On Grammer (And Yes, I Know I Spelled Grammar Wrong)

Written by Joseph Devon


Continued from page 1
We can also take this notion inrepparttar exact opposite direction. If more rules produce a smaller audience, then fewer rules must produce a larger audience. This, as it turns out, is exactlyrepparttar 136440 case. As anyone who has ever found a bathroom in a foreign land by acting outrepparttar 136441 motion of pulling down their pants, as anyone who has been involved in a puppet show to figure out what is on a dinner menu, as anyone who has found a hotel room by tilting their head and pretending to sleep will tell you: there is an international language, but it’s not love or Esperanto, it’s mime. The more basic your method of communicating,repparttar 136442 easier you will be understood. I am not, of course, advocating some sort of grammatical free-for-all where we throw out all ofrepparttar 136443 rules at once and ignorerepparttar 136444 fact that I used “its” instead of “it’s” back inrepparttar 136445 first paragraph. These rules provide a much needed service because, while it may be true thatrepparttar 136446 more grunting you dorepparttar 136447 more you’ll be understood, it also happens to be true thatrepparttar 136448 more basic your method of communicatingrepparttar 136449 less complex your thoughts can be. There is no way I could mimerepparttar 136450 New York State Penal Code. All I’m saying is, we shouldn’t take it too farrepparttar 136451 other way. There is a reasonrepparttar 136452 Tower of Babble fell over. That being said, I suppose I should relent just a bit here about something I said earlier. Maybe I shouldn’t have threatenedrepparttar 136453 rules of grammar exactly. As a writer I need and depend upon those rules to get from abstract thoughts in my head to paragraphs of 12-point font. So I take back that threat, but I leave a warning in its place: Don’t stand too firm, you believers in grammar, don’t hold too fast. This is all just a phase andrepparttar 136454 assaults on your rules taking place every day are just language attempting to move forward. The next time you want to complain about high-schoolers text messaging each other while spellingrepparttar 136455 word “cool” as “kewl”, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this pure stupidity and a sign ofrepparttar 136456 crumbling of our civilization? Or is it something else?” (It’s something else. On a standard cell-phone keypad,repparttar 136457 number 6 representsrepparttar 136458 letter “o”. To type “cool” with proper spelling during text-messaging on a cell phone requires you to hitrepparttar 136459 number 2 three times forrepparttar 136460 “c”, then to hitrepparttar 136461 6 three times forrepparttar 136462 first “o”, then (and here’srepparttar 136463 important part) to wait, and wait, and wait until that letter reads in before hittingrepparttar 136464 6 three times again forrepparttar 136465 second “o”, then on torepparttar 136466 5 three times forrepparttar 136467 “l”. The word “kewl” requires no such waiting; none ofrepparttar 136468 sequential letters are represented byrepparttar 136469 same number and all can be hit in succession with no pauses. Trust me. Try it.) Language changes for a reason. Sometimes, as inrepparttar 136470 coining of a phrase like “hogwash,” a saying becomes so popular that it automatically entersrepparttar 136471 mainstream lexicon. Sometimes, as withrepparttar 136472 mutation of a word or phrase into different meanings, like “holy grail,” it’s because verbal exchanges have broughtrepparttar 136473 word into use with a wholly different connotation. And sometimes, as withrepparttar 136474 word kewl, it’s just easier. Rules of grammar are just fine, but please don’t try to make them into laws. They will not hold. You might as well go back in time and try to tell Rembrant that he can sculpt anything he wants, just so long as he always uses Lego Building Set #6948B and his airplane always turns outrepparttar 136475 same way. Or you might as well tell Van Gogh to go ahead and paint, just so long as he paints by number. (Ironically, that’s pretty much what happened to Van Gogh, an inspired painter who did not followrepparttar 136476 strict rules of Dutch oil painting as they were atrepparttar 136477 time and thus only received scorn while he was alive. Of course, if that’s whatrepparttar 136478 man saw when he looked at a haystack, I’m willing to admit that there might have been some other issues at play. Plus there’srepparttar 136479 whole ear thing.) And you might as well tell me to stop interrupting my essay for parenthetical asides containing chatty writing. That’s how I’m most comfortable writing, and I’m not going to change it just to make you feel comfortable. But I suppose I really do have to back off a bit and repeat: that’s a warning, not a threat. Grammar freaks, you had better learn how to bend because language is most certainly going to change throughout time, and if you will not yield for its passage it is going to leave you broken in its path.

Joseph Devon is the author of "The Letter" and is a freelance writer living in New York City. To read more about him, please visit josephdevon.com.


Writing for Dollars - How to get Started

Written by Heidi Richards, MS


Continued from page 1

P Write about what you know. It’s easier to “sell” and easier to write when you draw upon your own experiences and those of others you know. You could also write about a personal experience or a hobby you pursue (if it is newsworthy).

P Keep it simple – plain text, simple fonts, 12-point type are generallyrepparttar most widely accepted format.

P Use short paragraphs. Commercials use sound bites to keeprepparttar 136333 audience’s attention. Short paragraphs have a better chance of keepingrepparttar 136334 reader interested.

P Don’t over-punctuate. By this, I meanrepparttar 136335 use ofrepparttar 136336 exclamation point!!! or … or ??? mark. Overusing punctuation will make your words have less impact over time. And if you are submitting your articles onrepparttar 136337 Internet, these are often flagged as “spam” and may never even be read.

P Ask questions. Then answer those questions. This will keeprepparttar 136338 readers’ attention and interest.

P Bullets can accentuate your points. Since people read in sound bites, bullets helprepparttar 136339 reader absorbrepparttar 136340 information in bite-sized pieces.

P Use creative headlines to sell your message. Instead of “How to Write Articles,” use “Writing for Dollar$” or something more enticing. Send me a note with Headlines inrepparttar 136341 subject line and I will send yourepparttar 136342 article on Headlines that sell.

P Keep track and follow up. This gets more difficult over time, since your articles might be reprinted and you don’t even know it, unlessrepparttar 136343 publisher sends yourepparttar 136344 courtesy copy. Keep track of where you submit your articles, and follow up with editors to find out if and when they will be used. If editors don’t use your work, ask for feedback. This will help you become a better writer. Create a record for yourself ofrepparttar 136345 publication,repparttar 136346 URL (web address) andrepparttar 136347 name and contact information ofrepparttar 136348 person to whom you submitted your article.

P You can submit your work online to some of these more popular places. Keep in mind, there are literally thousands of ezines out there, below are just a few sites to submit your work.:

http://www.netterweb.com/articles

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.ideamarketers.com

http://www.articlecity.com

http://www.authorconnection.com

http://ezinelocator.com

Never give up! Be patient. Asrepparttar 136349 saying goes, “timing is everything,” and editors and publishers are busy. If your content is good (and interesting) eventually someone will notice’ and you will get published. Once that happens, capitalize onrepparttar 136350 momentum and keep going. The purpose of writing articles is after all to get people to start talking about you. Oscar Wilde said “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” Make writing a part of your marketing plan and who knows, several articles later, you could berepparttar 136351 talk ofrepparttar 136352 town.

Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business © 2005 - Heidi Richards

Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at Heidi@speakingwithspirit.com or heidi@wecai.org.




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