Previously, I discussed the “skeleton” of the term paper: the outline. Knowing the outline, though, can only get you so far.

Ah, the freelance writer.
Most people assume that freelancing is one of the most laid-back and easiest career paths ever to happen to man. True: there’s no need to go suit-and-tie every morning, no rush hour commute, no boss to drive you up the wall every single day.
What most people don’t realize, however, is that freelancing means you’re on your own. Literally. There’s no company to handle your tax payments, bills, client invoices, HMO, etc. More importantly, you don’t get to have a legal pit bull that’ll …

In a writing seminar I once attended (actually, it was the only one I ever attended), the speaker noted how some writers had the tendency to “over-describe”. When presenting readers with the story at hand, they tend to mistake “exaggerated” for “detailed”.
It’s not that you should be stingy when it comes to presenting your story.
A detailed story with enough meat and bones to satisfy readers is always good. You want your readers to find something they can sink their teeth into. I suppose you’ve come across articles …

Writers can be a rather frumpy lot. We tend to hold on to things we believe are “correct” or “appropriate”, in the same way that the Grammar Nazi believe modernizing the Queen’s language is sacrilege. We hold on to things that we learned from our teachers, mentors, literary idols. We tend to find solace in age old practices, thinking that we can never go wrong as long as we stay true to these time-tested adages.
Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. Here are some myths we might have …

If memory serves, I did my first interview for an article at age fourteen.
Young, I know. More importantly, I had no idea what I was doing. Back then, I thought the word “interview” meant asking the subject a few questions and you’re done. I had no clue, therefore, that there was actually a science to conducting an interview.
I realized I sucked big time when I got home and started to piece the answers together. While trying to reconstruct the subject’s answers, I found out that I …

Just a few months back, I had no idea what Entrecard was, let alone heard of it. I had just started pro-blogging and was as green as could be. In fact, I didn’t even want to sign up with Entrecard, simply because I thought it was some sort of nonsense site that spent its time gathering email addresses it could then sell to the online black market.
Obviously, I was wrong.
Now I’m a happy member, gleefully racking up credits through occasional dropping. I’m still not one of those …

Guess what. I wrote this yesterday, but I’m publishing it today.
I know it sounds stupid, but it’s something completely different and short of miraculous for someone like me. I’m almost always sick, as nearly everyone knows by now. Last week it was hyperacidity. This week — I don’t even want to explain. Anyway, stress over my day job and my freelance projects has led to quite a few days of unavoidable bed rest. That means I can’t even reach my Macbook. I have …

As much as I love Jim of The Net Fool, I saw one of his recent blog articles and had a seizure.
Not literally, though, and I’m still perfectly fine.
Anyway, I’m an e-mail subscriber of Jim’s moneymaking blog, so I automatically get updates when he has new posts. Last week, unfortunately, the title of his latest post sent me into a grammar fit. Here, in full, is his post’s title: “Question and Answer Session with the Net Fool: Win a Free Prize!”
Tell me you see what’s wrong.
I’ll understand if …

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

Yesterday, I went back to some of my old posts and started editing. I wasn’t just hunting for run of the mill errors; I was looking for something specific that — if not corrected — could ruin me. We could call it the Holy Grail of the Written Word.

I was looking for “i.e.” and replacing it with “e.g.”.

As a young student, I was taught early on that both “i.e.” and “e.g.” are used prior to giving examples. The only difference is that “i.e.” is used to give examples in sentence form, while “e.g.” is used when you enumerate.

I want my money back, school. That’s not how “i.e.” and “e.g.” are used.

What exactly is that orange square supposed to mean?
If you’re a blogger and you still have no idea what that tiny button means, you’re in trouble. That tiny square thing is not Spongebob’s drier cousin; it’s the near-universal symbol for Really Simple Syndication, better known as RSS.
I won’t go into the technical details; it’s unnecessary to go the jargon route, anyway. For us bloggers, the only thing that makes RSS worth noticing is its ability to increase traffic. It’s one of the best and most recommended means …