Eric Griffith

Editing pet peeve: the goofy obsession with the Oxford comma. Oxford enthusiasts—whom I often refer to as "Oxfordnistas"—insist that the serial comma is the ultimate arbiter of clarity and slayer of ambiguity. And they demonstrate this overstated power through a series of reductionist—albeit humorous—memes. Below on the left is one such example. Again, this meme assuredly suggests a moment where a lack of a serial comma may confuse readers. Rather than express a list of the three, the Oxford-less sentence seems to imply an appositive suggesting the exotic dancers are, in fact, Stalin and JFK. But what happens if you change strippers (plural) to stripper (singular). One good contrived strawman argument deserves another, right? On the right is the counterpoint. Here, the sentence with the Oxford comma introduces ambiguity. Is that JFK on stage three collecting singles, or is somebody else? The trick is simple: When in doubt, rewrite. "We invited JFK, Stalin and the strippers." See how this is clearly a list of three? See how I didn't need the comma to do so? Ultimately, the Oxford comma is a stylistic convention, so it is a matter of personal preference. You can also write, "We invited JFK, Stalin, and the strippers." That *also* works. Either way, stop pretending that your prescriptivist take on the Oxford comma is holy writ. #Oxfordcomma

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Many writers and editors think the Associated Press Stylebook is against using the serial (Oxford) comma. That’s not true. AP style *does* recommend using the serial comma in complex lists. For example, if one of the items in a list contains a conjunction, AP style calls for a serial comma. Like this: Fritz enjoys snacking on bananas, cheese and crackers, and ice cream. Additionally, if the items in the list are long, AP style calls for a serial comma. Like this: Helen changed the car’s worn tire before embarking on her big road trip, Raul shined the fenders until he could see his reflection in them, and Sara double-checked all fluid levels. AP does not recommend using a serial comma in a simple list: Dante bought strawberries, sliced turkey and rye bread. This is in contrast to most other style guides, including The Chicago Manual of Style, which calls for a serial comma in all lists. To learn more differences between AP style and Chicago style, check out Dragonfly Editorial’s field guide on this very topic. It’s titled “AP Style and Chicago Style: 15 Major Differences,” and the link is in the comments.

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'When the board expressed the need for a copy editor, Elsevier's response, they said, was "to maintain that the editors should not be paying attention to language, grammar, readability, consistency, or accuracy of proper nomenclature or formatting."' https://lnkd.in/gGR6iXAY

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'When the board expressed the need for a copy editor, Elsevier's response, they said, was "to maintain that the editors should not be paying attention to language, grammar, readability, consistency, or accuracy of proper nomenclature or formatting."' https://lnkd.in/gGR6iXAY

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We lead today’s Connecting with the viewpoint of Columbia Journalism Review on the plans announced by the AP to create a new sister organization to fundraise for and support state and local journalism.   Governed by an independent board of directors, the 501(c)3 charitable organization will help AP sustain, augment and grow journalism and services for the industry, as well as help fund other entities that share a commitment to state and local news.   We also deliver more of your stories of working in your first AP bureau – continuing an ongoing theme that’s proven highly popular.   Our colleague Norm Abelson observes: “Of all the compelling, humorous, moving and enlightening pieces I have read on Connecting, the recent stories on first AP assignments rank near the top.   “Often they're as interesting as a novel, as educating as a J-school grad course, as personal as a memoir. The stories are told with honesty and openness, recalling both the successes as well as the miscues and bumps along the way.   “Both for those who opted for a career with the news service, as well as those of us who moved on to other interests, I'd argue there is no better foundation for a meaningful and fulfilling career than time spent at The AP.”   Here’s to a great day – be safe, stay healthy, live it to your fullest. https://conta.cc/4ciWKsA

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Efficiency tip for working in Word: If you're doing a lot of searching in a manuscript but don't want to lose your place, or if you want to compare tracked changes to a clean copy, try the New Window function (under the "View" tab). This opens the same file in a new window, allowing you to work on either. I use this when I need to compare references, check spellings throughout the manuscript, or see how edits look in the marked-up file vs. clean file. It saves me from so much back-and-forth. To see how it looks in practice, check out my blog post on efficiency tools you can use while editing.

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The Midpoint (Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 7 of 12) via Helping Writers Become Authors #amwriting #writetip #nanowrimo #pubtip https://lnkd.in/ewEiumuZ

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I have written informational video scripts before, but only using the two-column system. This was useful in seeing how that compares to a screenplay format. https://lnkd.in/ep3wS8ub #scriptwriting.

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If you want the files on your computer to be readable in thirty years you need to convert them to open formats. I talked to an actual archivist about why: https://lnkd.in/gtAg6J-y

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It’s important for both writers and editors to understand the nuances of the phrase "to have" and its past participle "had," as they reveal deeper connections between subjects and actions. https://lnkd.in/e4QXnABb #Writing #Editing #Usage #Language #CopyEditing #RightTouchEditing

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A question for researchers, history nerds and especially archivists. I'll be at The National Archives, UK at Kew next week, looking at 16th-century records of the dissolution of religious houses to understand how women were impacted by the sudden elimination of their roles in the English Church. Fascinating stuff (to me at least). But it's made me think about the bizarre gatekeeping attitude of so many archives, something that's baffled me since I started studying history last year. Too little is digitised, which is understandable given the mass of documents. What I cannot understand is the resistance to letting some of us help. Some archives make you pay exorbitant fees to photograph documents, even just for personal later reference (thankfully, not the National Archives, thank you folks). Others won't let you photograph them at all. When you can take pictures, you are strictly forbidden from publishing them. Why? We are talking about public, tax-funded archives here and documents that are centuries out of copyright or privacy concerns. So you have to spend days physically present at archive sites to manually transcribe documents... then selfishly keep that to yourself. You end up traveling longer than the few opening hours they've got. It's fun but it's not cheap or accessible. I'm only able to do this because I'm self-employed and deprioritised paid work for a while, not without tremendous privilege. Another classmate is taking PTO. A third simply gave up on primary sources; her research and her grade will suffer. With a bit more openness and imagination, we could crowdsource archive digitisation and advance knowledge. Instead so much is restricted to a few well-funded professional researchers and time-rich pensioners. Historians, archivists, researchers, what am I missing? Is there good reason to keep things so close to the chest, or is it just institutional reflex? #history #archives #research

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LESS SPEECH, MORE MISTAKES: Relying on volunteers and algorithm doesn't prevent the spread of disinformation. While Community Notes appears to be populist, it's actually absolutist. Truth-tellers are pitted against "fake news" purveyors. Gatekeeping in socmed platforms is vital.

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