Editing angles to improve your writing by Barbara McNichol, nonfiction book editor with offices in Colorado and Arizona
From the category archives:
by Barbara McNichol When a colleague asked me to explain common one-word vs. two-word confusions as part of my Word Trippers, I came up with this list. Use it as a quick reference whenever you’re in doubt! Standby vs. stand by – Use two words when you refer to an action. “Stand by for the [...]
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by Barbara McNichol Daily Writing Tips has become a key resource for sharpening my mind about the proper use of the English language. But recently, a controversial post rocked my world by saying it’s okay to use “they” as a singular pronoun. Example: “Each person is entitled to their opinion.” To quote the post’s author Mark [...]
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By Barbara McNichol As hurried electronic messages go flying by, what gets lost? As you listen to multiple news shows, talking heads, and barking sports announcers, what gets lost? The clarity and correctness of our language, something we don’t want to lose (or is it loose?). My antenna crackles in annoyance when incorrect language reaches [...]
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By Barbara McNichol My attention was recently drawn to an article in Ragan Report (great resource for communicators) that puts the “Top 25 Grammar and Language Mistakes” in your face. Some, in fact, are Word Trippers that I include in my ebook. This handful of grammar glitches stood out for me. I’m eager to point [...]
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Here’s a great idea for celebrating National Punctuation Day this year. Write a haiku poem and enter a Haiku Contest. Winning entries will receive a plethora of punctuation goodies from the day’s founder, Jeff Rubin. How do you enter the contest? Send your best Haiku 5-7-5 (syllables, that is) poetry to Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com by September 30 to [...]
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Rescue Those Floating Quotation Marks this “Summer” by Dawn Allcott (used by permission) Memorial Day marked the unofficial start of summer. (The summer solstice begins June 21 this year.) Beach season is upon us. Coconut-scented sunscreen, captivating chick-lit books, Coronas, bikinis, and — for the parents who are reading this — swim diapers and those [...]
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Recently I learned what a hot topic grammatical errors can be when one of my favorite blogs, Article Writing and Marketing Insights from Ezine Articles, took a subject close to my heart and made it relevant to everyone who writes. Within 24 hours of posting “Avoiding the (6) Common Grammatical Errors That Make Authors Look [...]
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