So, Sol asked about how the rules of writing for a blog are different than the rules for other kinds of writing. Now, this is a topic that has been covered at length by better bloggers than I, but it’s a good question and one that I’ve been circling around.…
MM:
Out of so many grammatical stumbling points, I can’t choose one on which to focus today . . . So, let me ask you. Do you have any specific questions you’d like to see addressed? Topics I have not covered yet? Tips you’d like to you share? Honestly, I’m at…
Knowledge TO Power
I wrote last week about the “Knowledge is Power” theory of writing, but here’s the corollary: If you tie yourself too tightly to “fact” or “experience,” you are effectively limiting your potential. Instead, use that knowledge as a springboard. This is most obvious when writing fiction. Fiction thrives on conflict,…
MM: May I Quote You?
Let’s just do a quick run-down on how you use quotation marks, shall we? (American-style, that is–I know some of these rules are different with British usage, but can only speak for American-English.) Simply put–and it should be redundant–quotation marks are used for quotations. If you are quoting some of…
Knowledge Isn’t Always Power
Writing experts like to tell you to “Write What You Know.” The idea is that, especially for the beginning writer, you should stick to your own experience and build on it–whether it’s fiction or not. If you’re a teenager, for example, you might want to write about high school or…
MM: Brighten Up
Short but sweet today. My sister (glaring at me because I dare to like Strunk & White, which she and my niece are studying) asked me today what I thought about whether the preposition “up” should be used when writing a sentence such as: You brighten up my day Or…
Better Than Two Pistols at Dawn
I know. The tone here at Punctuality Rules! is so calm and gracious, it’s hard to believe that I basically started the blog as a place to air a whole series of pet peeves. People who can’t keep its/it’s, your/you’re or they’re/there/their straight. People who can’t be bothered to say thank you.…
All Winners
Of course, I should probably have posted about this earlier (and maybe gotten some more votes), but Laura over at the Writing Thoughts blog recently asked for votes for favorite writing blogs, and mine came up as one of the winners. I’m in excellent company, and I wanted to spread…
MM: Titles
Do you remember, from grade school English, how to properly annotate a title? Titles of books, newspapers, magazines, movies, poems, journals, TV shows, works of art, musical compositions, ships, and airplanes should all be underlined. Or, italicized. They are more or less interchangeable so far as typing goes. This is…
Poetic Pause
I’ve participated in the Bloggers’ Silent Poetry Reading for the last two years over on my knitting blog (here and here), so I couldn’t let this year’s festivities go by without playing, now, could I? I thought about posting one of my own poems, but figured it was better to…