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Write Justified

Write Justified
Sticks and Stones and Words Can Hurt

In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election cycle, prepare to hear some unsavory comments, even name-calling among candidates. Here’s…
July 22, 2017
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The Times They Are A-Changin’

As languages go, English is fairly young. It’s been about 1400 years since the Anglo-Saxons imported English into Great…
June 27, 2017
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Can You Hear It Now?

A number of grammatical faux pas can be attributed to faulty hearing. I’m not implying that any of you…
May 27, 2017
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Is that a Question? Or Not?

This may seem hard to believe, but How often don’t you ask a rhetorical question. One that you…
April 27, 2017
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Beware These Confusables

Because spellcheck, wonderful as it may be, doesn’t catch words used improperly … And because the English language…
March 27, 2017
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The Common Comma – Part 3

Bryan Garner, author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage, and a raft of other books on English…
March 27, 2017
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Before You Hire an Editor

You’ve written your masterpiece. Or at least a short story, novel, or essay you believe worthy of publication.…
March 26, 2017
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The Common Comma – Part II

The comma is one of those punctuation marks that has an outsized impact in relationship to its size.…
January 27, 2017
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The Common Comma

Plenty of ink has been spilled and battles fought over the necessity and superiority of the Oxford or serial…
December 26, 2016
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Point of View (Part 2)-by Judy Hagey

Third Person In my last post, I explained that Point of View is one of the choices writers have…
November 29, 2016
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It’s All a Matter of Perspective

Twice in the last year, my husband and I have made the trip from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado.…
October 28, 2016
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Idioms–Literary Shorthand

As if English with its homophones and irregular verbs weren’t confusing enough, how about those idioms? Oh sure,…
September 27, 2016
Uncategorized, Write Justified
Confused No More

As an editor, I frequently encounter homonym errors. Someone writes whether when they intend weather. Or peek when the…
June 11, 2016
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Mind Those Apostrophes

When editors are asked to name their pet peeves, misuse of apostrophes ranks at or near the top of…
May 17, 2016
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When 2 + 2 Still Don’t = 4

Now that you’ve mastered the basics of plurals (see 2 + 2 Doesn’t Always = 4), let’s look at…
April 26, 2016
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2 + 2 Doesn’t Always Equal 4

Students of English learn quickly that to every rule, there is an exception; sometimes the exception is the rule.…
March 18, 2016
Uncategorized, Write Justified
How’s Your Posture?

One of the occupational hazards of the writing-editing life is back and/or neck pain as a result of poor…
February 27, 2016
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Are You Editing? or Editorializing?

Every writer needs an editor or at least a proofreader. Even experienced writers benefit from another pair of eyes…
February 12, 2016
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Look Back to Move Ahead

A few days before the deadline for this blog I had some time to begin thinking about the next…
January 12, 2016
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Making a Point–Indirectly

Let’s categorize these three figures of speech as “substitutions.” We’re going to explore three devices that make a point…
November 27, 2015
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If I’ve Said It Once…

To paraphrase that wise king Solomon, “There’s a time and place for everything.” For writers, that includes repetition, despite…
October 24, 2015
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To Join or Not to Join – That’s the Rhetorical Device

Last month I introduced the concept of rhetorical devices. We started with a couple familiar devices that students of…
September 10, 2015
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Life is Like…

Rhetorical questions don’t require (or deserve) an answer. Do they? But how about those rhetorical devices—those figures of speech…
August 29, 2015
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5 Words That Spellcheck Won’t Catch

Thanks to computer technology you no longer need to be a great speller to be a writer. If you…
July 30, 2015