Odd bits and pieces of editorial wisdom. (Or stupidity, depending on how you look at it.)- Don't use colons after a heading. I mean, it's a heading, it's already separated from the body text. Why add a colon? It's redundant.
- While we're at it, stop using underline in headings too. Also redundant. And annoying.
- We ought to stop using "upon" when "on" works just as well and doesn't sound quite so pretentious.
- A reminder: Quotation marks go OUTSIDE the punctuation in nearly all instances. Outside. Outside. Outside.
- Stop using "and/or." That's just plain lazy. Writers should know the difference between the two. And if you think I'm the only person who fights against and/or, check this out: http://writingmatters.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/using-andor-in-a-sentence-is-just-plain-dumb.html
- Hopefully, no one will use "hopefully" to mean "I hope." It means "full of hope." If you hope something will happen, say that. Don't say "Hopefully something will happen." Oh, ugh.
I love this!!! How about, " I wish I were" vs "I wish I was?" (shake my pointy little head)
ReplyDeleteActually there's a really simple rule for those. If it's possible at all, it should be "was." If it's clearly impossible, it's "were." For instance, I wish I was Governor of the state. I could be Governor. Not without a tremendous amount of money and the support of enough citizens, but it's possible. So it gets a "was."
ReplyDeleteBut this: I wish I were 6 feet tall. It's just not possible for me to become taller, so it gets a "were."
Hope that helps!
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