Merry Xmas! This informal greeting includes an abbreviation. The Greek word for Christ (Christos) begins with the Greek letter chi, which in English is X; therefore, Christmas is abbreviated as Xmas. The terms acronym, initialism, and abbreviation can be confusing. They tend to get lumped together as acronyms. But they each mean something different. acronym […]

Sometimes colloquial language causes confusion in writing. I often notice a lot written as one word, alot. This is a mistake that I’m pretty sure isn’t always a typo. A lot has been written incorrectly so much that many people have accepted the incorrect form as correct. Even educated people make this mistake. So why […]

Have you ever had trouble finding something in a room full of clutter? It’s overwhelming and can lead to confusion, frustration, and wasted time. Clutter takes our focus away from important things. I love removing clutter. Editing is like clearing clutter from a room. The result is organization and clarity; important things can be easily […]

People sometimes ask me how many spaces should be after a period at the end of a sentence. The answer is one. People who ask this question are those who first learned to type on a typewriter. They were taught to use two spaces, and it became a habit. Years ago, typographers, the people who […]

In this post, you’ll discover why it’s not always a good idea to stop and edit your work while you write. The creative process needs to flow with as little interruption as possible. If it stops, original ideas may never come to fruition. When you write, you’re using language to express ideas. Whether you’re writing […]