How the oceans got their names

Here is some interesting background to how the oceans got their names.

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7 common errors your PC will not catch

People say that technology is making people redundant all over the place.

Well, automated things can do a lot, but at the moment you still get howlers like these:

• nursing the accurately ill. We meant acutely.
• the quorum for any meeting is three, of which two should be present. I have to say, you have to be careful of your audience when you are telling that joke. Not everyone knows what quorum means. One lady told me that she knew quorum means 4, but sometimes it seems other people don’t know that.  Hmm.

Anyway, for anyone who is convinced that auto correct will pick up all your little wobbles, here are seven common errors that aren’t going to be picked up.

 

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The moon is green cheese

Here is some background to that odd phrase about the moon being green cheese. Which always seems odd. Why would green cheese spring to mind when you are trying to describe something?

How times change…

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Getting your characters to talk

If you are writing a novel, conversation is an important part of your book. It brings the story alive, and makes your characters believable.

But what should they be saying to each other?

This post summarises the types of conversations that might go on in your book.

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The difference between affect and effect

Many people get confused about affect and effect. Once you have written one of these words, somehow it looks wrong.

Looking it up often doesn’t help. If you are already confused, working out whether you are dealing with a verb or a noun can cause a lot of dithering. Oxford Dictionaries have put together  a nice infographic to help to decipher the rules.

Alternatively, this test may be easier to remember:

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Do you want to write for Warner Bros?

This could be your chance. Find more details here.

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Writing opportunities for May and June

Here are some links to look into if you want to get your work published.

Opportunities for writers in May and June.

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Words associated with salt

Here is a really interesting piece about words associated with salt.

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Formatting your ebook

Now here is a subject that comes up over and over again.

Many new authors fuss over their Word document so that it looks perfect on their screen. Most of this time is wasted, because:

• It will look different on another screen, with different settings.
• The software that creates the ebook will change everything anyway.

The important thing is to prepare your Word file to talk nicely to the software that makes the book. The way it looks on your screen will give you some clues, but the key is in the way the file is formatted.

This post will set you off in the right direction.

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5 Steps to land more writing gigs from your blog

As with many of these lists, there is an element of simplification about this post.

But still, there are some useful points about getting writing work by blogging.

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