Communication Expressway Ezine

Judy Vorfeld's Communication Expressway Issue 78

  January - March 2011 - Issue #78



  INTRO


* These days, more and more people are launching blogs. And writing eBooks. I wrote the following article to help keep them focused. I realize that few small businesspeople and individuals can afford an editor, so I'm offering some tools to make their writing more consistent. It's a different slant, but I suspect it will help some readers take the plunge into publishing. I hope so.

One of the things that using a style guide does is to keep the writer in the mindset of the reader. And that's a good thing.

* Perhaps you noticed that I'm writing on a quarterly basis now. It will give me more time to research the things that interest you.

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  ARTICLE - How to Write with Style by Judy Vorfeld


What is a style guide, and why should I use one?

Are you new to the writing game, and ready to write a book? Or an article? Or a website or blog? Here's a way to make life easier: set up a style guide and use it as you write.

What do I mean by style guide? Basically, a style guide is a writer's guidelines. It could be one that's published, or one you create. The key: give your readers consistency. You can't remember everything, can you? You'll face decisions such as: is it "website" or "web site"? Or "internet" or "Internet"?

Every time I edit articles, I ask the writer if there is a style guide I should follow. Most works require a style guide. Guidelines vary. Widely. I recently edited articles for a client: one was for a professional journal (with online guidelines) and two were for The Huffington Post (very different). Today I will start another for a professional journal, with yet a completely different style (online guidelines).

Sometimes space is part of the consideration, as with Associated Press. Journalists know that every space counts in newspapers and magazines. And the AP Stylebook has specifics for many things, e.g., capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling, numerals, and usage.

Much depends on your subject. Writing fiction? You might want to use Chicago Manual of Style. For general business, you might choose The Gregg Reference Manual by Sabin. If you're writing nonfiction, you might want to research whether the publisher requires a specific printed style guide, like those produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Medical Association (AMA).

Whatever works! For the publisher, that is.

For books, articles, and blogs, use the style guide recommended by the owner/publisher, unless you are self publishing. If you choose to create your own style guide, start by setting up the parameters of your book in these areas (and there can be many more):

  • Abbreviations, Capitalization, Possessives, Plurals, Punctuation, Spelling.
  • Citing Sources.
  • Cultural/Religious Sensitivities, Avoiding Gender Bias, etc.
  • Dates, Numbers, Places.
  • Formatting (indents, margins, headers, footers, etc.).
  • Headings.
  • Internet (Technical) Terms.
  • Lists (bullets, numbers, etc.).
  • Typography. "Typography," says Wikipedia, "is the art and technique of arranging type, type design..." Arranging type involves selecting typefaces, point size, line length, leading (line spacing), adjusting the spaces between groups of letters (tracking) and adjusting the space between pairs of letters (kerning).

Summary: it won't hurt to investigate the wonderful world of style guides. Go ahead: stretch!

Here are a few style guides and resources to give you an idea of how to write consistently:

A site with proofreader's and editor's symbols
http://www.utexas.edu/visualguidelines/proofreaders.html

The Elements of Style (which mentions that you must know the rules in order to break them)
http://www.bartleby.com/141/

Judy Vorfeld's The Writing Center Style & Style Guides
http://www.editingandwritingservices.com/writingresources.html#style

Literacy Education Online: LEO Write Place Catalog
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/catalogue.html

Lynch Guide to Grammar and Style (Lynch says there are countless writing guides, most of them awful.)
http://ethnicity.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

Net Lingo
http://www.netlingo.com

Polished Presentations by Judy Vorfeld
http://www.ossweb.com/presentations.html

The Ultimate Style Guide Resources for MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE
http://tinyurl.com/4qzqghh

Writer's Style Guide: University of Texas at Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/visualguidelines/styleguide.html

Wikipedia: Style guide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style_guide

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  THE OFFICE CORNER


1. HOW C.R.A.P IS YOUR SITE DESIGN?
http://thinkvitamin.com/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/

2. WHY WORDS MATTER: BLOG POST BY CHUCK BLAKEMAN
http://tinyurl.com/4ocnzoj

3. TUTORIAL: HOW TO ADD VIDEO TO YOUR FACEBOOK WELCOME PAGE
http://www.reelseo.com/video-facebook-page/

4. GREETINGS IN MORE THAN 1600 LANGUAGES:
http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers/index.htm

5. AP STYLEBOOK: IT'S NOW EMAIL, INSTEAD OF E-MAIL
http://tinyurl.com/66c7h2q

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  GRAMMAR QUESTION OF THE MONTH
  A and An before a word beginning with "h"


"An historical book" is not idiomatic in American English. Before a pronounced "h," the indefinite article should be "a." A hotel; a historical. Therefore, precede a word beginning with a "breathy" "h" with an "a."

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  TECH TIPS BY TERENCE KIERANS - MICROSOFT WORD


Indent paragraphs with one click

The usual way to indent paragraphs is to drag Word's First Line Indent marker to the desired position on the ruler. However, this method easily leads to changing the left margin instead.

There is another method that enables indenting with a single click:

  • Highlight the paragraph or paragraphs to be indented.
  • Display the horizontal ruler, if it is not already showing.
  • Click on the button at the left end of this ruler until it displays the "First Line Indent" marker.
  • Click on the ruler where you want the indent set.
  • To indent your paragraph one inch, click "1" on the ruler.

To set a hanging indent choose the "Hanging Indent" marker before choosing the amount.

Terence Kierans
Cyberspace Virtual Services
tkierans@virtualservices.com.au
http://www.virtualservices.com.au/
We keep your project on the boil, while you sleep

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  WRITING CORNER


1. TOP 10 INNOVATIVE FONTS OF 2010: http://tinyurl.com/2bws6qm

2. 10 MEDIA PITCHING TIPS FOR NEW ENTREPRENEURS
http://www.bloggingprweb.com/10-pitching-tips-for-entrepreneurs

3. KNOWLEDGE BASE EDITOR'S DIGEST
This Digest consists of articles and abstracts from the Montague Institute Review and content from other publications and Web sites.
http://www.montague.com/Digest/digest.htm

4. WRITING WORLD: MOIRA ALLEN
http://www.writing-world.com/index.shtml

5. THE WRITE WORD EASY EDITING AND SPIFFY STYLE GUIDE
Just published by friend and word wiz Tom Bentley. Whether you're a copywriter who can't afford to hire an editor, an in-house copyeditor honing your chops, or someone who wants to add fresh air to their writing efforts-while ensuring that no sentences have flat tires-The Write Word's Easy Editing and Spiffy Style Guide is for you. And at less than ten bucks, it's a steal.
http://www.tombentley.com/easy-editing-spiffy-style-guide.html

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  WORD OF THE MONTH: pince-nez


Main Entry:pince-nez
Pronunciation:pa-s-*n*, pan(t)s-
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural pince-nez \-*n*(z)\
Etymology:French, from pincer to pinch + nez nose, from Latin nasus - more
at NOSE Date:1876

: eyeglasses clipped to the nose by a spring

*By permission. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary at www.m-w.com by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

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  RECOMMENDATIONS


1. HOW TO MAKE BETTER VIDEOS: Vimeo Video School
http://vimeo.com/videoschool

2. FONTSY.COM: resource for 15,000 different fonts
http://www.fontsy.com/theme_30.html

3. BEFORE & AFTER: DESIGN IT YOURSELF
Powerful video tutorials for designing logos, designing without graphics, the visual oxymoron, and much more.
http://www.bamagazine.com/Articles.asp?ID=172

4. COLOR SCHEME DESIGNER
http://colorschemedesigner.com/

5. COLOR SCHEMER ONLINE
http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html

6. MINIMALIST PHOTOGRAPHY 101
http://minimalistphotography101.com/

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  JUDY'S CORNER


Spring has sprung in Arizona. And then it went on vacation. But that's not unusual for March. I've been able to get out and photograph some very interesting places. Check my online photo gallery for samples. I used shots from White Tank Mountain Regional Park at Waddell, Arizona, and Sahuaro Ranch Park in Glendale, Arizona

See you in June!

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  JUDY'S PHOTO GALLERY


Yellow Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Yellow Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Petroglyphs at White Tank Mountain Regional Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Petroglyphs at White Tank Mountain Regional Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

White Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

White Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Petroglyphs at White Tank Mountain Regional Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Petroglyphs at White Tank Mountain Regional Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Pink Rosebud at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Pink Rosebud at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Pink Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Pink Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

Red Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld</font>Red Rose at Sahuaro Ranch Park Photographed and redigitized by Judy Vorfeld

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Judy's websites:

Digifeld
Office Support Services
Editing and Writing Services
Webgrammar
Judy's Personal Site

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Contact Judy Vorfeld at judyvorfeld@ossweb.com

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