(This deep-links post revisits some of my previous posts)

Good writing requires tools, rules, and jewels.

 I hope you’ll find a new tool here to help craft your next masterpiece. Many of us have the same tools in our writing toolbox, but some may have gotten a little rusty. Rules were made to be broken, but when communication is key, rules are more of a friend than a foe. Dust off the manual next time you’re in trouble and you’ll achieve precision and clarity. Many of us stop writing too soon. Polish those pearls of wisdom, your ideas deserve your best writing, and from time to time you’ll uncover a real gem.

1. English Handbook for the game of your life - Nobody needs to memorise all the grammar rules, just know when to refer to the manual.

2. If Punctuation Marks Were People – they might be easier to understand.

3. We hear and read incorrect grammar so often that Does it sound right? doesn’t work anymore

4. The Problem with Pronouns is that they can be tricky

5.  Tools for Fine Tuning helps polish those gems

6. Layers of Revision is an often neglected step that can catch careless errors.

7. Evolving Language offers a basic foundation for building . . . . and a quiz or two

8. Got Style - there are more rules for writing than just grammar. Do you have style?

9. Commonly Confused Words can ambush an otherwise articulate article – take the challenge!

10. Using News Values - consider these tools when gathering material for your writing.

11. Overcoming Writer’s block - we all need to refresh, reset, and refocus from time to time.

12. To improve writing, first improve listening

Good writing is like serving a tennis ball. If you practice everday, but you never learned the correct way to serve in the first place, you may simply get really good at serving incorrectly.

Here are some of my recent mental meanderings on mixed up meanings.

Confusing homophones

1.                  This bimonthly publication comes out every other month, and that bimonthly publication comes             

                              out twice a month. Both sentences are correct.

2.                  Loan (verb) me the money, or I’ll need to get a loan (noun)

Homophones that are antonyms

3.                  I buckle (bind) my seatbelt so I won’t buckle (fall apart) under pressure

4.                  This Christmas, we will have to trimfrom the real evidence.

Same phrase that means the opposite thing

6.                  Watch out for (look forward to) opportunities to volunteer, but watch out for (avoid) over committing.

7.                  Person 1: Did you see all the fuss about the new employee.  

                             Person 2: Tell me about it?

                             Person 2 could be saying “I already know” or “I want to know more”

Opposite phrase that means the same thing

8.                  The two houses met the same fate. This house burned up, and that house burned down.

Not true homophones, but stated orally, these sentences could be confusing.

9.                  I was thinking of moving a broad

10.              It is apparent that you are a parent

If you liked this you might also be interested in

1. Word Power

2. English is Nutty 5

3.Evolving Language

interesting words

 How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more words in your vocabulary?

 

 

 

Here are some interesting words, which you may not know.

Upon learning an interesting word, if you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to work it into a conversation to improve your vocabulary or just to see the expression on your friends’ faces. Since this is an online conversation, maybe you’re feeling a little motivated now.

If after reviewing this list of eight, you feel up for a challenge, please read through to the Word Power Exercise.

Eight Interesting Words

Zymurgy:  The art or practice of fermentation

Accismus: When you pretend not to be interested in something – when you really are

Snollygoster – A shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician

Josser – One not born to circus life

Tyrotoxism: To be poisoned by cheese

Winklepicker  a style of shoe worn by British rock and roll fans

Defenestrate: To throw out a window

Unobtanium: A material that is unobtainable, often because it doesn’t exist

Word Power Exercise:

See how many of these Eight Interesting Words you can include in a 50 word (or less) comment. The only two rules are: 1. Your comment must make sense, and 2. You may not use any of the words directly beside another one, such as in a list. Have fun, and add your blog address, so visitors can stop by and say Hi. For more word fun, check out my Eleven Interesting Words post here.

 Waiting my next batch to zymurgy, I was talking with a friend about a snollygoster, I find that accisumus.  This snollygoster was a josser.  They told me this snollygoster suffered from tyrotoxism.  My friend was dressed in an unobtanium winklepicker which made me feel like I wanted to defenestrate him.

Sensfaction: http://262291.blogspot.com

 Son, the worst form of josser is a snollygoster, from whom integrity is unobtanium, and who is more interested in zymurgy than even the trapeze. Their disinterest isn’t accismus; like those winklepickered punks in Clockwork Orange, they could defenestrate August Ringling and still have the appetite to dine unto tyrotoxism.

Drew  http://www.reddit.com/user/drewcamealong/

Politics are the pits these days. All the candidates are a bunch of snollygosters. I am sure some wish they got a case of tyrotoxism. They act so accismus in their speeches. They also try to look cool by wearing winklepickers.

 Mike  http://geography-trivia.blogspot.com

Recovering from a nasty case of tyrotoxism, I put on my winklepickers and set out to hoodwink a couple of jossers into divulging their zymurgy secrets. Then I ran into Colonel Fraudy, a local snollygoster usually out for cash. Sensing accismus on his part, I defenestrated the unobtanium. Close call.

Angry Max pterodactylpuke.com

 How many words are in your vocabulary? The average high school graduate is said to know about 10,000 words. The average 4-year college graduate is said to know about 20,000 words. Do you have room for any more words in your vocabulary?

Here are some interesting words, which you may not know.

Upon learning an interesting word, if you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to work it into a conversation to improve your vocabulary or just to see the expression on your friends’ faces. Since this is an online conversation, maybe you’re feeling a little motivated now.

If after reviewing this list of twelve, you feel up for a challenge, please read through to the Word Power Exercise.

Twelve Interesting Words

1. Nudiustertian  - The day before yesterday

2. Pronk  - A weak or foolish person

3. Pettifogging – Something petty or trivial

4. Inaniloquent - Pertaining to idle talk

5. Mesonoxian - Pertaining to midnight

6. Tyrotoxism – To be poisoned by cheese

7. Nihilarian  A person who deals with things lacking importance.

8. Scopperloit – Rude or rough play

9. Gargalesis – Forceful tickling

10. Dumbledore – A type of bee

11. Humdudgeon - An imaginary illness

12.  Mungo - A dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash

Word Power Exercise:

See how many of these Twelve Interesting Words (EIW) you can include in a 75 word (or less) comment. The only two rules are: 1. Your comment must make sense, and 2. You may not use any of the EIWs directly beside another one, such as in a list. Have fun, and add your blog address, so visitors can stop by and say Hi. For more word fun, check out my Eight Interesting Words post here.

Nudiustertian I met a Pronk who was talking about a pettifogging subject. Inaniloquent, he went on and on about Dumbledores and mungo. Then he proceeded to Gargalesis of me. Since it was around Mesonoxian and I was coming down with Humdudgeon and he was a Nihilarian prone to scopperloit and I had to perform Tyrotoxism on him.

http://www.blogbydonna.com

Nudiustertian just about mesonoxian walking down the street to my home I saw a mungo collecting cans which I found to be pettifogging. This mungo stopped what he was doing, and decided to inaniloquent with me about his humdudgeon. This nihilarian was telling me that while he was digging, he found some food and ate it, and then got Tyrotoxism. He also told me that a Dumbledore stung him and he had a allergic reaction. This guy was a real pronk!

http://www.skyewolfwrittenworks.com

Nudusterian a pronk was inaniloquently pettifogging aboud the mesonoxian.
The Nihilarian dumbledore scopperloit the pronk with gargalesis.

That’s about the best I could do;p The first one I think has them in too much of a consecutive order… Violates rule 2.. Anyway.. There’s my attempt at it;p

http://www.movies4wholesale.com

It was no humdudgeon that hit me the other day, in fact, it was a case of tyrotoxism!! I felt like such a pronk. I should have known that my mungo brother would have brought me a snack of cheese that he found in the nudiustertian trash.
Not wanting to make him feel like a Nihilarian, I broke down and ate it.

After our snack we started engaging in gargalesis, like we did as children, but when it turned into a scopperloit brawl, I started to feel sick and called it quits.

Now, I am stuck in bed pettifogging through inaniloquent magazines, and reading about the mesonoxian habits of the Dumbledore to stay busy while trying to recover.

http://www.hiddenstreamsproductions.com/thevillag…

Being an avid nihilarian and a young pronk, I’m inclined to attempt the activity of pettifogging, which is better than the follies of scopperloit and safer than gargalesis, a symptom of humdudgeon (a disorder some claim is acquired when dumbledores, who live in dumpsters, attack mungos).
Of course, this monologue is rather inaniloquent; provoked by an onset of tyrotoxism I caught at a filthy diner nudiustertium. I’ll go to bed, as it’s nearly mesonoxian. 

Shadow Crystal

1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by one of the following words (known as coordinating conjunctions): and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. For example: “She likes to read, and I like to write.” However, in the example “I like to run and swim,” no comma is needed because there is only one independent clause.

2. Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words that come before the main clause. Don’t put a comma after the main clause when a dependent clause follows it (except for cases of extreme contrast, for example: They said they were not sleepy, although they fell asleep immediately).

3. Use commas to set off nonessential clauses, phrases, and words that occur in the middle of a sentence. Use one comma before the nonessential information to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause. To determine if the sentence element is essential, leave out the clause, phrase, or word, to see if the sentence still makes sense. If it does, then the element in question is nonessential and should be set off with commas. Here is an example of a nonessential clause: The girl, who happened to be a member of the club, was late for dinner.

4. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. Coordinate adjectives are adjectives with equal status in describing the noun. You can decide if two adjectives in a row are coordinate by asking the following questions: Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order? Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with and between them? If you answer “yes” to these questions, then the adjectives are coordinate and should be separated by a comma. Here are some examples of coordinate and non-coordinate adjectives: She was a difficult, stubborn child (coordinate). They lived in a white frame house (non-coordinate).

5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series. For example: The child enjoys playing baseball, reading comic books, and watching television.

6. Use a comma prior to adding a quotation. The coach instructed his team, “You have the ability to win if you maintain your focus.”

7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate (equal status) elements. For example: The girl said her favorite subject was history, not science.

8. Use commas to set off items in dates March 13, 1992, was the day we became best friends. (When using only the month and the year in a sentence, no comma is necessary. For example:  My first trip to Florida in March 1992 is still vivid in my mind.)

9. Use commas to set off geographical names. For example: Charleston, South Carolina, is a city rich in history.

10. Use commas to avoid confusion. For example: Tell the doctor, pepper is one of your asthma triggers. Or better yet: Tell Christopher, Columbus discovered America.

Here are some interesting words, which you may not know.

Upon learning an interesting word, if you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to work it into a conversation to improve your vocabulary or just to see the expression on your friends’ faces. Since this is an online conversation, maybe you’re feeling a little motivated now.

If after reviewing this list of eleven, you feel up for a challenge, please read through to the Word Power Exercise.

Eleven Interesting Words

Lamprophony  Loudness and clarity of voice

Floccinaucinihilipilification   Estimation that something is valueless.

Rhinotillexomania  Habitual or obsessive nose-picking  

Honorificabilitudinitatibus  In honor

Deipnosophist   One who excels at conversations at the dinner table 

Sesquipedalian   Using long words 

Farctate  Full (as from eating) to the point of bursting; completely satiated

Onychophagist  Person who bites his fingernails 

Bloviate  To Speak or Discourse at Length in a Pompous or Boastful Manner 

Dextrorotatory Turning Clockwise or to the Right 

Eleemosynary Relating to Charity, Alms, or Almsgiving 

Word Power Exercise:

See how many of these Eleven Interesting Words (EIW) you can include in a 50 word (or less) comment. The only two rules are: 1. Your comment must make sense, and 2. You may not use any of the EIWs directly beside another one, such as in a list. Have fun, and add your blog address, so visitors can stop by and say Hi.

All the available social networks and blog marketing tools will do little to increase return visits to your blogs unless you first polish your posts. Follow these suggestions to improve your posts, and readers will come back for more.

Keep in mind that you are competing with thousands of people for your readers’ attention. You’ll need to reward your visitors by giving them well written posts. (The blue italicized terms in this article link to my earlier posts and are not necessary to understand this post; they serve only to provide a greater depth of information on the various topics)

Online writing is a unique, hybrid form of communication because it combines the benefits and challenges of mass communication and interpersonal communication (see Communicating Online: Opportunities and Obstacles). Understanding this uniqueness will help you tailor your writing to your target audience.

Here are some helpful tools to polish your post successfully.

1. Most importantly, make sure you have something to say. All the writing tips in the world can’t help the writer without an interesting or provocative topic. Posting writing without a clear purpose may cause readers not to return. It’s difficult to get new readers, but it’s even more of a challenge getting disappointed readers to return. (If your well of inspiration is running dry check out: Overcoming Writer’s Block).

2. In the first sentence or two of your post, tell your readers what’s in it for them – explain how your post will make a difference in their lives. If your readers can’t find anything that impacts them right away, many will leave after the first paragraph. Consider How to use News Values such as impact, timeliness, prominence, and novelty when determining your posts potential value for your readers.

For those who stay past the first paragraph, remember: you’ve made your promise; now it’s time to deliver.

3. Write to express, not impress. Put the thesaurus away. If you’re writing to inform or to entertain, prefer the simple to the complex. Write like you talk. (say “use”, not “utilize”; write: “I was aware of”, instead of “I was cognizant of”).

4. Brevity is an important goal because readers prefer conciseness. The average sentence should be about 15 words. Avoid wordiness (instead of writing members of the group, write group members). Also avoid redundancies (instead of writing the children completely surrounded me, just write the children surrounded me).

5. Avoid terms that can cause confusion. (i.e. “She was young;” young is too vague – it means different things to different people). Remember words have denotations and connotations, so avoid ambiguous terms. Instead of saying that she was young, say: she was nearly 8 years old. There are also many commonly confused words in the English language. Be aware of the meaning of all your words. Further and farther, fewer and less, and accept and except are just a few of the common errors found in careless writing. (See Commonly Misused Words).

6. Say what you mean. If your purpose is to convey information, eliminate euphemisms. Euphemisms are meant to soften the blow of a potentially offensive or blunt idea, such as “collateral damage” for unintended civilian deaths. Euphemisms can cause loss of clarity. (Read about editing out euphemisms in Layers of Revision). If your post lacks clarity, it’s doomed. Readers won’t spend time on posts they can’t understand.

7. Use examples and anecdotes. When explaining something complicated or something your readers might not have experienced, give an example. For example, explain that learning to use CSS to design a webpage is like learning how to play a sport or a musical instrument; first you must learn the rules, then you must practice to improve. Similarly, an anecdote is a very short story included to elaborate on and emphasize the facts. Instead of saying the girls were mischievous, consider using an anecdote to show us. Limit anecdotes to one (or two at most) per post. (See: Writing is like Baking a Cake)

8. Punctuation matters; people do judge a book by its cover (See: If Punctuation Marks were People). If you have spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing, people will lose confidence in you. They will question your facts and assumptions if they catch that you were careless with your pronouns and commas (See: The Problem with Pronouns)

9. Use vivid description. Keep in mind the maxim: Show, don’t tell. Don’t tell us that Billy was happy with his new puppy; show us. Readers appreciate it when you use your senses to describe details. They want to hear, see, feel, smell, touch and taste what you’re describing. (See: Think visually).  

10. Proofread: take the time to polish your post. We often find errors when it’s too late. Edit your posts prior to publication. You don’t have to be a walking, talking grammar book, you just need to know when to turn to one. (Check out: English Handbook for the Game of your Life)

The best way to get visitors to return to your blog is to make them happy. While social networks and search engines are useful as treasure maps, your posts are the treasures –the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Follow these tips to polish them, and let them shine.

We could all get along just fine without them, although without them we would have no roads or signs. Buildings with columns would no longer exist. Wednesday would no longer be the middle of our work week. And nobody would be able to walk a straight line.

On the other hand, there would be no more pneumonia, no more dumb people. Children would never again stretch the truth.

What forces us into this superfluous silence?

It is the silent letter. And while some silent letters help us to pronounce a word correctly, most do nothing more than take up space. As far as I can tell, every letter in the English language is used as a silent letter – every letter that is except for the mighty “V”. V stands alone in victory against this unspoken foe.  I compiled the list below of the rest of the letters of the English alphabet along with one corresponding word with a silent letter.

a          road

b          dumb

c          scene

d          Wednesday

e          rake

f           staff

g          sign

h          whistle

I           straight

j           marijuana

k          know

l           tall

m         mnemonic

n          column

o          oedipus

p          pneumonia

q          racquetball

r           sarsaparilla

s           pass

t           stretch

u          placque

v         

w         answer

x          faux pas

y          way

z           buzz

A will is a dead giveaway.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.

A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.

The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.

You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.

A calendar’s days are numbered.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

A plateau is a high form of flattery.

The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

Orignally posted by Tunnelblick

Choose precisely the right word in the following:

1. What was the (affect/effect) of the victory?

2. (Because/Since) he lied, he was expelled.

3. We need to go four miles (further/farther) before we make camp.

4. The prisoners (alluded/eluded) the guard.

5. Sentences with (less/fewer) words are easier to understand.

6. Any spelling is (all right, alright).

7. My desk is different (from/than) yours.

8. (Because, While) that was not the case, John continued to believe it.

9. I am (anxious, eager) to learn all I can.

10. The weather changes (continually, continuously).

Take the quiz………………………..Here.

 Join my Grammar Group at Blog Catalog – the answers can be found here.