Posts by Neil
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...
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.
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) sho...
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 tha...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
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 scienc...
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 ...
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...
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...
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 w...
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 yo...
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.
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...
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 o...
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'...
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 ...
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...
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 an...
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 throug...
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'...
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 c...
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 ...
