September 2008

Your turn!

September 29, 2008

I’m out of the office this week, due to a death in the family. I still have access, obviously, but my online time and creativity are limited. I’ve got a healthy backlog of subjects to post about, but I’ve been meaning to invite questions, too. I’ve just been forgetting to mention it. This seems like [...]

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The Phrontistery

September 25, 2008

As language sites go, The Phrontistery is one of my long-time favorites. More a compendium than a thesaurus, it’s an excellent resource for expanding and brightening your vocabulary, or even for browsing for ideas. While one of the main features of the site is the International House of Logorrhea, a free online dictionary of weird [...]

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Bunny Slippers and the Professional

September 22, 2008

Right now as I type this, I’m wearing black sweatpants and a faded X-Files t-shirt I’ve had since 1996. It’s a little cool here today, so in a while I might put on a pair of black and pink striped socks. I showered and washed my hair this morning, then ran a brush through it [...]

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So Then And That’s When Actually Though Just Very However Suddenly

September 18, 2008

All writers have words or phrases that they overuse. “Just” is one of mine. I also have characters whisper and murmur too often. Many writers have certain words which they always or frequently misspell. Some keystroke patterns just trip up certain fingers. (See? There’s a “just”!) I’m guilty of “wtih” for “with”. Additionally, I almost [...]

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The Monster Engine

September 15, 2008

Today’s post is about a book. It’s not an editing reference, or a writing reference, or a how-to of any kind. It’s a children’s book, of sorts, which takes an interesting perspective on children and imagination. In The Monster Engine, Dave DeVries has taken children’s drawings of monsters, creatures and things that go bump in [...]

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Turning Freelancing into Dollars

September 11, 2008

When I started working as a freelancer, my first few jobs were for a publisher. I had the security of knowing that everything I touched was guaranteed to make it into print — security I needed as I worked to build my resume — and I knew that I’d be earning the same fixed rate [...]

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Punctuating Dialog

September 8, 2008

I’ve gone this long without a grammar/punctuation post, but I’ve decided that it’s time for one. Dialog interrupted by narration seems to be a very common punctuation sticking point. Since it’s something I often find myself correcting, I thought it would make a good introductory technical tip. The rule for inserting narration into dialog is [...]

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Battling the Red Ink Blues

September 4, 2008

Editors aren’t schoolteachers. We’re not here to handhold, or praise, or encourage, or assign an opinion or a grade to the manuscripts we receive. We’re here to correct, to polish, and to be professional. But, when someone’s life’s work is sent back to them covered in red ink, it can be more than a little [...]

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