Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [conventions]

This tag should be used for questions about typical guidelines that an author may want to follow to become a better author.

This tag should be used for questions about typical guidelines that an author may want to follow to become a better author. You should add information about the style of your work, such as whether you are writing a or a , what genre you are writing, such as or and what topic you want to ask about, such as , or .

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Are complex sentences uncommon or unwanted in English?

I wrote my opinion essay using a lot of different complex grammatical structures, linking words and so on, and some of the sentences were even over 4 lines long. However, I was afterwards told by my English teacher that this is a bad habit, and any…
Dafr
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9 answers

How to open a novel?

Looking at the function of the beginning of a novel, it is clear that it should hook the reader and draw him or her into the story. Different techniques for achieving the hook have been described, such as an ironic turn, naming extreme stakes,…
user29032
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7 answers

Would it confuse my readers to give two siblings nicknames that can be abbreviations of the same name?

In my book, there's two brothers, who are named Nick and Cole. Now, I've always thought that Nick and Cole are cool names, so therefore I named the two brothers "Nick and Cole". But then I found out that both Nick and Cole can be short for Nicholas.…
A. Kvåle
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The role of the supernatural in hard science fiction

The response to this question makes it clear to me that I haven't quite asked the question I had intended, the answers are useful but not quite what I'm looking for. So different but related question; to what extent can one include events that can…
Ash
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Why is character lifetime proportional to character development so often?

Hollywood movies are a good example of this, but also many books feature the rule. When the plot revolves around life and death situations, the first to die are the characters with least development. Those are the Non Player Characters in role…
Vorac
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10 answers

Where's the middle ground between genre conventions and originality?

I've long been interested in writing a fantasy novel. Over the countless iterations I've gone through, one thing has remained clear: a quest for originality. I know some people like the fantasy cliches, but a good chunk don't. These people want…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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Are paired adjectives bad style?

I have the habit of using paired adjectives in my writing: The noise from the engine lulled her with its slow and monotonous rythim ... ... the lights on the ceiling filled the room in a soft and warm hue ... ... his skin was smooth and thin, like…
Liquid
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Does writing regular diary entries count as writing practice?

One of the most common pieces of writing advice I hear is that you should write frequently and often. Writing regular entries in a diary should fit this criteria, but I'm hesistant to call my years of writing entries as serious, qualitative writing…
ObsoleteUsername
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Where to put character responses in dialog?

I am not certain of convention. Is one of the two of these correct? Or are they equivalent? Jane said, "Let's chase the ball." Jack looked at her in disbelief. "We always chase the ball, Jane. We've been chasing the ball for fifty years. Let's…
SFWriter
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How to keep a main character nameless?

I'm currently writing a story about a girl who was found by a couple in a magical isolated town, where everyone is named by the leader. I want her to not have a name because of two reasons: She doesn't belong in this town so the leader cannot give…
Vee
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Is it okay to write a story where the protagonist is a Terrorist?

I am writing a side story called, The Afterglow of Jovian, which mainly takes place sometime during the final stages of the main story. Here's a brief gist of the main story to give some context, The main story takes place in the future, 566…
Frosty The DopeMan
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Have there been any studies indicating which software documentation practices save the most time during onboarding?

It's generally conceded that at least some documentation saves people time when "onboarding" to a new project. With that said, have there ever been any rigorous studies on how helpful various kinds of documentation tend to be? I'm particularly…
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine
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Ambiguous sentences: How to tell when they need fixing?

A story of mine has the following sentence: Alyssa was possessed by a sudden, fierce urge to snatch the teacup out of her sister's hand and dump the contents into her perfectly arranged hair. On further reflection, I realized this sentence is…
user36961
8
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3 answers

Why do typesetters capitalize the first few words of a new chapter?

Something I've always wondered. You've probably noticed that in some newspapers or books, the first few words of a chapter/story are bolded or capitalized, similar to initials. For example: This image isn't from a real book, it's from an SE puzzle…
Sir Cumference
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Unquestionable Taboos and Self-censorship

In the community/nation/country I am to be living, mentioning some themes is the best way to be ostracised for life (or for a very long time). Talking about not being published or read, not being mentioned, completely ignored. Is someone…
Nerevar
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