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copy right issue with using exact Text from a text book Here is a question related to a website providing mathematics solutions for students. Here are details: Students will enter the page number and problem number on the website, and the site will show the text of the Mathematics problem described in that text book...	Your website would be reproducing without permission, and that would ABSOLUTELY be a copyright violation.
Any good side-by-side editor for script translation? I am in the process of translating a script and am constantly struggling with the side-by-sidevertical scrolling of the document. Does anyone know of an editor which is capable of "locking" two columns side by side? Something novel translators would use, or so. (Pl...	I've been using the free Notepad++ text editor lately for writing software code, and find it very useful being able to have two documents visible, side-by-side.
Is emphasizing a point by underlining still appropriate? Instinctively I find underlining for emphasis distracting and much prefer bold or italic. From my research it seems underlining is a carryover from typewriters that were incapable of italicizing or bolding. I'm currently in a situation creating written content ...	If you are not dealing with lawyers, then change the underlines to italics as a matter of course. Personally, I find bold font to sometimes be harsh, especially in a business setting. If you do not really have a good reason to break this convention (and emphasizing isn't one, if you ask me), then do not do it.
How to explain a war scene? In my novel, I have a part where there is a war scene, and I need to explain it precisely from the king's point of view. How can I explain the war graphics vividly? <Q> For starters, avoid getting into details. <S> This is true generally, and even more so during battle. <S> People are movi...	Some books that hit these realistic difficulties of war as well as the gritty violence are Black Hawk Down and Red Badge of Courage . Leave details to the imagination, except where they serve the plot.
Is writing a light read or "chick lit" a good option for an aspiring literary fiction author? I live in India and here light reads and "chick lit" have made a great impression. The youth are picking up such books like petrol on fire. Even non-readers are giving reading these genres a try. Titles like these have helped ...	If you read lots of literary fiction and you like it, write it. Romances may have the reputation of being the home of 'purple prose', but I think most modern readers shy away from over-written stories, and prefer more simple, straightforward language.
Using poetry in novels a good option? I write fiction as well as poetry. And many a times I use poetry as a tool to bring out that acute feeling of pain or love (as required) in my explanations. What if I use poetry to introduce or end a scene? Is it alright to do so, or does it also has some damaging effect? <Q> I do...	You could present the poem as something in a book which a character reads, or establish that your character is a poet who is always composing in her head and tends to think in verse, so the poetry is actually coming from her thoughts. I've read several books where chapters are introduced by a poem.
What software can handle both revision control and layout? I'm desperately looking for a book publishing solution that can handle revision control and layouts. My issues/requirements are as follows: Typists are extremely non-technical and I would like to keep training to a minimum (that being said, I value revision c...	Looks like Open Office has a plugin that may do what you want: What you could also do (I didn't test this one that thoroughly), you can use e.g. Google Docs, where several people can edit the same document at the same time.
Does reading books help writing skills? Just what the title says. I decided to improve my writing skills only for blogging purposes (for starters and no, it's not a part of new year's resolution). I am also not really good at writing (i.e. write a few paragraphs about simple topic/subject). I know that practice makes p...	The more you read and absorb, the more creative and the better at writing you should become.
Should I research what my protagonist’s job would involve, or just create it all from my imagination? My protagonist works in a pharma company and I really don't have a clue about how they work, what kind of a life they live and all. It is required for the plot to make him work in a company which produces drugs. At fi...	There are lots of professional and industry specific podcasts that chat about work life. Please do some research! The idea behind "write what you know" is that you should understand the subject matter well enough that you won't smack a reader out of disbelief with your ignorance or undermine your thematic concerns with...
How to improve my skill at writing a question? I'm a member of some SE sites, like SO and CSTheory. In those sites I'm an active member, I'm reading Q&A and also answering some questions or asking questions, but I think my writing is poor. I like to write letters without thinking about grammar (like a child), but I t...	I try to improve my questions by finding and studying good questions. You can look at how other people have edited your questions and compare the changes.
Adding more characters as the story moves forwards I'm 20 and have been writing a lot of fiction since I was 11, and there is a story that I keep rewriting as I get older and learn more about writing and storytelling. Strangely I haven't done that much reading myself so the Dos and Don'ts are still a bit unclear. The...	Ok, back to your question: You want to avoid confusing your readers when introducing all these characters. There are no taboos in writing! Yes, there are rules in writing, what you should do and what you shouldn't. I say go all out on the story and make it the best book you can possibly write!
How does one include sign language in a dialogue? If one character is using sign language and lip reading while the other is speaking normally, how do you represent the lines of the former? Quotations with "he signed" attribution or italics? E.g. "When did you first feel the pain?" asked the doctor. Two days ago, s...	But if sign is the main language in your piece, I would just put it in quotes like any other dialogue.
How to write about things which depend on each other I am writing a technical documentation about a product. Now problem is there are many interrelated and interdependent concepts. I am just confused how to put them in order. I mean if I talk about first concept, it needs a little understanding of second topic and if I...	If you don't need a lot, write about subject A, and when the first interaction with B hits add a parenthetical sentence, call-out note, or footnote (depending on your style guide) describing the other concept and pointing to its main documentation. You can try beginning with presenting a tree structure (not necessarily...
Confusing writing in order to show how character is falling asleep - is it OK? Generally, writing something confusing is not good. On the other hand, a writer should show rather than tell . (Generally.) What I'm trying to do is imitate the way one's thoughts get all muddled while falling asleep. The settings: Char...	Poetic offsets are a useful tool if not used in excess. So, absolutely OK to try, but this attempt didn't work for me.
Is it frustrating not to know the narrator's gender? I have written a 1st person piece and reading it I realize it's very difficult to tell if the narrator is male or female. There are one or two clues, and they come pretty late in the piece. Would you as readers busy yourself with trying to figure out gender? Or do ...	I can only imagine that the narrator's gender is only important if it becomes part of the story. As a reader discovering your implicit assumptions about a character were wrong can be disconcerting.
How can I edit my own, very old work? I have about a hundred pages of a novel I wrote in high school, I like the concept behind the writing but I'm finding it extremely difficult to go back and read/edit it again. I last edited the document in 2007. The work received lots of praise at the time but, as I look back and ...	Reflect on your self-criticism for a while and then undergo a massive rewrite; using your old draft as a guide (keeping whatever you like and what you feel works and trashing the rest) Don't throw it away, re-read it. For me color-coding is my favorite editing tool.
Converting ms-word to ebook vs. writing from scratch? Can anyone, who has any experience with writing ebooks, recommend a way for me to proceed? I have a book in Microsoft Word heavy on mathematics: formulas (inline), equations (numbered) and diagrams. I want to create an ebook from it (both epub and kindle versions)...	The best way I have found to address this is to convert all of your formulas to images. You are likely to have to do some very thorough checking, regardless which method you choose, but Calibre and Aspose Words Express are both worth a try before you take the time to do a full rewrite.
Will science fiction as a genre ever go the way of the western? It is a fairly undisputed fact that the genre of western fiction has had a declining audience for decades. The Western Writers Association still exists, but if I had never worked in a Border bookstore I wouldn't even know that the genre was still stocke...	I wouldn't necessarily give up on the genre entirely, because there have been some successful recent iterations, but obviously it's in decline.
Where should index and glossary appear in a report? I am writing my thesis and now wonder whether I should typeset index and glossary as an appendix or after them. There's no department-level accepted writing style, so my adviser's opinion might be different from that of my thesis committee. Hence, I am not only suppo...	There may be a university style guide for you to follow, to handle issues specific to your educational institution.
How do I create a book cover for my self-published book for under $500? I'm a self-published author, I write non-fiction. I would like my book to have a reasonably good cover and stand out among others, but I'm not ready to spend more than $500 on it. What are my options? <Q> $500 is more than enough to get a pro to do...	$500 is enough to find a good illustrator / designer. The most notable and closest to the book industry is Get Book Cover , which sells fine-quality illustration and photography works as book covers, allows keywords search and claims to have an in-browser editor to put title and author credits on the cover, as well as ...
ISBN - does it uniquely identify book dimension? (I'm not sure this question fits here but this site seems the most appropriate within stackexchange network...) I'm trying to buy a some book from NHBS (a field guide). The problem is that the same field guide is often printed in 2 versions: smaller one for usage in ...	I am pretty sure that the ISBN number would be different if the dimensions of the book were not the same.
How can I cut my prep work to get to writing more quickly? When it comes to fiction writing, I love creating characters and watching them run with the story under my pen. I spend a lot of time at the office coming up with exciting ideas of what and who to write about, and on the way home, I can't wait to get to my desk...	amplify my suggestion that you write something short and then get it out there for feedback. Freewriting exercises - Whenever you feel like it, open up your note book or your word processor and just start writing. You already know that too much prep works makes you lose interest. Character motivations, back stories can...
Is it legal to write about trademarked material and use the terms? I am contemplating writing a technical book (and probably self-publishing it) on a proprietary programming interface for a well-known software package produced by a very large company. The company name and many of its packages are of course trademarked....	As long as you address the ownership of the trademark and make it clear that you are not affiliated with the trademark owner, there shouldn't be a problem.
How do you track dependencies for your co-authors? I and one or more co-authors, sometimes geographically distributed, are working on a set of related documents. Sometimes I will make a change in my part that affects someone else's part; this could be anything from changing a name to adding a new concept (that later p...	Email notification to other writers (broadcast) that refers to entries in #1 or to a wiki entry describing the doc change. You can work together at the same document with tools like Google docs, but that maybe gets a little bit messy over time if you want to track all the changes. As a software developer I use versioni...
How do you avoid the problem of a collaborative work having separate voices? I've not done collaborative writing before, but I've read several works, and sometimes the text strikes me as having a split personality: some parts were clearly written by one author, while others were written by another. (Note: I would give ...	For cases where you want a unified voice, if you can't get a tough editor like Lauren Ipsum suggested, try having the authors edit each other's sections. For fiction that can accommodate different POVs, dividing those up per author not only addresses this problem but can be a feature. Some attributives are rewritten or...
What can publishers do for me in a niche market? I'm writing a book in a niche market, and it's my first one. It seems to me that the following things need to happen to publish my book: Finish the book Design cover (a friend is helping) Edit manuscript (help of multiple people) Convert manuscript into proper forma...	Publisher do two things for you, other than those you have listed, and they are things that you absolutely cannot do for yourself.
How can I keep up with my co-author's detail creation? Keeping track of details invented for a work of fiction is never simple, often requiring writing bibles and continuity editors. But when two people are working on the same book simultaneously, then you're not only dealing with the details you've made up, you also n...	It would also help to periodically exchange content so that you can see what the other person is doing. My own habit is to use either Dropbox or Google docs to store what I refer to as "lore files. The main point is to document as much as you can up front.
Is Scrivener involved in the editorial process, or is it strictly a writer's development tool? Is there any reason that an editor should know how to use Scrivener? I generally see manuscripts after they're out of draft but before proofreading. (I'm an editor.) However, I see a lot of talk about Scrivener on this site...	Scrivener is an all purpose writer tool.
Do I need to know anything to write a short story that I wouldn't know by studying how to write novels? For a long time now, I've been reading books on how to get the first draft of a novel written. I've finally begun putting the knowledge I've gathered to practice and look forward to the results. In the meantime, I'm ...	Now, in relation to novels vs. short stories, a short story requires great focus. Character development, a strong plot, good descriptions, and realistic dialogue.
A friendlier way to write charges or fees to clients? What is a better way to write in an email to tell my client that I will charge him a fee of say $100? Often, I feel very reluctant to write these ways: I will quote the hosting and development fees at $100. This sounds totally crappy. I will give you a quote o...	But write the description of your services clearly. The hosting and development will cost $100" are both fine. If you know the person you are writing to and if he or she is friendly with you, you can add a simple smiley like this :) at the end of your statement to make it friendly.
How do I balance reading time with writing time? It's rare to find a how-to-write book or blog that doesn't have this advice: "Read. Voraciously. In all genres, especially your genre of choice, books both good and bad. You won't develop as a Writer unless you are a Reader." I'd like to spend more time reading fiction....	Your problem is not making time for reading. Unlike writing, reading time is something that you can sneak into the rest of your day. So: pick a book which is inspiring you, and put it next to your computer.
Best practices for maintaining documented code examples? A good SDK (software development kit) includes plenty of well-documented examples. It also includes good tutorials and developer guides, which introduce concepts in logical progressions, typically showing only the relevant excerpts from the sample code. (Nobody...	To write tutorial documentation for a package, liberally illustrated with input-output examples. Tools like Doxygen are intended for this purpose. The best practice would be that all of the code has to be compiled and potentially verified against some code rules.
Is it acceptable for a tech book to consist of only 2 chapters? I am interested in writing a book on a particular class of natural products. It would discuss the products' isolation and biological functions - these are the two chapters that I can fit into the book. So my proposed book would only have 2 chapters, whic...	I'd say any number of chapters more than one is "legal", but two is an awfully small number.
Should I prefer long or short sentences in scientific writing? Currently, I am writing papers with rather short sentences : About half of them contain around 20 words, about 10% to 20% even less. I am doing this for three reasons: I find short sentences easier to read, prefer to show relationships using other mea...	There are times when you have to write long sentences because you have to string a lot of information together, and separating the ideas will make them less clear.
Not knowing a character's name. Would this be frustrating for the reader? I have a project I have been working on for many years. It is quite personal and is intended for a small audience. In the story, the protagonist is trying to find/help another character, who for most of the story is not named. The other charact...	I'd suggest looking for commonalities between these characters who will refer to the mystery character. As long as you word your story well and pay heed to how you use your pronouns, you should be okay.
Problems with constructing a complex sentence with many ideas in it I am trying to write a sentence that tells the reader that the works displayed that they are about to see will bring them back and forth between the real and virtual realms, in a figurative manner. The "borders" that I mentioned in the statement refl...	The displayed works will carry viewers on a journey from the physical world into a virtual realm and back.
How can a new writer make a realistic estimate of his work rate? This question relates to my earlier question Habits and routines for my first tech writing job which I was told to split into two parts. My first technical writing / translation gig starts soon. A Japanese company has offered me a gig helping translate...	You can then make an estimate of how much time the core project will take.
Can I write reference books about a fictional universe from an existing franchise? I want to write some reference books containing details about the fictional universe of some popular franchises, such as Tintin, or Star Trek. This would contain short plot summaries (1-paragraph in length) and various details about the ...	So long as you don't claim your book is any sort of "OFFICIAL" reference, and don't steal their logos for your cover, it should be okay.
What's the appropriate way to write numbers in educational contexts like papers? I want to know if numbers should be written alphabetically in educational contexts, for instance: 10 plasma samples out of 1016 cannot be ignored. Or Ten plasma samples out of one thousand and sixteen cannot be ignored. <Q> For a te...	So I would think if the number is important it should be shown as digits, and if the application of the number is of greater concern it should be spelled-out.
Avoiding "and" as a sentence structure I have a horrific habit I'm finding it very difficult to break. A disturbingly large portion of my sentences consist of the same structure-- two parts separated by "and." I don't know how to break the habit. Please help. Example: After awhile our words subsided, and I commente...	You can also use semicolons to tie sentence clauses together, and you can use words like "then" to connect independent sentences.
Color scheme for print and ebook I am currently writing a book intended for print (POD) and eBook (PDF/ePub displayed on different devices, including iPads). I use InDesign (CS4) to create the book. The book uses colors for the tables (rows in alternating colors). Looking at the book on different computers (or rather: ...	Reduce the bit-depth of your color palette. There are some colors that just won't display the same, no matter what you do.
How do you estimate the length of your screenplay in screentime? The title says it all. I'm talking about a feature-length film here, although I'm sure the techniques are universal. <Q> 1 page = 1 minute <S> That's the reason that all screenplays are written in 12pt courier font and the margins and spacing are strict...	The standard for a script is to estimate that one page equals one minute.
Why are some words in screenplays set in all caps? I believe I understand this and I'm looking for confirmation. Examples: It has become a tugging match with the Weird Man shouting, "I'lltake you to a taxi... I'll take you." Ahead, a group is gatheredon the sidewalk near two ambulances. People clamor to get a look...	In my understanding, this use of all-caps writing is meant to signify the introduction of a significant physical element into the scene.
Where to find authors for highly technical articles? I've looked at some of the largest outsourcing sites. These have huge amounts of software developers, and huge amounts of casual writers. I'm having enormous difficulty finding authors that would be suitable to create technical white papers. My requirements are: ...	I think I would look for programmers who know their field but who can also write well.
What should be put on scene notecards? (for novel writing) Once, a while back, I tried to use notecards when noveling to organize and develop my novel. The idea (a fairly common one, I believe) was that each scene is noted on a notecard, and you can then visually order them and add/remove scenes; it creates a high-leve...	If the character has a significant dilemma (more than a paragraph) in response to something that happens in the scene, I'll note: The core thing I learned about index cards is make sure you know what information you want to put on them before use and ask yourself before pulling out a fresh index card
Self-contained software environment for authoring research papers Does a self-contained environment for authoring research papers exist? Clearly, the concept might be a little unclear, so here's an attempt to better define what I mean: All sources used would be within the system; for example, a static-clone of Wikipe...	While not explicitly solving the problem, Evernote (or an Evernote-like software application) could be extremely useful by providing a way for you to easily capture the research that you are doing, and allowing you to link between documents in a simple fashion, essentially creating your own cyclopedic system for whatev...
How Important are essay writing conventions in the university level and above? I go to a CEGEP, which is basically pre-university in Montreal. In my Introduction to English class, I had a teacher who allowed us to go around the typical essay writing conventions. Conventions like outlining three points in your thesis an...	All 3 points SHOULD flow together and if they do not, it will be really hard to follow. If you can pull it off, it's perfectly permitted. Respect the general structure and be creatively logic in the development section. I'll answer as a professor at a university: Stick to the script. If one is required to present pros ...
What would sections of a book that are larger than a chapter be called? I'm writing a technical book, and I want to split my book up into about 3 to 6 very broad sections, each of which would have several chapters in it. Is there a standard name for these broad pieces that are bigger than a chapter? Unit? Part? Sec...	Generally for books, part works, but for a technical book, if each bit can be treated as a single lesson in the topic, then Unit works well.
Title Choice: "The Girl [Without/Who Didn't Have] A Soul" I titled a short story "The Girl without a Soul" . But recently I've been thinking on naming it "The Girl who didn't have a Soul." Do they mean exactly the same thing? Is there an advantage to using one over the other? As a short story title, what impressions...	If the girl gets a soul later in the story, it may be more apropos to use "didn't have", or another synonymous past tense phrase, if she doesn't get a soul, it might be a better idea to use "without". Again, pick the choice that is more in line with the words you've used in the story.
Referencing figure in text - capitalize the word "Figure" or not? Why? I see it quite a lot. It looks a bit like this: It can be seen in Figure 3 that... My gut feeling is that there is no reason to scream in the middle of a perfectly calm sentence. I would like to write it like: It can be seen in figure 3 that.....	There's no right or wrong on this; it depends on which style manual you're following.
What effect on literature has the introduction of eBooks and eReaders had? eBooks and eReaders are still relatively new, but they've had a major impact on literature. What impact has eBooks and eReaders had on the production of literature (specifically books)? <Q> There are quite a few ways to approach and answer this...	On the whole, I think ebooks and ereaders make literature more accessible, due to the portability and the ease of finding new things to read.
How much influence do authors have on the titles of their books? The background to my question: I have always assumed that authors choose their titles, because I consider them an important part of the book, but then I read interviews with some authors who had a fight with their publishers on this subject. Is a book's...	Thus, it's really the author's choice, but the publisher can be insistent.
How to plan dialog and keep it on track? When I'm writing a plotline, it often works out that I know two characters will be meeting each other in a particular scene, and that they will converse. And I oftentimes know the central idea of what needs to be communicated, and I see to it that it is. But dialogue is more th...	Most of my dialogue is intended to convey meaning in some form or another, or to illustrate something about one of my characters, so I consider carefully what my protagonist will say and what the responses will be beforehand.
Creating metaphors in poetry When writing poetry, is there a known method of some kind that exists that makes it easy to turn a concept I'd like to illustrate into a metaphor? If so, please elaborate as much as possible. EDIT: I am asking if there is a way to come up with metaphors quickly and easily, so that if I...	If you want quality metaphors, you must painstakingly craft them, or experience a flash of inspiration, no way around that.
What qualities should a good metaphor have? What makes an individual metaphor a good illustration of a complex idea as opposed to a "bad" metaphor that doesn't do the job of painting a picture with alternate words? <Q> A bad metaphor is like your 81-year-old Portuguese grandfather. <S> Really, only close family members...	A good metaphor will parallel or easily invoke the idea you're trying to convey, without extraneous or irrelevant details.
How to handle screenplay revisions in Final Draft? I need to revise a screenplay in Final Draft, and I'm finding that the revision features in the program are poor. Are there any ways to introduce revision features in to Final Draft, similar to Track Changes in Microsoft Word? If not, what kind of workflow could give m...	Final draft has a script compare function.
Is it more advantageous to have an excerpt or a plot summary critiqued? I'm considering opening up my current work in progress to critique. In the past I haven't had very much luck with the local writer's group, but I'm willing to try again. Maybe not with them, but definitely with some writer's support forum, somewher...	But get the plot sorted first, write some of the story on a good quality plot, and then see whether you need the same sort of critique of that, or whether something different would work for you.
Do parentheses inhibit clarity? I find it easier to write many things with parentheses, but I don't know if this is considered good practice. I would expect some might say that parentheses are indicative of excessive digression and that the sentences would be clearer if restructured. Is there general consensus on the...	When used well and skillfully, parentheses fulfill a function that no other punctuation or construction can quite imitate. Parentheses are intended for parenthetical expressions and recognizing correctly what is and what is not a parenthetical expression in a given context governs their proper use.
Self publishing: Do I still need to follow the arbitrary word count limits? I am thinking of going down the self publishing path. Now looking at most agents and publishers websites, it seems the expected word count for most novels is around 70-90K. Now these word counts may have made sense in the traditional world, whe...	All that readers care about is that you present them with a well-crafted compelling story.
Is the opening of this story intriguing, "dark" and smooth? Disclaimer: I'm not an Native English Speaker. This is my fifth attempt of writing a short story (the previous ones are set in the same "universe" as this one). I would like to know if the reader would feel intrigued by this opening. I also wonder if he w...	To make it dark, you would have to focus more on the atmosphere. To improve the flow here, you need to lead us through these objects much slowly, trying to pique our intrigue and adding more description.
How to leverage social proof? How can one use social proof as an argument without sounding like "just because everybody is doing it so should you"?. My problem is trying to demonstrate with social proof that trendy tools/techniques are not necessarily cargo cult I'm writing a whitepaper regarding best-practices an...	Once you've established a sensible and strong argument for the adoption of the new practice, then you can leverage social proof as additional support.
Website to know about books something similar to IMDB for movies? I just started reading books I have completed chethan bhagath's(Indian author) books and other books like Godfather,notebook. I want to know what are new/good books i can read. Is there any website to know about good books? Similar to IMDB website. Inst...	Goodreads is my choice for searching books, when you add your friends, it is very useful to share recommendations and your reading history, I'm sure that you would love it!
In a "learn to do X" book, should a section review come before the quiz / exercises or after? I am writing a book on how to program in C#.NET. Each of the sections follows this format: Section Aims Content Section Review Quiz Exercises The section review is there to summarise all of the things that have been t...	If it is just after you have read the chapter, then it should be summing up all of the major issues in the chapter, a way of setting in your mind the critical parts, as a starter to the quiz, which should then help them to use this.
When writing on paper, how do you move things about? I am amazed thinking how people used to write before the computer ever came about. Before that, everyone was forced to write on paper. I'd very much like to write on paper but my ideas come in a random order and I'd like to be able to re-organize sentences into par...	If I find myself adding content that needs to be placed elsewhere, I can refer to the page/section number to make it easier to organize when I start typing everything up. I have heard of people using 3x5 cards with good results (in case you are not familiar with them, "3x5" cards are made of card stock that measures 3 ...
Is it a bad idea to linger too long on a first draft? I'm currently working on the first draft of a screenplay, and it's not very good right now. It's little things; some parts go too quickly or slowly, other dialogue exchanges need improvement, and the word choice could be better. This isn't surprising, since firs...	You know what improvement they need (if they remain as-is); you don't know what'll be needed for the parts you haven't written yet. It's an excellent idea.
Abbreviation for "figures" in scientific papers In scientific papers, the term "Figure" -- referring to an illustration in the text -- is often abbreviated as "Fig." But is "Figures" abbreviated as "Figs", "Fig.s" or "Figs."? I am proofreading a paper just now and the journal editors have used the abbreviation "Fig." f...	Figures and Figure should normally be abbreviated as Fig.
How do I determine if a paper has been plagiarized? Is there a service which allows you to check if a paper/article was plagiarized? At this moment, I use Google to check if some papers are plagiarized or not, but I think that are other smarter methods <Q> To my knowledge, one of the most commonly used commercial opti...	If all of the sources listed in references or works cited are several years old, then the paper may be an example of plagiarism . There are many software options available (see Wikipedia's page on plagiarism detection ), some free, and some paid.
Should a long flashback be written in first or third person? In my novel there will be a chapter-length flashback as one character relates a story from his past. The rest of the novel is written in limited third-person, seeing into one person's mind at a time. Does it make sense to switch to first-person for the flash...	Being in first person for the flashback would also make it feel more personal, something you might want for that element in the story. Personally I wouldn't change from third to first person in the middle of the story, it's always a little bit jarring for the reader. If it is a story teller scene (person tells his tale...
Issues with Scene/Sequel model I'm using the Scene/Sequel model to go from an informal outline of my novel to a list of scenes. In summary, during a Scene the POV Character has a Goal, encounters some Conflict, and it ends in Disaster; during a Sequel, the POVC has a Reaction to this disaster, faces a Dilemma, and fina...	As far as I have noted, the Scene/Sequel structure is used with the sole intention of driving the novel forward.
How do I stick to one story? I have been writing bits and pieces for quite a while now. I just can't ever follow through. I have written tons of poems (close to 50) but the only reason they have been possible is because I can finish them in one sitting. I've been thinking of trying to do a short story instead of a fu...	Maybe you follow the rule of thumb, "when you get stuck on a story, write something else." Nobody can help you follow through on commitments except yourself, but perhaps the problem is that you don't have a commitment of any sort.
My first act is lengthy. And I cannot shorten it. Any Suggestions? After the great amount of encouragement that you all gave me here , you'd be happy to know that I finally started writing my novel and I'm writing whenever I get time. Special thanks goes to Lauren for that quote of hers. I loved it! Okay. So I'm foll...	the first act should end when the novel reaches around 25% of its length Aaaaaaaah! If you want to publish traditionally and they like your book, if they are hooked by the beginning, if they see that the story flows, they will publish it, no matter if it has 50K or 80K words. Or you could shorten the conversations and...
Some doubts on the use of Italicized words Okay here's the thing. After a tough verbal fight with my friend, I concluded that I will post this question here and get some concrete answers. According to what I feel, italicized words are used For internal monologues "And what about her cousin? Mary?" I shook my hea...	I feel using italics makes it a little informal.
How do you determine if a plot device is too coincidental? I see lazy plot devices as anything that is too coincidental. Person One just so happened to be in the 'area' when Person Two was attacked (then they end up running into each other a bunch of times afterwards--really?). Those nicks-of-time rescues. Some random ...	So coincidences at the beginning of the story and coincidences which are punishing the protagonist (increasing conflict) are good/acceptable, helping coincidences and stuff that happens later out of nowhere to keep the story running are no-gos.
Using Latin words in fantasy I have seen at least a few cases of Latin being used in both fantasy and scifi, and I wonder how it is perceived and how much is tolerated. Being primarily a gamer, the first examples that come to mind are Kingdoms of Amalur and Warhammer 40,000 . Is it a bad idea to use Latin (or simil...	I think it works well and can add to a story, if it's used sparingly. Using Latin for the names of things or people is not a barrier really - you can recognise the names whatever the actual language is, whether Latin, Vulcan or an Elven language.
Can a literary agent be hired? I've sent my manuscript to tens of literary agents. Strangely enough, I received no positive response. My question: Can I hire a literary agent? If yes, how much it costs? Are there other ways (except of vanity presses) to publish and widely distribute my religious book ? I may pr...	You can hire a literary agent if you have an offer from a publisher and need someone to negotiate the contract. Another option you might consider is to use the Kindle Select program.
How can I develop my ideas? A problem I run into frequently is that I am struck by an idea, more accurately termed "a premise," for a story, but then I can't decide what to do with it. I think of a million ways to present the idea and I can't really decide on how to proceed. Example: Say I have an idea for a sci-fi...	I think once you have the conflict point or story point - not complete, but just as a point to work from - you will know why that story is the one to tell, If your goal is to explore all the different facets of this society, then show all the facets.
Should cliffhangers be used in every chapter? This is not a great question but I use a lot of cliffhangers. And I have a habit of making cliffhangers in the end of every chapter that I write just to hook the reader. The question is, is it a good idea?Won't it look monotonous after a while into the novel? <Q> It depend...	Proper tense cliffhangers should be kept for a few occasions, otherwise your readers will guess what is happening, because they know it needs to have a problem by the end of the chapter.
Is it typical to add variation to the words used for a character's name to keep it spicy? A friend has asked me to read through a chapter of his story and give my opinion. Lets say he has two main characters Mr John de Havilland and Mrs Sally de Havilland . I've noticed that the author sometimes uses the full name...	Orson Scott Card answers your question precisely and eloquently in his excellent Character and Viewpoint , under the heading One Name Per Character . Alternating between different tags can be confusing and distracting. When I talk about a single character, then I use different variants, eg"the young", "the old man", "f...
How to separate scenes in a chapter? I have multiple scenes in a chapter, sometimes from different POVs, or different locations/times. Now I would like to make it clear to the reader that they have left a scene and are entering a new one. Now, Scrivener (which I just started using, so I'm not an expert), places a '#' ...	If you self-publish your book, you can use whatever you want to separate lines. If that's the case, it doesn't matter what you use, but I do suggest picking a simple marker such as three asterisks or bullets and centering them in the space in-between sections.
Is going 'off-topic' a sign of bad dialogue? I always wondered if going off-topic in a dialogue is a bad or a normal thing. For example, let's say I'm writing a novel where the main theme is love and loss.Is it bad if the characters start talking about their favorite breakfast, or a cousin they dislike? Or maybe about...	In realistic literary novels, it would be unsurprising, or even expected, for your dialogues to include long tangents and unrelated content. Dialogues can be used to set mood, to demonstrate character, or to illustrate the setting.
Which tense to use when writing a diary? For writing diary content every day, which English tense is appropriate to use? Things have all happened already. I usually write late at night (end of the day) or the next day. Should I use simple past, present perfect simple, or another tense? <Q> Past tense is my instinct...	Use the simple past, if you're describing events of the day. If it's an adventure story or something with more of a fast pace then clearly present tense might be best.
Who is responsible for copyrighted materials (publisher or writer)? Imagine that Writer A's book includes copyrighted material created by Creator B, and Creator B sues for copyright infringement. Will Writer A be held liable, or will the book publisher? I think the publisher is officially responsible for this. If yes,...	The laws surrounding publishing are complex , but the most important thing to remember is that copyright is a negative right, meaning that the creator of the work has the ability to stop others from distributing his or her work.
How do I approach writing an autobiography? I have never kept a diary, and some time back I thought it would be fun to work on some sort of autobiography to note down any memorable events etc. I am not famous, and even if completed the 'audience' for this is basically going to be a few relatives & friends, besides havi...	So don't try to create an outline; just start writing pieces. My advice is to find some element (with an emotional content) that changed across your life and make a list.
Is it safe to write about a fictional murder in a real-life location? I am writing a novel, and part of the plot has one character killing another in a specific real-life location. I mean the setting is extremely specific - for example, a particular hotel, or one particular ferry. I'm worried that portraying violenc...	To avoid possible problems, you could perhaps be less specific, or make up a fictional hotel or ferry to set the murder in. Option C: Just don't worry about it.
What is the word for the action of selecting an item by a mouse? I am writing a tutorial on how to use a specific web application and I don't know which verbs to use. Shall I use "click" for buttons? But what if the user doesn't use a mouse? Contrary to "normal" applications, web applications can be visited by many dif...	If it is a button, then press is still appropriate, as is click or tap .
Is it really necessary to add things like "I thought, I wondered, etc," in first-person narrative? Example: The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my number? I wondered. I didn't know anyone called Maria. The whole thing sounded a bit strange. How had she gotten my number anyway? I didn't know ...	It's absolutely okay to leave these out.
Is the following piece of text comprehensible and written in good style? I am a PhD candidate and I am having difficulty in communicating effectively in writing. Specifically, this post is a piece of text submitted for critique and, in addition, explains what I am trying to achieve. I thought that if I described my sit...	Make it easy for readers to see the main points you're trying to convey.
How do I start a business-presentation? How do you welcome a business audience to your presentation? I've thought of: Hello, my name is [prename] [surname] and I am going to talk about [...] but it sounds rather like a school presentation and not like a business presentation. Or isn't there a difference in the Engli...	Note the use of 2nd person pronoun "your", "you" (rather than "their" or "they") as often as possible, when addressing potential and existing clients. Make the audience comfortable, seeing each one as potential client or existing client with potential for escalated relationship. Make it natural, people won't care about...
What is "head popping" and why is it bad? Most of my writing experience has been with first person, nonfiction stories. Now I want to try some fiction. I'm working in third person, but I'm a little bit confused about how to pull something off. Okay, say I'm telling the story from character A's POV and he's talking to...	If you want to tell about the inner thoughts and motivations of multiple characters in the same scene, you can do that.
How much power does the author have over an original work? Some background. I recently published a book and was asked to share the first 30 pages so the publisher could edit and send it to the distributor. I complied and asked to see it. When I saw the amount of change the editor had imposed on the work, I was appall...	It's a matter of negotiation between the writer and the editor which changes are acceptable to both parties. An author has all power about his work, because he is the creator.
How to write time duration correctly Within a user manual, I need to convey the maximum time period allowed as "365 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds" - are commas expected between each component? Is the word "and" expected before the last component regardless of the time period name? <Q> I would use commas between e...	You can also use the convention that time periods can be written as digits, like this: 365 days plus 23:59:59
Writing a very complex relationship I am writing a webcomic, and have come upon a snag, I need two characters to like each other very much, but one is the slave of the other. In the comic, there are characters who find and use powerful beings for personal gain, and then there are those powerful beings. The complex rel...	One way to make it is to have them hate each other because of some misconceptions about one another, and then slowly have them come around when they get to know each other and realize they each misjudged the other. First, to make things more spicy (otherwise the outcome would be mellow and boring), build a conflict bet...
Adding Detail/"Filling" the story I've got a lot of story fragments that contain the major plot, but that are also very short because everything moves so fast. What I find a lot in Novels is a bit of "filler", like someone just describing a car in more detail than required, or the landscape or even some mundane though...	Add description only when it is something the character would notice.
How much should I reveal of how the world functions in fiction? I am currently working on a fiction novel. The way the world (magic, technology, government, species etc) works is extremely complicated. Basically, the idea is to reveal the mechanics bit by bit . The problem is how much should I reveal? If I reveal too...	Let the rest come out through the story. Keep events, secrets, motives and feelings in the dark and dispense them sparingly. The pacing of the story should be the only factor that limits the pacing of exposition of the mechanics of the world. That said, I generally think that less is more.
Is it ok to be autobiographical with a main character? This question really comes down to a personal issue I've had present in my fiction. I'm still very new as far as being a writer is concerned. So a few (if not all) of my main characters seem to be based in part (or completely) on myself and my personal experiences....	Every major character in his story is distinct. The author of "Kick Ass" said that every major character in the story was partially autobiographical, including the hero and villain, in that either at some point in his life he wanted to be that character or felt that he had a lot in common with that character. And if yo...
How can I write anonymously (based on true experiences)? I want to use an experience I had which is pretty unbelievable but true. The majority of the story will be completely true. It's not over yet so I want to use an ending which is NOT true yet works well with the story. I have had someone close to the situation r...	The other option - additional option, as you should definately write under a pseudonym - is to write something that is clearly fictional, but tells the true story. If you write this out and it's really close to reality, the people involved will be able to not only spot themselves (even after changing their names) but y...
Can a copyright be made in the name of a fictional writer? Is it possible to copyright a work in the name of a fictional writer? For example, like Nicolas Bourbaki or some pen name of some author? Can I use my own fictional name to copyright the work? <Q> Yes, at least you can in the United States. <S> If you write ...	If you want to use only the pen name, it's not possible what - in my opinion - makes all the sense since no copyright institute can register a manuscript without proper documentation and, if they have your documentation, even if they would accept your pen name only, they would also have access to your true name.
Should the transition sentence be placed in the end of the current section, or at the beginning of next section? When in the same chapter, I finish a section and want to connect it with the next section I am not sure what is better. Let's see an example: Section: "Bus" A bus was very popular and cheap... Everybody l...	It depends on the context.
How can people doing technical, archane work be portrayed interestingly? I'd like to write the biography of an important, underrated scientist who performed a really important experiment. He persevered for many years, became ill (and recovered) along the way, and practically invented molecular biology. He and his work ...	The idea is to give a sort of narrative, or some inkling of tension (e.g the tension often present in the cycles of work-->personalobstacles-->overcoming-->backtowork) to the readers, for them to grip onto so that they find it easy to involve themselves into the signficiance and context of that person's technical achie...
Is there a description of location required in intense moments of the story like in a love story I am writing a short love story. There is a moment when the man and woman he loved meets after 3 decades at his home and they strike up a conversation. They had some unsaid feelings buried deep within and it just overwhelms...	If you describe a place for the sake of describing things, that really drags down the pace and kills any tension you have at that point. Make the location a radiant extension of the scene.

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