SmithWriting Blog

This week, the New Oxford American Dictionary announced its 2009 Word of the Year: “unfriend.”

Unfriend, a verb, means “to remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.”

The choice points to the prevalence of social networking in our culture. In fact, a lot of the new words considered for Word of the Year grew out of our collective obsession with being connected to our networks.

For example, take “hashtag” (a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets), “intexticated” (distracted because texting on a cellphone while driving a vehicle), and every tween’s parents’ nightmare, “sexting” (the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures by cellphone).

Some considerations come from current issues in politics and the economy, such as “death panel” (a theoretical body that determines which patients deserve to live, when care is rationed) and “funemployed” (taking advantage of one’s newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests), while others, like “deleb” (a dead celebrity) and “tramp stamp” (a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman), tend toward the frivolous.

I wonder what’s in store for our vocabulary in 2010 …

Filed by rebecca at 9:09 pm under For the love of words
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Ah, alliteration. One of my most loved literary devices. Whether placed in poetry or prose, alliteration is like music to my ears.

Also known as “head rhyme,” alliteration is the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of words—or in stressed syllables—in close succession. Although modern alliteration primarily uses consonants, certain literary traditions, such as Old English and Old Norse verse, use vowel sounds.

Alliteration has long been used for poetic effect. The first verse of Robert Frost’s famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a great example:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Not only is alliteration melodic, it also highlights words and makes certain phrases stick in your head. That’s why marketers often employ this stylistic device in their copy. Take, for instance, the following taglines: “We’ll leave a light on for you” (Motel 6) and “Every kiss begins with Kay” (Kay Jewelers). They’re not easy to forget, are they?

The same goes for names of restaurants (Dunkin’ Donuts), TV shows (“Sesame Street”), music groups (Beastie Boys), books (“Where the Wild Things Are”), and movies (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”). You get the picture.

As a copywriter, I often employ alliteration in my headings, subheads, and throughout my copy. Clients appreciate it because it connects certain words and phrases that they’re trying to emphasize to their audience.

Speaking of reaching a certain audience … few are as good at this as the late, great Dr. Seuss. His use of alliteration is legendary—and it helps teach generations of kids to read. Here’s one of my favorite alliterative phrases from “Dr. Seuss’s ABC”:

Many mumbling mice
are making
midnight music
in the moonlight …

mighty nice

Now try getting that out of your head!

Filed by rebecca at 2:31 pm under For the love of words
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Well, here it is, one of my favorite days of the year: National Punctuation Day (NPD).

Now in its sixth year, NPD has a mission to cure the “epidemic of poor punctuation in the United States,” according to founder Jeff Rubin.

How can you observe NPD?

Go around town and point out all the incorrectly punctuated signs you can find—but please don’t vandalize!

Enter the NPD baking contest; whip up a pastry or bread in the shape of a punctuation mark and win a prize.

Write a blog post including as many punctuation marks as possible (like I did here [did you notice?]).

Brush up on the proper use of punctuation:

• Where’s the semicolon love?
• Put it in parentheses (please)
• The colon: an unappreciated mark with an unfortunate name
• Read this post about exclamation points!
• Save the apostrophes!
• Quoth the writer, “Nevermore”
• The ellipsis is cool, but …
• The ampersand: form & function
• Slash away
• All about brackets

Filed by rebecca at 8:36 am under Grammar guide
4 Comments

Last night, Kim and I participated in our second straight CreateAthon—and we had a great time doing so!

What is CreateAthon, you ask? It’s a 24-hour creative blitz during which advertising agencies and design firms around the country work on a pro bono basis for nonprofit organizations. The event was hosted locally by smith&jones, a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Sturbridge, Mass.

We at SmithWriting donated our copywriting services to the cause, drafting a brochure, poster, and ad for an organization that provides free resources to first-time parents under the age of 20. Needless to say, our few hours of volunteering were productive and deeply satisfying (and all the yummy food didn’t hurt!).

Best of luck to the crew at smith&jones, now entering their 21st consecutive hour of creative designing (and probably pouring their 21st cup of coffee!). We know that your eight lucky clients will be thrilled with their new marketing materials!

For more info about CreateAthon—and real-time updates—tune into smith&jones’ blog.

Filed by rebecca at 9:51 am under Copywriting
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OK, I admit it: Sometimes I break the rules—grammar rules, that is.

You may find this hard to believe (coming from a self-proclaimed grammar guru), but, in some cases, I think that disobeying certain rules results in better copy.

Here are some common grammar regulations and my thoughts on when it’s acceptable to defy them:

Always use complete sentences.

Pshaw. In my writing, I’ll sometimes use sentence fragments, because I believe they add emphasis:

My dog enjoys naps, walks, and treats. Lots and lots of treats.

No, the latter sentence is not grammatically correct, but it certainly lets the reader know how much my dog likes treats, doesn’t it?

Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.

And why not? I find that beginning a sentence with and, but, as, or because lends a tone of informality to my copy—something I strive for when writing for a young adult audience, for instance:

In our program, you’ll work harder than you ever have in school. But you’ll have a blast doing it.

Never end a sentence with a preposition.

Where did you pick that up from? At times, ending a sentence with a preposition (e.g., by, for, on) is much less awkward than the alternative. For example:

Where are you from? sounds much more natural than From where (whence?) are you? (unless, of course, you’re at a Renaissance Fair).

What are some grammar rules that you’ve been known to break?

Filed by rebecca at 1:14 pm under Grammar guide
6 Comments

As a copy editor, I often find myself correcting the misuse of the terms i.e. and e.g.

These seemingly harmless letter combinations can actually do a lot of damage when used improperly: Not only can they change the meaning of your work, they can also make you look stupid—and no one wants that. So here’s a quick lesson on their proper usage:

i.e.

an abbreviation for the Latin term id est, meaning “that is” or “in other words”
Use i.e. to provide clarification:
Many writers become flummoxed, i.e., frustrated and confused, over the use of i.e. versus e.g.

e.g.

an abbreviation for the Latin term exempli gratia, meaning “for example”
Use e.g. to provide examples:
Perhaps they should turn to the professionals at SmithWriting for help with their writing projects, e.g., advertisements, brochures, and Web sites.

Always put a comma after i.e. and e.g. And be sure to include a period after each letter in both abbreviations.

So, is it i.e. or e.g.?

Since I don’t know Latin, I use this trick to determine which term to use:
I ask myself, “Am I giving examples?” If so, I use e.g. (Reverse the first letters of “giving examples,” and voila!)  If not, I use i.e.

Filed by rebecca at 5:29 pm under Grammar guide
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One of my favorite typographical symbols, the asterisk is used in printing or writing to indicate a footnote, an omission, or emphasis; it also has other less common uses.

The term asterisk comes from the Latin asteriscum, meaning “little star”—based on the character’s celestial shape.

Primary uses of the asterisk:

To indicate a footnote
(place the asterisk after something you what to clarify)
see this post’s title and footnote

To indicate an omission
Holy s**t!

To represent emphasis in plain text
(in lieu of bold or italics)
He is *really* smart.

To make a list
(use them as bullet points)
To-do list
* Write profile
* Update blog
* Lunch with client

To convey an action by the writer
(use them in informal communications, such as e-mails and blogs)
Don’t even get me started on creepy clowns … *shudder*

To represent a kiss
(as a computer emoticon)
:*

The asterisk is also used in computing, mathematics, and gaming.

*This post may not contain all there is to know about the asterisk.

Filed by rebecca at 7:30 pm under Grammar guide
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According to the National Institute of Mental Health, upwards of 18 percent of Americans suffer from phobias. A phobia (from the Greek “phobos,” meaning “to fear”) is an intense and irrational fear of a situation or thing. There are hundreds of identified phobias out there, but these few are sure to send shivers down your spine:

Astraphobia: fear of thunder and lightning
(from the Greek “astrap,” meaning “lightning”)
My dog, Riley, has debilitating astraphobia. Poor girl, she pants, shakes, and hides in the closet when a storm rolls in.

Xenophobia: fear of foreigners or strangers
(from the Greek “xenos,” meaning “foreigner”)

Paraskavedekatriaphobia: fear of Friday the 13th
I covered this one in a previous post on Friday the 13th.

Ichthyophobia: fear of fish
(from the Greek “ichthys,” meaning “fish”)
I have a mild case of this phobia, thanks to my older sister, who dumped me in a school of fish in a pond while camping when we were young.

Somniphobia: fear of sleep
(from the Latin “somnus,” meaning “sleep”)

Nomophobia: fear of being out of mobile phone contact
(an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone”)
A British study found that nearly 53 percent of mobile phone users become anxious when they are out of contact. Seriously?!?

Phasmophobia: fear of ghosts
(from the Greek “phasma,” meaning “apparition”)

Ornithophobia: fear of birds
(from the Greek “ornis,” meaning “bird”)
Just ask Tippi Hedren about this one …

Ephebiphobia: fear of youth
(from the Greek “ephebos,” meaning “adolescent”)

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia: fear of the number 666 (Satan’s number)
(from the Greek “hex,” meaning “six”)
Personally, I have a fear of pronouncing this word!

So, what are you afraid of?

Filed by rebecca at 5:12 pm under For the love of words
4 Comments

Last week I posted about letter and e-mail closings. So this week, on Steph’s recommendation, I’m starting at the beginning and posting about—you guessed it—letter and e-mail openings.

Granted, there are not as many opening salutations as there are closings. But there are a few to choose from, and some are more appropriate than others, depending on the context of your correspondence.

From the formal to the friendly, there’s a greeting for all your communications:

Business letters and e-mails
Dear Mr. Smith:
Dear Ms. Johnson:
Dear Mrs. Jones:
Only use Mrs. if you’re sure the recipient is married and prefers to be addressed this way; otherwise, use Ms.

Dear Jane:
First names are acceptable, but only if you’ve previously met the recipient—and even then, you may want to err on the side of formality.
Dear Chris Brown:
If you do not know the recipient’s gender, use their full name (but always attempt to find out their gender first).

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
Dear Colleagues:
To Whom It May Concern:
Use this as a last resort and only if you’re unable to find out anything about the recipient(s).
Dear Sir or Madam:
Use sparingly; this one has become a bit dated.

Friendly letters and e-mails
Good day,
Greetings,
Hello,
Hey!
Hiya,
Hi,
Hi there,
Howdy,
Hidey ho!
What up,
Yo,
Dude!

In general, less formal salutations take a comma, while formal ones take a colon.

Filed by rebecca at 4:49 pm under For the love of words
2 Comments

Whether you’re concluding a business letter or signing off an e-mail, you most likely end the correspondence you send with a closing of some kind.

Depending on the context of the note you’re sending—and your relationship to the recipient—you’ll either sign off formally or informally. And sometimes it’s not very clear how you should end a letter or e-mail. Many people struggle with closings, and some opt to take the easy way out and just sign their name, no closing at all.

Well, for those of us who like to go out with a little flair, I’ve compiled a list of closings, from the conventional to the cheeky:

Best regards
Best
All best
Best wishes
Regards
Warm regards

Sincerely
Respectfully
Fondly
Truly
Yours truly
Take care
Thank you
Many thanks
Cheers

Always
Yours
Love
With love
Peace
xoxoxo

Ciao
Peace out
Rock on
Later gator
Smell ya later
Namaste
Over and out
TTFN

Feel free to add your favorite closings in the comments section.

Until next time,
Rebecca

Filed by rebecca at 4:53 pm under For the love of words
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