had nothing on the carnage un... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How do I tell my short story? More detail about why you have this dilemma would help, but I can answer this question in a general sense. I'm assuming you're writing fiction based on the historical setting of World War II Europe. When deciding between first and third person, you need to consider the needs of your story, and decid... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: "Empty-space" vs "three-dot" scene break There's no universal standard for this, or at least not in fiction. Books generally pick one style and stick with it. Larger narrative breaks than a section break can be indicated by starting a new chapter. The exception is in printed books that use extra space between paragraphs to designate the en... (more) |
— | almost 9 years ago |
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A: How do I write numbers in dialogue? In fiction, there's no rule for this, only differing styles and opinions. However, some editors seem to like using the Chicago Manual of Style's alternative rule for this. > 9.3 An alternative rule--zero through nine. Many publications, including those in scientific or journalistic contexts, follow... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: How to deal with online comments to published pieces? 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 of guidance, here are the pros and cons of reading the comments and replying to them: - Joining the discu... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Originality of Writing Have you ever read a few words, or heard a description of a plot twist, and thought, "that sounds like something thus-and-so would have come up with"? We all have, and that's because the writers we love have visible hallmarks of their style. Themes recur in their work, and they favor certain kinds of... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: On using InDesign or Scribus Book layout is a very specialized field. If I were writing a book of my own, I'd save up the extra money for a layout person, particularly if the book had a lot of tables or illustrations, or if it used a lot of non-standard characters. Rates for layout are currently anywhere from $45 to $85/hr, so ... (more) |
— | about 9 years ago |
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A: Compiling Articles in an ebook format There's very little you can do to improve the flow of the articles, short of rewriting the articles themselves. A collection of columns will always be a collection of works written separately. However, there are some devices you can use that will help the book. You can group the articles by subject.... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Right font style and size for a master thesis Your academic department may have posted guidelines for this. For example, the Rutgers Graduate school has posted an Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Style Guide, complete with sample pages. They suggest an easy-to-read font in 10-12 point type, but other schools may have different requirements. M... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Should quotation marks for titles of short works be included as part of link text? I recommend keeping quotation marks outside of the link, unless they're part of the title of the work. So you'd have this: > I was reading the story "Flowers for Algernon" when the doorbell rang. > > I was paging through the tale "—All You Zombies—" when my arm was bitten off. (The latter story's ... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |
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A: Is it necessary to add a.m./p.m. after the time? If this were a question about usage in a technical paper or an essay, I'd suggest referring to a style manual for guidance. However, outside of formatting and punctuation rules, I don't think there are any absolute rules for fiction. Narrative writing is meant to show people in real world believably... (more) |
— | over 9 years ago |