Which of these is grammatically correct in context, ‘year old’ or ‘years old’?
I depends on the sentence.“Six-year- old ” is an adjective and “year” is singular. This is because six-year-old is one adjective referring to a kid. For example you would write, “He was a six-year-old boy”. Don’t forget the hyphens.“Six years old” uses only the word “six” as the adjective and it is plural.
Which is correct, "Thanks for reminder” or "Thanks for reminding"?
Neither. Use “thanks for the reminder” or “thanks for reminding me”.
Is it appropriate to use an interrobang ("!?") when writing a novel?
I won’t say “that depends.” I won’t use the word “depends” on Quora unless we’re discussing incontinence. So I’ll just say no. It ain’t appropriate. It’s also unwise.I remember what I learned when we tested direct marketing copy at the Foote, Cone & Belding office in Los Angeles. My boss was a tough lady who believed most Americans have a shaky grasp of grammatical arcana.“Don’t use fancy punctuation, kid,” Lorry said. (She was younger than me, but her dad had been an Irish cop on the South Side of Chicago, and speaking out of the side of her mouth in gruff gangsterese was part of her shtick.)Lorry hated semicolons: “Most people don’t know what they’re for,” she’d insist. “Use them and response rates drop.”We’d tabulate the results from our mailings for US West (now Verizon), and the numbers proved her point.Granted, you’re writing a novel, not direct marketing copy. But you want people to read your stuff. With readers nonplussed by semicolons, why add to their confusion with bizarre combinations of punctuation marks? That’s the nub of the issue.Me, I’d never use an exclamation point unless it follows words like “fire.” Don’t want to sound like a breathless schoolgirl. Sorry.That said, better writers than I use exclamation points all the time, and use them well. Tom Wolfe, for example, is famous for his exuberant overuse of exclamation points. It’s his trademark. Flip through The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test or The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby and you’ll see what I mean.English is a supple language. You can indulge your whims and break the rules when you know what they are and have internalized them.The rise and fall of the interrobangImage: Martha Soukup | CC BY 2.0
What is it like being a book editor? What do you do besides correct spelling/grammar? Do editors have "styles" like authors do?
What is it like being a book editor?What kind of editor? There are different kinds with different jobs. A substantive editor, for example, has a very different job from a copyeditor.What do you do besides correct spelling/grammar?If you’re a copyeditor, that’s most of what you do. Depending on what you’re editing (especially fiction vs nonfiction), you might also ensure a consistent style (Oxford comma or no? Nonmonogamy or non-monogamy? British English or American English spellings?) or, if you’re copyediting fiction, look out for continuity errors.A substantive editor, on the other hand, has a much different and more expansive role.Substantive editing focuses on the structure of the work, not on spelling or what commas go where. A substantive editor works to make sure the written work has a consistent tone and style, removes redundancy, points out ambiguity, finds logical or continuity errors, and may even do things like fact-checking. (The substantive editor for my memoir The Game Changer, for instance, looked at many years of my blog, my ex-wife’s blog, and the blogs of some of my former partners to make sure the timelines were correct.)A substantive editor also makes sure that the work is complete (for instance, that a non-fiction how-to guide is not skipping steps or missing information), looks for problems like passive voice rather than active voice, and checks to make sure it doesn’t contain jargon that might not be recognized by the target audience (or if it does, that it defines the jargon).Substantive editing is a very complex process, and an author may work closely with the substantive editor, especially for nonfiction. For example, The Game Changer went through six rounds(!) of substantive editing.
"Eats shoots and leaves" -could anybody explain what exactly it means??Thanks?
It's the title of a popular book about the sad state of English grammar. "Eats shoots and leaves" is a comical case of bad punctuation. It could mean that, like a panda, something eats shoots (bamboo shoots) and then leaves (goes away). Or punctuated another way, it could mean that someone eats something, then shoots (someone with a gun), and leaves. Or that something eats shoots bamboo, and also eats leaves. I can't remember the author of the book, but she was pretty tedious anyway. Hope this helps. :)
What is the origin of the quote "Whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stronger"?
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's original line was “Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker." The saying comes from the “Maxims and Arrows” section of Nietzsche’s book, Twilight of the the Idols (1888). It is usually translated into English as "what does not kill me makes me stronger."Nietzsche used a similar line in Ecce Homo (written 1888, published 1908), the last book he wrote before going completely insane. In the chapter entitled “Why I Am So Wise,” he wrote that a person who has “turned out well” could be recognized by certain attributes, such as a knack for exploiting bad accidents to his advantage. Regarding such a man, Nietzsche said: “What does not kill him makes him stronger.” (“Was ihn nicht umbringt, macht ihn stärker.”)Today, English translations and variations of Nietzsche’s maxim are often used for ironic effect. But they are also frequently used in a positive way, to express optimism and determination in the face of adversity. Many people might be surprised to learn that Nietzsche’s original German line was used as a motto for Hitler’s Nazi youth camps.
Tips on becoming a great writer?
I love to write, I am currently a college student trying to decide between being a journalist or a lawyer. I eventually want to be a full time fiction writer. Any advice?