Posts by Lauren Ipsum
You might try Scrivener. I can't find anything in the documentation about those languages specifically, but it doesn't rule them out either. Free to try for a month, so you've got nothing to lose.
As much as I adore Scrivener for writing, I wouldn't expect it to output in pristine, publishable format. It's a writing tool, not a layout program or even a word processor. I would necessarily exp...
Depending on what kind of writer you are, you might benefit from creating an outline, and trying to hang your cool scenes on that. Writing scenes which aren't connected to anything can be fun, an...
If you're writing a poem, you are allowed to throw pretty much all the rules out the window. You can eschew just punctuation, just capitalization, both, split the difference per stanza or per line,...
You have two things going on: a flashback from the main narrative, and a dream. If the dream is taking place in the past, that may be a literal flashing-back, but it's not actually a flashback. A...
As silly as this may sound: the ability to turn every single function OFF if desired. Bells and whistles are great. Some people love them. I hate a lot of them, although not always. Sometimes I w...
You have a few things going on here: 1) If the story is first-person, your problem is solved. We rarely address ourselves by our given names in internal monologues. 2) If your story is in third p...
Yes to both. Repetitive sentence structure grates on the ear. Also, sometimes it helps to clarify the speaker before the dialogue, and sometimes you actually want action or a pause to occur before ...
Don't be afraid of white space. It's easier for comprehension not to break a paragraph or sentence mid-thought. I would rather have a big chunk of white space at the bottom of a page and then see t...
If it's important to character or plot, liven it up a bit. Dress it with stage business. Add some thoughts or descriptions of the setting. I don't find it particularly dull in context. Not every c...
For a first draft, you can use placeholders. XXX, TK (publication shorthand for "to come"), TECH, literally the word [placeholder] in square brackets — anything to indicate that you'll fill in the ...
You found Scrivener clunky.... ::swoons:: ::recovers:: You might want to try Adobe InDesign, which will allow you to export directly to epub and PDF, at least. Very easy to lay out, edit, and e...
I think if you indicated somewhere (preface, end notes, first footnote) that the translations are all yours, you could either write the Arabic and then your translation, or write it in English (or ...
That actually might be really interesting. Particularly if you label the flashbacks as "1958" or "Forty years ago," and then the present is "now" or "Present day." And if your flashbacks get closer...
Read a lot of archaic and extremely rare books, take notes, and make a point of using your list as a thesaurus. Practice using your list by writing paragraphs or stories as exercises just to get us...
In addition to Zayne's answer, Creative might cover poetry, essays, or non-fiction, while Fiction is specifically fictional narratives (short stories or novels).
In addition to S.F.'s excellent answer, "Less is more." The post you linked to could have one of those meme photos, but not all three. Having said that, using one of the meme photos does liven it u...
1) Character drives plot. Go back to your character sheets, or cook up a few secondaries, and see what their backstories tell you. I've seen J. Michael Straczynski credited with: Conflict is...
I am in the middle of editing a book where I'm adding this technique, so I endorse it whole-heartedly. :) My two rules are: Don't confuse the reader. Make sure that no matter what, it's clear who...
I'd have to see these excerpts in context of her thoughts in other situations, but I think if you're doing it deliberately to mimic her feelings and thoughts, it's fine. It feels like nervous-energ...
Spend more time with your character outside the book. Have you ever seen those email questionnaires which go around occasionally? What's your favorite toothpaste, Coke or Pepsi, Beatles or Stones...
No, I love it. I think it's great. The narrator is sort of echoing the perspective of the the person being observed, and you're absolutely right that the two characters see things differently and s...
Don't re-read your work immediately. Just write. Keep yourself on track with your outline (you have an outline of some kind, right? Even if you're a pantser, you have some idea of where the story ...
What tylerharms describes is similar to my experiences at an undergrad level at a fairly large college. There were 10 to 12 people in the class. We received an assignment (Write a short play, or ...
The italics indicate that the words are the person's thoughts, so it's almost the same as speech. It's entirely fine. I agree with Joel, however, in reminding you not to overdo it (or any given tec...
