Introduction

What I Do 

1. Mechanical editing, which covers grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and so forth 

2. Substantive editing, which addresses content, organization, effectiveness, style, unity, appropriateness to audience, and the like 

3. Developmental editing, which guides the author through the planning and writing of a manuscript 

4. Seminars on grammar, composition, technical writing, business writing, and fiction 

I accept fiction, nonfiction, articles, and technical, academic, and commercial documents. 

What I Don't Do 

1. Documents on a level of technicality that requires an editor from the field 

2. Manuscripts I consider hateful, libelous, or pornographic   

Introduction

Occasionally, I get requests for topics covered within the past year. If you have not received those issues, please let me know (email, text) so I can send you a copy. Requested topics that have never or not recently been covered will get my attention in the next few issues. If you should have a burning question that cannot wait, let me know directly, and I will try to help you answer it.

 Questions

A question that has come up repeatedly is the verb form after “one of” or “one of the few.” And don’t get me started on “one of the only.” We have talked about it before, but for those of you who are new to this newsletter, here it is again: 

                He is one of those people who get up before 5 a.m.

                The cat is one of the few animals that purr. 

The trick is to remember that the relative clause (who get up before 5 a.m., that purr) belongs to the category noted just before (early risers, purring animals). He is one of [those people who get up before 5 a.m.]. The cat is one of [the few animals that purr]. The antecedent and the subject of that clause (people who, animals that) and therefore the verb, are plural. 

There is no such thing as one of the only anything. You are either the only, or one of the few. It is entirely impossible to be one of the only, because “the only” means there is just one. The same, but with a few exceptions, goes for “one of the first.” Technically, there is only one first, but we do refer to groups as the first (the first settlers). To eliminate argument, make it “among the first.”

 Grammar Gripes and Style Stumblers

                After mowing the lawn, the baby got her bath.

                At the age of four, his father became an attorney.

                An animal lover, her cat was her best friend.

       After winning the spelling bee, author Kent Smith handed him the trophy.

                As an Alaskan, the Swedish winter brought back memories.

                Old and sick, his family abandoned him.

                Horizontal in the hurricane, she found no shelter under the trees. 

Sentences such as these begin with a modifier, that is, a noun or a phrase that cannot stand by itself and makes no sense without a main clause following it. Reading aloud, you will find that intonation rises just before the comma, leading the reader to believe that something more is coming, something that will complete meaning. The modifier is followed by a comma. The first word after the comma should be the logical subject of what came before, and in these sentences it is not. The baby did not mow the lawn, the father was not four, the cat was not the animal lover, the author did not win the spelling bee, the Swedish winter is not an Alaskan, his family was not old and sick, and the woman who couldn’t find shelter was not horizontal in the hurricane. 

Rephrasing is the answer, and the writer’s imagination is the only limitation to what can be done to salvage these sentences. For instance:

After the lawn was mowed, the baby got her bath. (There is no modifier, just two clauses.)

After mowing the lawn, Alex gave the baby her bath. (Modifier is followed by its subject.)

When Jack was four, his father became an attorney.

An animal lover, she had a cat for her best friend.

After winning the spelling bee, he received the trophy from author Kent Smith.

After Tommy won the spelling bee, author Kent Smith presented him with the trophy.

To me as an Alaskan, the Swedish winter brought back memories.

Old and sick, he was abandoned by his family.

Horizontal in the hurricane, the trees offered no shelter.

 Terrible Twos

incident =  an occurrence of an action or a situation, an event (frequently an unpleasant one)         

an unpleasant occurrence, one that might have negative consequences

Two road-rage suspects punched each other. The incident was recorded on video.

The meeting of diplomats was bound to create an incident.

incidence =  the frequency with which a certain phenomenon or event occurs

The incidence of road-rage injuries is on the rise.

 Media Turkeys

Alongside the fellow countrymen (sort of like a countryman from the same country) and the extremely unique (as opposed to simply unique, which means merely one-of-a-kind) athletes, many players and their shots at the US Open tennis tournament are classified only as historic or breathtaking. Throwing around such accolades as frequently as commentators do makes it predictable that without an even stronger word in their vocabulary, they resort to adding intensifiers such as extremely, very, uncommonly and so forth, thereby watering down the meaning of the original term. If extremely unique is more than unique, unique was not so unique, was it? 

Seldomly, said one courtside reporter.

Potholes

 Everybody Does It