I wrote this post for a guest spot on my friend and colleague H.M. Jones’ blog several months ago. And now it comes home. 🙂 You know how some words are so similar in spelling and/or pronunciation that you almost can’t help but get them confused on a regular basis? You sigh or mutter and reach for the dictionary…AGAIN…because you… Read More
Unpopular opinion? I hate adverbs. The girl I used to teach next to, back in the day, had a sign in her classroom that read: “Said is dead.” While I don’t disagree there are other ways to indicate someone is speaking, I think “said” gets the job done. To be honest, my biggest issue with the classroom poster was how… Read More
As an editor, I see a lot of words and phrases misspelled and/or misused. Often this is due simply to one letter (or number) difference and the misspelling makes for an amusing read. Such as when someone intends to say, “I made a complete 180 degree change in my life,” and instead they say, “I made a complete 360 degree… Read More
In the past I’ve referred to myself as “Grammar Nazi” and “Grammar Police,” but I much prefer a recent moniker given to me by one of my talented authors: “guru goddess of editing and formatting,” which I’ve shortened to Grammar Goddess. This title implies benevolence and forgiveness, so it suits me quite well. (Stop laughing.) And it flows off the… Read More
I’d like to share writing no-nos (aka Turtle Editor Wendy’s writing pet peeves) I’ve “collected” during my years of editing and proofreading. I’ll be gentle (I hope) and no names will be mentioned. This isn’t intended to be a “roasting” session, rather, a humorous, helpful post about some things to avoid when polishing your work before sending it off to… Read More