How to Begin a Nonfiction Article

Much has been written on the subject of how to begin an article (the lead). I have long been a fan of the following short piece about nonfiction leads, and I’ve turned to it many times when I had trouble beginning a writing project.  I first found this bit years ago in a small publication called “The Writer’s Survival Guide,” published by the Writer Magazine.

These words were written by Arthur Plotnik, who has also written scores of magazines articles, columns and books. One of his latest books is Spunk & Bite: A Writer’s Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language & Style (Random House Reference).

Here’s his take on the subject of writing nonfiction leads:

“….Inventive writers have devised dozens of approaches, but much of their work falls within six of (editor Robert L.) Baker’s ways to open a story: someone’s remark, an intriguing question, a striking or startling statement, descriptive stage-setting, storytelling narrative, and a one-line attention-getter called a ‘capsule’ (as in crime writer Edna Buchanan’s lead: “Gary Robinson died hungry.”).

If you ever have trouble getting started writing a nonfiction article, you might zero in on one of these six approaches.  Your problem just may be solved.

© 2009 by Laverne Daley

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The 10 Most Misspelled Words

Do you know that definitely is the most misspelled word in the English language?

Until I ran across an article in the Daily Record, a U.K. publication, about the ten most common spelling blunders, I never knew that definitely is the most misspelled word. And that word surprised me. Unlike many others, definitely seems a rather simple word and it’s hard to understand why so many people have trouble with it. It seems that a lot of them misspell it definately.

I was not surprised by the second place word, sacrilegious. That’s a more difficult word and is often misspelled as sacreligious.

The Daily Record reported on the ten most misspelled words recently, based on findings by OnePoll, a UK market research firm. The story also received widespread coverage in the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, all U.K. publications, and has since been picked up and reported around the world.

The research also found that 57 percent of people judge others on their spelling.

Here are the other eight most misspelled words, as reported by the Daily Record:

3. Indict, which is often written indite.

4. Manoeuvre (that’s the British spelling; in the U.S., it is usually written as Maneuver).

5. Bureaucracy.

6. The much-maligned vegetable, Broccoli.

7. Phlegm.

8. Prejudice.

9. Consensus.

10. Unnecessary.

I’ve always been lucky that I’m a fairly good speller, but I still have to check the dictionary every time I need to use words like consensus and sacrilegious. Do any of these words trip you up?

© 2009 by Laverne Daley

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Apostrophes and the Apostrophe Protection Society

A lot of people are irritated by misplaced or missing apostrophes. That’s easy to know just by looking of the number of blogs dealing with the subject. Until yesterday, however, I didn’t know of the existence of the Apostrophe Protection Society, an organization that John Richards, and his son, Stephen, formed to deal with apostrophe abuse. I found the story online in a 2001 edition of the UK Boston Journal (thus proving that I am sadly behind the times).

Richards, a retired copy editor living in the Lincolnshire area of England, and his son were sole charter members of the society but their obsession with apostrophes abuse is shared by many Britons. Richards got 50 letters of appreciation from well-wishers after The Telegraph ran a story about the society, and 257 people hastened to join the organization. Richards received 450 letters and even about $140 in unsolicited cash.

Some of the individuals who responded try to do battle on their own to correct the offending marks. One even carries around sticky bits of tape with apostrophes on them and sticks the tape on offending signs. One woman wrote about her outrage with a pub in her area that displayed signs for “todays menue’s” and “Nigels special pudding’s.” She set about correcting the signs herself until her husband restrained her.

Richards fights the offending signs by sending form letters like this when he finds misplaced apostrophes:

“Dear Sir or Madam:
Because there seems to be some doubt about the use of the apostrophe, we are taking the liberty of drawing your attention to an incorrect use.” After an explanation of punctuation rules, his letter concludes, “We would like to emphasize that we do not intend any criticism, but are just reminding you of correct usage should you wish to put right the mistake.”

So far, Richards says only one establishment, the local library, took down an errant apostrophe.

However you feel about apostrophes and their use and misuse, you can read more about them and the Apostrophe Protection Society by clicking here.

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©2009 by Laverne Daley

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