Today's Writing Tip: That Shirt Is so Gay!

When I was young, no one worried about political correctness. There were a number of very small people in my town and most of us referred to them as munchkins or midgets. That's because we didn't know any better. Today we call those people little people; the word dwarf is also perfectly acceptable, but midget is considered offensive.

Now that we are more evolved, we realize that there are all kinds of terms that we may have grown up with that aren't really appropriate in a writer's vocabulary. Anything that sounds even remotely derogatory about gays is something that you want to avoid unless you are deliberately portraying a character in a novel as being homophobic.

Likewise with sexist terminology. If you are talking about a 53-year-old, it's best not to refer to her as a girl or a lady. Woman is the preferred term.

The word retarded has been in the news lately thanks to Ann Coulter making a big splash calling President Obama "a retard," and it's not the president who took offense! It was the disabled community, particularly those with Down's Syndrome. No doubt Coulter did not intentionally try to disparage anyone with Down's Syndrome; however, her choice of words was unfortunate. If you know anything at all about Coulter, you will know that she didn't care, but I'm sure that you do.

Because it's not just about being politically correct. It's about being sensitive, thoughtful, and kind. So when you finish writing your blog piece, your article, or your manuscript, ask yourself if any of your hidden prejudices or words that you have used all your life that you never thought of as being anti-Semitic, ageist, or whatever, could hurt somebody else's feelings. And then go back and remove them.

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor http://tinyurl.com/7wnk5se and two erotic short stories, which she wrote under the pen name Tiffanie Good. Silver Publishing just released "The Pink Triangle," a tale of friendship, lust, and betrayal. You can view her story here: http://tinyurl.com/6v65rgr  

 

Today's Writing Tip Is on All Right, Already, and Altogether

All right, already, and altogether are phrases that may confuse writers. When are they one word and when are they two?

Let's start with all right. The one word version is slang. It's not acceptable and you won't find it in a proper dictionary.

Altogether is another story. Let's say that my uncle died and the family assembled to celebrate his life. We were all together at the funeral. And when I added up the cost of my hotel room in my airfare, altogether the bills amounted to $1000. Both versions are adverbs, but the one word version means completely or entirely whereas the two word version refers to a group of something – people, books, things.

Likewise with already. I had already finished my homework means I had completed it before the due date. But if I was going out for coffee with a group of friends, I could say, "We are all ready." Another way to think of the latter is, "All of us are ready."

Sigrid Macdonald is the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor http://tinyurl.com/7wnk5se and two erotic short stories, which she wrote under the pen name Tiffanie Good. Silver Publishing released "The Pink Triangle," a tale of friendship, lust, and betrayal. You can view her story here: http://tinyurl.com/6v65rgr