Politics and the English Language, Rule 5
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 21st, 2009
Rule 5: Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Nobody likes a know-it-all. For convenience’s sake, let’s refer to all language that may baffle your readers as “jargon.” Orwell feels that using jargon is “never” a good idea. In the best case, Read the full article…
WineCollective.ca: Don’t Let “Pour” Writing Sour a Great Service
Posted by yoursinwriting in Examples on April 18th, 2009
I recently became a member of WineCollective.ca; their catchphrase is “Extraordinary wines to your door,” and they have lived up to that challenging promise so far (you can read my review of the service on my personal blog). When they delivered my first package, I was impressed: two beautiful bottles, with a professional-looking insert. The Read the full article…
Politics and the English Language, Rule 4
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 14th, 2009
Rule 4: “Never use the passive where you can use the active.” For most people, identifying passive voice is like finding a dangling participle in a metaphorical haystack. Let’s look at an example: Active voice: Andy embraced Vivian. Passive voice: Vivian was embraced by Andy. Not only does the active voice usually require fewer words (making Read the full article…
Politics and the English Language, Rule 3
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on April 7th, 2009
Get out your scissors for George Orwell’s 3rd rule for better writing.
Politics and the English Language, Rule 2
Posted by yoursinwriting in Writing Tips on March 30th, 2009
This post is part of a series dedicated to George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English Language. Rule 2: “Never use a long word where a short one will do.” There is an important nuance to this rule: Orwell urges for truth through clarity, but not at the expense of the message. He is not Read the full article…
PRK Laser Eye Surgery Two Years Later
Posted by yoursinwriting in Personal on March 25th, 2009
I had PRK laser eye surgery in January 2007. See how I am in 2009.
Extreme(ly Free) Editing
Posted by yoursinwriting in How It Works on March 24th, 2009
Learn how the “Extreme Edits” part of the site works.
Why WordPress is the Best Blogging Platform, Period
Posted by yoursinwriting in Blogging Tips on March 23rd, 2009
Starting a blog? Here’s why you should use WordPress.
Twitter is Dead. Facebook is in Custody.
Posted by yoursinwriting in Blogging Tips on March 16th, 2009
Twitter is awesome. But that may not be enough for it to survive.
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