Lauren Ipsum
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is really a large matter – it is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.” — Mark Twain
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See all 1156 »If you want to unify the voices: Get a tough editor. Explain to him/her that you have two authors and you want to standardize their voices. You might pick a passage or a chapter which particularly...
posted 14y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
The issue with learning a language is that you need to walk before you can run. You need the simple, repetitive exercises so you can learn the building blocks of the language. In high school Fren...
posted 6y ago by Lauren Ipsum
Let's say I'm writing a sci-fi novel. I want to use a word which another writer has coined, which has become well-recognized outside the original book, for the name of an alien species in my story....
4 answers · posted 14y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by Amadeus
I've seen this construction quite a bit, although only in the last five years or so. It's a transcription of a way of speaking, where the speaker is emphasizing something by using a verbal full sto...
1 answer · posted 14y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
Whether you put the acronym or the name first depends on how everyone refers to it. If it's almost always an acronym, but you have to explain it on first reference, write it as: New drugs to tr...
posted 8y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
I never use ampersands in copy unless they're part of a proper company name (e.g., Johnson & Johnson). It just looks lazy to me. I would write it as "August 4–5," because the presentation is ta...
posted 14y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
I edit novels (among other works). I was having a discussion with someone (not an editor) who didn't understand my technique. What I do is read through the document, and the moment something occu...
1 answer · posted 15y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
Indentations. 1.1 Main section (starting) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 1.1.1 Sub section 1 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 1.1.2 Sub section 2 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 1.1.1.a. Lorem...
posted 9y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
If you have supporters following your blog, you might be able to argue that you have an audience who will buy your writing. However, to be meaningful to an agent and therefore a publisher, your au...
posted 9y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
Any time you get two or more people in a group (or a family) with the same name, they are almost immediately given a nickname or some extra appellation so everyone knows who is being talked about. ...
posted 6y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
First, commas indicate pauses, so put them where a speaker or reader would naturally pause. "Look, Jones," That one is important, because there's always a bit of a pause between a command and...
posted 15y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
You have two options depending on context: 1) If it's a quick exchange and can be figured out in context, put the foreign language in italics. "As-tu le livre?" "Yes, I have the book here." or...
posted 15y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
If you go through the twelve slush books which Christopher Tolkien assembled from his father's writings (collectively called The History of Middle-Earth), you can see practically line-for-line how ...
posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
If you have enough cyber-friends who don't read Russian who have commented on your non-English blog, then yes, do one in English. If nothing else it will improve your facility with the language. ...
posted 15y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
The only thing I can see in this brief exchange to fix is: Line 2: Eh, adrenaline's unreliable. Might only give 'im a heart attack.
posted 15y ago by Lauren Ipsum · last activity 6y ago by System
