My Top 10 Pet Peeves
You’ll have to go somewhere else to find 2014’s top 10 movies, books, TV shows, etc., but my top 10 list–as you might expect–is focused on writing. Enjoy!
10. Capitalizing words that aren’t proper nouns (like bank and company)
9. Leaving two spaces after periods (that’s old school)
8. Misusing their and its (we were going to their party, but the company has its party on the same night)
7. Misusing semicolons (they’re not the same as colons or commas)
6. Confusing you’re and your (the former is a contraction, short for you are; the latter denotes possession)
5. Confusing it’s and its (see the comment above, with the exception that it’s is short for it is)
4. Using hyphens instead of dashes (hyphens should only be used like this: much-needed advice)
3. Defining an acronym (like NHL) and still spelling it out (National Hockey League) in subsequent uses
2. Using that instead of who to describe people (those of you who read this newsletter is correct)
1. Knowing full well that you could benefit from getting some help on the writing front–even just having your work edited–but failing to take any action.
I know I’m no David Letterman, but since my aim here wasn’t to get laughs, I can live with that.
Season’s Greetings
Hanukkah begins tonight and Christmas is next week. This shouldn’t merely be a season of buying gifts and overeating, but of appreciating everything we have, starting with family and friends, and giving a hand to those who are not as fortunate. It’s also a time to set goals for the New Year, something I usually don’t do–but I have three main goals for 2015: sustain the growth my business saw in 2014, treat myself a little (because I deserve it) and find love, something that’s been absent in my life for a long, long time.
Special Thanks
I appreciate all my clients and am thankful they trust me to assist them with their writing and editing needs. I do want to send special thanks to those who used me consistently in 2014, leading to my best year ever: Bop Design, Eaton Corporation, IPC The Hospitalist Company, Carl Sheeler, Vronay Engineering, Shepard Mais, Servant Leadership Institute, Point Loma Nazarene University and Audley Travel (the latter from across the pond in England). I look forward to continuing to serve you–and anyone who needs my help–in 2015.
adriennemoch.com • adrienne@adriennemoch.com • 619-291-4645