Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

November 9th, 2009

Ten Grammar Rules to Gobble Up: Your Work Will Thank You!

Fall into the correct pattern!

Fall into the correct grammar patterns!

November is a month to give thanks to loved ones, health and happiness. Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes (both at home and in the office), so I decided to make a list of my Grammar Pet Peeves with easy-to-remember rules to cure the bad copywriting bug that’s been going around lately.  ;-)

(Please note: a few I already mentioned on the Blue Tide Productions Blog, but thought they were important enough to reiterate.)

1. Review your sentences and remove the word “that.” In most cases, your sentences still make sense without that word. The more you can condense your sentences and tighten up copy, the better.

2.   Finally, an easy way to remember they’re, their, and there!:

They are = they’re. Think of it as a drunken slur, you are just running the words together quickly.

So clearly, their = the “other” one, used for possessive. Easy to remember because an “heir” gets stuff. It just has a T in front of it.

And lastly, “there” indicates a location or destination. Also easy to remember because it is like the word “here” (another location/destination) with a T in front of it.

I.e. They’re going to pick up their car from there.

3. Capitalization versus little letters? Depending on the type of site and copy you are crafting, capitalization comes into play in a big way.

The Big Game. A powerful title, needing all caps.

That’s what SHE said. (Self explanatory.)

Eenie,meenie, miney mo…I may choose not to capitalize any of this sentence if I think the viewer will get the ambiguous feeling better without them. Read more…

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September 18th, 2009

The Double-edged Sword of a Passionate Career

1033119_pen_mightier_than_swordThey say to write what you know.

Well, I know about energy, passion, and brainstorming.

I also am one of the few people that recognized what they loved to do at an early age, with my first published literary masterpiece* printed in the 4th grade.

*By masterpiece, I mean a compilation of my schoolwork that my teacher loved so much that she found a printer to sponsor a beautiful rendition of my compiled essays.

However, there is a double-edged sword in having a profession where you love what you do every single day. Read more…

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July 22nd, 2009

Creative Mood Music: Songs to help Stir Creativity

1120219_wave_ravePlay the music, not the instrument. ~Author Unknown

Creativity cannot be rushed. Yet for it to be productive, it must.

What music helps you “put blinders on” so that you only see your canvas / screen / notepad / sketchpad?

“Creative Mood Music” that helps stir creativity: Read more…

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