The Most Comma Mistakes
Draft is a series about the art and craft of writing. As I noted in my earlier article, rules and conventions about when to use and not to use commas are legion. But certain errors keep popping up. Identification Crisis If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. I went to see the movie, “Midnight in Paris” with my friend, Jessie. Comma after “movie,” comma after “friend” and, sometimes, comma after “Paris” as well. I went to see the movie “Midnight in Paris” with my friend Jessie. If that seems wrong or weird or anything short of clearly right, bear with me a minute and take a look at another correct sentence: I went to see Woody Allen’s latest movie, “Midnight in Paris,” with my oldest friend, Jessie. You need a comma after “movie” because this and only this is Mr. The syntactical situation I’m talking about is identifier-name. Grammatically, there are various ways of describing what’s going on. A Bronx plumber, Stanley Ianella, bought the winning lottery ticket. And even Or
How to avoid making mistakes in English
by Tomasz P. Szynalski © Tomasz P. Szynalski, Antimoon.com Learners make mistakes and reinforce them because they produce sentences (1) too carelessly or (2) too early. You will avoid mistakes if you follow a couple of rules: Rules of error-free speaking and writing Use simple language. “Will I ever be fluent if I speak so slowly and carefully?” Don’t worry about fluency. It is much better to be slow and correct than be fluent and make a lot of mistakes. My experience with error-free writing When I was in college, I started learning German with the Antimoon Method. How was that possible — writing correct sentences after getting so little input? For example, I knew that the German word for use was benutzen, but I didn’t know how to use it in a sentence like “Which program do you use to copy CDs?”. I spent a lot of time on each sentence. The writing process was long and it took a lot of effort, but it was fun. Don’t speak or write too early What happens in English classes
How writers can refine their story, book ideas
More than 300 writers shared their ideas about writing at last weekend’s “Narrative Arc” conference, which Poynter co-sponsored. I delivered a keynote address and then shared a spot on four panel discussions. My favorite was titled “Revising Before Your Begin: Selecting, Defining and Refining Topics.” This turned out to be a timely topic for me. It comes down to this specialized part of the writing process called “refining the topic.” So how do you decide what to focus on? I chatted about this and more in this week’s writing chat, which you can replay here: Tags: Live chats, Writing tips and techniques
Writing Online: Best Practices — Groundwire
West Coast firm transfers clients to experts in Plone hosting UPDATE Mar. 12th, 2013: The board at Groundwire asked us to share this official press release (PDF) to help explain what has happened. INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 1, 2013 - Six Feet Up has acquired 110 Plone hosting clients from a partner in Seattle. Groundwire.org, an agency that helps non-profit organizations with their web strategy and development needs, has decided to exit the hosting business. “This is a significant expansion of Plone hosting clients that we serve.” said Six Feet Up CTO, Calvin Hendryx-Parker. Six Feet Up operates two data centers for Python-based web applications, like Plone, and specializes in developing and hosting sophisticated web applications. In July 2012 the company acquired 35 Plone hosting clients from another web agency, NPower Northwest. Plone is an open source enterprise web content management system. To learn more about Six Feet Up visit About Six Feet Up, Inc.
The ‘tap essay’ explained: How a unique story form blends old techniques and new technology
What does a “media inventor” do? Take it from someone who uses the term to describe himself: “Media inventors,” writes Robin Sloan, “feel compelled to make the content and the container.” Sloan’s new creation, “Fish,” is both — more than an essay, but not like other iPhone apps you’ve downloaded. Sloan loosely calls it a “tap essay,” which is pretty self-explanatory: You read what’s on the screen and tap it to move on. As an essay, “Fish” is about how we have adopted certain ways of calling out good stuff on the Web – likes and faves – and yet we’re always moving on to the next thing. As an app, Fish is a post-Web way of structuring a narrative, a way of enhancing focus by eliminating choice. Taken together, the essay and the app show how the container and the content shape one another. Because you’re reading this on the Web, this is a good place to stop, download the app, read it, and come back. It’s an enjoyable read view tap, eh? Choose the right medium for your message No turns.
How to Write a Memoir - William Zinsser
Essays - Spring 2006 Print Be yourself, speak freely, and think small By William Zinsser One of the saddest sentences I know is “I wish I had asked my mother about that.” Writers are the custodians of memory, and that’s what you must become if you want to leave some kind of record of your life and of the family you were born into. My father, a businessman with no literary pretensions, wrote two family histories in his old age. When my father finished writing his histories he had them typed, mimeographed, and bound in a plastic cover. What my father did strikes me as a model for a family history that doesn’t aspire to be anything more; the idea of having it published wouldn’t have occurred to him. My father’s two histories have steadily grown on me. Above all, there’s the matter of voice. When you write your own family history, don’t try to be a “writer.” I wrote about her once, many years ago, in a memoir for a book called Five Boyhoods. Don’t worry about that problem in advance.
William Zinsser’s 5 tips for becoming a better writer
William Zinsser has spent a lifetime teaching people how to become better writers. Now at 88, the author of “On Writing Well” is just as much a student of the craft as he is a teacher. He’s finding ways to remain relevant as a writer in a digital world because, as he says, he “doesn’t want to get stuck in the 20th century.” About a year ago, he decided to set up a personal website and start a weekly blog for the American Scholar. He still teaches at The New School and Columbia University‘s graduate school of journalism and spends much of his free time reading and writing in his New York City apartment. In a recent phone interview, Zinsser talked with me about the craft and shared these five tips for journalists who want to grow as writers. Learn to take readers on a journey Some of Zinsser’s favorite journalists are The New Yorker’s Mark Singer, Lawrence Wright and Jane Mayer, who he taught years ago at Yale University. “All writing to me is a journey. Write for yourself, not others
7 Steps To Overcoming Writer's Block
Don’t you hate writer’s block? You know you have brilliant ideas, but there’s that damn blank screen staring at you when you sit down to blog. Nothing happens. Many people struggle with writing. First, get over the idea that you have to write a blockbuster blog every time. Blogs are bursts of communications-probably closer to a semi structured email than a traditional article. Here’s 7 starting tips to help you get rolling: Pick your prime time and block out your calendar If you’re a morning person, blog in the morning-that’s when the creative juices are flowing. When finished, do a quick review: Is your blog: Authentic? You should be able to eventually crank out blogs in 1 to 2 hours. One more note: the real key to blogging is coming to the table ready to write; it’s a mindset. You need to make writing part of your life.
