ManualOverride@slrpnk.net to ✍️ Writing@slrpnk.netEnglish · 11 days ago

Style Guide recommendations

ManualOverride@slrpnk.net to ✍️ Writing@slrpnk.netEnglish · 11 days ago

Do you use a style guide when editing your works? Which one?

The only general english style guide I’m familiar with is Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Unfortunately, I hear that the authors made some, frankly, glaring linguistic mistakes. To substitute it, I’ve been recommended On Writing Well by Zinsser.

What is your opinion of both of these and of other guides?

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grrgyle@slrpnk.netM
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10 days ago
No, but I probably should. Although I’m much better at starting projects than finishing them, so don’t usually have need of editing hehe

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A community for writers, like poems, fiction, non-fiction, short stories, long books, all those sorts of things, to discuss writing approaches and what’s new in the writing world, and to help each other with writing.

Rules for now:

1. Try to be constructive and nice. When discussing approaches or giving feedback to excerpts, please try to be constructive and to maintain a positive vibe. For example, don’t just vaguely say something is bad but try to list and explain downsides, and if you can, also find some upsides. However, this is not to say that you need to pretend you liked something or that you need to hide or embellish what you disliked.

2. Mention own work for purpose and not mainly for promo: Feel free to post asking for feedback on excerpts or worldbuilding advice, but please don’t make posts purely for self promo like a released book. If you offer professional services like editing, this is not the community to openly advertise them either. (Mentioning your occupation on the side is okay.) Don’t link your excerpts via your website when asking for advice, but e.g. Google Docs or similar is okay. Don’t post entire manuscripts, focus on more manageable excerpts for people to give feedback on.

3. What happens in feedback or critique requests posts stays in these posts: Basically, if you encounter someone you gave feedback to on their work in their post, try not to quote and argue against them based on their concrete writing elsewhere in other discussions unless invited. (As an example, if they discuss why they generally enjoy outlining novels, don’t quote their excerpts to them to try to prove why their outlining is bad for them as a singled out person.) This is so that people aren’t afraid to post things for critique.

4. All writing approaches are valid. If someone prefers outlining over pantsing for example, it’s okay to discuss up- and downsides but don’t tell someone that their approach is somehow objectively worse. All approaches are on some level subjective anyway.

5. Solarpunk rules still apply. The general rules of solarpunk of course still apply.

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