tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67387177502133940822024-03-13T12:30:45.631-07:00Book Magic Writing TipsEditor Sigrid Macdonald from Book Magic provides weekly writing tips.Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-83156638602977617652023-07-09T17:48:00.002-07:002023-07-09T17:48:24.443-07:00Her and I Were Talking<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">As I
mentioned in my last post, I am hooked on two reality dating shows, and
frequently, the participants confuse pronouns. “Her and I were talking” is not
correct. What you want to say is, “She and I were talking.” Why? What’s the difference?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her can
indicate possession, e.g., “her attitude, her accent, her suitcase.” It can
also be used as a direct object. “Jackson was talking to her.” We would never
think to say, “Jackson was talking to she.” It’s rare to see that kind of error,
but it’s common to see “Her and I were at the movies. Him and I are good
friends.” No, no, no. “HE and I are good friends.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The rule for
this is that the words he or she are used when the person is the subject of the
sentence, and him or her are used when they are the object. If you want an easy
way to get around this, you can simply substitute the person’s name, and instead
of saying, “Her and I were talking,” you can say, “Maria Angelica and I were
talking” or “We were talking.” Never hurts to have a cheat card in your back
pocket!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-22461735623131216162023-04-13T16:45:00.000-07:002023-04-13T16:45:15.912-07:00David and I’s Honeymoon<p> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">One of my
guilty pleasures is watching reality TV. I am particularly hooked on two dating
shows: </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">90 Day Fiancé</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Married at First Sight</i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. For some time, I
have noticed that some of the participants on these shows have a ridiculously
hard time finding the right pronouns. Hence, the title of this blog. Hint — you
don’t want to say, “David and I’s Honeymoon.” Neither do you want to say,
“David and Mine Honeymoon,” another variation I hear often.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What’s the
right term? There are lots of different ways we could phrase that. Let’s start
with “David and My Honeymoon” or “My Honeymoon and David’s.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we get
into trouble with pronouns like this, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to
revise the sentence and turn it into something that we know is right, e.g.,
“Our Honeymoon” or “My Honeymoon with David.” Can’t go wrong there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-25523942083178349132021-07-15T17:51:00.004-07:002021-07-15T17:51:38.210-07:00Great Software Programs for Writers<p> We all know about spell-check and the
importance of using it when we are writing any documents, particularly
correspondence and reports related to work. But there are new and more advanced
types of programs that go way beyond the capacity of the spell-check. Check
these out:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>Grammarly: this is a phenomenal program
that not only far exceeds Microsoft in terms of its ability to detect errors in
spelling and grammar, but it also flags repetitive words and potentially inappropriate
word usage (e.g., let’s say that you wanted to use the word “reminisce” to talk
about old times but instead you said, “let’s remiss about the good old days.”
The program would alert you to the possibility that might not be the word you
want to use and suggest something more appropriate. It also highlights terms
that have become like slang now, such as “awesome, amazing,” and “totally” and
even brings to your attention potentially offensive/politically incorrect words
like “mankind” or “elderly.” And it is
fully compliant with <i>The Chicago Manual of Style</i>, so Grammarly will
suggest the best punctuation for you. It’s a real time-saver and ensures that
you will not miss embarrassing errors. Plus, you always have the option of
taking their suggestions cafeteria-style by choosing the ones you like and
leaving the rest behind.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>PerfectIt: I could not live without this
program. PerfectIt makes sure that all your word usage is consistent. Did you
hyphenate brand-new in two instances but not the third? Did you capitalize the
City of Chicago four times but leave it in lowercase twice? PerfectIt to the
rescue. This is particularly useful for long documents, novels, and nonfiction
books where you can’t trust that you are going to remember every single hyphen
or capital. It makes you look like a real pro with a terrific memory and a
great eye for detail. PerfectIt also identifies redundancies (e.g., “I’m going
to meet Paul at 10 AM in the morning.” AM and morning are redundant. You can
say one or the other. “I am going to meet Paul at 10 AM” is sufficient. And “he
thought to himself.” By definition, a thought is something that we think to
ourselves and we don’t say out loud, so it’s fine to say, “he thought” without
the extra verbiage).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both Grammarly and PerfectIt are terrific
for writers who want their material to be flawless and professional. But don’t
forget about Microsoft’s spell-check. It is still worth remembering to always spell-check
everything that leaves your desk for business, starting with emails and moving
on to reports and proposals, short stories, and full-length books, etc. You can
also use these programs for social correspondence if you want to step up your
game.<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span> </p>Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-68916240142729100482020-06-15T10:05:00.003-07:002020-06-15T10:06:22.580-07:00Do You Make These Content Writing Mistakes?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="border-color: currentColor; border-style: none none solid; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">
<h1 align="center" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm; padding: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Do You Make These Content Writing Mistakes?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></h1>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you are a newbie or a professional writer, you
tend to commit some unintentional mistakes in your writing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here are some of the content writing mistakes we
usually encounter and how to avoid them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Lack of research <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Laziness in reading and checking related content about
your topic may put you in a bad light. You might unknowingly include in your
content erroneous facts. There might be information you may have remembered that
was correct years ago but recently new facts have been presented by other
researchers or scientists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You need to be diligent in researching so you do not
appear to be a reckless and irresponsible writer. Also, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">awareness of existing content</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">with the same topic challenges your writing
creativity and allows you to deliver fresh content. </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/provision/#/provision"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">Search engine tools</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> can go a long way for you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Not knowing your audience<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Writing
without knowing who your target audience </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">is</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">will
greatly defeat the purpose of bringing in more traffic to your page.</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> You have to know your
audience’s </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/demographic-profile"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">demographics</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://cxl.com/blog/psychographics/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">psychographics</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> so you can be able to
sympathize with them and reach out to them with your content writing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This requires additional research on your part. But do
not worry because there are tools online to make it easier for you to </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/provision/#/provision"><span lang="EN-PH" style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">know your audience</span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Overstretched content<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lengthy
is not always interesting</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Just
to reach for certain words</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, you try to stretch your writing and put in too much
information. Your audience tends to lose interest in reading until the end of
your article if you have written long and repetitive content.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">People’s attention spans can be compared to the speed
of the internet connection. It has a connection speed limit. Their attention
lags when your content takes longer to read than the estimated time the
audience wants to spend on it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sometimes, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">brief</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> writing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> is more catchy</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. But please take note
that this depends on the important points you need to discuss for your topic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<h2 style="margin: 2pt 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Repetitive</span><span lang="EN-US"> us</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">e</span><span lang="EN-US"> of your </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">SEO<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></h2>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Repeating your </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://answerthepublic.com/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">SEO keywords</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> several times within
your content will not help increase the traffic on your page. Consequently,
search engines may penalize you for overusing your keywords by moving down your
ranking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is suffocating to read the same word or words over
and over again. There is a certain </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://mill.agency/content/how-many-keywords-is-too-many/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">limit of keywords</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> used within content
writing,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> depending on </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">its</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">word count. Look for a </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/seo-word-count-keyword-de/bldhjkealilpmbomcjgdkdmnjjplpoaa?hl=en"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">keyword density
checker</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> to help you count the number of times you used your keyword. </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Overselling<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Constantly mentioning a product gets people to feel
stuffy with it. This creates a bad impression on your page, especially when
your audience expects to learn something from your content but gets
disappointed because you are just doing some selling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you have to write
about a specific product, just be </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">subtle
about it</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. You need not mention it time and time again so </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">the audience will not get </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">overwhelmed</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">regarding
the product you are writing about</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. A mention of two or three times is enough to
establish the product you are promoting in your content.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Misleading titles or headlines<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It
may</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">be catchy but if it is not</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> totally</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> related to your content, your audience will lack
confidence in your </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">page and web site in the long run.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Did not proofread enough <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Content writing with </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">typos</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> and punctuation </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">errors</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, misspelling, and
tenses and pronoun inconsistencies can be avoided by thoroughly proofreading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Double-checking your content after finishing it will
help you find misplaced words in your writing. Sometimes in the middle of
writing, we try to think of words that we cannot exactly pinpoint and place a
word that sounds similar or has almost the same meaning as the word you want to
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But as a writer nearing your deadline, you do not have
enough time to rest and check your article with fresh eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There are online spelling and grammar checkers and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.hemingwayapp.com/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">editing tool</span></span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><u><span style="color: blue;">s</span></u></span></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that can help you to reach your deadline flawlessly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Lack of image support<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The image is key to making a click. Including an
appropriate image attracts more traffic to your content page. People like it more
when they can see some visuals before completely immersing themselves in your
content. Aside from your meta description, seeing an image or picture creates
first impressions, prompting the audience to click on your page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you have your own image, use it before turning to
other people’s images. This will keep you from encountering copyright issues.
But if you need to use public domain images or pictures, check first the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">public domain’s terms
and conditions details</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> to avoid legal issues.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<!--[endif]--><br />
<h2 style="margin: 2pt 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Unintended</span><span lang="EN-US"> Plagiarism<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></h2>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.bowdoin.edu/dean-of-students/judicial-board/academic-honesty-and-plagiarism/common-types-of-plagiarism.html"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "calibri";">Plagiarism</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> is a crime of theft
by stealing other people’s ideas or words and claiming them as your own. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you do not like people stealing your ideas, avoid
doing it to other writers. You must give proper acknowledgment to the authors
or writers you quoted from your research. Even if you paraphrase the words from
any writings or books, you still have to properly cite the source.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And sometimes you keep on writing based on your
memory. This may expose you to committing plagiarism accidentally. To check for
plagiarism, look for </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.plagiarismcheckerfree.com/"><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">online plagiarism tools</span></span></a></span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that can work for you
best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2e74b5;"><span style="font-family: "calibri light";">Being overconfident with your writing<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Especially
if we have been writing professionally for years, sometimes we tend to be </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">so </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">confident </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">with it. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We still need to give leeway to double</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">check for possible mistakes.</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Sometimes, we tend to
write too wordy articles. Keep in mind the advice of many senior writers:
simple and concise writing is better.</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Learning
is constant for everyone.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Keep
looking </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">to learn new </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">things</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You need to keep upgrading yourself as a writer just
like online software does. <span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Change
is inevitable. </span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">have to make some
adjustments</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> in your writing</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
for the changing time</span><span lang="EN-PH" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">s and attitudes of your audience</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-40833099895328998842020-03-09T12:41:00.002-07:002020-03-21T16:29:33.240-07:00How to Find the Right Editor for Your Non-Fiction Book<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Kz3WVWgs-k/XmJmuTZdO9I/AAAAAAAAAW4/GTYs9gamoR4xHUEU5ihBoB529sJDjHMmgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Nonfiction-editor" border="0" data-original-height="85" data-original-width="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Kz3WVWgs-k/XmJmuTZdO9I/AAAAAAAAAW4/GTYs9gamoR4xHUEU5ihBoB529sJDjHMmgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/logo.png" title="Nonfiction editor" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Choosing an editor is difficult. How
can you tell who will be right for you and your book by randomly choosing
someone on the Internet? First, browse websites looking for a nonfiction editor or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/editing-nonfiction/" target="_blank">nonfiction editing services</a></b>. Look for
the following qualities: has this person ever worked for a publishing house?
How many years of experience do they have? Do they have extensive experience in
your genre? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PlWrXLICEyA/XmabP0UP64I/AAAAAAAAAXM/I0wxh-FYNEYVxzst3J5S4B5rGoFSKCldQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/240_F_291070451_TuvVTFfOkMULJYbTdQ5K1LJtULz7ytRH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="nonfiction-editing-services" border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="384" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PlWrXLICEyA/XmabP0UP64I/AAAAAAAAAXM/I0wxh-FYNEYVxzst3J5S4B5rGoFSKCldQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/240_F_291070451_TuvVTFfOkMULJYbTdQ5K1LJtULz7ytRH.jpg" title="nonfiction editing services" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif;">Second, touch base with the editor by
email and arrange a time to talk on the phone, on Skype, or FaceTime. Make a
list of questions for the editor before you talk. Talking on the phone or a
video call is not the same as meeting face-to-face, but it’s pretty close, and
it’s much better than email.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I just finished reading a book called
<i>The Editor</i> by Steven Rowley. It was a fun fantasy piece about a guy who
had Jacqueline Onassis as his editor; this book delved into the nuts and bolts
of what the client/editor relationship should be like. You want a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/editing-nonfiction/" target="_blank">nonfiction editor</a></b> <span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">who cares about you and your book. It
helps if the editor is an author. Fellow authors know what it’s like to go
through the nerve-racking experience of handing a manuscript over to a
stranger. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Also, ask the editor if he or she
will do a sample edit of about 300 to 500 words. That will give you an idea if
that particular nonfiction editor or
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/editing-nonfiction/" target="_blank">nonfiction editing services</a></b> company
is right for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-40599505782308985042020-03-04T07:30:00.000-08:002020-03-21T16:35:35.298-07:00Creating an Authentic Villain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Kz3WVWgs-k/XmJmuTZdO9I/AAAAAAAAAW0/X44vshhZYvMS2D9T3CPYNpyaAriMoHODwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="English-proofreading-service" border="0" data-original-height="85" data-original-width="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Kz3WVWgs-k/XmJmuTZdO9I/AAAAAAAAAW0/X44vshhZYvMS2D9T3CPYNpyaAriMoHODwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/logo.png" title="English proofreading service" /></a></div>
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It’s easy to create a villain or an antihero that readers
love to hate, but it’s hard to create a nuanced, complex antagonist. We are so
used to Darth Vaders or Draco Malfoys that we, as writers, tend to forget that
when we want to portray someone as evil, it’s important to make that character well-rounded,
real, and authentic.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-msNup2U2CWE/XmJoh9voyKI/AAAAAAAAAXA/VKYMRsWpOEoPXUv3KDIPTGXLqKzjzY7FACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pexels-photo-3747299.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Professional-English-editing-service" border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-msNup2U2CWE/XmJoh9voyKI/AAAAAAAAAXA/VKYMRsWpOEoPXUv3KDIPTGXLqKzjzY7FACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pexels-photo-3747299.jpeg" title="Professional English editing service" width="320" /></a></div>
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The best way to do this is to give your bad guy/girl some
attributes. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but everybody, even the worst
criminals imaginable, has redeeming qualities. I will never forget watching a
movie years ago about Hitler’s secretary. It was a documentary, and there was
real footage of a person interviewing the woman who had been a secretary to
Herr Hitler. She was most apologetic; it was obvious that she wanted to say
unkind things about the man, but she couldn’t. She needed to be true to her
experience and wanted people to understand that the Fuhrer had been extremely
kind to her. He was a nice man to work for. I know you’re rolling your eyeballs
right now and saying that can’t be possible, but, yeah, it can be. I would go
one step further and say that not only is it possible, but it is <i>likely</i>
that the scum of the earth person who has committed vile, despicable acts also had
some nice traits. We can be two things at the same time. We can be good mothers
but cheat on our taxes. We can be great parents but cheat on our partners. We
can be good citizens but racist in our private thoughts and practices. We can
be like the infamous Aaron Fernandez from the NFL, who was convicted of three
murders but loved his daughter.</div>
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Look for ways to humanize villains in your stories. Maybe your
bad guy is a killer, a brutal, sexist, wife-beating, child-beating nightmare
of a man. How would you round out that character? Give him good taste in music.
Make him a fan of animals or a vegetarian. Maybe once a week, he volunteers to
work with somebody with Down syndrome or visits his aging mother. Or make him a
victim turned victimizer. Maybe your villain was molested as a child or neglected. Give
us some ambivalent feelings about him or her. This is why the show <i>The Sopranos</i>
worked so well—because we grew to know Tony Soprano as a person before we found
out that he was a very bad guy. This gives the viewer or the reader ambivalent
feelings toward your character. That’s good. You’re not turning your bad guy
into a good guy. You’re just rounding out the picture so that we see a full
person rather than a one-dimensional stereotype. Also, be careful about using
clichés and overly common plot devices, such as dressing your bad guy in black
or giving him lots of tattoos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The same is true of your protagonist. As writers, we want to
make our protagonists likable, but we can easily fall into the trap of making
him or her too good to be true. Most of the girls I knew liked Jo best in the
book <i>Little Women</i>, followed by Amy. Beth was almost ethereal; she was too sweet and selfless. But Jo? She defied all stereotypes. She was a tomboy. She
said what she felt. She had a temper. Jo was on fire in an era when girls were supposed to be uber-feminine
and subservient, and as a result of being feisty, she became a fan favorite.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The best way to rectify a one-dimensional character is when
you are <a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/" target="_blank">proofreading</a> and reviewing your story after it’s already been written.
Go back into the text several times and look for sections where it’s
appropriate for you to add some good qualities to your bad character. It will
pay off in the end.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-4539634237757272892019-12-22T17:45:00.002-08:002019-12-22T17:45:29.950-08:00Today's Writing Tip Is about Women Candidates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What's wrong with the term "women
candidates"? We are using a noun instead of an adjective to modify the
word candidates. What is the correct term? Female. Female candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, we don't want to talk about males
and females at the dance. In this instance, we are using adjectives when we
want nouns. What's the correct version? Men and women at the dance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be careful with this one because we can
easily slip up. Or sometimes we can write something in a sexist way when we
never intended to by saying something like "female judge" when the
gender has no relevance to the narrative. It's almost as though we are thinking
that most judges are male, so we want to clarify. Resist the urge! </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's like
the old joke about an injured boy coming into the hospital with his father. He
is greeted by a surgeon who says, "I can't operate. This boy is my
son." Then everybody has to scratch their heads to figure out who the
surgeon is. At least they used to years ago. Nowadays we have two answers — the
boy could have two dads or the boy's mother could be the surgeon. When I was
young, nobody ever figured out the latter. But those days are over, thankfully.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-24004562580904153362019-11-27T15:39:00.003-08:002019-11-27T15:39:39.611-08:00Today's Writing Tip Is about Redundancy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'm a big fan of the software program
Grammarly, and it has taught me a great deal about redundancy.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As writers, we tend to lose objectivity in
our own work. The reason why is because we are too close to the material. It's
hard for us to envision the end result and what a cleaner version of our
writing could look like.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay, now I'm going to rewrite that
paragraph above, which is full of redundancy. What's wrong with it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We don't need the reflexive
pronoun "own."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We don't need to say the reason
why.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We don't need to say end
results. That's like saying close proximity — same thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here's a clean version:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As writers, we tend to lose objectivity in
our work. That's because we are too close to the material. It's hard for us to
envision the results and what a cleaner version of our writing could look like.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Streamline, people! Get it down in your first
draft, but when you revise, look for words you can chop out.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-27969946411420969002019-11-01T16:43:00.001-07:002019-11-01T16:43:18.890-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is Kind of Sort of Worth Reading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When did the words "kind of,"
"sort of" and "slightly" creep into our vocabularies? These
are meaningless terms and they detract from our writing. This also seems to be
a class phenomenon in that the more educated someone is, the more likely they
seem to be to put these disqualifying modifiers in front of their perfectly
good nouns.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example, I have noticed the "kind
of/sort of" talk on CBC radio in Canada, BBC TV in Britain, NPR in the US,
and on the podcast Pod Save America. These are otherwise well-spoken people who
say things like, "I was slightly mortified" or "It was kind of wonderful."
No, no, no. You are either mortified or you are not. Period; end of story. It
was wonderful or it wasn't, and if it wasn't that great, then it was so-so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be aware of using these meaningless terms
in your speech and in your writing. The latter will sound much more clear and
concise without them.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-37866642356653489202019-09-16T10:49:00.000-07:002019-09-16T10:49:01.814-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is When to Use Affect or Effect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Generally
speaking, affect is a verb and effect is a noun, but there are times when
effect can be a noun. Here are some examples:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Affect –
to change or alter something. Kamala Harris affected the results of the first
Democratic debate when she went head-to-head with Joe Biden on busing. That
medication affects Jim; he's going to go off it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Effect –
the end result or consequence. The side effect of that drug was miserable. The
effect of all my studying was that I got an A- on my final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So when
is effect a verb? To effect means to make happen, but it is not used that often
as a verb. By and large, you can consider affect to be a verb and effect to be
a noun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy
writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-42281070733622661372019-08-17T07:57:00.002-07:002019-08-17T07:57:30.841-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is When to Use Imply and Infer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">These
terms sometimes trip people up and there's no reason for it. The person who is
talking implies and the person who is listening infers. Here are examples:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Imply –
to insinuate. Helen implied that she was running out of money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Infer –
to speculate. From what Helen said, Dahlia inferred that Helen was running out
of money.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy
writing!</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-66792372038465256882019-08-06T23:01:00.000-07:002019-08-06T23:01:23.268-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is When to Use Number and When to Use Amount<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you
read last week's tip on when to use <em>less</em> and when to use <em>fewer,</em> you are ahead
of the game because the same principle applies to using the words<em> number</em> and
<em>amount.</em> We use <em>number </em>for things that we can count or quantify and we use
<em>amount</em> for things that we can't. Here are examples:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Number –-
iPhones, paintings, glasses. There were a number of empty glasses on the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Amount –-
food in the pantry, sleep, homework. What is the amount of caffeine in coffee?
We bought a large amount of beer for the party. Now, technically, we could
count those beers one by one, but the word amount refers to the sum total: the
gestalt. </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-1951649427649083372019-07-21T20:11:00.003-07:002019-08-06T22:58:52.769-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is When to Use Less and When to Use Fewer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There is
an easy rule to remember for when to use the word <em>less </em>and when to use the word
<em>fewer</em> and that is that <em>less</em> applies to things that can't be counted whereas
<em>fewer </em>applies to things that can be quantified. Here are examples:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Less—time, stress, pollution. San Francisco has less pollution than Beijing. I have
less time now to write writing tips than I used to.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Fewer<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">—</span>students, cars, obstacles. Argenis was happy to have fewer obstacles in his new
job than the last job. Fewer students are studying Spanish this term than in
the summer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy
writing!</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sigrid<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-45459433453384459662019-07-16T16:11:00.001-07:002019-07-16T16:11:04.941-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is about Punctuation: Does a Period Go before or after Quotation Marks?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Knowing how to punctuate properly can be confusing when we are dealing with quotation marks.<br />
<br />
I use the<i> Chicago Manual of Style </i>and this is what they recommend:<br />
<br />
Periods: put the period inside the quotation marks.<br />
<br />
For example, Jim said that his mother was "out of breath."<br />
<br />
Question Marks: this depends on whether the words in quotation form a question or not.<br />
<br />
For example, Jim asked his mother, "Are you going out to play bridge?" <i>Are you going out to play bridge </i>is a question, so we want the question mark inside the quotations. But what if I rephrase the example as such? Is Jim's mother a real "whiz" at bridge? In this instance, the whole sentence is a question, so we put the question mark at the end of the sentence, not within the quotations.<br />
<br />
Colons and Semicolons: these go outside the quotation marks.<br />
<br />
For example, Jim told Andy that he "loved living in Florida"; summer was his favorite season. Or, Jim told Andy that he used to love "living in Ontario": too cold for him now though. Notice that the main difference between my using the semicolon and the colon was that the former separated two independent clauses that could stand alone, and the latter was followed by a dependent clause that could not stand alone.<br />
<br />
Happy writing!<br />
<br />
Sigrid<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-74859327125064308092017-05-28T17:57:00.000-07:002017-05-28T17:57:15.519-07:00Today's Writing Tip Is Kind of Sort of Important<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's become fashionable to use words like "kind of" and "sort of" as modifiers. I'm not sure why that's the case, but perhaps it's because using these words softens what comes next. For example, I often hear radio speakers saying that they are "sort of disappointed" or the subject was "kind of complex."<br />
<br />
I don't like these terms. I think if you're going to speak your mind, just do it. Say you're disappointed instead of sort of disappointed—it has much more impact; it's direct, and it's clear. Clean writing, and speaking for that matter, is enjoyable to read.</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-9163952543589267762017-04-16T16:34:00.000-07:002017-04-16T16:34:28.913-07:00Paying Attention to Detail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For many years, I have been meeting friends
and clients for coffee at a local shop that is convenient to my house. We sit
there for an hour or an hour and a half discussing manuscripts, or in the case
of my friends, <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">chit-chatting</span> about this
and that. For at least a decade, I have texted, emailed, or verbally requested
people to meet me at Timothy's World of Coffee. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Yet
I</span> just realized last week that there is no such location.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To my great surprise, I looked up the
coffee shop online to confirm their hours only to discover that the name of the
restaurant is Timothy's World Coffee. Aside from feeling momentarily
embarrassed, I was stunned. How could I have sat in that coffee shop for <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">ten</span> years looking at the name on the wall or
passing by in my car with Timothy's World Coffee glaring back at me so
blatantly? What happened? How did I miss that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I believe that my mind just filled in the
blank. I had always thought that it was Timothy's World of Coffee, and so I saw
what I wanted to see. I saw what I expected to see. It took me more than <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">ten</span> years to see what <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">actually</span> was.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-no-proof: yes;">This</span><span lang="EN-CA"> is just a cautionary warning for writers to find other ways to
proofread your material. You don't have to have someone else do it, but make
sure that you are alert and that your mind is open to the possibility that you
could have made a mistake that you aren't aware <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">of</span>.
Also, double check. Ask Siri or Alexa. They know everything. Google it. Don't
assume that you know what you think you know. Sometimes our mind can play
tricks on us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-36111866833579384762017-03-26T16:00:00.001-07:002017-03-26T16:00:21.548-07:00When to Use Cite, Site, and Sight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The only thing these words have in common is that they are homonyms, meaning that they sound the same. But the meanings are quite different.<br />
<br />
Let's start with cite, which means to reference or refer to. "Jonathan cited statistics from <em>The Journal of American History</em> in his gender studies class."<br />
<br />
What about site? A site is a place. "The corner of Woodroffe and Baseline is the perfect site for a cemetery." One way to remember this is to think of the word website, which is a location on the Internet.<br />
<br />
And sight? This is easy to remember by thinking of eyesight. Sight has to do with vision or seeing. "My sight is almost 2020." But it also means something that you can see, which is where we get the word sightseeing. And sight can be a verb as in, "Suzanne sighted her husband in the distance."<br />
<br />
When in doubt, look it up. It takes two minutes to use an online dictionary or blog to make sure that you are using the correct version of these important words.</span><br /></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-43978291744765810772017-01-24T15:12:00.000-08:002017-01-24T15:12:38.866-08:00Why I Love Grammarly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grammarly is one of the best editing
software programs that I've ever <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">used,</span>
and if you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself to do a <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">30-day</span> free trial. No, I don't work for the <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">company,</span> and this is not a paid announcement. I
have no affiliation whatsoever with Grammarly except that I have been a loyal
and robust user for the last four years.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have always loved writing and wrote for
various publications over the years including newspapers and magazines, but it
wasn't until 2004 that I published my first book. In 2005, I opened an editing
company, but as hard as I worked, I found it almost impossible to stylize
punctuation perfectly. What do I mean by stylizing punctuation? I edit large
manuscripts ranging from 50,000 to 125,000 words. If my author chooses to use
serial commas (otherwise known as the Oxford comma), I want to ensure that the
manuscript uses serial commas throughout the book. But I'm not a machine. I
can't be 100% accurate 100% of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grammarly to the rescue. Grammarly not only
indicates every instance where a comma is <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">required,
but it also</span> provides a simple click through solution so that I can add a
comma that may have been missing. And if that's not impressive enough, the software
recommends putting commas after introductory clauses and between coordinating
conjunctions that separate independent clauses. Grammarly tells me when my
author has used an unclear antecedent, written a passive sentence, or been too
wordy. And, of course, the program corrects errors in spelling and grammar.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No matter how many times I review a <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">100,000-word</span> manuscript and I think that I've caught
all the errors, if I run it through Grammarly, the program will find something I
missed that helps my author <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">look</span> good. Using
Grammarly is a part of my editing routine that I rarely skip. The only downside
is that it is time-consuming to run this program on a large document. But the
end results are usually worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 100.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-77662096867485457392017-01-06T15:55:00.001-08:002017-01-06T15:55:23.142-08:00When to Capitalize the Word Mother<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although you may adore and worship your
mother, it's not grammatically correct to capitalize the term when it is
preceded by a pronoun. Whenever you see the words "my, your, his,
her" before the word mother, don't cap. For example, "My mother and I
love musicals."<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When should you capitalize the term? When
it's a proper noun. "My mom" needs to go in lowercase, but if I want
to talk about what Mom wore to the theater, I am using the word as a noun.
"Mom" (or "Mother") is a substitute for her name. It's a
name that I give her (e.g., "I always spend Easter with Mom and we have a
great time." But "I always spend Easter with my mother" does not
warrant capitals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The same is, of course, true for the term
father or dad — my father, your father, his father, her father, but "I've
missed Dad every day since he passed away twenty long years ago."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-14624191581375070752016-12-26T17:41:00.002-08:002016-12-26T17:42:09.868-08:00When to Use Fewer and When to Use Less<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Remembering how to distinguish these terms,
and knowing when to use each correctly, is easy. Just keep in mind that less is
for broad terms, and fewer is used <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">for</span>
quantifiable items.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">For example, one may see fewer airplanes,
cars, or bicycles. These are all things that we could count if we wanted to.
But we may have less peace in the world, less conflict in our relationships, or
less stability between countries. The latter involve attributes that we can't count.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-34569813489159905602016-10-29T08:21:00.001-07:002016-10-29T08:21:10.056-07:00When to Use the Word Literally<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Literally has become a popular term that many people use without understanding its true meaning. Literal means exact or actual as opposed to exaggerated or fictitious, which is something that is not real.<br />
<br />
Writers use literally in two different ways. The first way is for emphasis. "The strangler was literally 5 feet away from me." In this instance, the term is unnecessary. The strangler is either 5 feet away from you or he's not. There is no need to add the word literally; it's redundant. If you want to emphasize how scary it is to have a criminal right next to you, find other ways to show us how frightening that is. Make your heart beat faster, perspire, or gasp for breath due to the proximity of this strangler, but don't use the word literally.<br />
<br />
The second instance is always wrong. It's when writers say something like, "My heart stopped—literally." Or "I had butterflies in my stomach—literally." If you have real butterflies in your stomach, you should be on the way to the emergency room. Ditto for no heartbeat. In these examples, the writer is trying to convey how serious an issue is. Better to strengthen your verbs by saying something like, "My heart raced" or "My stomach danced." Or use a metaphor; "I felt like my heart stopped beating." That's accurate. Using literally is not.<br />
<br />
So, when is a good time to use the word literally? Almost never.</span><br /></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-39073778511948983602016-10-21T07:37:00.001-07:002016-10-21T07:37:17.460-07:00When to Use Imply and Infer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When to Use Imply and Infer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many people are uncertain when to use the
word imply and when to use infer. It's easy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To imply is to insinuate or suggest that
something is one way or another. It's not usually something people say out
loud; to imply is to make a subtle reference and hope that the other person
catches it. "Jennifer asked if I was going to eat all my french fries. Was
she implying that I needed to lose weight?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To infer is to deduce or conclude something
by what somebody else said. Inferring is not something that we say out loud
either; it's usually something that we think to ourselves. "Jennifer
noticed that I didn't eat all my french fries. She inferred that I was trying
to lose weight." Note that Jennifer did not ask her friend for
clarification. She just drew her own conclusion based on the evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In both instances, it's easy for people to
be wrong. If we think that a person is implying something, we are making a
guess, which could be incorrect. Ditto for inferring a comment. But these words
are not used interchangeably, and they do not mean the same thing, so double
check to make sure that you are using each one in the right context.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-18213025569097091312016-10-10T08:41:00.000-07:002016-10-10T08:41:09.899-07:00Wordiness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
Wordiness is a common problem for writers. One of the best ways to catch our wordiness is to go back and reread our material. Usually, when we are writing, we are in creative mode, and we say whatever comes to mind. It's only when we go back to carefully revise that we catch problems like wordiness.<br />
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Here are some examples of saying too much:<br />
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1. "Maria went back to the apartment she was living in." Unless you are trying to emphasize that Maria has five apartments and tonight, she decided to stay in the one that she was currently using, it's much more clear to say, "Maria returned to her apartment."<br />
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2. "Monique appeared in a bikini bathing suit." Bikini says it all. No need for the term bathing suit.<br />
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3. "That's where we sent the kids to university when they were ready to leave home for higher learning." The fact that the kids were ready to leave home can be implied. Obviously, you're not going to send your kids away if they're not ready to go anywhere. So the simplest way to phrase this statement would be, "That's where we sent the kids to university" or "That's where the kids went to university."<br />
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Writing shorter, clearer, more concise sentences and paragraphs is easier on the reader. It allows readers to get right to the point of your material so that they are not bogged down in unnecessary detail.</span><br /></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-55460985564197658552016-10-05T03:31:00.002-07:002016-10-05T03:31:23.793-07:00What's the Difference between Writing and Editing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Although there is quite a bit of overlap between writing and editing, there are also some major distinctions between the two. Writing is essentially a creative process whether we are writing fiction or nonfiction; we let our minds roam freely, particularly during the first draft of a document, so that we can get down everything that we are thinking. Then we often rewrite our material to look for mistakes or parts of our story or report that are clumsy or confusing or we just don't like. Some people rewrite a number of times before they are satisfied, particularly with long documents, but even journalists who are writing eight-hundred-word articles are prone to revising their material before submitting the final product. After people finish writing, they usually do a spell-check, and their material may or may not go on to an editor.<br />
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If it does, the editor will play a completely different role than the writer. Let's say that the writer has written a novel and submitted it to a developmental editor. The editor will examine the manuscript very carefully to assess character development, background setting, conflict between and within characters, and the resolution of the plot. A developmental editor may recommend many changes in the story to make it more clear, consistent, or less wordy. A newspaper editor may look for potential legal problems, and the editor of a charitable foundation may look for inaccuracies in the monthly report. After the author has implemented some of these recommendations, the manuscript goes for copyediting. <br />
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Copyediting involves going line by line in the document to make sure that everything is correct. The copy editor will remove errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typos. The editor will also establish a style. For example, the author may be Australian, and the book may have been written using Australian spelling. The copy editor will then ensure that none of the spelling appears using standard American terms, which would not fit. The copy editor will also stylize punctuation: the editor and the author will decide if the author wants to use serial commas, commas linking coordinating conjunctions (e.g., "The sun was setting, and it was beginning to get cold."), and commas after introductory clauses (e.g., "After midnight, the concert hall was almost empty.").<br />
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So, editing is similar to rewriting, but it takes into account many other factors such as consistency. If the word okay is spelled as such fifty-two times in a manuscript, we don't want it spelled as OK in three instances. Consequently, copy editors have a fine eye for detail whereas developmental editors have a keen ability to look at the larger picture. Writers are mainly concerned about getting their story down on paper and doing it as grammatically as possible, but after spending hours, or in some cases years, on a manuscript, writers may lose their objectivity and may benefit from using an editor to provide an independent assessment of their work.<br />
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For more information about <a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/">Evaluating Fiction</a> please visit <a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/">http://www.bookmagic.ca/</a></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6738717750213394082.post-77564025363779034372016-09-30T01:21:00.000-07:002016-09-30T01:21:19.179-07:00Word Usage – Three Difficult Words to Use Properly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What are the most difficult words to
use correctly in a sentence? Many people struggle with the terms affect and
effect, compliment and complement, and how to conjugate the verb to lay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let's start with affect and effect.
Affect is a verb. To affect something is to influence it or impact it in some
way. "Jonathan knew that his good looks would affect the jury's decision
about his innocence." Effect is a
noun that often refers to a result or consequence. "The effect of all the
rain was a glorious, colorful spring full of flowers and overgrown lawns."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Compliment versus complement — a
compliment is a nice thing to say about someone. It is a form of flattery. If
my husband looks great in his new suit, I want to give him a compliment. I want
him to know that he looks handsome. A complement is something that goes well
with something else. "Her gold chain
complemented the highlights in her
hair."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, the most difficult term: to
lay. First, we have the verb to lie, which can mean several things. In this case, I am referring to recline or lie
down, not to lie as in to tell a falsehood.To
conjugate this verb in present tense, we want to say,"I lie down,"the
past tense is "I lay down," and the past perfect tense is "I
have lain." (Most people have difficulty with the latter. The key is to
remember only to uselain when it is preceded by the word have.)Second,
we have to lay, a transitive verb that means to put something or someone down.
The present tense would go something like this:" Mohammed needs to lay
those bricks before nightfall." Past tense: "I laid my head on the
pillow." Past perfect tense would be "My father has laid down the law
in the house." What you don't want to say is "I laid down" even
though it's very tempting because it sounds a lot like "I paid the
bill," which is perfectly correct grammatically whereas "I laid
down" is not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who got it wrong in the rock star world?
Bob Dylan's "Lay, lady, lay. Lay across my big brass bed." is not
right. Eric Clapton immortalized this error as well in his megahit "Lay
Down, Sally," which should have been "Lie Down, Sally." Dylan
and Clapton can be forgiven; readers may
not be quite so generous with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">For more information about <a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/">Editing Fiction</a> please visit <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.bookmagic.ca/">http://www.bookmagic.ca/</a></span></div>
Sigrid Macdonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17039046815905329266noreply@blogger.com0