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PWH 1: I Versus Me

August 5, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

In this Corner

power writing hit logo

The two contenders — I and me — are ready to come out fighting. I’d better referee.

It’s a problem.

When do I put me into a sentence?

There is a solution.

It works like this.

    1. I and me are pronouns.

    2. They’re called first person pronouns because they name the person who is speaking or writing — I am speaking about me.

    3. When the pronoun is the subject or the doer of the action, use I.
    I like you.
    Ann and I need links.
    I want you to send money.
    Test the sentence that uses “Ann and I” by taking out the other person.
    I need links.

    4. When the pronoun is the object or receiver of the action, use me.
    You like me.
    The project team applauded Cat and me.
    You gave me the money I needed.

    5. When the pronoun comes after a preposition, use the object form.
    to me
    for Cat and me
    with Ann and me
    Test the sentence that uses “Cat and me” by taking out the other person.
    for me
    with me

    6. When the verb is a form of “to be,” such is, are, or was use the subject form on both sides.
    It is I.
    I am woe.
    The winners are Cat and I.
    The leads are Ann and I.
    Where was I?
    This is the one that makes everyone get all of the other ones wrong. If you know this is the exception, you’re fine.

    7. The rules work the same for he and him; she and her; they and them.

I will now be leaving the ring. Match settled without a punch between I and me.

Any questions?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help you with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Filed Under: Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, blog-promotion, personal-branding, Power-Writing-for-Everyone, Power-Writing-Hits, quality_content, relevant-content

Bad Boys: Every Kid Knows When to Use a Comma

August 5, 2006 by Liz Leave a Comment

What I Remember

badboys of writing

I’ve been hearing a lot about a bad boy who’s been hanging around lately. Bad boys of writing are tapes in our head that tell us things that undercut our productivity. This particular bad boy is more of a nuisance than most because he thinks we should remember every detail about writing we learned in school.

The Every Kid Bad Boy says “What’s wrong with you? Every kid knows when to use a comma. Why don’t you?”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: Bad-Boys-of-Writing, bc, blog-promotion, personal-branding, Power-Writing-for-Everyone, quality_content, relevant-content

Editorial Makeover 2: Music and Variety

July 27, 2006 by Liz 12 Comments

Listen in

Editorial Makeover logo

Okay, Liz. Here are a couple of paragraphs for you to edit. I’m excited about this opportunity, and have a really tough skin.

Blessings,

Shirley

Hi Shirley,
I don’t think you’ll be needing that thick skin. You’ve something that’s a great start. I feel like my job is to take A level work and move it to A++ work. In other words, you’ve left all of the fun part for me. 🙂

I went back to read the post that these paragraphs came from, because I had to know whether both paragraphs were talking about the same person. That wasn’t clear to me as a reader, even when I read the whole post, until I went back to your reference so I added the name of the young man in the first paragraph.

What I’ve done beyond that is change the sequence of things of the first paragraph to grab the reader more quickly. Then I added variety in sentence length and sentence type, put your thoughts into first person, changing a few words to add power to the description or music to the language. These changes were minimal edits really. I did the music part by reading it aloud several times to hear the rhythm of the words as they fell off my lips. So if you question a word change or a phrase added that’s probably what prompted it.

I also added a sentence for closure. This sentence is probably unnecessry in the actual post since you go on to other things. But as these two paragraphs standing alone. I felt the need to have an ending.

Remember, as always, this is only one way to edit it! Every editor edits differently.

Smiles,
Liz

Turn the page to look over my should as I do the editorial makeover. It’s called, “Music and Variety” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Content, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, Editorial-Makeover, Power-Writing-for-Everyone, Shirley-Buxton

12+1 Things Every Reader Wants from a How-To Article

July 26, 2006 by Liz 7 Comments

How to Or Not How to

Power Writing Series Logo

People are always teaching each other. We show each other new and easier ways to do things. As writers we teach people what we’ve learned. As readers, they teach us new stuff. All of this teaching surrounds one question, How?

How do I spot trends before they happen? How do I brand my business blog? How do I write compelling articles? How do I become an idea magnet? How do I code links? How do I make a contact form?

As a reader ready to learn, I find nothing more frustrating than a how-to article that doesn’t work. As a writer writing one, I know how hard it is not to miss something important. I’ve scoured my files to compile a list — a baker’s dozen — of things readers want when we answer How? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Checklists, Content, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: 12+1, bc, blog-promotion, genre, How-to-Writing, personal-branding, Power-Writing-for-Everyone

Editorial Makeover 1: Don’t Tell Me, Show Me

July 20, 2006 by Liz 4 Comments

Three Paragraphs

Editorial Makeover logo

Dear Liz,

What a fantastic idea! In one of my grad school classes we spent more than 30 minutes editing just a couple paragraphs. Some students found the exercise defeating and excessive, but to me it was a valuable lesson about cutting through jargon and getting to the point. Needless to say, I’m still learning.

I’m submitting three paragraphs from a recent post on my website. I’m researching Muslim immigrants in Berlin, and the following is from a recent post on language flubs. I’d be delighted if you gave my writing a makeover!

Thanks for your time and generosity!
Jim

Dear Jim,
You’ve got a great story here. I thought what might make it more fun would be to let the reader “see,” rather than just read about it. So I edited in a little dialogue to give your story more personality

Hope this helps you see the difference when you show readers what’s happening, rather than just telling us.

Remember this is just one way to do it! Every editor edits differently.

Smiles,
Liz

Turn the page for the editorial makeover. It’s called, “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Content, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, Editorial-Makeover, Jim-Gibbon, Power-Writing-for-Everyone

NEW POWER WRITING FEATURE: An Editorial Makeover

July 13, 2006 by Liz 15 Comments

Why Powerful Writing Is Important

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One of the ways I work with clients is to help them improve their writing. It might not be fair or accurate, but people judge our ability to reason by how we express ourselves in writing.

Thinking . . . writing . . . business . . . thinking . . . we can’t separate them.

business thinking writing

Together they determine our place in society. Whether you blog, write for business, or only email, writing is critical to your future.

New Feature: An Editorial Makeover

I’m introducing a new feature — An Editorial Makeover. It’s a Content Edit — a Before and After — where you can look over my shoulder. Every editor edits differently. You won’t agree with all of my choices. That could make for great conversation.

I’m starting with a paragraph from my own work Bad Boys of Business: That’s Not “Real” Work.

Turn the page to see the first Editorial Makeover. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Outside the Box, Personal Branding, Successful Blog, Writing Tagged With: bc, blog-promotion, Editorial-Makeover, personal-branding, Power-Writing-for-Everyone, quality_content, relevant-content

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