Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:25:51 GMT <![CDATA[Winged Horse Enterprises]]> Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:25:51 GMT These are the last five tips in regards to the writer preparing him/herself for the manuscript at hand... How to get your thoughts in order and what resources will help:
 
e) Akin to needs and language is learning your readers’ values. What speaks to their ideals? Know it – and you’ll acquire a loyal following.
 
f)   Three outlines to follow when writing your information: 1) Past…Present…Future, 2) Problem…Solution, and 3) Point….Reason…Example…Summary.
 
g)   These formats work well when formulating your thoughts in response to an impromptu question. We called these Table Topics in Toastmasters.
 
h)   As a writer with much expertise to share, these formats provide focus; helping to ensure you do not give too much or too little information.
 
i)        Key resources to keep nearby when writing: a thorough dictionary, a thesaurus, a style reference manual – a Scrabble dictionary is good too.
 
The next groupings of tips will deal with the content of the writings.
 

Kind regards…

]]> <![CDATA[Elevate Your Writing (cont'd)]]> Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:39:00 GMT
This week’s tips on “elevating” your writing:
 
a)      Learn your audience’s language. If they talk “deliverables,” “ROI’s,” “what the heck this does,” or “pedagogy” – you would respond in like.
 
b)      Before you begin – be sure your reason for writing is very clear. Do you want to entertain your reader? Get action? Sell? Or just to inform?
 
c)      Now determine what you, the writer, hopes to accomplish. First, you want the entire manuscript to be read. Second, is the readers’ response.
 
d)      Wait! Add a solid understanding of the audience’s needs for your manuscript. Their reason to read likely differs from your reason to write.
 
We will continue with the writer’s impact on his/her writing.
 
Kind regards…
]]> <![CDATA[Elevating Your Writing - Focusing on the Writer]]> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:03:00 GMT
The following excerpts are from the presentation I gave to one of my local networking groups. These are tidbits on how to “elevate your writing” from an editor’s point of view.
 
a)      The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you didn’t write.” – Unknown. Meaning DON’T NOT write – two negatives = a positive. Therefore, write!
 
b)      READ everything and anything…cereal boxes if nothing else. Reading improves your writing – especially if you choose the literary classics. You will discover the tools the authors use to entice you to continue reading.
 
c)      ALWAYS…ALWAYS keep the “reading” audience in mind – even 3rd party readers. You should focus your writing for their benefit (not yours). What do they need to get out of your written work?
 
d)      The age at which you start a writing career does not matter. Whether 5 or 50 or 85 – of concern is your dedication to your craft. Don't wait for spring - do it now...and enjoy.
 
e)      Know your audience. From a business owner's point of view clients differ from financiers, who differ from suppliers – each has diverse information needs. For students...professors differ from publishers in what they want in your manuscript. Write according to who your audience is and what they want.
 

Stay tuned – there are more mini writing lessons to come.

Linda Fletcher

Freelance Editor

LAFletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com

]]> <![CDATA[Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing...]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:34:00 GMT As promised here are the last six lessons divulged by Mike Armitage, the producer of the Dragon’s Den. These should help you in presenting your business to an audience – whether the audience includes Dragons, bankers, financiers, suppliers, or your potential clients.
 
Mike’s Lesson #6 – Personalize the presentation. True stories build trust with the Dragons. Stories can humble you and create credibility.
 
Mike’s Lesson #7 – Tell how you uncovered a need. Let Dragons know the reason your business started. Compel the audience to listen to you.
 
Mike’s Lesson #8 – Know your numbers. Speak Dragon-speak: finances, price structures, cost margins, etc. Know how business will make money.
 
Mike’s Lesson #9 – Know what you don’t know. Trying to bluff Dragons causes embarrassment on both sides. Admit your ignorance and learn.
 
Mike’s Lesson #10 – Individuality. Let Dragons see what makes you different and better than the competition. Communicate your uniqueness.
 
Mike’s Bonus Lesson #11 – Value simplicity. Capture Dragons: state your dominant business facts concisely. Make it short and knowledge-based.
 

Good ideas all - Thank you, Mike.

 

Many of these can be transferred to your written presentations and your online presentations – as well as the oral ones. Incorporating these into your presentations can only enhance what the audiences sees/hears, which in turn could help your goals come to fruition.

 
Happy Presenting,
Linda Fletcher
Freelance Editor
]]> <![CDATA[Dragon's Den - Presentation Ideas - Cont'd]]> Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT  
“Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, ''How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?'' and avoid ''How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?''”
-          James Thurber (American Writer, 1894 – 1961)
 
My opinion:
I agree with James Thurber. I would say it is the case for any writer – not just the older ones. It is not my job to change your manuscript to suit my opinion.
My editing style is to suggest changes – noting that I did not understand a particular section, thus believing the end reader may not understand it as well. I will then suggest a rewrite for what I think the writer intends.
He/she then has the capacity to say “Yeah” or “Nay.” However, by offering my point of view – the writer can reread what was written with more subjective eyes to see how the original passage was interpreted differently than he/she intended.

Inserting these types of comments and suggestions takes more time – I believe, it is time well spent to make the piece as honest to the writer’s voice as possible. I may add personal opinions on the topic, but these comments are prefaced by “Aside:” to denote these are not part of the edit.

LAFletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com

]]> <![CDATA[QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Nov 8]]> Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:49:00 GMT On October 26th, I heard Mike Armitage, producer from the Dragon's Den, give tips on how to present your business - valuable lessons all. The following are my take on Mike’s lessons. On this and one other blog entry, I will encapsulate summaries of what I took with me from Mike’s presentation .
 
Mike’s Lesson #1 – Know your audience. Board games = zero Return on Investment; thus, Dragons won't invest. Give target AUDIENCE what they need.
 
Mike’s Lesson #2 – Be concise. Headlines should give Dragons Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How as simply as possible. List benefits fast - it isn't a mystery play.
 
Mike’s Lesson #3 – Don’t over promise/under deliver. Be honest with your Dragons concerning your deliverables (what/when). False bragging does not become you.
 
Mike’s Lesson #4 – Could your Grandmother Dragon get your message? Do not let your audience shutdown before they get a chance to understand your benefits.
 
Mike’s Lesson #5 – Forget garish staging. Props should help Dragons understand the message. Keep your presentation in sync with your brand.
 

Come back soon to see the next 6 lessons.

Linda Fletcher

Freelance Editor

LAFLetcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com

www.wingedhorseenterprises.com

 

]]> <![CDATA[Dragon's Den - Presentation Ideas]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:14:00 GMT Q: Won’t having my writing edited by someone else mean that I have to share “ownership”?
A: Simply answered, “No.” 
       You are the writer, even if you have given the raw material to the editor to put into a properly formatted version of your document…you retain ownership of the thoughts. The original ideas, that prove the expertise behind the document, are your inspiration.
When all text (a.k.a. “copy”) that you have written is edited, but before the copy is submitted for release…you, the writer, have the final choice of what to and what not to include of the suggested changes.
For copyediting changes what was originally written is either correct according to grammar, spelling, and punctuation conventions, or it is not. This is not subjective – it must follow current rules of grammar, et al.
Conversely, substantive editing, which includes the changing of words, phrases, sentences, and/or paragraphs, tends to be subjective in nature. As such, these changes may alter the original text enough that the intended meaning is lost. This is where Word’s Track Changes function ideally shows where the changes have been suggested, allowing the writer to review the sentence with and without the changes, to see if the intent remains with the improved flow. The writer must then physically click “accept/reject change.”
However, by offering suggested changes, the editor is recognizing that the original text, as it was written, caused him/her to believe the end reader will either be confused or otherwise disinterested in the text. The changes are offered to clarify the writing, in essence to help the reader (a) understand the concepts presented, and (b) want to read the entire article/brochure/website. Yet, the writing must still have the underlying intent that the writer wanted to convey.
Another fabulous tool in Word is the Insert Comment function. This allows the editor to let the writer know why a particular change was suggested. The writer is given the chance to step out of the work to see it with new eyes – eyes that are not emotionally tied to the original writing. These new eyes might now see the work as the end reader might read the work, and understand where the confusion may occur or how changing the order of a sentence allows the ideas to flow; thus, creating a work the reader will take pleasure in reading from start to finish.
When editors make their marks (manually or electronically), while proofreading a piece of writing, they are offering suggestions only. You, the writer, penned the ideas and thoughts - editors merely suggest improvements to the word/punctuation usage - you retain full ownership of the ideas presented in written format.
Your baby is your baby, after all!
Linda Fletcher
Freelance Editor
LAFletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com
]]> <![CDATA[Writing Ownership]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:35:54 GMT Q: I have trouble with the use of contractions – i.e., “your” versus “you’re” et al. How can I eliminate this problem in my writing?
A: Contractions like “you’re” and “they’re” are difficult when writing/typing your thoughts quickly usually because these are homonyms to other words, like “your” and “their” or “there,” and because you can type faster without having to put in the apostrophe. Usually, Spell Check functions will catch these faux-pas, but if you are writing the old fashioned way with a manual typewriter, or more draconian-like with pen and paper, the following are some suggestions.
The easiest way to eliminate the problem is not to use contractions at all. When you are composing write the full version of “you’re” as “you are,” or “they’re” as “they are.” Then you will not have the problem of contraction misuse.
However, using the full version of these phrases can make the writing sound stilted when you want the “voice” of the work to be more casual – like everyday speech.
In this case, you can do one of two things:
A)     While you are writing/typing mentally say the long version before continuing – if you would fill in the next word(s) with “you are …..” then be sure to change the space between to an apostrophe and eliminate the “a.” If the next word is the possessive pronoun, such as “your book,” then continue writing/typing. See the Tip below.
B)     If you know all of the contractions that you tend to misuse, then make a list. Whenever you are finished a piece of writing, be sure to go back over the text to find each version and again say the sentence out loud using the non-contracted version to see which makes sense. Use the Tip below.
Tip: You wouldn’t say “here is you are book;” thus the correct version is “your” showing that someone owns the book. Similarly, you wouldn’t say “your going home,” although because it is a homonym it sounds like you would say that, instead in long version you would say “you are going home” – in this case then you could use the contracted version “you’re.”
You would use the similar exercise for “they’re,” however there are two other homonyms that might end up being used in error. The long version of “they’re” is “they are;” mentally use this in the sentence to see if it is the correct version. “Their” is a possessive pronoun – “it is their book” – again you would not say “it is they are book.” While “there” can be an adverb “Sit over there,” a pronoun “Hello there,” an adjective “John there will help you,” a noun “From here to there,” or an interjection…
“There, now we can all get some peace!”
Linda Fletcher
Freelance Editor
LAFletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com
 
]]> <![CDATA[Contraction Misuse]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:35:54 GMT    Serial commas refer to the punctuation that separates items in a list; for example:  

                     Oranges, apples, bananas, and grapes are good.

   There will likely be dispute into infinity about whether the last comma (the one before “and grapes") is necessary.

   Legally it could make a huge monetary difference.  For example, if someone’s will and last testament stated, "My entire estate is to be divided between Linda, Sue, Andrew and Rosemary.”  This means that the estate is to be divided only three ways: one full third to Linda, one full third to Sue, and the last third is to be given to Andrew and Rosemary, as one entity, to divide as they see fit.

   However, if it stated, “My entire estate is to be divided between Linda, Sue, Andrew, and Rosemary.” It now means that the estate is divided four ways: one quarter to Linda, one quarter to Sue, one quarter to Andrew, and Rosemary. Linda and Sue both get smaller shares. While Andrew and Rosemary get a specific amount for each of themselves, which may be combined for a total of one half of the estate.

   Thus, if the estate was worth a cool $1M – you can see that in Rosemary's and/or Andrew's case getting a full $150,000 is better than receiving some unknown percentage of 1/3 share and possibly receiving $83,333.33 at best for a payout - as was the case without the last serial comma.

   Academically, if you are working on a paper you should use whichever serial comma style your professor and/or faculty prefers (MLA, APA, or Chicago) for you to use.  Keep in mind these may change from year-to-year. 

Go figure!

Linda Fletcher

Freelance Editor

lafletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com

]]> <![CDATA[Serial Commas]]> Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:52:47 GMT Here’s the scenario … Your company has decided to give out awards to employees who go above and beyond the call of duty.  The Human Resource Dept. has written a memo that reads, “… and a plague will be issued with the recipient's name on it.” Yikes!  Who wants a "plague" with their name on it - when a "plaque" would be much nicer?

 

The computer's spell check nor grammar check would catch this mistake because…

a)      The word is a noun, which fits the syntax criteria; and

b)      The word is spelled correctly.

 

Only a human eye was able to catch the error before the memo went out to too many people.

 

The key to having an editor is that he/she makes the writing clearer to all end users. You do not want the reader’s first thought to be that the writer must be a country bumpkin. Do you?

 

Keep your eyes open!

Linda Fletcher

Freelance Editor

lafletcher@wingedhorseenterprises.com

]]> <![CDATA[Why aren’t the spell and grammar checking word processing tools enough?]]> Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:13:49 GMT