Today, I thought I'd share with you some Guidelines to Good Writing.
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat!)
4. Be more or less specific.
5. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
6. Don't use no double negatives.
7. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
8. The passive voice is to be ignored.
9. Never use a big word when a diminuitive one would suffice.
10. Kill all exclamation points!!!!
11. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
12. If you're heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
13. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 184th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
BAH..... I break most of the rules most days and it's mostly my own fall most of the time... LOL
ReplyDeleteBloggers just wanna have fun, don'tcha know?
Di
funny - poppin header !! sandy
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!! Oops, #10. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I went to your profile to find yours and stumbled on Finding a Fitter Me. Are you still looking? I'm trying too and it's a such a struggle.
ReplyDeleteThe first one caught me off guard. I was thinking, 'oh no, a typo.'
ReplyDeleteI understand these all but I still occasionally start a sentence with And or But and my brain fills in the missing words when I proofread as though they are there.
I can't even think of cliches when I need them.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Thursday!
http://harrietandfriends.com/2011/03/how-do-you-know-you-live-in-the-real-world/
Great list--one that as a copy-editor I can appreciate.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for your kind words on my TT.
All the best.
#14: Avoid all those internet neo-words.
ReplyDeleteI really (heart) your list. Thanks for stopping by the eggs.
You remind me of all the heated arguments I had with my high school newspaper editor about the nature and coloring of words.
ReplyDeleteA timeless classic. Thanks for visiting! :)
ReplyDeleteI've got to share these with my students! Great T13!
ReplyDeleteloved it - great Thursday Thirteen
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm guilty of breaking some of these rules...
ReplyDeleteLove it! Starting sentences with And is the one I can't get around. There are times when there's just no other way to convey it. But it's almost always dialogue and by extention, first person narrative. *wink*
ReplyDeleteHappy TT,
~Xakara
13 Distractions
Guilty here!! Opps I should try to use less exclamation point huh? Anyway, thanks for the visit & comment and enjoy the weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo cute!
ReplyDeleteI admit it, I love cliches! They have their place like stereotypes do. Now is Snooki a cliche or a sterotype? Or both?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I leave the writing to you. I have enough to deal with that worrying about my grammar is so far down the list it's pathetic. Maybe I need to hire you as my personal proof reader!! ;)
ReplyDeleteLove ya!!
Diddle
Gosh, I break most of those rules every time I write. Good thing I didn't chose writing as a profession.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late - but this had me laughing hard!
ReplyDeleteWhoops! My English teacher in college told us once we had only three exclamation points permitted in life, so we'd best not use them all up at once. And I've used two of 'em in this response.
She's gonna kill me!
Uh-oh...