The Overlook Hotel

Q: When should I use italics in scientific writing?

11:54 AM

I noticed that proper nouns, such as names of theorems or techniques are often set in italics in scientific writing but not always. Are there rules about it, for example each proper noun should be set in italic the first time it occurs?

scientific-publishing

Q: Wether to describe personality of a character or let the readers deduce it based on the actions

12:28 PM

I am facing this situation where description of the personality of a character is quite important. Is it good to describe the personality traits or shall I let the readers deduce it based on the action. Is this description worth, compared to the amount of content it would take?

characters description

2 hours later…

Q: Is my story so far any good?

2:19 PM

First time poster here, sorry if I break any form of rules here. Anyway, I was writing a short story for my English GCSE, and I have decided to continue it. English isn't my best subject, and I wanted an opnion on how I'm doing. Here it is: The Lone Warrior Feel free to add comments to ...

short-story planning beginner

3 hours later…

Hawk

5:18 PM

By the name of this room, does that mean, this room will be overlooked by moderators?

Awal Garg

mathematics crew passing by

Q: Why is distributing an audiobook so much more complicated than POD or eBooks?

6:01 PM

I have signed up for Amazon's Kindle service for making an eBook, and for Amazon's Createspace for making a print on demand book. With both those services, what country I am in or from were not issues, I was never prompted to provide any tax information. Literally within minutes I was at an inter...

audiobook

Q: I need advice regarding the use of real-world locations in a novel

6:38 PM

@Hawk not intentionally. :-) (Just because we aren't always in the room doesn't mean we aren't checking the transcript.)

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 @PraveshParekh @LaurenIpsum we've had some questions about using real locations; maybe you can improve on the answers already there? (Links to follow.)

I've written a crime novel, which is on its final draft before seeking publication now. The novel is set in my hometown. A major "set piece" scene is set in a real location, a business, which I would like to keep in the novel, owing to the unique design of the building. I don't portray the busi...

fiction

Q: 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 violence in a specific location might be frowned upon by...

fiction legal

Q: Troubles with unfamiliar locations and settings based in the real world

I have a question: is it hard to write about a foreign country/place? I know that Dostoevsky was Russian, his themes and settings were inspired or entirely based by Russia/the Russian culture. But I also know Howard Philips Lovecraft who wrote in unfamiliar settings (foreign and imagined) and t...

beginner research world-building setting

Q: Is it better to make clear immediately in which country/continent the story is taking place?

I'm writing a short story, and nowhere in it I explicitly mention the country in which it is taking place. The only time I mention something about the country is when I refer to a historical event that happened there. The country has nothing to do with the story. It's just that I have the habit ...

creative-writing setting

The first two questions are actually the same question and are more a question of legal liability than of writing.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 having linked them in here (after doing a search) I noticed they're pretty similar, too. Are they dupes?

@MonicaCellio They both seem to be asking "If I write about a fictional thing happening in a real place, will there be trouble?"

(The first one seems broader; while legal concerns could be part of an answer, when I answered I took a broader view.)

Where "real place" is a specific business.

It would seem to me that legally, in most countries, a disclaimer that the book is fictional should suffice, but IANAL

6:52 PM

IANAL either. I assume lawyers are responsible for those disclaimers that we sometimes see on movies (but much less so for books, in my experience... hmm).

The second (older) question asks specifically about legal issues; the first (newer) asks more generally "should I do this". I'm not sure that's technically a dupe in SE terms, but if some votes were to appear then the community could decide. This could be a rare case where we close an older question as a dupe of a newer one, which isn't usually done but isn't forbidden.

I dunno. I'd be okay with just closing the newer one as a dupe unless a more specific concern was added.

But I'm not a very active member on Writers so I'll defer to the community.

Ok, let's see what others say. Thanks for the input!

The other questions seem to have sufficient answers IMO. They aren't exactly the same as the question we were discussing here.

Yeah, it was kind of tangential; I just figured that people who were talking about related issues might also be interested in those. Or not, but the room tends to be quiet enough that I figured I'd throw 'em out there. :-)

7:09 PM

I'm always glad to opine on any question that needs my opinion :)

Feel free to interpret "needs" broadly. :-)

1 hour later…