Writing Craft
When (and how) to end
Ending a document (or a chapter or a section) can be troublesome How do you tie all the ideas together and come to some conclusion How do you give readers a sense that the document is coming to a closeAnd then there are questions about the placement of ideas Is this the best place for the main idea The final thought The real take-home messageIf you're writing a novel, maybe you want to build up to a dramatic conclusion My children love Enid Blyton novels, and she's a master of a...
Read moreSound structure = sound document core
As a writer and editor, I spend a lot of time thinking about the structure of documents A poorly structured document can create so many problems for readers ideas that belong together may not be presented together, ideas may not be introduced in a logical order, and important concepts may be explained in the wrong placeWhen I edit the work of others, it's the structure that I focus on most As I read through a draft document, I put together a brief document map (a few-word...
Read more2 space or not 2 space
When you write, are you a double spacer or a single spacer That is, do you leave two spaces after a full stop, or just oneIf any question is guaranteed to start an argument in a writing discussion, it's this one People who learned to type on typewriters (remember them) tend to advocate strongly for two spaces People who have actually been taught wordprocessing (and they're few and far between) prefer to use one And then of course, there are people who don't know, don't care, and don't...
Read moreWhen nouns become verbs
I've never been completely comfortable with nouns that transform into verbs I've learned to put up with 'impact' and 'action' The Telstra person I was speaking to today continually promised to 'action my request', and I barely grimaced I just hope that she really does follow through!But when did 'message' become a verb This morning I received this 'Sorry to message you so late 'Yes, I know, it's all part of the way that language develops And part of the beauty of English is our ability to do...
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