Usually, when you’re considering the spelling of a word, there’s a right spelling and a wrong spelling, plain and simple. But sometimes, a word can have more than one spelling that’s technically correct, much like a word can have more than one pronunciation (such as “read,” for example). A secondary spelling of a word isn’t necessarily always wrong: It’s just less right, less common — and therefore less likely to look correct to the reader. Here are a few examples we’ve spotted Read more [...]

In the field of freelance writing (and writing in general), the 98-pound weakling of sentences is the one written in passive voice. It’s a wimp, a sentence in which the subject doesn’t want to step up and take responsibility for its action. Consider this sentence: “The last ice cream sandwich was eaten earlier today.” Sure, this is an informative sentence if I’m headed toward the freezer (and disappointment) looking for a snack. But it’s passive, an indirect and more wordy way Read more [...]

During the course of your writing career, you might find yourself needing to share news about a company, product, or event. One great place to get some potential free publicity is from the news media — write a good press release, send it out, and you might find that they’ll publish or broadcast your announcement or even cover it themselves as a full-on news story. The first thing you’ll want to consider when you’re thinking about writing a press release is your audience. Is this something Read more [...]

Sometimes, the world of grammar can be as clear as mud. To some extent, once you get past a certain age, your use of the English language becomes largely instinctive, and then, all of a sudden, some teacher is trying to slap labels on parts of sentences and make you remember them all. To make it worse, sometimes, people use different terms to refer to the same thing. Subordinate clause? Restrictive clause? Independent clause? Santa Claus? It can all be a jumble. Luckily, I’m here to help. Clause Read more [...]

Every writer knows that they should spell-check their work — but what if the words you use are spelled correctly, but they’re still wrong? Sometimes, it’s not the spelling that’s the problem; grammatical issues can get in the way even when every word in a sentence is in the dictionary. Let’s look at a few examples. Who’s That? One issue I come across fairly often is confusion between “who” and “that.” Plenty of people have written sentences like, “Bicycling is Read more [...]