This blog post begins on a personal note. I am legally obligated to tell you that in case you are a very important person who can’t be bothered with personal notes. You have been warned! I’m currently dating quite the sweetie and life is pretty good, I guess! We have fun times, and we’re both… Read the rest of this entry
Tag Archives: your copy sucks
Your Copy Sucks: Avoiding Cliches
Cliches (or, if you’re French and care about accent marks, clichés) are Not Good. They are so not good that I’m devoting a large part of my incredibly limited mortal existence to tell you why they are Not Good. Eighty, ninety years on this planet if I’m lucky, and I’m choosing to spend it on… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: Touching On Purple Prose
Purple is the color of a cloak which your words should never wear, treading on a barren stair in the dark to meet a woman whom they know is from a city they’ve never been and should not dare make haste toward. Or, in other words, quit the #@$%ing purple prose already. Purple prose means… Read the rest of this entry
Touching on !!! and ???
It’s one of those things we all agree we hate yet are all guilty of doing. Like not holding the elevator doors. But guys, seriously, this !!! and ??? stuff is getting out of hand. One exclamation point? Fine. Necessary if you’re an excitable person! One question mark: cool. No problem. Two exclamation points or… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: Talkin’ British
Lately a lot of folks have asked me questions that come down to a matter of Britishocity. Is it “gray” or “grey?” Is it “theatre” or “theater?” It’s okay if you’re confused about these things because, to be honest, you probably had little to do with dumping a bunch of Twinnings into Boston Harbor. Or… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: Affect/Effect
CT Michaels asked for a post on when to use affect and effect. So here it is, the shortest post of all time. Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: subject/verb/pronoun agreement, or how to count
Last week, we here at the PRBC HQ received one of Cog‘s many passive-aggressive e-mails about meeting our deadlines. We don’t really mind those e-mails; we usually ignore them while our deadlines go whooshing by. But this one was more ingeniously manipulative than most. “For those of you without posts in the queue,” it said,… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: That vs. Which vs. Wait, what?
Just admit it. ADMIT IT. You don’t know when to use “that” and when to use “which” in a sentence. Don’t cry! Nobody does. Seriously, no one can remember the rules for that/which because they are so. Freakin’. Difficult to remember when you’re in the middle of writing. But some of you actually care about… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: Ironically True
Let’s cut to the chase: you don’t understand irony. You think you do, because you’re A) a hipster or B) a cynic. Don’t beat yourself up; it’s a common mistake. So let’s break down what’s ironic, what’s unfortunate, and what’s just plain hilarious. Irony sounds really complicated when you try to research it on Wikipedia.… Read the rest of this entry
Your Copy Sucks: Geek Speak Guide
A lot of hardcore wordy people really hate internet-speak, but guys, I am not one of them! I’m all for language evolution mostly because there’s really no way to stop it, is there? Also, considering that Twitter only allows 140 characters, we now have an excuse besides laziness for our Internet acronyms. Chances are, you’ll… Read the rest of this entry