Word of the Day: Bombast
Bombast (bŏm’băst’) means loud-mouthed, inflated speech. Bombast was cotton stuffing used to pad some types of clothing. The adjective is bombastic.
Publishing Horror Stories
Want to know which mistakes to avoid? Here’s a publisher’s perspective. In the latest issue of Publishing Basics, Carolyn Madison reveals some of the errors that make publishers cringe. These include misspellings, poor grammar and punctuation, structural problems, ambiguous messages and inaccurate content.
Cut To The Chase
Cut to the chase is a common expression, meaning get to the point. It’s an exhortation to omit flowery phrases and unnecessary preamble and focus on the core issue. This expression first appeared in newspapers in the 1940s, though it has an older origin in the American film industry.
Conversational Email
One reader, Bruce, wrote in to ask:
I find it curious that the written word now includes expressions clearly intended for verbal exchange. I’m referring to many of the suggestions you provided for email. In an attempt to be accurate and possibly too literal, I have tended to opt out of those uses. Specifically, when using phrases or words such as: “I said”, I use “I stated”, instead of “looking forward to hearing back from you”, I use “looking forward to your response”. What is your take on this?
Review of Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
I’ve finally got round to reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss.
Here’s a book that is not only useful and fun to read, its phenomenal popularity carries a moral for every writer:
Short Story Competition: First Batch is Open for Voting!
When I launched the short story competition last week I was expecting to receive some ten, perhaps fifteen entries. The time frame for submission was not that long in fact. Boy I was wrong. We have over 60 participants!
It would be impossible to post all the entries today, especially since the readers are going to vote on them. By the time one gets to the end of the list, he will probably have already forgotten what was at the top….
That is why we are going to have 7 batches, each with 10 short stories. Each batch will be posted on Mondays, and the readers will have until the following Sunday to vote on their favorite story. Notice that RSS and email subscribers will need to visit the website to be able to cast a vote.
After 7 weeks I will post a batch with the 7 winners, and the final voting session will take place. The three winners with the highest number of votes will win the prizes.
Now without further delay, the first 10 stories. Enjoy!
Word of the Day: Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy (băngk’rŭpt’si) in a financial sense means a state of being unable to pay one’s debts. There are two kinds: liquidation, in which the debts are wiped out or discharged, and reorganization, in which the debtor provides the court with a plan for repayment. Figuratively, bankruptcy can mean a lack of some non-material value, such as “moral bankruptcy.” The adjective is bankrupt.
The KISS Guide To Writing Keyword Rich Articles
Freelance writers are often asked to write keyword rich web content articles. If you don’t know where to begin, here’s the ‘keep it simple’ guide to get you started.
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