This post first ran on 1/31/2009 and we still don't like being "scared" this way! ~ Dani Quote marks are probably the most overused form of punctuation. Quote is short for quotation, so essentially, quote marks should be used only to set off a quotation—the verbatim text of something that was said or published. If you’re writing a novel and using quote marks for anything but dialogue—take them out! Writers everywhere like to use quote marks around words they consider special for some reason or around words that are not being used in a traditional way. Old school editors call these scare quotes, a way of alerting the reader that the word may not mean what you think it does. Ninety percent of the time, the marks are completely unnecessary. If you’re writing logical sentences—even using euphemisms—readers know what you mean. Here’s a few examples of unneeded quote marks. “Quote” is short for “quotation.” (Did anyone misread the sentence when I wrote it earlier w...

Do you prefer writing or revising? Revising, no contest! I actually tend to revise as I go. When I'm a good girl and fulfill my word-goal for the day, I let myself work over the previous couple pages as a treat. I almost always discover they're better than I thought. It's like they cure overnight or something. ~ Sarah Miller Read more about this author and her thoughts on the writing process and publishing by clicking here .

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish. ~ John Jakes

I've lately noticed that authors have started typing their book titles in capital letters on many social forums. I suppose this trend began on sites that didn't allow for formatting. Properly, book titles should be typed in italics like this: My Best Book Italics are also used for the titles of: Plays Movies TV shows Newspapers Magazines Ships Spacecraft Another curious and recent practice comes from news services which have decided to blare their headlines in all caps. This, too, is incorrect. Quotation marks are correctly used to enclose headlines. Quotations are also used for other shorter works like the titles of: Short stories Poems Songs Chapters Articles So there you have the rules as they stand today, subject to public abuse and change, of course. Do any items on either list surprise you? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dani Greer runs the Blog Book Tours yahoogroup which teaches authors how to promote their books with a virtual tour. Next class starts May 1. She is a founding mem...