tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post480594771202524436..comments2023-04-27T06:14:51.777-07:00Comments on clickthing: Regularitympclemenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12807147515549175803noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post-82983411765501900062011-10-12T16:25:51.909-07:002011-10-12T16:25:51.909-07:00@Ledeaux: There are no absolutes in grammar and st...@Ledeaux: There are no absolutes in grammar and style rules, of course, but I know that I'm a <i>passive voice addict</i> when I'm drafting, and that the act of a slight rewording generally brightens up my sentences. I still let it stand in dialogue, but like use of the exclamation point, I think passive voice should be used rarely.<br /><br />@notagain and @duffy: I'm with you on personal preference. I still double-space after sentences, unless I make an effort not to. It's just so natural. I've read a couple of style guides that reject them, though. The more important thing is to <i>be consistent</i> with usage, which is something I also fail to do.<br /><br />I'm having trouble thinking of a mid-sentence abbreviation that uses a period. Even initials are losing the extra characters now. "U.S.A." is replaced by "USA" for instance. At least this means fewer punch-throughs on my poor abused platens.<br /><br />@Speegle: Wasn't directed at you <b>specifically</b>, but if you happen to benefit from the advice, so be it. I know that after a while I am blind to the numerous goofs in my own texts. It was eye-opening to see how many times I'd used a phrase offset with a colon, or how often I used vague qualifiers like "about" and "nearly" and "almost." I think this comes in with the passive voice: the first draft is not assertive enough! (And please note the use of a colon there.)mpclemenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12807147515549175803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post-8596238050384855932011-10-12T08:37:44.925-07:002011-10-12T08:37:44.925-07:00OKAY MIKE I GET IT.
Seriously, though, I have be...OKAY MIKE I GET IT. <br /><br />Seriously, though, I have been using "find and replace" ever since there was one (for words I can spell but just can't seem to type, like ncesesary), but I never thought to use it for capitals and such. Also, I could have sword that Word used to auto-cap for me. Weird. <br /><br />I shall use these advanced techniques to send you cleaner copy. Now if only there was a find and replace for shoddy plotting...Mike Speeglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08648532407369443335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post-28400212883758121002011-10-12T08:35:49.924-07:002011-10-12T08:35:49.924-07:00Some of us LOVE our typewriterly holdovers. And y...Some of us LOVE our typewriterly holdovers. And you'll have to pry them out of our cold, dead, ink-stained, hypertrophic, Carpal-Tunnel-Syndrome-Free hands.Duffy Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105074089216551597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post-90653863117507090772011-10-12T06:13:56.622-07:002011-10-12T06:13:56.622-07:00Excellent useful post. It seems to me that double...Excellent useful post. It seems to me that double-spacing at the ends of sentences *should* be more important than ever, so that the wp can tell the difference between a new sentence needing a capital and a mid-sentence abbreviation. It really cheeses me off when that happens. Screw modern usage - I'm double-spacing anyway.notagainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02915679111849352765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1058472817603514138.post-91311200856255378752011-10-12T05:14:25.156-07:002011-10-12T05:14:25.156-07:00An interesting/insightful essay on "A Place f...An interesting/insightful essay on "A Place for the Passive" is at http://www.slideshare.net/profesorbaker/a-place-for-the-passive<br /><br />Rules are made to be broken! And the "never use passive" is a rule that can be bent successfully!J.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716960326168886178noreply@blogger.com