Were the Top 10 word blunders in my previous blog helpful? NO!! Oh. Okay, maybe the next 10 may hit the spot. I hope they hit something. Here they are.
NEXT 10 WORD USAGE MISTAKES
10. lose---loose
9. lie---lay
8. I---me---Moi
7. no one---noone
6. peek---peak---pique
5. principal---principle
4. raise---rise
3. than---then
2. there---their---they’re
AND THE NUMBER 1 BLUNDER:
1. whose---who’s
BONUS BLUNDER
your---you’re
That’s my final list. If you pay attention to the preceding word combos when you proof, you should be good shape, blunder-wise, unless you make other mistakes I haven’t seen. You’ve always been kinda sneaky.
HAPPY WRITING!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:
3. PROOFREAD THOROUGHLY. Whatever you write, make sure to proof it thoroughly before hitting “send,” “post,” “save,” or “delete” by mistake. Do it a lot; the proofing, that is, not the hitting. Your professional reputation for quality work is on the line with every piece you produce. Nothing screams sloppy work, careless, and knucklehead more than writing errors in your communications and manuscripts.
Marinate the Manuscript. The best advice I’ve received from editors is to put each draft aside for a while—a few minutes, hours, or days. Try to systematically allow your manuscript time to breathe in whatever manuscripts breathe in your PC/Mac. You are so familiar with every word that you will not see every error, and neither will your PC or spelchek. Even with several reviews and a Sherlock Holmes-type magnifying glass, which I am using right now, I will still miss mistakes in grammar, spellinmg, or word choice.
Wait for the Mold. This blog has been marinating for several days already. You can probably tell from the green mold along the edges. Returning totally cold to the scene of your writing crime (with a magnifying glass) will usually allow those errors to jump off the screen; well, maybe not jump, but certainly hop a little. You will also reword and add material that did not occur to you previously. Both the manuscript and you can benefit from marinating for a few days. You may get moldy too, usually brown mold that can be treated with penicillin. However, your next moldy draft is always better.
Hire a Professional. Remember the ole’ TV series: “Have Proofreader, Will Travel”? Me neither. Read your masterpiece out loud AND ask a colleague, friend, or someone else with a pulse to read it. Your best proofer is one is who unfamiliar with the content and writing. You’re REEEAALLY familiar with both. That’s why you’re so bad. Bad, bad proofer!
For book manuscripts, you can even hire a professional proofer. My publishers have done that on several of my books. If you have money to burn, shop for a proofer. The more eyeballs that see your writing, the greater the chance that errors will be found before they’re published. That gives new meaning to the “interocular perusal technique.”
My next blog will address Tip 2 with brand new eyeballs: minimize distractions, if you can. Otherwise, suck it in, deal, and just write. Few writers have “ideal” writing conditions.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:
4. THINK DRAFT. Consider everything you write as just a draft of your initial thinking and words. I even draft e-mail responses. When I save my e-mails in Inbox Drafts and then return later, I always catch errors and reword something to polish those drafts.
A draft can usually be improved with careful rewrites that might also incorporate the comments of colleagues, a mentor, and/or reviewers. Multiple drafts can be expected. In the journal review process, it’s not unusual to submit 1 or even up to 3 revisions before a manuscript is finally accepted for publication. The process is brutal, but the final product is far better than the initial submission.
Theta Brain Waves. Stay focused on your writing. Think about how it can be worded more concisely and clearly and/or funnier. Sit back, close your eyes, relax, and try to visualize the writing on the wall…Oops! I mean your writing on your screen. When you’re relaxed in almost shallow sleep mode, your Theta brain waves activate free-flowing creativity and different words. Hurry and write down those words while you’re flowing.
Bedtime Thoughts. Have you ever gone to bed and, as your mind relaxes, all of a sudden a burglar you saw on a Law & Order rerun breaks in and steals your PC? “No?” Oh, sorry. What about: ideas that start popping into your mind about your writing that you must right down before you forget them, but you can’t find your glasses to find the Post-its and a pen and your alarm is still blaring from the break-in. (Grammatical Note: English professors call the structure of the previous elongated sentence a "subcutaneous conjunctive carbuncle.") Jot down your carbuncles quickly. If you don’t, you probably won’t remember them in the morning and you’ll have to go back to sleep to recall them. Hummm. Not a bad idea.
My next blog will tackle Tip 3: proofreading your writing. Although, as the author, you are the worst proofreader you could hire, you have to do it.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:
9. WRITE EVERYWHERE YOU CAN (continued)
Leverage Putrid Service: The quality of service provided by many businesses and institutions is putrid. We can experience extremely long wait times and delays at all of the preceding venues. My charge to you is: Leverage that putrid service to the benefit of your writing. Don't waste your energy with negative self-talk, complaining about delays you can't control; seize them as opportunities to write.
No Access Needed: Although most of the venues now have Internet access (some for free), except some prisons, that doesn’t matter for most major writing activities. You don’t need to be online to write blogs, reports, articles, books, etc. Any piece of writing can be copied and pasted onto any platform or site later. You will be amazed at how much you can complete in 15–30 minutes if you're able to rivet your attention on your writing. Be prepared to write at any of those venues. You can accomplish a lot.
(Up Close & Personal: I have gotten used to writing, editing, proofing, and weeping over reviewers’ comments at many of the previous sites. I’ve cried at the Toyota dealer, sweated buckets while writing on torn, uncomfortable chairs at a non-air-conditioned Midas Muffler, and written piles of blogs and articles in hospital emergency and waiting rooms, doctors’ offices, airports, and the MVA. I’ve been stuck in airports or on the tarmac for 3–9 hours on several occasions. That’s solid writing time. You can either get angry or write; it's your attitude and choice. The more you write in these public settings, except prison, the more you can build up your concentration skills. Since you’re writing every day, writing on the fly becomes a habit; writing in your office becomes a luxury. There is no excuse for not writing. “You can do it!”)
Tomorrow, I will discuss Tip 8: how to pick and write for a niche audience. I know you’re itching to read about niches.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHY WRITING?
I receive occasional requests from junior faculty and students, usually on my LinkedIn professional network, for tips on writing and publishing. It seems everybody has to write, especially professsionals in all fields. No one can escape. Writing-wise, it’s kinda like “No Professional Left Behind!.” People are talking less and texting and typing on social media networks more than at any time previously. They’re writing more, but not necessarily at a high level of quality.
Just about everybody (meaning, colleagues) I talk to about writing has problems writing. Most are not satisfied with the quality and/or quantity of what they write. They feel they can produce more and always do it better. But it’s tough to do.
There are buckets of books, online writing groups (academic and nonacademic), workshops, and other resources that can help you in your writing quest. So why do I need to throw my blog into the writing ring? Because I know you love my metaphors and I might be able to contribute some new tidbit of advice that might shoot your writing to levels beyond your wildest imagination, or maybe not. I thought I’d give it a whirl, plus, my blogs are free and occasionally funny. The other options are neither.
WHAT THIS BLOG DOES NOT COVER
If you’re interested in publishing pointers, fawgettaboutit. Two previous blog series dealt with writing and publishing for professional journals (4/22—5/9/10) and books (9/18—10/5/09). This blog is also not about grammar and mechanics. Spelchek and copy editors do a great job with that.
WHAT THIS BLOG COVERS
It’s about strategies to improve the quality and quantity of what you write professionally, but also personally. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a research, theoretical model, lit review, historical, commentary, or even murder mystery piece, OR a blog, e-mail, social media comment, article, chapter, or book. These are generic suggestions that work, I think.
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS PREVIEW
Here’s the list that will be addressed in the next few blogs:
10. WRITE EVERYDAY
9. WRITE EVERYWHERE YOU CAN
8. WRITE FOR A NICHE
7. WRITE WITH A PURPOSE AND OUTCOME IN MIND
6. WRITE ON TOPICS ABOUT WHICH YOU ARE PASSIONATE
5. ADOPT A MENTOR OR COACH TO REVIEW DRAFTS
4. THINK DRAFT
3. PROOFREAD THOROUGHLY
2. MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS
1. FIND AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER OR WRITING GROUP
Read any, all, or none of the upcoming blogs on these tips. If you just get 1 or 2 ideas from this series, it will have been a total waste of my time. I’m shooting for 3. Let me know my hit rate and any comments or suggestions, as usual. My next blog will examine how to WRITE EVERYDAY.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
