When it comes to writing and celebrity, most people assume all celebrities use ghostwriters. These stars—among others—prove that point wrong. We’ve analyzed a list of talented celebrities and built a quiz to help you find out which celebrity writer is just like you.
What do you think? Did we get it right? Share your reactions in the comments.
Writers have a lot on their plates. They have to fend off writer’s block, perform meticulous research, and ensure the content they produce captivates their target audiences. They must pay close attention to catch grammatical errors, misspellings, punctuation mistakes, and typos. Formatting often takes a backseat on a writer’s priority list–especially when it involves something so seemingly trivial as indentation.
The first thing a reader may notice when she accesses one of your web, ebook, or print pages is the look of the content. Formatting involves making decisions about font type and size, and even about the space between lines. Don’t believe that this could possibly make a difference? According to some research, if the Federal government decided to change its preferred font from Times New Roman to Garamond on all printed documents, it could save around $400 million!
Indentation, the much-maligned formatting technique, provides readers with a sense of continuity. Indentations signal to the reader that she is about to dive into another topic or start a new section of a novel. They help present content in a logical fashion. But the debate continues over which indentation method works best. Should you indent paragraphs as you type or simply skip spaces?
When in doubt, refer to a style guide to answer a question about formatting and sourcing content. But make sure you follow the same style guide throughout your document; Chicago style, APA style, and Harvard style all differ in their approaches to indentation.
The Chicago Manual of Style requires all text to be double-spaced, including the notes and bibliography sections. Chicago recommends that writers indent the first line of a new paragraph by hitting the tab key. You hit the tab key between three and seven times to provide the proper space between the first line and the left margin. But using the tab key for indentation can cause problems with some e-book software programs that do not recognize the tab key as a form of indentation.
APA style identifies two types of indentation: First line and hanging. First line indentation begins to the right of where the next line begins. APA requires most paragraphs to adhere to first line indentation. Hanging indentation places the first line of a paragraph to the left of where the next line starts. APA recommends using hanging indentation for reference lists. Writers should manually set the reference position for indents to .5 inches from the left margin. Writers should double space content that includes tables, headings, quotations, and references. The number of indentation spaces varies depending on the style of writing. Formal presentations should include only a few spaces of indentation, while casual content can use more indentation spaces.
The Harvard style manual recommends indenting content as you type, as opposed to indenting after the manuscript is complete. Although this method takes more time, the reasoning behind it makes sense. Writers who add indents as they write organize their content through the creation of paragraphs. The writers who wait until they complete the rough draft of their manuscripts typically have trouble finding the right places to separate the text into paragraphs.
Technology has almost completely taken the manual typing of indentation spaces out of the hands of writers. Now, we use word processing software, such as Microsoft Word, to set indentations. To set a paragraph indent in Word, place the cursor in the paragraph you want to indent or highlight the entire paragraph. Access the Format menu and click the Paragraph command. Within the Paragraph dialog box, enter the desired width of the indent and then select the type of indent. Click OK and then close the dialog box.
Freelance writers differ in their indentation preferences. However, when it comes down to it, the type of indentation used to format a document typically depends on who you are writing for. Before you finalize a project, check with your client to see if he or she prefers Chicago style, APA style, or Harvard style. Then, set the client’s preferred indentation formatting by using the easy to access commands within Microsoft Word.
In your own writing, what type of indentation do you prefer? Share in the comments!
Some types of jerk behavior are obvious. Calling names. Laughing at someone’s ideas. Stealing a coworker’s lunch out of the office refrigerator (come on, are you an animal?).
But it’s also possible to be a jerk by accident, especially in writing. Have you ever found yourself worrying that your two-sentence email will sound cold to the person on the other end? Or are you just now realizing that’s something you should worry about? (You should—warmth may be even more important than competence when it comes to establishing business relationships.)
Chat programs like Slack and Hipchat complicate the etiquette of office communication even further. For those of us arriving in a Slack-centric office after a string of email-only jobs, it can seem downright baffling. Here are a few things to watch out for if you want to avoid rubbing your colleagues the wrong way.
1 Passive-Aggressive Periods
Periods often come off as passive-aggressive or even angry. Is it right? Is it fair? Should everyone just get over it and stop reading so much into an innocent punctuation mark? Maybe, but whether you share this perception of periods or not, it exists among at least some of your colleagues. It’s not going to just disappear, either. To them, there’s a real difference between these two conversations:
Colleague: Have you had lunch yet?
You: No.
***
Colleague: Have you had lunch yet?
You: No
Here’s the translation. “No.” means “No, I haven’t had lunch, but if you were about to invite me, forget it. Also, I want you to leave me alone and I might be mad at you.” “No” (sans period) means “Go on . . . ”
It’s OK to leave out the period at the end of your sentence when you’re texting or using an instant messenger. Even if you think it’s silly, remember that being “right” will only get you so far if everyone thinks you’re a jerk.
2 Too Many Follow-ups
2:05 Hey, can you send me that spreadsheet?
2:07 Hey!
2:10 HEY!!!
Chat clients make real-time communication easy. You can see when colleagues are online. You can chat back and forth instantly without a bunch of one-line responses clogging up your email inbox. In some programs, you can even see when someone else is typing a response. But sometimes people are just busy with other stuff.
Don’t barrage your colleagues with a flurry of follow-ups because they haven’t gotten back to you even though you can see they’re online. If it’s truly that urgent, get up, walk over, and talk to them with your actual mouth.
3 Calling Out Mistakes on Public Channels
Colleague: There’s leftover cake in the kitchen for anyone who want’s some!
You: *wants
Correcting people in public is tricky. Even if you’re just trying to be helpful, you might seem rude or disrespectful, especially if the other person’s mistake was pretty harmless. Correcting someone in a group chat is even trickier because you have the unspoken rules of written communication to contend with.
When someone makes a mistake that could be costly or dangerous, send the person a direct message and give him the opportunity to correct himself to the group. If time is of the essence and you need to correct him on the public thread, be polite and give your colleague the benefit of the doubt.
Colleague: Heads up, the CEO wants our report on his desk by 5:00
You: Did you mean 3:00? That’s what the email said
Misunderstandings will never completely go away unless humans discover a way to read each other’s minds—but at that point we’ll probably be living in a dystopia anyway, so inadvertently offending your deskmate will be the least of your worries. In the meantime, knowing how to communicate effectively with colleagues will remain an invaluable skill.
What are your rules for staying polite and productive in instant messages?
If you were a novel written during a special month, what novel would you be? Take this quiz and find out which classic novel corresponds with your personality!
In the quiz, you will be presented with multiple-choice questions. There are no right or wrong answers. Just choose the answer that most closely matches how you feel or what you think. Have fun!
Are you feeling frustrated and unproductive? Like you’re constantly busy but the things that really matter aren’t getting done?
Check out these six time management tips that will help you increase productivity, lower stress, and get you closer to your goals!
There was a day when I looked up and realised that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby. I started answering fewer emails, and was relieved to find I was writing much more. —Neil Gaiman
Are emails pulling you away from your actual work? Finding your creative flow—especially when writing—is tough enough as it is. It doesn’t help to have the constant distraction of emails dinging into your inbox.
The solution? Instead of responding to each email as it comes in, have set times of day where you’ll work through all your messages. Schedule several hours of uninterrupted work so you can focus and get in the zone, then take thirty to sixty minutes to catch up on emails.
While you’re in work-mode, be sure to close your email tab on your browser and turn off notifications to your phone, so it’s out of sight, out of mind.
And don’t worry, unless you’re corresponding with galactic invaders, waiting a few hours to respond to your emails will not cause the world to end.
Can’t find the time to get all your to-do’s done? There are plenty of awesome apps to help you organize your to-do lists, but have you tried scheduling tasks directly on your calendar?
Using your calendar of choice, create appointments for all your big to-do’s. You’ll have a visual reminder (and notifications) of exactly what you should be working on and when.
Remember to schedule tasks at your peak performance time. When and where are you at your most creative? Do you write best sitting in bed at midnight? Or at 7 a.m. in your favorite cafe? Avoid scheduling your creative work for times when you’re going to be tired or distracted.
Be realistic and give yourself enough time for each task. This can reduce guilt if you’ve felt like you should be getting more done, but can now see there aren’t enough hours in the day. And this can also reveal a problem if you’ve been wasting a lot of time on distractions or busy work.
Planning your week (or month) in advance will help you save time and maximize your productivity. Know when your deadlines, important meetings, and obligations are happening and work backwards from there.
Giving a presentation on Thursday morning? Block off your Wednesday night for prep time or rest.
Want to spend less time in the morning prepping your lunch? Schedule meal prep for Sunday night so you can batch your lunches.
Feeling burnt out and need to introvert? Schedule alone time for Tuesday. Know you’ll need human contact? Plan game night for Friday.
Scheduling things like gym time and laundry will keep your life running smoothly. And remember to always allow enough time for a good night’s rest—your work will take twice as long if you’re exhausted from too little sleep or working long hours without a break.
Spending way too much time browsing Facebook? Watching cat videos? Keeping up-to-the-second on developing news?
If your willpower is failing, you may need to give yourself some extra help to unplug from your time-wasters.
Remove time-wasting sites from your browser’s bookmark bar so you’re less tempted to visit them. Minimize distractions by turning off your phone notifications during work hours (or if that’s too advanced, just turn your phone on silent and toss it in a drawer).
In need of desperate measures? Download an app that will block you from visiting Facebook and other sites.
Of course, it’s worth differentiating between the true time-sucks and activities that aren’t work-related but are beneficial. Grabbing lunch with a friend is a great social thing to do. Just make sure you have a set start and end time, so you don’t chat for two hours and lose half the afternoon.
Sure, who doesn’t want their work to be perfect? But striving for perfection is a sure way to kill your productivity and creativity.
The pressure you feel to produce perfect work can lead to procrastination, anxiety, “playing it safe,” and a lot of wasted time making marginal improvements to work.
When you reset your expectations away from perfection, you’ll find it’s easier to experiment and take risks, to get projects finished and move on to bigger and better things.
Improving your writing takes a lot of practice. You’re not going to write a “perfect” novel or blog post or ad campaign the first time around. Don’t let the expectation of perfection paralyze you from growing your skills!
Are you using your time to get closer to your goals, or are you putting everyone and everything else first?
Maybe you want to build your audience, write your memoir, get your MFA, or change careers. Make yourself and your future a priority by scheduling time every week, or every day, to work toward your goals.
Large projects can feel overwhelming, so break things down into manageable pieces. If you want to finish your first draft in six months, how many pages will you need to complete per week? How many hours per day will you need to write?
Life may be busy, but don’t let anything get between you and achieving your dreams!
You’ve just read an interesting article online. It covered a subject you’re passionate about, so you dash off a brilliant comment. It begins:
Your right about most of your assessments, but I think you missed the big picture.
You go on to write a carefully-worded paragraph, and you’re certain everyone who reads it will be dazzled by your brilliant insights. And then the first reply to your comment rolls in and it’s simply:
*You’re
You’ve inadvertently tossed out some troll bait, and you’ve captured the attention of a grammar troll. It doesn’t matter whether that mistake was a typo or a momentary lapse; you’ve been publicly corrected in a way that undermines your intelligent response and maybe even implies you’re not as smart as you think you are.
via GIPHY
Is it possible to troll-proof your online writing? Grammar checkers help, of course, but careful proofreading before you hit send is always the best way to sidestep embarrassing gaffes. Here’s how to avoid throwing chum into the murky online waters and keep those bottom-feeding trolls where they belong.
How can one little punctuation mark cause so much trouble? Apostrophes trip up even the most seasoned writers from time to time. Examine your comments before you post them to make certain you’ve used the correct form of your/you’re or its/it’s.
Also remember that apostrophes show possession; they don’t make words plural. Here’s an apostrophe primer in case you need a refresher.
A subject-predicate construction should have only one negative form in standard English. You’ve probably bristled at statements like “I don’t have nothing better to do.” That’s because the speaker used a double negative, pairing don’t with nothing. The standard usage would be: “I don’t have anything better to do.”
via GIPHY
Many double negatives are obvious, and they sound wrong (or at least colloquial) when we hear them. Although some double negatives are part of our casual vernacular, if you use one while trying to eloquently communicate a point in an online discussion, steel yourself for potential backlash. Ain’t you got no learnin’?
If you comment with “I literally died when he said that!” don’t be surprised if a troll comes calling to let you know that, unless you’re typing from beyond the grave, you meant “figuratively.”
via GIPHY
Just one little typo can give a grammar troll a raison d’etre. If you write then when you mean than or loose when you mean lose, stand back—Trolly McTrollface can’t be far behind.
Yes, irregardless is a word, but you’re unlikely to get away with using it in an online conversation, or even a face-to-face conversation with a grammar pedant. Seventy-four percent of those who responded to a Grammarly survey expressed the opinion that irregardless is an abomination. Don’t expect a grammar troll to forgive the nonstandard usage.
To, too, and two don’t mean the same thing. Expect any grammar troll lurking in the bushes to pounce on a mistake like “Maybe he ate to many tacos for lunch” by letting you know that you should have written too, instead. There, their, and they’re are similar troll bait when used incorrectly.
There’s a reason many language resources contain lists of commonly confused words—they trip us up on the regular. Be on the alert for similar words with related but distinct meanings, such as lesser/fewer, affect/effect, further/farther, and among/between.
True story: I was once laughed at for telling my dog to “go lie down.” We’re so accustomed to using the wrong word in this instance that the correct one sounds foreign. But sleeping dogs do indeed lie, not lay.
Lie means to recline and lay means to place. And then there are different verb tenses, and . . . well, it gets a bit complicated. But grammar trolls are likely to know the difference, so here’s a guide to tackling the lay vs. lie challenge.
If you do post a mistake, and you attract the attention of a grammar troll, don’t sweat it. Trolls feed on chaos, so the best thing you can do is deprive them of what they crave. Here’s an example of superb troll wrangling:
You: Your right about most of your assessments, but I think you missed the big picture.
Trolly McTrollface: *You’re
You: Whoops! Nice catch.
via GIPHY
