Up All Night
I told myself I would go to bed early tonight to combat the recent festival-inspired sleep deprivation. I am a liar. What started as a harmless perusing out on Digg to see what was happening in the world, became hours worth of surfing through various articles. My curiosity was particularly piqued when I came across one article entitled Zen and the Art of Remarkable Blogging. As the author likes to state, this article has little to do with Zen Buddhism. It does, however, provide some straight-forward approaches towards creating a better blog. Check it out if you get a chance.
I quickly followed that up with Five Grammatical Errors That Make You Look Dumb and was briefly amused – especially to see one of Trish’s pet peeves laid bare. How many people break those rules daily?
After reading Ernest Hemingway’s Top 5 Tips for Writing Well, I finally realized I had to stop and whip up this post (eschewing Rule #3) so I could get some sleep. 5 Rules? Come on!
Actually, Hemingway did only have 4 rules for writing, and they were those he was given as a cub reporter at the Kansas City Star in 1917. But, as any blogger or copywriter knows, having only 4 rules will never do.
I also love his 6 word story.
For sale: baby shoes, never used.
Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post, Post,
Told ya Pete!
those rules are things kids learn in third grade. it makes me die a little bit inside when they aren’t followed.
The English major in me cringes everytime I see an email, blog, or forum post that contain at least one, if not all five, grammatical errors that make you look dumb. Even more so when it’s from our sales department sent out to a client!
I love this quote:
• And instead of saying “this software is error-free” or “foolproof,” say “this software is consistent” or “stable.”
Words rarely heard at Microsoft!