Monday, December 08, 2008
Holt Uncensored � The Ten Mistakes
Holt Uncensored � The Ten Mistakes: "Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)"
Monday, October 13, 2008
Copy editing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copy editing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The “Five Cs” summarize the copy editor's job: make the copy (i) clear, (ii) correct, (iii) concise, (iv) comprehensible, and (v) consistent; that is: make it say what it means, and mean what it says. Typically, copy editing involves correcting spelling, punctuation, grammar, terminology and semantics; ensuring that the typescript adheres to the publisher's house style; and adding headlines and standardized headers, footers, etc."
Friday, September 26, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Improve Your Writing - Table of Contents
Improve Your Writing - Table of Contents
University of Bristol online tutorial
University of Bristol online tutorial
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
What is a style guide and why do I need one
What is a style guide and why do I need one: "What is a Style Guide and Why Would I Need One?"
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
1. Could I put it more shortly?
2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
Source: George Orwell http://www.resort.com/%7Eprime8/Orwell/patee.html
belly rumbles and beyond
Belly rumbles and beyond
George G Clark, 26 January 2008
Martin Amis is a famous novelist and journalist. The University of Manchester is buying his services for £3000 per hour. The wages of wordsmithery catches up with fabulous football! So what is so valuable about stringing words together?
There are those of whom it might be said, "They open their mouths and let their bellies rumble". These are the neurotic motor-mouths who are an endless, flowing source of trivia and gossip. They are the chatter boxes who verbalise the dynamic churn of thoughts and feelings in their brain and who jump quickly from one topic to another. They are afflicted with verbal diarrhoea. Friends and family might be excused for wondering, "Do they never shut up".
In contrast there are those of whom it might be said, "I could listen to them all day". These are life's natural story tellers - the entertaining raconteurs who have a way with words. The finest of them are our poets, novelists, journalists and stand up comedians. The chosen few become well known as media talking heads. They have the gift of selecting items from the dynamic churn and making them into stories with a beginning, middle, end, and a tantalising twist.
Then there are the silent types of whom people wonder 'if the cat has got their tongue'. There are two flavours. Some are introverted and shy – the blushing wallflowers and shrinking violets. Given a supportive environment they might morph into the other categories.
But there are also those of whom it might be said, "Still waters run deep". These are the silent, peaceful people who appear "comfortable in their own skin". They have mastered the art of stillness; they 'let go' their passing thoughts and feelings. These quiet souls appreciate that "the reality which can be described is not the real reality". They embody the ancient view that, "Those who speak do not know, and those who know do not speak". Quietly smiling.
So there are chatterboxes, story-tellers and quiet-souls. The University of Manchester's creative writing department has put a high price on the story-teller. What price the chatter box and the quiet-soul?
"Look wise, say nothing, and grunt. Speech was given to conceal thought." - Sir William Osler
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