What my blog looks like. Photo by David Watson.
Here are some posts this week I’d strongly recommend you check out if you have a second.
Repetition Compulsion
Sad cat is sad. Image from The Frisky.
In his post called “Repetition Compulsion,” Ben Yagoda explores the trouble writers run into with unintentional-yet-unavoidable wordly repetition. I’ve noticed that purposeful repetition is kind of hip in modern writing (see photo caption) , so it’s good to see some perspective: sometimes repetition is just lazy writing.
Desperately Seeking Synonyms
The ever awesome Constance Hale (author of Sin and Syntax) has a great column right now on the New York Times‘ Opinionator. This post is just fun for anyone interested in writing. Her quote here sums things up quite nicely: “Writers sometimes forget that the primary role of nouns is to paint a clear picture, and they pile up abstractions and leave us clueless as to the people, places, things or ideas they are writing about.” Why I never! I mean, the audacity of…(shuffles off to edit work).
How to use properly use images online (without getting sued)
Attention, everyone! You can’t steal people’s photos or artwork and use it for your purposes without permission, attribution, or compensation. Sorry about that. A company I once worked for liked to simply “borrow” people’s stuff and use it in their own advertising. Yea. No permission, attribution, or compensation. Ridiculous. Read this post.
How readable is your writing?
Bob Kelly blogs over on Nonfiction Book Editor about the readability of your writing. He uses as an example the tool Readability-Score.com, which is what it sounds like. I don’t necessarily agree with the thought of putting too much stock in a tool like this, but it’s very cool and worth checking out.
Brands in the San Francisco Wilderness
I can’t praise Fritinancy enough. I love this blog. And it’s owner, Nancy Friedman, posted this bit about “Names in the Wild,” one thread in a fancy sweater of “Names” posts. In a nutshell, this post sees Nancy traipsing around San Francisco and analyzing various interesting store names. This is a great exercise for anyone interested in branding or content.
One of your biggest grammar mistakes…
Not a very deep post, but it’s not meant to be. Simply put, this is a quick grammar refreshment, with a slice of sour lemon on the glass (“Hi again, bloggers. We need to talk, and I’m really not kidding this time. Internet marketers and money-making gurus, I’m talking to you, too.”). Carol at Blog Rehab reminds content creators of possessive apostrophes and how they’re used.