Sunday, November 15, 2009

Style Stinkpot

Ever find yourself dying for the want of proper grammar, mechanics, and punctuation? Do you lose a speaker’s point because he’s used the subjective case pronoun rather than the objective? Do you fantasize late-night correction of misspelled traffic signs? Are you jazzed by the merits of serial commas?

If you cross the centerline at the sight of “Watch for Busses,” cringe at “…between you and I,” laugh out loud at signage like “Sanitary Sewer,” or chronically resist the urge to correct egregious errors of style, then The Storyteller’s Inkpot: Elements of Style Stinkpot blog is for you.

Go ahead—get it off your chest. You know you want to. You may even need to. You’ll have a better day. And we’ll be better for your effort. Think of it as writer’s hygiene. Don’t suffer in silence! Dump it in the Stinkpot. What stylistic gaffe drives you loco?

3 comments:

  1. The use of 'entitled' instead of 'titled' to introduce a book.

    Can't count the times I've seen this used in publishing and journalism--as if the 'en' adds prestige. Although it is heartening in a way. Means I'm not the only one making mistakes!

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  2. Like every college, we have freshman orientation every year. I hate it when I see staff members comment on how/why/how well the students were "orientated" this year.

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  3. Inappropriate use of the reflexive. As in, "That bothers Marsha and myself."

    *Twitch*

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