The Elements of Style - Strunk and

Every person who writes should have a copy of "The Elements of Style" at hand.

http://www.nytimes.com...

At 10/26/2009 7:28:47 AM, dogparktom wrote:
Every person who writes should have a copy of "The Elements of Style" at hand.

http://www.nytimes.com...

Here is "The Elements of Style" for you to read:
http://www.bartleby.com...

The Elements of Style is a bit picky at times, but definitely rescued me from some bad habits.

I agree. Highly recommended.

It seems a bit outdated. Like in the section about often misspelled words, it says:

Write to-day, to-night, to-morrow (but not together) with hyphen.

Write any one, every one, some one, some time (except the sense of formerly) as two words.

I would never hyphenate "today" or "tonight", and would never make "anyone" or "someone" two words.

At 10/26/2009 4:45:40 PM, leet4A1 wrote:
and would never make "anyone" or "someone" two words.

There are legitimate reasons to write "any one" and "some one." See: http://grammar.about.com...

At 10/26/2009 5:01:04 PM, PoeJoe wrote:

At 10/26/2009 4:45:40 PM, leet4A1 wrote:
and would never make "anyone" or "someone" two words.

There are legitimate reasons to write "any one" and "some one." See: http://grammar.about.com...

Those are, in essence, different words.

Having a manual to write your native language is silly. Read moar books and you won't need it.

At 10/26/2009 5:04:57 PM, Ragnar_Rahl wrote:

At 10/26/2009 5:01:04 PM, PoeJoe wrote:

At 10/26/2009 4:45:40 PM, leet4A1 wrote:
and would never make "anyone" or "someone" two words.

There are legitimate reasons to write "any one" and "some one." See: http://grammar.about.com...

Those are, in essence, different words.

Having a manual to write your native language is silly. Read moar books and you won't need it.

Reading and writing are two very different things. Our world is flooded with bad writing and grammar. Starbucks asks its customers to use "less" napkins. Road signs remind us to look our for "slow children." Want an example closer to home? Just take a look at this forum!

Even professional writing can be messed up. John Grisham's The Firm is filled with misused vocabulary. Hell, I've even heard President Obama mix up the subjective and objective cases.

Especially for writers starting out (e.g. yours truly), writing books can come in a lot of handy.

At 10/26/2009 5:42:15 PM, PoeJoe wrote:

At 10/26/2009 5:04:57 PM, Ragnar_Rahl wrote:

At 10/26/2009 5:01:04 PM, PoeJoe wrote:

At 10/26/2009 4:45:40 PM, leet4A1 wrote:
and would never make "anyone" or "someone" two words.

There are legitimate reasons to write "any one" and "some one." See: http://grammar.about.com...

Those are, in essence, different words.

Having a manual to write your native language is silly. Read moar books and you won't need it.

Reading and writing are two very different things.

One is a consequence of the other.

Want an example closer to home? Just take a look at this forum!

Most internet bad grammar is deliberate. :).

Even professional writing can be messed up. John Grisham's The Firm

Grocery store bestsellers have poor grammar because of carelessness, not lack of knowledge-- they aren't supposed to be too meticulous.

Hell, I've even heard President Obama mix up the subjective and objective cases.

He is speaking. Speaking is spur of the moment. A manual will not help you there.
(I was tempted to say "Even?" Woul've been more fun.)

Road signs remind us to look our for "slow children."

Well that's a bit unfair. Should the signs say "Slow your car because there are often children here?"

Of course not, because while the driver would be distracted, reading that, he would accidentally run down little kids with his Hummer h2.

At 10/26/2009 5:53:47 PM, Ragnar_Rahl wrote:

At 10/26/2009 5:42:15 PM, PoeJoe wrote:
Even professional writing can be messed up. John Grisham's The Firm

Grocery store bestsellers have poor grammar because of carelessness, not lack of knowledge-- they aren't supposed to be too meticulous.

Grisham spent three years writing that thing.

Hell, I've even heard President Obama mix up the subjective and objective cases.

He is speaking. Speaking is spur of the moment. A manual will not help you there.
(I was tempted to say "Even?" Woul've been more fun.)

But he messes up all the time, even in planned speeches: http://blog.seattlepi.com...

The point remains. Being a voracious reader does not automatically make you a good writer. It can certainly help. But to master and really refine your writing abilities, you have to practice. Books like The Elements of Style can help.