Quick Fire Questions (A Place to Ask and Answer)

[Arthur_Connelly]

Is there any sort of special format needed when you have something along these lines happening?

"You went to the store and didn't get me anything," Bertrand said.
"I didn't forget you, dear friend." Mortimer said.
Mortimer handed his friend a bottle.
"Orgeat syrup?" Bertrand asked. "Why, this is my favorite. Now I can make Mai Tais. I do love a good Mai Tai in the evening. And the morning, come to think of it. Now all I need is a lime."
"Thank you, Mortimer," Mortimer said. "You are truly kind to me."

The last line is what I'm talking about. One character is sort of teasing the other and saying what he wants the other character to say. Do I need to throw some other sort of punctuation or dialogue tag - mocked, joked, teased - in there or is it all right the way it is? Thanks.

 

[Gumboot]

Is there any sort of special format needed when you have something along these lines happening?

"You went to the store and didn't get me anything," Bertrand said.
"I didn't forget you, dear friend." Mortimer said.
Mortimer handed his friend a bottle.
"Orgeat syrup?" Bertrand asked. "Why, this is my favorite. Now I can make Mai Tais. I do love a good Mai Tai in the evening. And the morning, come to think of it. Now all I need is a lime."
"Thank you, Mortimer," Mortimer said. "You are truly kind to me."

The last line is what I'm talking about. One character is sort of teasing the other and saying what he wants the other character to say. Do I need to throw some other sort of punctuation or dialogue tag - mocked, joked, teased - in there or is it all right the way it is? Thanks.

It would certainly make it a little clearer, but that's up to you.

I personally tend to write pretty complex dialogue, and it would be impossible to follow a conversation without having liberal use of dialogue tags. I almost never use "said" on its own.

Other writers hate dialogue tags, and seldom use any.

 

[subtletylost]

I am writing a book on mythology for my Latin class and was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I might find a more detailed version of the Twelve Labors of Hercules than what Wikipedia has (the books on mythology I got from the library say basically the same as Wikipedia)?

I also need to find some versions of Castor and Pollux and Prometheus and Pandora, Google wasn't much help it kept taking me to Wikipedia and some elementary sites that didn't help much at all.

I have a copy of Livy's Romulus and Remus in the original Latin, gosh that's hard to translate does anyone know where I can find it in English?

sorry a lot of questions and words but I tried google and it didn't really help much.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

The last line is what I'm talking about. One character is sort of teasing the other and saying what he wants the other character to say. Do I need to throw some other sort of punctuation or dialogue tag - mocked, joked, teased - in there or is it all right the way it is? Thanks.

Personally, I'd add to the last line's dialogue:

"Surely you meant, "Thank you Mortimer, you're truly kind."," Mortimer said.

 

[Abernovo]

Fishii, as far as Livy goes, have you tried your library? I know in Britain there are inter-library loans between academic institutions and some schools are able to use the system too. Even if you can't get a loan, you may find a translation available in a nearby college or university and they'll most likely be happy to let you read it on the premises. They may also have more detailed versions of the Greek myths; I don't know. Best of luck, anyway.

You have my sympathy, by the way. I have a copy of Tacitus' Agricola lying around and it was murder to read with my very poor Latin.

 

[Pyan]

I am writing a book on mythology for my Latin class and was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I might find a more detailed version of the Twelve Labors of Hercules than what Wikipedia has (the books on mythology I got from the library say basically the same as Wikipedia)?

Try this - the ones that you want may take some finding, but it's a comprehensive collection. The myths themselves are at the start of each mini-chapter, then there's a scholarly dissertation about the meaning and origins of each one.

Robert-Graves-The-Greek-Myths - pdf

The Labours of Hercules are nos 123 to 134 - but note that those are the chapter numbers in the original, not the pdf page numbers. There's an index right at the beginning, after the introduction, but the easiest way to find a name is to enter it in the search box and click on the "Find Next" button, just to the right.

BTW, Pollux is not the original spelling - the Greeks called him Polydeuces He and his twin, Castor were crewmen on the Argo, captained by Jason, and that starts at number 148

Good Hunting!

 

[Vertigo]

I am writing a book on mythology for my Latin class and was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I might find a more detailed version of the Twelve Labors of Hercules than what Wikipedia has (the books on mythology I got from the library say basically the same as Wikipedia)?

I also need to find some versions of Castor and Pollux and Prometheus and Pandora, Google wasn't much help it kept taking me to Wikipedia and some elementary sites that didn't help much at all.

I have a copy of Livy's Romulus and Remus in the original Latin, gosh that's hard to translate does anyone know where I can find it in English?

sorry a lot of questions and words but I tried google and it didn't really help much.

Gutenberg might help. They have translations of his History of Rome (in a about 36 volumes!) here

They also have Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the Seven Against Thebes

You will certainly find other translated classics there so even if you don't like ebooks it might be worth a browse around.

 

[mosaix]

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

 

[FeedMeTV]

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

I know I've heard black described as being an absence of colour but I'm not sure if that's a technical definition?

 

[hopewrites]

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

shouldnt you be asking for the artistic definition?
as an artist i would venture to say they are not color but true shades. mostly because every black I have ever seen or worked with was just the ultimate darkness of some color and for the most part I can tell them apart. (Blue blacks are my favorite because they are the coolest of the blacks. Green blacks convey more fear, and red blacks more rage, but those might just be my personal feelings about them. I havent had the opertunity to discuss color with anyone in a very long time)

 

[chrispenycate]

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

Scientifically, no. Black is the absence of all light, and white is a mixture of all colours of light, which is why it can be split by a prism, or a rainstorm into its particular wavelengths.

But who cares about scientific definitions? visually, there are as many whites as there are blacks, and (as mentioned in the sky colour thread) the eye compensates massively for minor changes. So we get subjective colour, as well as properly measured, and recorded colour (photographic or video) which is not quite the same as either, and emotions tied to particular colours, which distort our perceptions of them, and rainbows seen by a dog with its black and white sensitivity, and the world perceived by a friend of mine who has red/green colour blindness…

Who's to say which is reality?

 

[Gumboot]

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

It really depends on context. I would argue that they are colours under the subtractive colour model (absorbed light), but not under the additive colour model (direct light).

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Didn't they also have a different definition in heraldry (he says, knowing this may be of interest to historical and/or fantasy writers)?

 

[luci2also]

I have a character who slipped over while running around the edge of a swimming pool.* His right arm landed on the paving stones, and the beer bottle he was carrying landed in between.

It is now one year later. He has a serious scar, but I also want him to have some more-or-less permanent damage. So, would/should he have severed tendons, nerve damage, or something else I haven't thought of?

I'm after a result that makes this right-hander's right hand a bit slower and clumsier than his left. Just enough that he'll never pass the physical for the police force, or to be an astronaut, or a professional footballer.

*Not the brightest thing to do, but he was only sixteen at the time. Hands up all of us who did stupid things when we were sixteen. That's a whole lot of hands!

I know of someone who injured an arm and for the longest time did not understand why he could not write or draw as clearly as he should.
When the doctors discovered the bone spur and removed it he was much better at both tasks and that was somewhere towards 20 years after the accident.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Thanks, luci2also.

 

[hopewrites]

Didn't they also have a different definition in heraldry (he says, knowing this may be of interest to historical and/or fantasy writers)?

yes but white in Heraldry isnt white so much as the absences of color alteration. sable and argent I think, black and white respectively.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Is there any sort of special format needed when you have something along these lines happening?

"You went to the store and didn't get me anything," Bertrand said.
"I didn't forget you, dear friend." Mortimer said.
Mortimer handed his friend a bottle.
"Orgeat syrup?" Bertrand asked. "Why, this is my favorite. Now I can make Mai Tais. I do love a good Mai Tai in the evening. And the morning, come to think of it. Now all I need is a lime."
"Thank you, Mortimer," Mortimer said. "You are truly kind to me."

The last line is what I'm talking about. One character is sort of teasing the other and saying what he wants the other character to say. Do I need to throw some other sort of punctuation or dialogue tag - mocked, joked, teased - in there or is it all right the way it is? Thanks.

I would probably write that last line as

"'Thank you, Mortimer,'" said Mortimer, "'you are truly kind to me.'"

or possibly

"Thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer, "you are truly kind to me."

Either the double set of quotes or the italics would emphasize that he is quoting what Bertrand should have said. And I would split the Mortimers up with the "said", for a better flow.

 

[luci2also]

I would probably write that last line as

"'Thank you, Mortimer,'" said Mortimer, "'you are truly kind to me.'"

or possibly

"Thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer, "you are truly kind to me."

Either the double set of quotes or the italics would emphasize that he is quoting what Bertrand should have said. And I would split the Mortimers up with the "said", for a better flow.

I'm a bit lost with the "you are truly kind to me." is that in response such as.

"Thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer.
"You are truly kind to me." replied Mortimer.

or is he expressing the truly kind part as a part of how the other should feel about his help.

Maybe:
"Thank you, Mortimer, you are truly kind to me." said Mortimer.

The double quotes are nice but I think they get to become too much clutter.
You might try to get away with this.
"Thank you, Mortimer, you are truly kind to me." said Mortimer.

 

[Interference]

I juggled with the double-quotes and italicised versions but neither is really satisfactory. I'm afraid that what's needed, I think, is a bit of description:

"Thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer with undisguised satire, "you are truly kind to me."

or something. And perhaps a little hyperbole, like:

"Oh, thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer with undisguised satire, "you are truly kind to me."

which might provoke the response:

"Who are you talking to, Mortimer?"


Or something.

Question: Are black and white considered as colours?

I know that they are considered as such by 'the man in the street'. But what is the scientific definition?

Black and white pigment are colours. You'll find paints and dyes described like this. Black pigment might be analysed to be a mixture of many colours, depending on the source.

Black and White, in terms of light, are either the absence (black) of light or the combination of all wavelengths of light (white).

Combining light waves is subtractive (can make lighter) while the combining of pigments is additive (mostly makes darker).

 

[luci2also]

"Oh, thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer with undisguised satire, "you are truly kind to me."

You may want to just return to the original.
The more that you have to explain or tell the more it detracts from the experience. I think the reader will understand the satire part without having it dished out to them so plainly.

"Oh, thank you, Mortimer," said Mortimer, "you are truly kind to me."

But, that's just me.