While reviewing a legal contract, a friend saw a sentence that ended “etc..” She called and asked, “If a sentence ends in an abbreviation, do you add a second period?”
My colleague Emily Oliver, owner of Goals Garden, recently shared info about a networking event called, “What is Your Business Love Language?” Not only did this resonated with me, but it inspired this pre-Valentine’s Day Wordsmith Wednesday post!
Recently, my partner Jim mentioned that he’s noticed more and more people using double negatives. And he wondered why.
A double negative is when two negative statements are applied to the same subject in a sentence. Double negatives are often used in everyday speech, and examples abound in popular song lyrics – from the Rolling Stones’ “I can’t get no satisfaction” to Pink Floyd’s “We don’t need no education.”
Beyond the fact that communication has become a lot more casual these days, I’m not aware of any reason why people may be using double negatives more often.
But I do know this: when it comes to proper grammar, they are generally considered a no-no. Read more
As you might suspect, I’m addressing the colon/capitalization question because I often wonder if I’m doing it right. Since I write for a living, you’d think I’d have it figured out. But my confusion is justified – because the answer to the question, “Do you capitalize a word after a colon?” is…sometimes.
My significant other {let’s call him Jim} believes that a gift and a present are not the same thing.
He insists that a gift is something the recipient wants to receive – while a present is something you want them to have. And he has a very complicated trick for remembering the difference {I’ll spare your holidazed brain the explanation. Consider it a gift – or a present.}
In an interview with Krista Tippett for The On Being Project, author Elizabeth Gilbert said, “Everything that’s interesting is 90% boring.”
She was talking about how “creative” jobs may seem glamorous, but the work is actually tedious. Lately I’ve been feeling that way about blog writing.
I love what I do for a living and have no shortage of ideas to write about. But sometimes the process of turning even the most exciting idea into marketing content can be a total buzzkill.
Last week I watched an episode of Pluto Living in which the star {Pluto} says, “Eyeball talking is the way to go when wearing your mask.”
Pluto is a “talking” Schnauzer from Canada who has become somewhat of a celebrity since her videos debuted on Facebook in March. She dispenses helpful advice on coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. And she’s very, very funny. {You can find her on Facebook or Instagram. Read more
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” – Anonymous
I wrote this before the COVID-19 s**t storm hit, and have struggled with whether to revise or toss it. Who needs more crap to sift through when we’re focused on staying afloat?
But one of the ways I cope with anxiety is by being productive. So I’m posting it – not just to have something to do, but because it’s {sort of} relevant.
Now more than ever, the content we write has to be readable.
It’s kind of a love-hate thing. My feelings about The Blacklist, that is.
If you haven’t seen the NBC crime drama, the basic premise is a most-wanted criminal turns himself in to the FBI and offers to help them track down a “blacklist” of elusive criminals they have a mutual interest in eliminating. Read more
The most important thing I learned at the Gotham Writer’s Workshop was how to write less and tell a better story.
I was an aspiring short story writer. Adam Sexton was a published author and a brilliant teacher. Each week he would review my drafts and, sentence by sentence, strip away every extraneous word.
I’m not going to lie – it was gut wrenching to read his critiques. But I fell in love with the spare, sensual voice that emerged from the space he helped me create. Each image was more evocative, each sentence more powerful. Read more
I’ve been telling stories about people, places and businesses my entire career. As Chief Storyteller at Open Heart Creative, I’m privileged to share my story in the process of helping other business owners share theirs.