To judge, or not to judge, that is the (editing) question (part 1)

Recently, I’ve had more than a few friends tell me they get nervous when sending me a text message. Why would this be? I’m fairly direct, somewhat blunt and occasionally prickly—okay, I’m frequently prickly. But surely I’m not that bad? Am I? After some not so subtle probing, it transpires they’re worried I’ll pick them … Read more

WRITING OR EDITING: THREE WAYS A STYLE GUIDE WILL HELP YOU

Writing in Australian English is, at best, a chore and at worst, a complete nightmare from which we feel we will never wake. Our rules are inconsistent, frequently incomprehensible and often downright frustrating. We have multiple spellings and meanings for words. We can’t decide if we want the Oxford comma or not. Capital letters appear … Read more

THE OXFORD COMMA – PROOFREADING JOY OR NIGHTMARE?

When I was a student, learning the ‘rules of punctuation’, I would never have dreamt a tiny mark on my page would be the subject of such contention—even among professional editors. The culprit in question, the comma, is of extreme importance when it comes to ensuring clarity in your writing. It has many uses and … Read more