Reading I was telling my daughter the other evening that it is important to know how to spell, and just as important to know how to write (and write well). She’s going into 5th grade, so such a lecture may be a bit premature. No worries. This lecture will be a repetitive one. As I… Continue reading On Publishing and Writing and Documenting
Category: Writing
The Art of Editing, or Should Writers Use the Singular “They”?
Originally posted on Change It Up Editing:
I recently completed line editing a dystopian novel. After going through my edits, the author wrote to me with several questions, prefacing them with this statement: “I made the mistake of not pestering my last editor on details like these. I’m not making that mistake again.” He was…
Met a Real-Live Author Today
What’s a Real-Live Author? I suppose many of us, even those of us who fancy ourselves wannabe writers, tend to think of authors as the people with books that are published by Real-Big Publishers. In more generous terms, an author is probably anyone who writes stuff. Such a definition, of course, is a little feel-good.… Continue reading Met a Real-Live Author Today
Developer@Life
Since SDJ tweeted it today, I suppose it’s okay to announce… I’m pretty excited to have a regular column appearing in Software Developer’s Journal. My first column will contain an introduction–who I am, what I do, and what I hope to write about. Along with it, there will be a column on interview advice, including… Continue reading Developer@Life
Ack! Singular Nouns with Plural Pronouns
When Thomas Jefferson wrote “…all men are created equal,” was he deliberately excluding women? Of course he wasn’t! In his time, ‘men’ was a gender neutral and acceptable reference to mankind–male and female. Okay, I grant you that given the state of women’s rights, including voting rights, in Jefferson’s time, some may argue that he… Continue reading Ack! Singular Nouns with Plural Pronouns
Serial Comma
A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook, “Having a change of heart. Thinking of adopting the Oxford comma.” It got me thinking (and distracted).
Writing
Like all software engineers that I’ve ever met, I have a few other interests. One of those is writing (although I argue that the ability to write, and to do so well is an important skill in the life of a software developer). My favorite book about writing fiction is Stephen King’s On Writing. He’s… Continue reading Writing
MTR 