Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Fascinating British slang terms



Thirty-six fascinating British slang phrases with their meanings. Some date back to Roman times, to the navy, Aesop’s fables and Shakespeare. Some you will recognize, some you may guess, but it’s well worth a read.
Blackmail, Go with the flow, Let the cat out of the bag, and many more.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/36-unexpected-origins-of-everyday-british-phrases


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

The rise and fall of Harlequin



This is an incredibly fascinating article and about the rise and fall of Harlequin. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/05/what-happened-to-harlequin-romances.html

The line that says it all to me is, “Still, according to Digital Book World, in 2013, there were ninety-nine self-published e-book best-sellers. Harlequin, in comparison, only had twenty-one.”

Will Harlequin reclaim its top spot? I don’t know, but like millions of other people I’ll be watching to see.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Misplaced Apostrophes



Misplaced apostrophes is one of the biggest peevs employers complain about in CVs and resumes. It’s also a big problem in books as well. Maybe some editors don’t know the rules or maybe the mistakes are so widespread authors, when told of their inaccuracies, refuse to fix them.

There’s even a website, http://www.killtheapostrophe.com/, by people who hate them because so few people get them right. But instead of blaming the poor helpless little apostrophe, why not learn how to use them correctly?

The rules are very simple. There are only two places where it is correct to use an apostrophe. First, to indicate a missing letter (or letters), and second, to indicate possession.

John’s hat. (possession).
We’re (we are).

Dates are not possessive and there’s nothing missing, therefore it is the 1780s, NOT 1780’s.

Plurals never require an apostrophe. Apples, pears, cherries, all plural just add s. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the Smiths. Just add an s.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.


Thursday, May 8, 2014

Terms to avoid



There are terms or catch phrases that once had a specific meaning, which have become incorporated into everyday speech. Unfortunately most of them have now become overused or virtually meaningless. If you find your characters using these terms, it could be good to use a more specific, meaningful phrase that won’t annoy your readers. Unless the person using the jargon is the villain, of course!

Going forward – because your boss usually expects you to go backward?

To 'action' something – why not use a verb that shows the action?

Touch base – as a promise, about as likely to happen as “doing lunch”

Circle back - as above

Blue-sky thinking – because green sky is so 1990s?

Brainstorm – the term has actually been banned as politically incorrect

To take something offline – why not use explicit words – phone? Talk?

Low hanging fruit – because the easiest option is always the best one?

Get the ball rolling – why not just “begin”

Drill down – makes me think of the dentist

End of the day - which day? And when? close of business? Midnight? Or did you mean when the government changes?

World-class: because we know exactly how it’s done in every other nation

Best practices - as above

I’m sure you can think of many more.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.


Friday, May 2, 2014

99 Book Nerd problems





How many are true for you? (Yes, I ticked most of them too.)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/99-book-nerd-problems/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.