Rools for Righters
(Rules for Writers)
1. Verbs HAS to agree with
their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not
words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence
with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split
an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like
the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying
alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks
(however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever
use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't
necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases
are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant;
do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad
as cliches.
16. Don't use no double
negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands &
abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences?
Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing
are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is
to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that
are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word
when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation
points!!!
24. Use words correctly,
irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always
the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in
it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once,
you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole. Not one writer in a
million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children,
not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at
high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor
sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical
questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion
times worse than understatement. And finally...
34. Proofread carefully
to see if you any words out.
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