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
Infographic: The Optimal Length for Every Social Media Update How long should my tweet be? Or my blogpost? Or my headline? I ask this question a lot. It seems that others do, too. I’d love to see if I can help make it even more useful. Along with all the best tips on optimal lengths for tweets, blogposts, headlines, and more, I’ve added a few additional lengths to the list—the ones that came up most often in the comments of the last post, like SlideShare length, Pinterest length, and more. And to make it just as easy as possible to consume all this information quickly and easily, we partnered with our friends at SumAll to place the data and insights into a fun infographic. Infographic: The optimal length for social media updates and more Click to enlarge. Share this image on your site! <p><strong>Please include attribution to with this graphic. If you enjoy the snazzy look and helpful info in this infographic, SumAll published a companion infographic (in a super cool, printable pdf format) over on their blog. If you want this …
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.
A Scientific Guide to Writing Great Headlines on Blogs, Social Media Ever since we started Buffer a little over 2 years ago, people have been asking us about one question very specifically: How can I write great headlines for social networks and my blog? The topic is a very tricky one, as the accuracy for what works best is hard to nail down. Whilst we have some specific techniques that we are using for our own postings and article headlines every day, I thought looking at the most cutting edge research is definitely required. So I thought of combining all the research we’ve done for the Buffer social accounts and our blog as well as the best research out there and combining them into one comprehensive guide. Without any further ado, here is a scientific guide to great copywriting on Twitter, Facebook and your blog: What works best on Twitter? Finding the right headline for your Tweet is one of the most important things to do, especially as Twitter only allows for text display. Test it yourself – here is how 1.) 2.) 3.) First Tweet: Second Tweet: Example:
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.
EUROPA - The European flag The European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe. It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background. They stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity. History of the European flag The history of the flag goes back to 1955. In 1983, the European Parliament decided that the Communities’ flag should be that used by the Council of Europe. Commemorative euro coin: 30 years of the EU flag To mark the 30th anniversary of the decision by EU leaders to adopt the flag as an EU emblem, the 19 euro area countries are issuing a special commemorative coin. EU emblem
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.