by Nancy Haight | Jan 6, 2025 | Editing
Sometimes, we add an “s” when it isn’t needed. Are you one of these “s” adders? Are you prone to saying “towards” and “forwards”? If so, you aren’t necessarily wrong to do so, but you’ll end up sounding more British than American. Over in England, they still have...
by Nancy Haight | Jan 3, 2025 | Editing
It’s time to get a grip on English. We gotta clinch it. Or do we clench it? Uh-oh…I sense word-choice insecurity. I recently came across this sentence during an editing project: “They will be crushed,” the warlord said, clinching his fist. Word Alert! Historically,...
by Nancy Haight | Jan 2, 2025 | Editing
What a strange feeling to find out that a word you use isn’t a word at all. Typo Alert I was recently editing a book for a client and came across this line: Everyone bursted with relief and joy. I quickly fixed “bursted” to “burst,” because—and here’s where your mind...
by Nancy Haight | Dec 30, 2024 | Uncategorized
Hmm. Have an itch? Do you scratch it or itch it? English can be so irritating (pun intended). Scratch Scratch as a verb most commonly means to tend to an itch, usually by scraping it with your fingernails. But here’s the rub: it can also be a noun. If you get an owie...
