Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [rules]

This tag should be used for questions about rules that relate to your writing, such as when to use a comma or which tenses to use. Questions in this category can also ask about rules in certain genres, such as whether particular actions are acceptable in fiction that is aimed at young-adults.

This tag should be used for questions about rules that relate to your writing, such as when to use a comma or which to use. Questions in this category can also ask about rules in certain genres, such as whether particular actions are acceptable in fiction that is aimed at .

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The "Rules" of Writing

There are a lot of axioms that get tossed around in creative writing courses, books on writing, and of course, the Internet. Often, these little gems are explained to new writers as though they were fact, to be taken for granted. Just as often,…
sjohnston
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Is using first person in academic/technical essays always bad?

For as long as I can remember, my teachers have taught me never to use first person in an essay. Yet, some of the examples we read in classes, or older writings we have to annotate, are written in first person. So what is the actual rule here? …
user34214
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Rules about breaking the rules. How do I do it well?

There are rules to writing and we often talk about them here. But sometimes a good writer will break the rules. And to be honest some of my favorite pieces of writing are from when this is done well. So how do we do it well? Is there some way to…
Summer
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How to describe a diverse set of characters without falling into purple prose or exoticism?

In my setting, a city was founded by people from all over the world, and developed in almost complete isolation (long version here). The story in itself starts several generations after the foundation. All inhabitants of the city have mixed origins,…
Babika Babaka
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How to help the reader wrestle through historical atrocities which would be considered normal to the POV character

I'm writing historical fiction which is set in ancient China. My MC is a historical figure who really did go into battle as a woman. Women in the ancient world were abused and mistreated. Males slaves were often valued more highly than women. Even…
Caspian
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Should DOIs ever be preferred to ISBNs?

Any ISBN yields a DOI. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. has ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1, which maps to doi:10.978.226/104201, allowing any book to be digitally identified in a reference list by either ISBN or DOI. Which should be…
Charles Stewart
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Is this kind of description not recommended?

I think I read somewhere that when writing, you shouldn't describe characters by their characteristics i.e. The tall man walked across the room Is this true? Maybe I'm misremembering
klippy
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Writing rule which states that two causes for the same superpower is bad writing

I've read somewhere that there is this writing rule stating that, for some superpower, it would be less believable if two completely different settings are present in order to obtain the same superpower. In the article, I remember it mentioned in…
lulalala
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Writing a poem in secondary language that has rules for primary language

Haiku is a very short Japanese poem with seventeen syllables and three verses each being of 5,7 and 5 syllables respectively. The Haiku was written primarily in Japanese language and the rules applied were on that language. Now when I want to write…
Karan Desai
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How does one gauge the strength of any particular adverb?

I am now editing for adverbs, as silly as that may sound to some people. :-) I have learned, 'by ear', that the advice to 'avoid adverbs' is actually not bad advice. But I am also learning that certain types of adverbs are more bothersome than…
SFWriter
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Good sites for descriptions/rules of different genres?

I just listenend to an episode of Writing Excuses where they discussed genre blending. I found the topic very inspirational, but as one tend to only read books of certain genres, I was wondering if there are resources that gives good overview of…
erikric
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Who has laid down the English poetry rules?

I am doing a research, I want to know who has invented the English poetry rules like meters (Iambic, Torchee, ...) and feets; who has discovered that some feet are (Stressed, Unstressed) and others are (Unstressed, Stressed) You may provide me by a…
Taha Magdy
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Bending the rules of the english language for effect; sentence fragments and run-ons

I believe it is a time-honored tradition, in fiction, to bend rules for a literary effect. I'm printing a short story for my critique group tonight. One critique-er is a very by-the-book kind of person, who gives formulaic advice. This is incredibly…
SFWriter
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How far can insults go in a "Young Adult" novel?

In a Young Adult (>12 y. old) novel, once the obviously bad words (F-word, C-word, N-word, etc.) taken away, how far can rude language go ? For example, can I use insults like : "Go sit on a rusty nail!", or "Hang yourself.", or "Eat your…
Babika Babaka
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Should a piece of fiction be made of 100% concise writing?

I recently finished reading William Strunk's Elements of Style. The book mostly teaches how to write concise paragraphs (e.g. by removing, changing, and rearranging words). So I decided to apply that to my writing: Saki practically spent everyday…
wyc
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