Hello creative friend,
Last week, my colleague Debbie Patrick and I taught “Structure Your Story”—a two-hour workshop in the Professional Learning and Personal Development at the University of Tennessee. At one point, we jotted down a list of editors’ pet peeves. I hope the list helps you, too.
Print/save this list and grab your most recent piece of writing to see if you can fine-tune your work by addressing these issues.
• Sentences that start with the word “It” - I DARE you to use the Find tool to see how many sentences start with that tiny and nondescript word.
• Dead words - Dump them all!
• Gerunds – These drive me bonkers! Do the research and learn when to use them (sparingly, please).
• Overuse of pronouns - Help readers know who is doing/saying what by tossing the characters’ names in here and there.
• People are human, so call them “who” not “that.” People WHO, police officers WHO, men WHO, teachers WHO.
• Pronoun agreement, generally - They, their, theirs, and them are plural pronouns. While these words are culturally accepted as replacements for singular pronouns in order encourage inclusion, the practice is grammatically incorrect. If in doubt, write in plural.
Each student should bring their pencil to class. WRONG.
Students must bring their pencils to class. RIGHT (and easier to read).
• Ellipses – Most people use them incorrectly or overuse them. The same goes for semicolons, em dashes, hyphens, and exclamation points. As my mother, the retired English teacher says, “If in doubt, don’t.”
• Quotation marks AND italics at once – There are rules. If you aren’t sure which to use, look this up.
• Double spaces between sentences - The modern rule is to use only one.
• Modal verbs when regular verbs are appropriate – If you write, “The doctor could see,” that means that the doctor was able to see or had the potential to see but didn’t necessarily see. If the doctor did see, write, “The doctor saw.”
Give editors your best work, and they will produce their best work for you!
What are your pet peeves?
I encourage you to create your own cheat sheet or use Crippled Beagle Publishing’s "Proofread Like a Pro Checklist," which also includes our submissions guidelines, a list of dead words, and many other tips. This invaluable tool can be found in the Author Shop at www.crippledbeaglepublishing.com.
Happy revising!
Xoxoxo
