Some of you will recognize the title quote, "Do you pop out at parties?", from the classic TV show I Love Lucy. But to many others, it sounds like a terrible wardrobe malfunction. And that's why it was a terrible advertising idea from a major women's clothing...
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Tuxedoed Writing
Will Rogers, Jr. once advised a fellow actor, “Don't ever take a dramatic lesson. They will try to put your voice in a dinner jacket, and people like their hominy and grits in everyday clothes." The actor – Dale Robertson – followed Rogers’s advice and became a highly...
The Joys of Language Evolution
No one likes change. Or so they say. The English language is in a constant state of evolution. Some people think it’s a bad thing and mourn the idea of static language. I think it’s a good thing – even an exciting thing – especially for writers. Why is this a good...
How Many Bananas?
The saddest misprint is a huge misprint. I found this mistake on a huge banner at a picnic event, and the sentence above was, unfortunately, one of the selling points of the product. The "e" has been left off from the word "one". It should read "More potassium...
Sex Scenes in Young Adult Books?
Malorie Blackman and Melvin Burgess say teenagers should read books in high school which tackle realistic sexual relationships as well as realistic sex itself. Their argument is that teenagers are going to get their information on sex and what it's like (or should be...
What Makes Good YA (Young Adult) Fiction?
Every genre has its own characteristics, and characters in novels each have their own personalities, accents, speech patterns, etc. It’s what distinguishes them from each other and makes each character unique, turning them into believable people. YA writing goes a bit...
Falling In Love Can Be Dangerous
As writers, we love what we do. Let’s face it – if we weren’t passionate about it, would we pour our hearts and souls onto page after page, into book after book, not knowing if anyone else will share our passion? Of course not. We also tend to fall in love with our...
Proofreading 101: The “Mined” Chicken Incident
Here's a fun little typo from a restaurant menu - it insinuates that the chicken was actually mined, the way diamonds or gold would be. Funny, I always thought that chickens were farmed, not mined! 😉 That proofreading error - "mined" instead of "minced" - flashed...
The Absence of Writing
Dennis Quaid said, “Good film is the absence of acting.” What a great point. If you notice the acting, you’re removed from the depth of the film itself. Actors need to be natural and to fit their roles, not to deliver a series of choreographed lines and moves that...
Ironic Forbes Error
This misspelling - and obvious proofreading oversight - was in a June 2, 2013 Forbes article titled, "Book Publishing May Actually Save Itself". What's ironic is that the error appeared in an article about publishing! And the misspelled word, which should have been...