How often do you think about the font you use? I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately–mostly because I think they’re fun–but like all good things, they can be used well, or they can be used very, very badly. Fonts, or typefaces, are the actual shapes of the letters…
National Punctuation Day Plus One
Did you know that yesterday was National Punctuation Day? Um, yeah. Neither did I. With all the writing blogs I read, you’d think that I would have heard of this from somebody other than one of my knit-blog friends, huh? Well, let’s recap: Aside from That Comma, Comma, Comma Chameleon…
MM: Do You Say Thank You?
Simple question today: When somebody does something nice for you, do you say, “Thank you?” It seems such a simple thing, but it is so often forgotten or ignored by those people who feel entitled to anything their little hearts desire, and therefore see no need to thank anyone else…
Soliciting Advice and Encouragement
When I was in college, and in the habit of studying and learning new things every day, I could sometimes–don’t ask me how–shift mental gears so that I was thinking at a higher pitch than usual. I couldn’t keep it up for long, but if I concentrated hard enough, I’d…
MM: Not Amateur Nouns
You know what a Pronoun is, right? Right–a noun that has lost its amateur status. But seriously, folks… A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. According to Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas, All ears crave variety. A varied array of words and sentences is candy for our…
Are You a Journalist?
Did you ever really think about the fact that “Journalist” has two completely separate meanings? American Heritage Dictionary 1. One whose occupation is journalism. 2. One who keeps a journal. I find this fascinating. Naturally, this is a dichotomy that I’ve been more or less aware of. I knew the…
MM: How Do You Feel About a Can of Worms?
Here’s the grammatical equivalent of a trick question: “How are you?” The instinctive answer–here in the U.S., at least–is to say, “I’m good.” Except, of course, that “good” is an adjective, not an adverb, and this inspires lots of debate. Because when you say “I am good,” the word “good”…
Let’s Review Reviews!
I’ve had Writing Reviews on my mind a lot lately (for some strange reason), and I thought I’d share some of the points I think that a good review must have. Bare Facts. No matter what you’re reviewing–books, movies, technology, restaurants–you need to provide the facts. For books, include the…
MM: May vs Can
“Mom, can I have a cookie?” “May I.” “Oh, right. Mom, may I have a cookie? Does this sound familiar to anyone? How about this one? “It’s been really nice meeting you. So, er, can I call you later?” “I don’t know, can you?” There’s nothing quite like using grammar…