Two characters, Scythe Master and Claudia, are having a conversation in this book I’m translating. The first speaker is Scythe. (Bolded part is what I’m 87% sure is a rhetorical question, based on what comes before and after it’s said.) “Already arrangements to locate his immigration documents are underway, in addition to a method of … Read more
I recently heard the phrase in the season 3 of Blindspot series. One of the characters used this phrase: Well, if I knew it, I’d swear that I’d tell you, but it’s not my story to tell, so, sorry. What did he mean by using this phrase? I would like to get as many usages … Read more
Had a quick question about how I should cite with multiple paragraphs (MLA). Here is how the text appears in the source (The Great Gatsby): ‘An Oxford man!’ He was incredulous. ‘Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit.’ ‘Nevertheless he’s an Oxford man.’ ‘Oxford, New Mexico,’ snorted Tom contemptuously, ‘or something like that’. … Read more
I have a habit of using action tags in the same way as dialogue tags. Example: "I don’t know," she said. "I think not," he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "This could have gone better," the man frowned. vs. "I don’t know," she said. "I think not." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "This could have gone … Read more
Is it possible to add a colon instead of a comma before quotations? Like this: Person A said: “Blah Blah Blah.” Not as in theatrical performance, but as used in an story. Answer It is legitimate in some cases, and, truth be told, there are instances when it is preferable to a comma. Such as: … Read more
I’m confused about how to use “…!” in writing. Currently, I’m writing a fiction story with a character who has been critically injured. I got this question while typing out this: “I won’t die yet…!” I’m afraid that using it this way is actually wrong. I thought ellipsis is used to indicate omission, pause, silence, … Read more
It’s a quote from the movie "The Godfather II", Tom and Frankie’s scene: Frankie: Did my brother go back? Tom: Yeah, don’t worry. Frankie: He’s ten time tougher than me– my brother. He’s old fashioned. Tom: He didn’t want to go out for dinner. He just wanted to go straight home. Frankie: That’s my brother. … Read more
In the movie Thor Ragnarok the sentence Asgard is not a place, it’s a people. is used by multiple characters multiple times but shouldn’t it be ” Asgard is not a place, it’s the people” Am I right or wrong? Answer Grammatically either would be valid, but not quite the same. The people would mean … Read more
Imagine a dentist telling a small child to “open wide.” He might “sing” it rather than say it, maybe by drawing out “wide” into two syllables, the first having a higher pitch than the second. You probably know what I mean. Is there a good, single verb for this? I could just write “‘Open wide,’ … Read more
How would you correctly punctuate dialogue that trails off, but then picks up again? A: “Something about the way she smells …” The man breathed in deep, a smile spreading across his face. “… just drives me wild.” B: “Something about the way she smells …” The man breathed in deep, a smile spreading across … Read more
