Activity for Lauren Ipsum
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
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A: Write to the finish, or edit as you go? You are going to have to edit at some point. That editing may mean taking out huge chunks of text, entire plot lines, entire characters. If it's easier for you to do that early on, edit as you go. If you can't determine what needs to be removed until the whole thing is on the page, write it all down ... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Is it fine to use link shorteners for research paper citations? I am not in academia, but I would actually be annoyed to see a shortened URL as a footnote. You aren't writing it by hand; as far as I know there aren't maximum printed page requirements; if it's being posted online there are no physical maximum lengths; you aren't paying for anything by the characte... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: What is the proper way to write a date containing two days in a row? I never use ampersands in copy unless they're part of a proper company name (e.g., Johnson & Johnson). It just looks lazy to me. I would write it as "August 4–5," because the presentation is taking place on two consecutive days. (Nobody assumes it's a 48-hour presentation.) I would use "and" if the ... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Is it acceptable to mix how you address the reader in an instructional Wiki? I think it's fine, because you as a company are creating an instruction manual which is going to be used by specific people. It's not literally a public Wikipedia. To make it as clear as possible, start with the kind of disclaimer you sometimes see in plain-English contracts: "You, Your, Yourself, e... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Does it look unprofessional to have my name and all the titles of my website in lower-case? I think it looks fine. I agree that "hi there" needs to be fixed. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: What is the use of "Ends." to indicate the end of a document? I've seen two or three hash marks ## or -30- at the end of press releases and news articles. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Italicizing and adding accents to Spanish words in an English novel I think you're on the right track. The point of italics is to alert the reader that the words are not in the same language as the rest of the text. I like the logic that the English-spoken "si" wouldn't be italicized. I wouldn't italicize titles or single words, as those are easy enough to understan... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Adding breaks in a novel—spaces, asterisks, or a chapter break? In addition to your guesses: A chapter break can also be mostly for dramatic purposes; the scene can continue over the chapter break with the same characters and POV. (Think of a commercial break, which then returns to the same moment.) I would also use an extra space to indicate a scene change: di... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: When I'm replying to emails, what's the best way to acknowledge that I appreciated each point of someone's email? how about something like "I agree with all the points you've made here. You covered this thoroughly and did an excellent job. I could not improve upon this."? (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Use of past vs. present tense in works of fiction I write blog posts in the present tense even if I'm writing about something which happened in the past, because it's funnier to be "present" as the gag is unfolding. I prefer novels in the past tense, but it's just a preference, and I could get used to a story told in the present tense. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: How does the 10,000 hour rule apply to writing? John Smithers and I read the same proverb. :) In The Rivan Codex, which is the encyclopedia/slush book for David and Leigh Eddings's Belgariad/Malloreon series, Eddings says (I'm paraphrasing from memory) "You want to write? Good. Write at least one million words. Now throw all that away, because you... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Writing character cards? The term "card" is fungible. Your card can be a 36x48 poster or seventeen pages in Scrivener or an entire notebook of thoughts. It could be a character quiz, a playlist, a drawing, a list of favorite books, photos of actors, bullet points, quotes, or all of the above. Whatever helps you as the autho... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Do Fantasy novels have less readership than a Realistic Fiction novel? The plural of anecdote is not data... but speaking from my own experience, sci-fi and fantasy are just about all I read. So it doesn't matter how popular the Girl Who Kicked the Dragon Fire Tattoo in Swedish books are, I am never going to read them. On the other hand, I buy multiple copies of books ... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Formatting blog posts like the pros 1. If you have that many important points, make them a bulleted list instead of making them bold. They will stand out without being overwhelming. 2. Blockquote is used to quote a big block of text, as opposed to quoting one or two sentences. 3. You don't. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: No English degree, what are my chances on successfully publishing a novel? Write something amazing. Make sure an editor looks over it for mistakes. If it's really good, nobody will care if you're a second-grade dropout or have a Ph.D. in teaching underwater basket-weaving to aardvarks. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Should I indent the first line of the first paragraph in a chapter? Generally speaking, ask the person or people to whom you are submitting how s/he/they want the document formatted. Barring that, I have seen the first line indented and subsequent paragraphs not indented, but not the reverse. It would look like a mistake to me. I would either indent everything or n... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: What literary techniques are evident in this quote? Pretentiousness. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: About using authentic historical name for teenager material Don't dumb down. A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a dictionary for? If you're that concerned, add a list of character names with pronunciations at the beginning or end of the story. (If you have a sprawling list of characters, like LOTR or Game of Thrones, a one- or two-sentence bio ... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: How it's better to format links to Internet in a text written on paper? 1) If piece is only printed: I would footnote it, and put the full link at the bottom or at the end, depending on your piece. That being said, I would only use such a construction for citing sources, not for jokey things like tvtropes as you have above. If mentioning the website is relevant to your ... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: How do you come up with a fictional character name in a historical era/region? My first thought would be to try to find any written records or any studies done of the time period in question. There are tombs with hieroglyphics. How much has been translated? Are there any common names among those records? From there I would look for academics, librarians, museum staff, and arch... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: How Much Exposition is Too Much Exposition Yes, self-doubt is part of the process. Write it, polish it as much as you can bear, and hand it off to some friends who are capable of giving you good feedback. Or find a professional editor. Particularly for an autobiography, you should get an outside opinion (or six) about what in your life might... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Does my story structure for an ensemble zombie story sound effective? If each character has enough development, I think that sounds fine, and interesting. "Ensemble" is the correct word. Would the first and last chapters star everyone? (everyone who's still alive, that is.) (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Mixing topics in a blog Andrew Sullivan's Dish (fka The Daily Dish) is about as mixed-topic a professional blog as I can imagine, and it does staggeringly well. The core may be politics, but there are a lot of other ideas covered as well. Smaller business blogs would benefit from focus. Once you get a decent steady readers... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: It is unprofessional to use double exclamation marks and CAPS in a product or service? Robusto makes a good point about knowing your audience. Beyond that, I think caps and exclamation points are used for emphasis and attention. Try to find other ways to accomplish those goals. Spacing? color? italics? placement? (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: World Building critique: Building an SF society off a tangent of "Adaptation" Don't worry about "it's been done before." Your goal is to do it your way, and never mind what anyone else has done. Your theme (Lack of purpose =\> Apathy =\> Failure to adapt =\> Vicious cycle) is interesting, but I'm having some trouble connecting it to your précis. How does "too much freedom" eq... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Should Game Genre Types Be Capitalised? It's not a proper adjective, and therefore should not be capitalized. The name "adventure" is generic. It's not like saying "This game is in the Zork genre," referring to a particular early game. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Can a book be written without an antagonist? A story without an "antagonistic theme" is a story with "no conflict." Conflict drives plot. Without plot, you have a character study. Without conflict, the character has no reason to change, grow, or develop, so there's not much to study. What in heaven's name (pun intended) could you write about w... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Do books have to be written in sequence? To expand on Craig's suggestion, go ahead and write the exciting scenes if that's what keeps you motivated, so long as you're willing to "kill your darling" later on. Self-editing is one of the hardest parts of writing. You have to be able to jettison even the most beloved turn of phrase, paragraph,... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: How Do you Stave Off Boredom While Writing? Buy a tape recorder, or Dragon Dictation (for PC, Mac, or iGadget). If your fingers are too slow, start telling your stories out loud. Let the computer do the typing. Talk until you don't want to talk anymore, and then review. If you get bored with one, start a new file or tape and work on another st... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Is this description of my small productivity application clear enough? Sounds perfectly clear to me. I think your English is quite good. (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Vision/dream as an effective opening? Re this specific piece of writing: like Standback, it didn't grab me either — it's not long enough. I didn't feel like I was being drawn into a setting, or a mystery. It's too brief and the protagonist is too comfortable. If you're looking for any kind of tension, saying your protagonist is "at peace... (more) |
— | almost 13 years ago |
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A: Is there a good textbook for understanding literary techniques? Not an exercise book, but a reference: A Glossary of Literary Terms, M.H. Abrams. The current edition is about twice the size of the one I picked up in college... maybe I need to upgrade! :) (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Best way to Write a Table of Contents for Awkward Pagination You could arbitrarily re-number the pages. Use a prefix like A, start at the lower outside corner of the first page, and call it A1. Your next page, left or right, is A2. Continue to the end. Use that for your TOC/Index. (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Quoting text from a country with different internationalization How about adding [sic], meaning "intentionally so written," to indicate that you are quoting something which is written "incorrectly"? "3,5 meters [sic]" (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: How many words (or lines) are long enough to make someone think about his life but short enough to hook lazy readers? Hemingway did it in six. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: What needs to be included in a corporate style guide? I just finished working on a 150-page Corporate Style Guide, so while I can answer this question in great detail if you want, my answer is not for WritersSE, I think. AP and Chicago are mostly about the construction of writing — when to use a semi-colon, how to capitalize, the placement of someone's... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Is a novel less credible if the dialogues are too perfect? Your two examples are from very different people. The first guy is confident, mocking, and ironic. The second guy is insecure, nervous, and looking for validation. So as iajrz points out, it depends on your characters. Would that particular character always have le mot juste on the tip of his tongue... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Is it possible that my short novel will be boring to my readers because it only has two characters and the location doesn't change? Why would you add extra anything if your plot doesn't need it? Most writers have trouble taking things out, and you're trying to stuff things in? We should all have such troubles. ;) (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Do writers use highlighting to clarify ideas in their work in progress? I mostly agree with Malvolio's first paragraph. I think color-coding might be useful in early drafts as you're settling pieces on the chessboard, but you should have each character's distinct voice very early on. You shouldn't allow yourself to use it as a crutch. You need to experience your writing ... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Has this dialogue enough suspense to engage the reader? 1. too much dialogue. 2. too much information about what you want the reader to guess (that is, the suspenseful bit). 3. not enough information about thecharacters to care. The point of suspense is to leave the reader wondering what else is going on? what's going to happen next? This is talky withou... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: "In the" vs "At the" "In the" sounds like it's going on for a while — a chapter or two. "At the" sounds like a point on a line: he describes everything in one or two paragraphs and then moves on. Both are grammatically correct, but I think they have slightly different shades of meaning. (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Our note in footnote of a book I've seen the citation "(—ed.)" short for "editor," meaning "the editor added this on top of what the author wrote." The format is something like TEXT One of the best-known quotes from Star Trek is "Scotty, beam me up!"(1) This basic command has become a cultural meme, and occasionally a frustrate... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Is my essay on group learning clear and well-organized? The structure of your essay is fine, but your intro is irrelevant and your conclusion is redundant. I know the advice runs "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em" but you don't literally use the words "I said X." For shortening it, let's just try the f... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: An alternative to saying 'users' when describing features people those using $feature one (instead of "you") we (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: When should I use punctuation with bullets? I like to use periods with full-sentence bullets, but it depends on the house style of wherever you're submitting your writing. My only caveat is that if you have a list where some items are full sentences and some are not, you have to be consistent: either they all get periods (even the phrases or s... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: What methods can I use to revise my writing? > @Kate The first time around, I have a nice outline with a logical flow, the second time around, the flow has been lost, and I am interested in knowing the steps and order of steps required to put Humpty back together again. – David 14 hours ago For the future: Your problem is that you start editin... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: Third person POV Depends on what your "limit" is. If you are limiting yourself to one character, then yes: the Harry Potter series is told in third person limited omniscient, and we get Harry's thoughts, but no one else's (other than two or three specific chapters in the entire series). But if something doesn't happ... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: What's your favorite keyboard? I had terrible tendonitis in both arms for a while, and I had to get a mega-customizable ergo keyboard. http://www.comfortkeyboard.com/ They are not cheap, but I didn't have to get CTS surgery either. :) You can rotate each of the three pieces to the point where you can almost type vertically. It t... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: "...and the fire from the stove engulfed him" or "jumped on him" or "covered him" or "devoured him" or what? How big is this stove? I'm not asking idly. "Engulfed" means (as noted by others) "completely surrounded." If a fire engulfs someone, he is surrounded, head to foot, in flames. How can he be yelling that he's on fire if he's burning everywhere? And how can he be swallowed by fire if it's just a cook... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |
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A: What methods can I use to revise my writing? This sounds like a job for... Scrivener! :D Building on Kate's question: - Create your outline. - Write each section of your outline as a separate Scrivener document. Label them appropriately. (II/A/3, III/B/4/i) - Once it's all on paper, you can rearrange the sections however you need. - If you fi... (more) |
— | about 13 years ago |