are you in style?

i was going to blog about myriad things tonight 'cause i've got a lot on my mind that i could ramble on about, but the spanksters gave me some good comments that sparked a topic i think worthy of mentioning.

and the topic is ... style.

huh, you ask? what does that even mean? in simple terms, it means picking a style and being consistent with forms of words throughout your story.

for example, more than one person put a hyphen on this word for me: pre-game. i wrote it one word: pregame. both are correct, but the style i adhere to requires it to be one word. in fact, it advises against hyphenating most prefixes, so that's why i didn't. i totally appreciate that everyone was reading so closely to mark that. it shows we are fantastic, detail-oriented critique partners. insert: group hug.

is anyone wrong though for hyphenating or not hyphenating? it depends, but really it's just a matter of choice. and there are lots of choices in the english language, and then there are some set rules you just don't break. personally, i choose not to hyphenate prefixes unless they precede a proper noun. does that mean a copy editor who might edit my story one day will also adhere to the same style as me? not necessarily. the most important thing is not which style you use. it's consistency. pick a style and adhere to it at all times. i mean, if you hyphenate a word on page 5, gosh, YES, you have to hyphenate it on page 242.

what are some of the style guides out there?

chicago manual of style
apa
ap style (this is what i use)
mla
etc.

i use ap because that's what i know and what i've always used at work. and although i am largely faithful to ap, i still have chosen to go rogue on a few things. such as serial commas. i believe serial commas help avoid ambiguity, so i use them although ap does not.

mla is more for research papers and stuff - you probably used it in your college english class. also, lots of publications, like the new york times, have their own individual style guide.

you too can have your own style guide - just pick what works for you and make sure it at least adheres to one of the dictionaries. there are boocoo books out there on craft and whatnot, but i recommend strunk and white's the elements of style. this is a tiny, thin book that gives straightforward advice on things that we usually forget, like farther/further. farther means distance; further refers to time or quantity. and always, if in doubt, check the dictionary. seriously. i am on www.m-w.com countless times a day. partly because i'm anal. partly because i like being able to tell people who question me to go check the dictionary. and lastly because it's just what writers should be doing.

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