Legal Writing

Uses of the -ing Participle

Posted on November 02, 2020
A reader has questions about the following type of sentence: “the education chief’s sudden resignation left him scrambling to find a replacement”. […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

List of Halloween Words

Posted on October 26, 2020
A reader asks, Could you comment on Halloween words such as jack-o’-lantern vs jack o’ lantern and Trick-or-treat vs Trick […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Meanings of ?Of Course?

Posted on October 20, 2020
A reader asks about the placement of the phrase, ?of course?: Please discuss which of the following is correct: “Of […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Post-positive Adjectives in English

Posted on October 13, 2020
An often-noted difference between English and the Romance languages is that in English, adjectives precede the noun. English-speakers say ?the […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

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Cognition and Cognitive Offshoots

Posted on October 06, 2020
Before my use of Facebook, I imagined that, apart from insignificant personal differences, most people I know agreed on matters […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Hoax, Fake, and Other Words for Deception

Posted on September 29, 2020
It?s a harsh indictment of human nature that we have so many words for deception. (I?m assuming that English is […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Good vs. Well

Posted on September 24, 2020
The words good and well have been in English since its earliest incarnation. When Beowulf finds the ancient sword in […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Hindmost

Posted on September 22, 2020
The useful adjective hindmost may be shifting into the territory of the unfamiliar, where words become vulnerable to a change […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

Let?s Save ?Critique? vs. ?Criticize?

Posted on September 14, 2020
Regard the use of the word critique in the following examples: My boyfriend critiques the way I make the bed […]Now that work is going remote/virtual, writing skills are more important than ever! Grab a premium DWT subscription and receive our writing tips and exercises every day! Click here to start a 15-day free trial...

How to Motivate Your Characters

Posted on April 01, 2011
You are like unto a god, because you have the omnipotence to create literary characters. But as we all know from watching Sam Raimi?s Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility. This is the greatest of yours. Original Post: How to Motivate Your Characters Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

7 Agenda Items for Your Writing Group?s First Meeting

Posted on March 31, 2011
Now, you?ve done it. You?ve launched a writing group, or you?re about to. What now? It?s time to organize. Here?s what to do at the first meeting. Original Post: 7 Agenda Items for Your Writing Group?s First Meeting Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

10 Steps for Editing Your Own Writing

Posted on March 30, 2011
You?ve done it. You?ve finally, triumphantly, typed out ?The End.? Congratulations! Now comes the hard part: revision. Revising is often more laborious than the writing process itself, but it?s essential -- assuming, that is, that you want your writing to get published...

50 Problem Words and Phrases

Posted on March 29, 2011
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to conceive written communication. So many pairs or trios of words and phrases stymie us with their resemblance to each other. Here?s a quick guide to alleviate (or is it ameliorate?) your suffering...

The Perils of Slinging Slang

Posted on March 28, 2011
To slang, or not to slang? First, it?s important to make a distinction between slang and genre dialect. If you?re writing crime noir set during the Depression, your readers are going to expect some gaudy patter about gats and dames and gin joints. And if your novel is set in the Old West, there?s going to be a lot of shootin? and ridin? and ?pardner? this and ?stranger? that...

How to Become a Copy Editor

Posted on March 26, 2011
If my recent post about copyediting, or anything else you?ve read or heard about the profession, intrigues you, and you?d like to give it a try, read this advice before you commit: Original Post: How to Become a Copy Editor Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

How to Start a Writing Group

Posted on March 25, 2011
You?ve determined to seriously pursue a writing career, but you feel like you need support and feedback. Although you joined a couple of writing groups, you dropped out of each one because the fit just didn?t feel right. What do you do now? Start your own group, of course...

I Just Got Wise to ?Comprise?

Posted on March 24, 2011
I have a confession to make. I?ve been doing it wrong all these years. Throughout my long editing career, I have corrected writers who erroneously use the word comprise, as in ?The federal government is comprised of the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches...

7 Great Online Research Resources for Writers

Posted on March 23, 2011
Doing research to strengthen a current story or article, or to get ideas for a new one? You can google all you want and hope for a productive return, but to engage in a focused search, try one of these mediated experiences instead. Original Post: 7 Great Online Research Resources for Writers Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

5 Calls for a Comma Before ?Because?

Posted on March 22, 2011
Use of the word because as a subordinating conjunction -- to link a main clause to a subordinating clause -- should be simple, but a sentence?s meaning often hinges on whether it?s preceded by a comma. Original Post: 5 Calls for a Comma Before ?Because? Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

How to Find a Literary Agent

Posted on March 21, 2011
You do know, don?t you, that if you hope to have just about any trade publisher consider your book manuscript, you?ll need a literary agent? Good. But how do you go about finding one? Original Post: How to Find a Literary Agent Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

5 Rules for Using Logic to Order Lists

Posted on March 19, 2011
At least five factors dictate how items in an in-line list -- a series of items within a paragraph, as opposed to a vertical list -- are organized. (See an earlier post about in-line lists.) It?s all about the context: alphabetization, chronology, complexity, interrelationship, or sequence...

5 Reasons to Start a Writing Group

Posted on March 18, 2011
You know about writing groups -- folks who meet at regular intervals to share excerpts from works in progress, exchange tips and information, and discuss conventions such as character, plot, narrative, and tone. But you?ve always shrugged the idea off -- yet it keeps coming back...

Coordinate and Noncoordinate Adjectives

Posted on March 17, 2011
An adjective is a word that provides detail about, or modifies, a noun. Adjectives are sometimes confused with adverbs, which modify verbs. The -verb in adverb gives you a clue, as does the -ject in adjective -- just like the -ject in object: The names of objects are always nouns...

How To Become A Writer

Posted on March 16, 2011
Write. In order to be able to call yourself a writer, all you have to do is write. But I have another piece of advice: Don?t go passing out business cards emblazoned with that word just yet. Original Post: How To Become A Writer Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

100 Exquisite Adjectives

Posted on March 15, 2011
Adjectives -- descriptive words that modify nouns -- often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it?s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues...

?That? Is Not Always Necessary

Posted on March 14, 2011
Try this: Go to a content Web site and click on an article, or open a Word document you?ve created, and search for the word that. This wallflower word is likely to appear with surprising frequency -- but it shouldn?t seem very surprising, because that has five distinct grammatical functions...

7 Tactical Fixes for Syntactical Impact

Posted on March 12, 2011
Writers often miss opportunities to push home a point or spotlight an interesting observation by ignoring or not attending to the effect of cadence and syntax on written communication. Such incidents are like a standup comedian placing a punch line in the middle of a joke...

Should You Try Copyediting?

Posted on March 11, 2011
Do you notice dangling participles and misplaced modifiers and unclear antecedents? Do you cringe when punctuation is misused, or when a writer employs the wrong word or phrases a sentence awkwardly or poorly organizes a paragraph? Do you shake your head when number style is inconsistent, abbreviations are incorrect, or words are indiscriminately capitalized? Original Post: Should You Try Copyediting? Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

15 Top Writing Guides for Novelists

Posted on March 10, 2011
There comes a time when you have to put down other people?s books and start writing your own. But if you don?t feel you?ve gotten to that point yet, or you?d just like a shot in the arm (or a more definitive blow to another part of your anatomy), explore these excellent writing workshops in print...

When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names

Posted on March 09, 2011
Few technical writing errors drive editors to distraction like superfluous capitalization does. This eruption of capitalitis (a pathogen otherwise known as Uppercasis ludicrosii) is most often seen in references to plants and animals. Original Post: When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English Grammar ebook...

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