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Indeed, it's trying to find that magical balance that improves the overall reader experience. I've been leafing through a few other books just to see how various authors have dealt with this. It would appear in most cases, that less is better, unless the plot does not make sense without it...

In the previous book, I introduce the main characters and a one line summary would be; they meet, they journey, they become trapped, they must escape, some do escape, some are lost, some are safe. The sequel is what happens to them next; they unexpectedly find themselves embarking on a new...

Great feedback, thank you. I think I will take note of multiple suggestions here. To make it clear on the jacket, back page and wherever else that it is a follow up to a previous story. (I personally dont like books that carry a title such as "The Same Book Title 2"). To drop in the...

I'm in the process of writing a sequel to a book. My question is a simple one; how much of the first book do I need to recount? I would like to assume that the reader has read the first, in which case I could just pick up the story and continue it. If I want the second book to stand up on its...

I'll read Ulysses but maybe save the other for prison :o)

Very good point Sam and I'm coming around to that line of thinking. I think I'm searching for a 'writing rule' which does not actually exist. 'How' it is written will certainly influence the readers experience. The text should fuel the readers mind/imagination, not pre-occupy it a struggle to...

Two minutes after submitting the last post I came across this; http://trevor-hopkins.org.uk/lyndesfarne/murder-bridge-ch1.html This text is informal, but there is only contracted forms in dialog! So now I'm back where I started. Agghhh!!

All good inputs, thank you. I grabbed a few books at random from my own paltry collection and in every case, they were written using the contracted forms throughout. The only exception was a book which was actually more of a history book than a fictional book. So I'm rapidly concluding that...

If your main character is also the narrator, I think contracted forms would be just fine. If you use an outside narrator I would prefer non-contracted forms in the narrative and contracted forms in direct speech only. That is probably a better way of expressing my original assumption. I think...

I wonder if anyone can help me with the subject of contracted and uncontracted forms. In terms of fiction, I had always assumed contracted forms such as shouldn't, hadn't, wasn't, he'd etc. were only to be used in dialog. But I think that is an incorrect assumption, in which case, is there a...

Good grief! I had a go at this and ended up with about 50 lines of nonsense :( Many thanks.

I have a text file with a long list of values in it. The values are actually for coordinates, the values are like this; X0Y0 First Value X0Y1 Second Value X0Y2 etc. X1Y0 X1Y1 X1Y2 ... ... X15Y0 X15Y1 X15Y2 etc. I know the bounds of X and Y and I want to rearrange it and put into a new file...

Possibly a Cardinal sin.

Having taken a picture of that sign you've certainly got them by the short and curlies! With halloween approaching, there's a farm I pass by advertising "Pumkins For Sale". In the summer they advertised "Lettis".

Felder calls it "embracing contraries". I think you'll find this interesting http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Contraries.html

Why do fools fall in lav? All you need is lav Lost without your lav

Can't think of a solitary word but I often see hotel rooms described as having a "commanding view". Others might be "pictorially advantaged", having a "preferred vista", "exceptional outlook". Given Forsters book title "A Room With A View", I guess he couldn't think of anything either. Reminds...

I was lucky enough to work my way into the top 10% of the earnings scale. As others have said, it isn't worth it. After years of stress, enduring politics all day, a heart attack, domestic disfunction, depression, you name it; I stepped back into a role many notches down the seniority scale and...

That's a toughy but I thinks it's "God I Beseech You"

A young friend of the family recently got a part-time job to help fund his studies at college (which I admire incidentally). The job is helping a van driver to deliver orders for a well known electrical retailer. Basically he's the young guy you normally see clinging onto the other end of the...