Tip of the Week

Let's talk about scare quotes. Here's what CMS says:

7.58 "Scare quotes." Quotation marks are often used to alert readers that a term is used in a nonstandard, ironic, or other special sense. . . . Like any such device, scare quotes lose their force and irritate readers if overused.

Oh, how true.

Wait, I need to geek-out for a moment: I love how CMS puts the term in quotes. Hilarious.

Many authors use scare quotes as a form of emphasis. Do not do this. It makes no sense when you buckle down and take a long, hard look at it. Consider:

"Forensic" material can help establish a criminal's guilt.

Obviously, forensic is an important word in this sentence, and the author would like to stress it as such. Perhaps this is a potential vocabulary word. This may seem like a good idea, but this is how the current sentence reads:

So-called forensic material can help establish a criminal's guilt.

Unless this sentence is from a book entitled Forensic Science Isn't Real: 101 Conspiracy Theories, we need to adhere to the notion that forensics is a branch of science. I wouldn't say,

"Genetics" is the reason I have blonde hair.

If I don't believe in genetics, this sentence is dead-on; and it would be a great addition to my book DNA, the Hidden Truth: Scientists Broke Up My Family.

Try using boldface or italics to stress important words in your text—but make sure to be consistent!

And remember, don't overuse scare quotes. Think about that really sarcastic friend you have, the person you can't say anything to without a scathing comment zinging back in return. (If you lack this friend, just think about Chandler from Friends.) When you overuse scare quotes, you become that friend. In written form. You and I may lack the courage to hang up on our annoying friend, but a reader can always put down a book.

Tip of the Week

Better late than never, right?!

All the rain and flooding (and power outages) has me thinking about major storms.

When writing about a named storm, such as Hurricane Andrew, always use the pronoun it instead of a gender-specific pronoun.

Even though the storm in my area knocked out my power around 5 a.m., I doubt we'll get a chance to name it. Bummer.

Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 8.83.

Tip of the Week

Always use the present tense when writing about literature and art.

This is a handy tip for students, teachers, writers and editors of educational materials, and book reviewers.

Even though a lot of literature is narrated in the past tense, writers must use present tense when writing about literature.

Why?

Books, poetry, sculptures, paintings--they all exist in the present, despite the fact that they were created in the past. Anything that was created eons ago, but has remained part of our culture is to be written about in the present tense.

For example:

Daisy is the object of Gatsby's obsession.

NOT

Daisy was the object of Gatsby's obsession.

The same logic follows when talking about an author's use or method in creating the work:

Shakespeare creates an intimacy between Iago and the audience.

NOT

Shakespeare created an intimacy between Iago and the audience.

Initially, you may have to think about your use of tense as you write, especially if you are using quotations from the subject within your work. But don't worry, eventually it will become second nature.