Links Tent: Editing Helpers

Here are some resources that will help you edit your writing:

Ask.Oxford.com has a whole "Better Writing" section on their website, including spelling and grammar tips. Do you ever use "adverse" instead of "averse"? (*See note below). Or are unsure if you should write "effect" or "affect"? Check out their commonly confused words page.

Cliché Finder will help you find just the right cliché...or search using keywords to make sure what you've written isn't a cliché. If you're a word geek looking for a time waster, you can also generate ten random clichés.

Writers Free Reference has a wealth of useful links on their site, including sections on grammar and common errors.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers over 200 free resources including style guides, grammar and mechanics and even a Grammar Blog. There is also a section devoted to Workplace Writing and Creative Writing (see the navigation links on the right).


**Note: I know that in my post yesterday I wrote "PITQ: punctuation in the quotation marks. Always." Well, there's always an exception to the rules, and this is an example one. Question marks only go inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quote, so the closing mark in this case belongs on the outside. I was trying to simplify things. Most of the time, you'll find even question marks inside the quotation marks.

Editing Tips

I've been doing a lot of editing over the last week or so, and have found some common mistakes in not just my writing, but that of others. I thought I'd share a few simple rules that I've repeatedly seen broken.

• Keep it simple. Don't use four words, or even three, when two will do. And don't use 12 letters when 5 will do. Big words don't impress anyone, except perhaps the people who publish dictionaries and the judges of grade three spelling bees. 
• Get rid of qualifiers. Actually, really, sort of, very, just (that's my big one) do nothing to improve your writing. 
• Get rid of all--or at least most--of your adverbs. You know, those pesky "-ly" words. Use a stronger verb instead. Not "she said haltingly," but "she stammered."
• Get rid of most of the adjectives. Used sparingly, adjectives can add rich details to your prose, but piling them on will lessen the impact of your description.
  

And a few bonus proofreading tips:

• PITQ: Punctuation inside the quotation marks. Always.
• You're all right, not alright. Always.
• It's till, not 'til. Till is a perfectly good word (as is until), but 'til is just plain old-fashioned.