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  Noemi Twigg: Your New Grammar Accomplice

  1657 readersHi Freelance Writing Jobs readers!  This month has brought about a lot of changes in this community, and I would like to take this chance to share a little bit about myself before diving into the finer points of grammar. I know that you all have been following Dawn’s posts, and that her departure from

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  My Baby Is Not an It

  1374 readersSome grammar rules are just plain dumb. I’m the first to admit this. For instance, the use of “he” as the default singular pronoun (i.e., everyone should proofread his own work) is not only sexist, it’s a bit silly. That’s probably why the grammatically incorrect “they” and “their” has fallen into common usage as a gender-neutral

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  The Grammar Devotional, a Review

  1181 readersI owe you all an apology. You may have come to expect my posts on Mondays, or at least earlier in the week than Thursday. I’ve been spending every free minute pouring over the latest, greatest, newest, most information-packed (should we add another adjective?) grammar books on the market – to pick one to give

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  If We Collaborate, Maybe We Can Corroborate the Existence of Santa Claus

  1581 readersGrammatical mistakes and word misusage (speaking of which — is that a word? MS Word says it is…) are all around us. I always have my eyes and ears open for what those in the parenting community might call a “teaching moment.” I hadn’t thought of these particular words being confused until I heard them mis-used

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  Using Numbers in Writing

  3358 readersAs with so many other grammar and style rules and conventions, the way we write numbers has changed as blogging has grown. More and more writers now use numerals in all instances rather than spelling out numbers below 10. It makes sense; numbers are easy to read and catch your eye on the computer screen.

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  Saying Goodbye is “Never” Easy

  2973 readersSo I lie. Sometimes, it’s very easy to say good-bye, like when you have to break it off with a client where the relationship just wasn’t working or the material was driving you batty. As many times as I’ve fallen victim to “Muphry’s Law” here (the one that states that whenever you write about grammar,

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  Words Our Writing Can Do Without, Part 1

  2847 readersWhen a new writer comes to me for advice, I typically recommend they begin their career by stocking their bookshelf with several must-read titles. Some cover the craft of writing, and others, the business. Of course, I always recommend they visit FWJ, too, including, but not limited to, the job listings and Bob Younce’s business

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  ‘Your’ Grammar Matters When ‘You’re’ Writing

  1674 readers// Nearly three decades later, I still remember one of my favorite lines from a popular television show. Rachel and Ross of Friends got into a fight and Ross screamed, “Oh, and by the way – Y-O-U-apostrophe-R-E is ‘you are.’ Y-O-U-R spells YOUR!” When someone irritates you, poor grammar can be the tipping point. So how can

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  Quotations and Punctuation: A Tale of Cultural Differences

  2574 readersGrammar is confusing enough for those of us in English-speaking countries, with multiple style guides, conventions that have fallen out of fashion, and rules people simply forget. If all that’s not enough, Americans also follow different rules than our English-speaking neighbors to the North. I’m not talking about the random letter U Canadians like to [...] Related

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  Why Yoda Was Right

  2933 readersPart 2 of “Words Our Writing Can Do Without” My business development coach (who is neither green nor hundreds of years old, but is at least as wise as the Star Wars character) likes to say, “There is no try.” Here’s her rationale: Too many times, when people fall short of achieving their goals, they excuse themselves