Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [english]

Use this tag for questions about writing English accents, dialogues, and general use and cadence of the English language in writing. This tag is not for specific questions about grammar, spelling, etc for English writing.

Use this tag for questions about writing English accents, dialogues, and general use and cadence of the English language in writing. This tag is not for specific questions about grammar, spelling, etc for English writing.

17 questions
8
votes
4 answers

Interspersing German in English dialogue?

My situation is this: in the dialogue I’m writing, the characters speak primarily English but occasionally use a German word for lack of a proper English equivalent. German capitalizes all nouns rather than just proper nouns like English does. So,…
Lea
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6
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1 answer

How to write in a way that makes it easier for an ESL reader to parse and understand?

This question recently began percolating in my mind after some conversations at work, and hopefully it's not been asked here before and is applicable to this site. After searching I wasn't able to find a duplicate. When you are a part of a largely…
Sciborg
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8 answers

As a British writer writing a story set in America, should I write the narration in British or American English?

I asked this question on the English Language & Usage site but I thought it useful to ask here, too, since it is a writing issue. I'm writing a book that's primarily set in America; my protagonist is half-American, half-British but speaks with a…
Helaina
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2 answers

How do you transcribe a quote with errors?

How do you quote someone whose native language is not English? Let's assume that the person make several grammatical mistakes, how should you quote them, do you quote them verbatim or do you quote them after fixing the mistakes, or do you put the…
user36239
1
vote
1 answer

I don't fully understand sentence unity

First, let me clarify that I do not intend right now to write in Early Modern English, although I tend to use some words uncommon in ordinary prose, such as "whereof", etc. However, being inspired by the lengthy sentences in the KJV Bible,…
user25421
1
vote
1 answer

Should I write a book with third person perspective or first person perspective?

I am new to writing and I am starting my first novel which is a love story in 3rd person POV. After writing my first page, I started to think about how to change perspectives and write with the 1st person POV. Could anyone suggest what works best…
Dhiresh Budhiraja
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3 answers

International English Style Guide?

For writers who are self-publishing to Amazon (especially for a global or US & UK audience) is there a style guide for "international" English? Or must one commit fully to either an American or British style when editing? So far, I've only found The…
grammarnic
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4 answers

Why do artists make grammar mistakes in their songs?

I would be deeply grateful if you answer my question. I'm currently writing my thesis about standard and non-standard English grammar and the main problem of my work is why artists make grammar "mistakes" in their songs. Below you can find some…
Magda Šudák
0
votes
2 answers

Use of historical present in an installation for a museum

Would historical present be appropriate for a video projection on a 3D model telling the story of a territory from archaeological and geological points of view? I worked on the Italian version and have to validate the translation: in Italian, it's a…
chiara
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Can I link a dialogue tag to dialogue using a colon

Can I introduce dialogue as follows - The headmaster entered the room: "Everybody sit down now!" or - "Everybody sit down now": The headmaster had entered the room I know I could say - The headmaster entered the room and said, "Everybody sit down…
kerry
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Trying to decide on writing style and format for dialogue. Looking for Grammatical advice and suggestions. Native British English spearker

I am new to this forum and writing and I am trying to decide on my preferred writing style. I am currently working on dialogue and looking for ideas and suggestions for grammatically correct and 'good looking' dialogue. I have read many books, and…
kerry
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1 answer

Are there any strict requirements for classifying a rhyming word?

I'm trying to write a yadu: Nude, tall and blue, Yellow's new love, ... Here, I'm trying to create a rhyme for the word blue with the word new but I'm wondering if the lack of the L sound in new disqualifies it as a valid rhyme. Are there any…
Taco
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using a word for another meaning

Sorry if it sounds stupid but here's the question: I have a character who thinks the Italian word "pronto" has a similar meaning as "stupid" no matter how much others tell him the meaning of it is "quickly".(the character speaks English by the…
Arian_ki
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I need help translating military terms from a foreign language

I am translating a World War II memoir from Hungarian to English. I keep running into certain words which I understand perfectly, but have a hard time finding a proper translation. Can you guys help me out? Not with the translation itself, but to…
Tamás Polgár
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How do I write with a rhythm/cadence without losing command of the English language?

I'm sorry. I know I've been posting a lot of questions lately. Many times in the past, when I tried to write words with cadence and showed them to people, they said that I had poor command of the English language. They said my sentences were…
user25421
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