Tag: written

We don’t need no stinkin’ italics!

95 Comments
[found on grammar.quickanddirtytips.com]
Did you know…when you italicize a word or phrase,  the following punctuation should NOT be in italics?
Here are some more fun facts:
“…a medium-sized list of things you probably should italicize. Just be sure to double-check the style guide you’re supposed to use, as rules vary. Here goes:
      • foreign words not yet assimilated into English—more on that later;
      • legal citations;
      • letters of the alphabet when you’re referring to them as letters;
      • scientific names;
      • titles of works, including books, plays, short stories, very long poems, newspapers, and magazines;
      • titles of movies and radio and television series;
      • names of operas and long musical compositions;
      • and names of paintings and sculptures (1).
      • You might also be asked to italicize the names of famous speeches, the titles of pamphlets, the names of vehicles (such as Challenger), and words used as words (2).”
[found on http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-use-italics.aspx]

Struggling with lie, lay, lain, laid, lying, laying….?

2 Comments

When do you use them? And HOW?

Here is a simple breakdown to guide your pen:

Screen Shot 2013-06-08 at 7.09.52 PM

How does this correlate to the page—in the real world of writing?

Let’s take a look:

PRESENT TENSE:

      • I am going to lie down on the floor.
      • Henry lay his book on the floor.

PAST TENSE:

      • Yesterday, Henry lay in the hammock before dinner.
      • Yesterday, I laid the book in the hammock before dinner.

PAST PARTICIPLE:

      • He had lain in the sand two hours before they left.
      • He had laid the lunchbox in the sand two hours before they left.

Bitter writer? Or Better writer?

Leave a comment
[found on goinswriter.com]

“Anyone who writes is a writer, but that doesn’t mean they’re a very good one. So let’s talk about how to become a better writer. We’ll begin with the basics — here are seven key lessons:

    • Writing is simple, but not easy.
    • Before you get a larger audience, you have to get better.
    • Practice makes you better; it’s the repetitions that make it effortless.
    • Until you put your work out there, you’re only screwing around. Write for real.
    • You can’t practice without discipline. Keep showing up and persevering.
    • There will always be resistance; type through it, anyway.
    • Get over your excuses and do the work.”

[found on http://goinswriter.com/writing-tips]