Have you completed one or more short stories, poems, or nonfiction
pieces? Perhaps you’d like some motivation — or to take the next step
with them. This post lists writing competitions for 2011 that feature
cash prizes of $1,000 or more and, often, publication deals for the
winner (plus, for many...
5 Billboard Taglines That Advertise Errors
I strongly advise against employing billboards to teach you proper
English grammar and spelling, but you can certainly use them to learn
what not to do. Here are some pain-inducing billboard boo-boos:
1. “Are you in or out?”
This tagline from the remake of Ocean’s Eleven won’t strike
many people...
5 Calls for a Comma Before “Because”
Use of the word because as a subordinating conjunction — to
link a main clause to a subordinating clause — should be simple, but a
sentence’s meaning often hinges on whether it’s preceded by a comma.
A straightforward sentence such as “We’re off to see the wizard
because of the wonderful things...
How to Style Titles of Compositions
Navigating the formatting rules about titles of compositions — books
and chapters, movies and TV shows, albums and songs, and the like — can
seem like negotiating a minefield. Here’s a handy map to help you
maneuver through the terrain:
In print, two primary formats exist for identifying a creative...
Rules for Capitalization in Titles
I used to think there were only two ways to use capitalization in a
title: (1) Capitalize only the first word in the title (except for
proper nouns), which I learned working for a local newspaper; and (2)
Capitalize the principal and longer words and lowercase the minor,
shorter words, which I...
Use Common Sense for Commas
Commas are such cute little things with curly tails that their
strength is often overlooked. When used haphazardly, their power can be
untapped or misused. Employed correctly, however, they do much to convey
a sentence’s meaning. The rules may seem complex, but they are also
commonsensical.
Many...
Writing Dialogue In Accents and Dialect
“W’en old man Rabbit say ‘scoot,’ dey scooted, en w’en ole Miss
Rabbit say ‘scat,’ dey scatted. Dey did dat. En dey kep’ der cloze
clean, and day ain’t had no smut on der nose nudder.” Uncle Remus – A Story About Little Rabbits, Joel Chandler Harris.
We have a long literary tradition of writing...
10 Words for Categories of Words
Antonym, homonym, pseudonym. Do nyms make you numb? Here’s a handy guide to words, familiar or unfamiliar, for classes of words:
Acronym: An abbreviation, pronounced as a word,
consisting of the initial letters of a multiword name or expression. It
can consist entirely of uppercase letters (NASA)...
10 Writing Exercises to Tighten Your Writing
Writing projects can be like children. You love them dearly, but
sometimes they irritate you to the point that you just need a break.
Working on something fresh and new can invigorate your mind and give you
a new approach to your work. These exercises can work for any genre of
writing, fiction...
“Because Of” and “Due To”
The saying “too many cooks spoil the broth” is spot on in the case of
English language. Today, even native speakers make blunders in written
and spoken English, being influenced by current trends. One such trend
we are talking about is the misuse of “due to” and “because of.”
Many are of the opinion...
How to Add Emphasis to Your Writing
Some people consider italics and boldface type — and quotation marks,
when they’re used other than as dialogue markers — to be just so many
noisy bells and whistles. They often are, when they’re misused, but when
they’re employed correctly and strategically, they send strong signals.
The following...
Compound Modifiers: Man-Eating Shark or Man Eating Shark?
The conventional reason for hyphenating words that temporarily work together as a single adjective is to avoid ambiguity.
Generations of young writers and editors have been advised by sadder
but wiser colleagues that they should swim well clear of a man-eating
shark. On the other hand, a man eating...
