Apostrophic Error’s.

When reading sample edits in a writing magazine, I've recently come across examples where a comma before the conjunction so has been pronounced incorrect. Since so is one of the FANBOYS conjunctions (which, we are advised, require commas before their use) and since I'm getting a bit rusty myself since I last looked into commas, … Continue reading So. . . Connecting clauses

Tell It Like It Is

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018 ~ Cathy Cade ~ 3 Comments

Dialogue can be tricky. If you want to make your characters’ conversations sparkle, there is plenty of good advice on the internet. But first, tidy up basics, like punctuation and speech tags, that can distract from your brilliant banter. This is a checklist to help you dust off your dialogue ready for that final polish that … Continue reading Tell It Like It Is

Absolute Beginners

April 24, 2018April 26, 2019 ~ Cathy Cade ~ 1 Comment

I once thought proofreading might be a suitable retirement occupation, and signed up for an online course. I don’t know why I thought proofreading was for me. At work, whenever I penned an instruction leaflet or drafted an all-staff email, someone would read it through and always – every time – find errors and typos. … Continue reading Absolute Beginners