The Subversive Copy Editor Blog

Are You a Difficult Writer?

 

"Of Flames and Shadows," by Markus Röncke

Difficult writers and difficult people tend to share some characteristics; you might already know whether you are one or not. If you feel that being difficult is something you do well and rather enjoy, then carry on. Otherwise, let me offer a bit of self-examination and amateur therapy.

(Read more.)

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 Download the Kindle edition of Moonlight Blogger, $2.99

Also in paperback, $5.99, here.

 

 

The SCE Blog on Kindle Is Free! (Through Friday)

 

Dear Readers,

For those of you who missed the first year of this blog and would like to read those posts at leisure or on the run, I've collected them into book form under the title Moonlight Blogger, which this week is available to Kindle users for $0.00 (free!).

I would make it free forever if Amazon would let me, but after Friday it will revert to its usual price of $2.99. You can read more about the collection here. You can download it here.

Feel free to spread the word! Reviews are welcome. And thank you for reading.

Yours,

Carol

 

 

Citing a Tweet (It’s Not Just for Twits)

 

 

Icons by http://dryicons.com

There was online chatter recently when the Modern Language Association posted its style for citing a tweet. This didn’t surprise me. What surprised me was the amount of backlash from commenters who are still shocked at the idea of Twitter as a legitimate source of information for scholars; who cling to the idea that Twitter data consists only of what millions of users ate for breakfast; who not only choose to remain stubbornly ignorant of the technology, but are willing to boast of it in public.

Tsk.

(Read more.)

 

Old-Style Versus Lining Figures

 

Old-style figures work best in some contexts.
(Photo by Duval Guillaume.)

Something you might or might not notice when you read a book or journal article is the style of any numerals that turn up in the text. If you don’t notice, that’s a good thing, and it is probably thanks to a professional graphic designer who put some thought into specifying the right style for that text.

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When Style and Grammar Rules Elude You

Photo by Spencer Ritenour

Few things are as annoying as not being able to find something, especially when it was within sight only moments ago. But at least in most cases you know what you’re looking for—keys, dog, car—and you’re pretty sure it exists.

Searching for a style or grammar rule can be tougher. You don’t always know whether there actually is one, much less what it’s called, and those are serious impediments to figuring out where it might be hiding. In years of reading questions e-mailed to the Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A, I’ve surmised a few reasons why writers can’t find a rule, and some strategies for bringing one to bay.

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Which Shortening Is Best? Ibid., Op. Cit., Loc. Cit., Etc.

Photo by Phil Dokas

Although I have complained about the misuse of citation software, it’s not as though I believe the quaint and perhaps dying method of hand-composing citations to be a cure-all. At least the software mangles the format consistently, which allows a copy editor to put certain gaffes right by means of global searches.

In contrast, when homemade notes fail to follow a system, they fail in myriad ways.

(Read more.)