Commonly misspelled words October 24, 2009

There are written words that people misspell, and seeing them causes my fists to form and my brain to scream. . . . Here are the culprits:

Alot
There is no such word.
A lot
I ate a lot of candy.
Her brother is a lot nicer.
She jogs a lot.
———-
Your (these things belong to you)
Your purse, your house, your car, your boyfriend.
You’re (short for you are)
You’re skinny. You’re kind. You’re smarter than I thought.
———-
Affect (verb/action word)
He affects my heart.
Her sharp words affected my emotions.
Effect (noun/person, place or thing)
The swine flu had a bad effect on my lungs.
His kissing had no effect on me.
———-
Alright
Used a lot but not correct
All right
She drank all right, and she felt sick the next morning.
———-
Than (for comparison)
He is taller than her.
She is more beautiful than that actress.
Then (relates to time)
And then we quit writing.
We ate and then we drove home.
———-
Further (abstract)
Don’t push me any further!
Her imagination went further than she wanted it to go.
Farther (distance)
The plane went 150 miles farther than the airport.
The coach made us run farther than we had ever run before.
(I remember this because farther has the word far in it.)
———-
There (a place)
No, she doesn’t live here, she lives over there.
He went there yesterday.
Their (belongs to them)
Their testimonies are exaggerated.
Their kids are wild.
(This is also easy to remember because there has the word here in it.)
———-
Bear
I can’t bear (carry) this heavy burden.
Love bears all things.
Bare
She bared (exposed) her soul.
Her feet were bare (shoeless).
———-
Lose (used more often as a verb)
I can’t lose you, you cannot leave me!
And when did your husband lose the remote control?
Loose (used more often as an adjective)
Wow, your pants are really loose on you! You must have lost a lot of weight.
She’s a loose woman, a nymphomaniac.
Loose/loosen, when used as a verb
Loose (completely release) me, set me free!
Loosen (partially release) my shackles and I will run far from here.
———-
Hopefully this will help those of you who are not gifted with good spelling.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Writing air quotes September 11, 2009

Quotation marks are used for speaking most of the time, but they are also used for the classic air quotes, an annoying habit if ever there was one. They are the poor man’s visual for quotation marks.

The problem when writing air quotes is this: Where do you put the period? The other problem is: Why the overkill?

Perhaps we are becoming wittier with our freedom of speech, perhaps we are just becoming more stupid, but no matter, quotation marks are used to separate “special” words from the rest of the flock. We can use them to be ironic, sarcastic, shocking, different, metaphoric, funny, and other things we come up with to get attention.

For example
I’m “thirsty,” said the vampire. (implying he wants blood)
You’re so “pretty.” (as in, a certain generic prettiness of the area)
I see you got some “sleep” last night. (implying you were up all night with your new boyfriend doing the business)

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), 15th edition calls them scare quotes in section 7.58. “Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard, ironic, or other special sense . . . They imply ‘This is not my term,’ or ‘This is not how the term is usually applied.’ Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force and irritate readers if overused.”

In section 7.59 it says: “A word or phrase preceeded by so-called should not be enclosed in quotation marks. The expression itself indicates irony or doubt.”

And in 7.60 “Phrases [that are] recognizable to the reader are often enclosed in quotation marks, with no source given [although more common expressions don't usually require quotation marks].”

Here in the US, the quotation marks go in the same place they always go—after the comma or period.

And now, words of wisdom to the “wise.” Quit reading my drivel. Go get your “bad” self off the computer and do some writing. Your book “needs” you.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Titles—use italics, quotation marks or roman? August 29, 2009

Most people get confused when they have to write the names of works. We all know about capital letters, but are the titles written in italics or left alone or set inside quotation marks?

The Chicago Manual of Style says the following about how to write these into pieces of writing:

Holy books are not italicized, i.e.
The Bible
The Verdas

Books, journals, plays, newspapers (and sections of a newspaper that are published separately) are italicized. Even if the is part of the official title, it must be lowercased unless it begins a sentence or is an official foreign language title.
She loved catching up on news with the Daily Mail.
El Confidencial had a good article in it today.

When the newspaper or periodical has a name that is the name of a building or organization or prize, it is not italicized.
The Tribune Tower unveiled a new column last week.

An italicized title within a title stays italicized but is set in quotation marks.
Insights on Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”

Titles of book series are not italicized.
the Harry Potter series

Parts of long poems or scenes of plays are given no special treatment.
act 2, scene 1

Movies, radio and television programs are italicized.

Ever After is my favorite movie.

Single episodes are set inside quotation marks.
“The Pilot, Part 1” of Seinfeld imitated the show.

Formal names of TV and cable channels are left alone.
the Barker channel

Stories, short essays, poems, articles; and parts, chapters, sections of longer works are enclosed in quotation marks.

Sally Hanan’s story “I Have a Gift” is in her book Joy in a Box (forthcoming).

If single books are put into a collection as one volume, the volume is italicized when quoted.
Toronto is a collection of most of the stories that Ernest Hemingway wrote as a stringer . . . between 1920 and 1924.

Unpublished works like lectures, theses, speeches, manuscripts are put inside quotation marks.

Titles of books about to be published are italicized, with the word forthcoming in parentheses after them.
Tibetan Weddings in Ne’u na Village (forthcoming)

Web site titles are left alone.

Musical works, artworks, and cartoon strips are italicized

Titles of songs are set inside quotation marks. Performers’ names are left alone.
Wide Awake’s song “Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow” is on their album Something That We Can’t Let Go.

Titles of paintings, drawings, and statues are italicized but the really old ones (whose creators are mostly unknown) are enclosed in quotation marks.

Garfield was created by Jim Davis.

     
So, to summarize, the big titles are usually going to be in italics. The smaller and not-so-important ones will usually be in quotation marks.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Using Commas before Names or Titles August 1, 2009

An appositive is an adjective that means: relating to.
Apposition is when you have two nouns that refer to the same thing, i.e. girl/Sarah or dad/Henry or Ms. White/teacher.

So when you have these two nouns, that relate to each other, sitting beside each other in a sentence (now called appositives), do you use a comma to set off the second one or don’t you?

See if you know by mentally putting commas where they should go:

1. My younger brother John made me dinner.
2. Mr. Smith’s wife Jackie made a fool of herself.
3. My friend Flora played with me.
4. One of her novels Sniffling in the Wind has had its film rights acquired.

1. My younger brother, John, made me dinner.
I only have one younger brother.

2. Mr. Smith’s wife, Jackie, made a fool of herself.
Mr. Smith only has one wife (at least, we hope so).

3. My friend Flora played with me.
I have a few friends.

4. One of her novels Sniffling in the Wind has had its filming rights acquired.
She’s written a few novels.

In other words, if the information after the noun is vital, you don’t set it off with commas. If it is not vital, then you do.

Vital=no commas
Not vital=commas
                                                               

Let’s see if you got the hang of it. Figure out where the commas go again.

1. Tom Cruise’s role in the movie Jerry McGuire catapulted him to fame.
2. The school’s director Mr. Bellringer was not impressed with the boys’ behavior.
3. Benaiah son of Jehoiada chased a lion down into a pit.
4. The fourth president James Madison was born in 1971.

1. Tom Cruise’s role in the movie Jerry McGuire catapulted him to fame.
2. The school’s director, Mr. Bellringer, was not impressed with the boys’ behavior.
3. Benaiah son of Jehoiada chased a lion down into a pit. (Assuming that Benaiah was a common name back then, which would make the extra information essential.)
4. The fourth president, James Madison, was born in 1971.

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

The Chicago Manual of Style July 3, 2009

What is The Chicago Manual of Style?

The Chicago Manual of Style, or CMS as it is affectionately referred to by editing professionals, is a style guide for publishers, editors and writers. Most school teachers and college professors have a list of things they want to see on students’ submissions. In the same way, publishing houses have a style they want to see submitted manuscripts follow. The CMS tells you how to:

• prepare manuscripts for publishing
• edit for publications
• cite sources

In addition, you can learn about copyright and about how books are developed and distributed. The guide also has a chapter on grammar and usage.

The CMS is updated every ten years or so, and is now in its fifteenth edition, which means that another update is due in approx. 2013. It is a huge hardback tome which could easily take over your desk. It’s up to you as to whether you prefer to follow it in book format or CD format.

I priced the book in my local book store at $55. Naturally, it is much cheaper on Amazon ($34.65 with free shipping). If you prefer to use it online, you have the advantage of seeing updates as they are made rather than waiting until the next edition is published. The price of an online subscription is $30 per year. It’s also available to small groups for a discounted subscription rate.

All manuscript editors have this book in one of its available formats. They would not be able to do their job properly if they didn’t. They also have (depending on the type of writing they edit) The Associated Press Stylebook (for articles), Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (for books), Webster’s New World College Dictionary (for articles), and The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style (for Christian publishers).

Do you really need to buy this if you are a writer? It depends. If you are a prolific writer of books, then adapting all writing to the CMS style would definitely make your submissions appear more professional. If you write one novel a year, your local library should have one or two copies of the manual. You can’t check one out, but you can do the final edit of your manuscript in the library, going over certain words and grammar you are not 100 percent sure of, and making corrections as needed. Doing so will be well worth the effort.

“Authors have to go that extra mile in polishing their manuscripts.”
~ Peter Rubie, CEO FinePrint Literary Management

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

The Rules of Grammar April 25, 2009

For a refresher course or lessons on the rules of English writing and grammar, this site can help:  http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/index.htm
It is probably the most comprehensive site on grammar and composition I have seen to date. Covering words, sentences, paragraphs, essays, and research papers; the site also has many interactive quizzes, teaches on peripherals, and hosts a forum called Ask Grammar.

Ellipses . . . April 7, 2009

Ellipses are those dots that people put in their writing. . . .

Mirriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines an ellipsis as a mark showing an omission (as of words) or a pause. The singular form can be either written as ellipse or ellipsis; the plural is ellipses.

While I would love to write a long and intelligent article about ellipses, there are times when others seem to do such an excellent job (writing on the same subject) that it makes more sense to link to their input rather than write almost exactly the same thing myself. The Grammar Girl is one such writer, and here is her take on ellipses.

The Guide to Grammar and Writing suggests putting brackets around the ellipses in sentences.

A teacher from UsingEnglish.com talks about putting a space . . . between each dot of the ellipses, rather than have them all squished together like the seven dwarfs in one bed (my simile). His statement is backed up by both the CMS and the MLA.

All I will say about ellipses . . . is that I like using them when I want to make a reader slow down . . . and think about what I’ve written. . . .

 

Every piece of writing needs to be clear and precise. With microscope in hand, Inksnatcher’s writing and editing service will hone any work until it glitters in the light of a 1,000 watt bulb. INKSNATCHER.COM

 

 

Grammar and Writing Help March 11, 2009

I’ve discovered a huge asset to the writing community–http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/index.htm This site provides a huge ensemble of grammar and writing lessons, in addition to interactive quizzes and helpful tips for grammar phobes.