There’s an AT&T Wireless commercial, showing a father knocking on steamy car windows at a make-out spot, looking for his daughter because he hadn’t gotten her text message about spending a night at a friend’s house. The voice-over has him saying something to the effect that, “Come Monday, you’ll be…
Handwriting: Improving Legibility
We have talked about the epidemic of bad handwriting. So now that you know that you’re not alone (if you’re one of the many people suffering from poor penmanship), what can you do if you want to improve yours? Number one answer? Practice. Good penmanship is based on muscle memory,…
Handwriting: Legibility Issues
If you are anything like me, your handwriting is, um, less than ideal. The word “scrawl” may be bandied about, and jokes about illegibility abound. (Though, in this regard, I truly am my father’s daughter.) It’s not just me, though. It’s practically an epidemic. I’ve often said that if a…
MM: Slang
What do you think about using slang in your writing? The official Rule is that you should avoid colloquialisms when you write. I can give you two good reasons for this. 1. They date your writing, just like any other popular reference. You can refer to some popular television show…
Handwriting: The Personal Touch
When is the last time you got a hand-written letter in the mail? A personal note? A greeting card? Exactly. It’s a dying art. I have a drawer full of letters I’ve received from friends over the years, but I cannot remember the last time I actually had a letter to add. Maybe…
Match it for Pratchett
Here’s a slightly off-topic announcement for you. I’m assuming that you all love to read, and that many of you love sci-fi and fantasy books as well. Well, Terry Pratchett (author of the Discworld books) recently came forward with the announcement that he has Alzheimer’s. He’s donated approximately a million…
Handwriting: The Flow of Writing
When you sit down to write, do you reach for a pen? Or a keyboard? It’s not just an idle question. There’s a completely different flow to the act of writing when you’re writing long-hand on a pad of paper as opposed to tapping away at a keyboard. First, there’s the…
Guesting
If you haven’t seen it, I’ve got a guest-post over at Laura’s Writing Thoughts today. Go over and read it and then, after, go read the rest of her blog, if you haven’t already. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make small talk and see if there’s anything…
MM: Emoting
Sure, emoticons are handy little things to toss into an e-mail to a friend. But when they come en masse, they become obnoxious. One bee buzzing around your picnic is atmosphere, but a swarm can get, er, difficult. Similarly, an e-mail with one little smiley face is cute. One that has one after every other sentence? Gag (as they said in my high school days).
Clutter
Jan left a comment on my post about getting started writing where she said, “I find that I am much more productive if I have projects and things ready to go (that includes a clean desk, nothing scatters my thinking more than a cluttered desk).” I agreed whole-heartedly and replied,…
…And the Finish Line
So, we talked about what to do to start your writing for the day, but how about how to finish it at night? Here are some tips: Round out your thoughts. Leaving a thought half-finished often means losing it altogether between writing sessions. The writing doesn’t have to be perfect,…
Take Your Starting Positions…
Quick! How fast can you assume your starting position? When you sit down to write, is everything ready for you to just … go? Are you reaching for your pen or your keyboard even as you sit down in your chair? Do you keep everything ready to go at an…
MM: Overused Vocabulary
One of the most basic tips for good writing: Don’t over-use the same word and don’t use hackneyed phrases that have been used so much they become cliche. I notice this the most in my “casual” writing, things like e-mails to friends, comments on blogs, and the like. One of…
National Grammar Day
Well, I wish I’d known this yesterday…. Not only was March Fourth the only day on the calendar that is a complete sentence, but it was also National Grammar Day. Who knew? (I mean, other than Sharon at Daily Writing Tips, which is where I saw it.)
March Forth!
You realize, of course, that today’s date is actually a complete sentence? A command, to be precise. “March Forth!” It still amazes me that I was well out of college before I realized that this date was actually grammatically correct–the only one of the year. My sister calls it “Parade…
MM: Exclamation
Too many exclamation points make you sound like an overly-excited teenager, jabbering on the telephone to her BFF. (Like, OMG!) Now, obviously, there are times when you need to use them. Nobody calmly says, “Stop,” to a toddler running toward a busy road. If there’s a fire, you shout, “Fire!” I mean, the punctuation exists for a reason.