Editing Tip of the Week: All the Right Words

Sometimes the easiest words confuse us. We say them all the time, but when we write them down, the words don’t look right. Is already one word or two? While we’re on the subject, is all right two words or one?

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, there are uses for both already and all ready. Already refers to time, as in Did you already buy the tickets? All ready refers to preparation, as in Are those documents all ready? But Chicago states that all right is the correct use, and urges us to avoid alright.

This all makes sense when we take the time to think about it, and these are easy rules to remember. A simple rule also applies to the use of altogether vs. all together. Altogether is used to mean entirely or wholly – the show was altogether disastrous. All together is used for the unity of time or place, as in We were all together for the celebration.

If we take a moment to think about what we’re really saying, we will avoid misusing some of the more basic words. That leaves a lot more time to focus on the bigger words.

And yes, a lot is two words, not one.

For more tips, visit http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/

Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Monday, December 29
Take a break between holiday celebrations and have a Mellow Monday at Seattle's Bai Pai Thai. Enjoy poetry, music, and happy hour as you prepare to say good-bye to the snow and hello to 2009.
Where: Bai Pai Thai, 2316 NE 65th St., Suite 101, Seattle, WA 98115
When: 8:00pm
For more info, visit www.baipairestaurant.com or call 206-527-4800

Date: Wednesday, December 31
Celebrate New Year's Eve with the whole family. Many Borders Bookstores in the Portland area are hosting a New Year's Eve Kids Party that's sure to entertain every family member. There will be games, crafts, and a special parade to countdown to 2009.
Where: Borders Downtown Portland, among other locations in Tigard, Beaverton, Gresham, and Vancouver
When: 2:00pm
For more info and locations, visit www.borders.com

Date: Saturday, January 3
The Green Lake Branch of the Seattle Public Library hosts the Poets West Reader's Choice event where participants choose reading from works of poetry, prose, or concerning a public issue. Featured readers will read in five-minute segments, and open mike readers will read in three-minute segments.
Where: Green Lake Branch, 7364 E Green Lake Dr N, Seattle, WA 98115
When: 4:00pm
Cost: Free
For more info, visit www.spl.org or call 206-684-7547

Editing Tip of the Week: Avoiding Misplaced Modifiers

We all want to produce clear, concise writing. We spell check, read out loud to catch poor sentence structure, ask others to proofread, and then go through it all again. But sometimes there are mistakes that go unnoticed. One of the most common mistakes involves misplaced modifiers. The simple rule of placing modifiers with the words they modify is not easily followed, according to Sharon Schuman at the University of Oregon. In her Top Ten Tips for Effective Writing, she refers to an example from Strunk and White that illustrates the problem. In the sentence He only found two mistakes, the meaning is ambiguous. Does the writer mean that there were more than two mistakes? It’s unclear. By moving the sentence around to read He found only two mistakes, the sentence leaves nothing to question.

If a sentence sounds unintentionally ambiguous or just plain awkward, it could be due to a misplaced modifier. It could be an adverb like only, just, merely, nearly, or almost. Or it could be a misplaced phrase or clause that changes the intended meaning of the sentence. I found one of the funniest examples of this on Towson University’s online writing support site. In the sentence The waiter served the dinner roll to the woman that was well-buttered, it appears that the woman is well-buttered, not the dinner roll. Although the roll is the more obvious choice for being the buttered subject, the phrasing is still awkward. Changing it to The waiter served the well-buttered dinner roll to the woman erases any chance of confusion or laughter.

To avoid writing humorous sentences when none are intended, make sure modifiers go with the words they are meant to modify. This may require more than simply moving the modifier. You may need to restructure the whole sentence to make it clear and concise.

For more information, visit www.bartleby.com for Strunk and White’s tips;
www.uoregon.edu/~sschuman/tentips98 ; www.towson.edu/ows/moduleDangling

Editing Tip of the Week: Simple Solutions for Bloated Sentences

Chicago Manual of Style continues to surprise me. I just read that the word till is perfectly acceptable to use in a sentence, as in The cafe is open till midnight. But till is not the conjunction of until and shouldn't be written as 'til. I am guilty of writing it as such, and I'm enjoying this moment of awakening. Sometimes the seemingly more complicated word usage is wrong. That should make any writer feel a bit of relief.

Words and phrases that sometimes complicate and jumble our sentences are broken down by Chicago. The manual refers to the term numerous as a bloated way of saying many. The long-winded due to the fact that is dismissed with the instruction to use because instead. Chicago even dislikes the phrase in excess of, preferring the simple more than or even over.

These are examples of phrases that we tend to use to overcompensate for our uncertainties in writing. You may roll your eyes at the mantra less is more, so try remembering that sometimes when you write more than is necessary, readers may read less and only skim for the true point in your work. And no writer should settle for that.

Visit http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ for more solutions.

Spotlighted Literary Events

Date: Wednesday, December 17
Spitfire Grill in Seattle hosts the Seattle Poetry Slam's Women of the World Finals with featured poet Taalam Acey. There are weekly poetry slams featuring some of the best spoken word artists, some of whom have gone on to the National Poetry Slam contests. Each Wednesday night, join the supportive atmosphere for open mic, a featured poet, and of course, a poetry slam.
Where: Spitfire Grill, 2219 4th Ave.; Seattle, WA 98121
When: 8:00pm
Cost: $5 cover charge; 21 and over; ID required
For more info, visit www.seattlepoetryslam.org

Date: Wednesday, December 17
Celebrate the successful publication of San Francisco State University's Fall 2008 literary journal, Fourteen Hills, at the Bollyhood Cafe in San Francisco. Reading their works from the journal are contributors Barbara Jane Reyes, Craig Santos Perez, Michael McAllister, Dustin Wells, and Jeff O'Keefe. Enjoy food, beverages, and a raffle throughout the evening of poetry, non-fiction, fiction, plays, and literary non-fiction.
Where: Bollyhood Cafe, 3372 19th St. (at Mission); San Francisco, CA 94110
When: 7:00pm
Cost: Free
For more info, visit www.bollyhoodcafe.com

Date: Thursday, December 18
In Other Words Bookstore hosts a night of reading entitled West Meets West. Portland poets Heather Lane and Franciszka Voeltz share the stage with Vancouver B.C. poets Jen Curin and Christine Lecleic. After the readings there will be an acoustic performance by Pelican Ossman.
Where: In Other Words Bookstore, 8 NE Killingsworth; Portland, OR 97211
When: 7:00pm
Cost: Free
For more info, visit www.inotherwords.org