Continued from yesteday.<\/p>\n
74. When asked what you do, say, \u201cI am a writer.\u201d <\/strong>Never, ever say, \u201cI am a content creator.\u201d It\u2019s bad enough you tell people you\u2019re a writer. Don\u2019t make it worse. <\/p>\n 73. Typos are not the worst thing.<\/strong> Clutch your pearls, but it\u2019s true. Ideas are more valuable than correct spelling and grammar. As an editor, I accepted a story with great ideas and poor grammar long before I accepted a story with mediocre ideas and correct grammar. Don\u2019t get hung up on grammar and spelling. <\/p>\n 72. Don\u2019t correct a person\u2019s spelling and grammar unless you are that person\u2019s editor.<\/strong> Otherwise it\u2019s rude. You don\u2019t tell a stranger, \u201cThat hat is ugly. That is the wrong hat. Change your hat or else your face does not matter to the world.\u201d <\/p>\n 71. Sometimes people use the word \u201cliterally\u201d literally to make a point. <\/strong>It\u2019s an exaggeration. It\u2019s okay to do that.<\/p>\n Example: I am using the word to suggest that the reaction is so extreme it transcends figurative expression. I know what I\u2019m doing. It\u2019s called art, piss hole! Back off!<\/p>\n 70. Use \u201cpiss hole\u201d as a derogatory term.<\/strong> It\u2019s gross and mean yet does not carry with it the social weight of gender modifiers or sexual preferences. It\u2019s just a yucky, funny thing to call someone. <\/p>\n 69. Writers get most gigs through their friends or former work colleagues.<\/strong> Writers do NOT get gigs through LinkedIn. I don\u2019t know of any writers who have landed jobs, freelance or otherwise, through LinkedIn.<\/p>\n 68. Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation,<\/strong> but only bring this up to be a cool guy at the party. Don\u2019t talk down to your readers by throwing such facts into your writing. <\/p>\n 67. No need to rank the scariest video games, or best video game bosses.<\/strong> Someone has already done it. <\/p>\n 66. Number and date your invoices.<\/strong> As a freelancer, you will be sending off invoices monthly, or even weekly, and it\u2019s your job to stay on top of all the paperwork. Things will get lost and companies will refuse to pay you. A paper trail, properly numbered and cataloged, is your only defense against accidents and evil. <\/p>\n 65. The plural of octopus is octopuses.<\/strong> <\/p>\n 64. Squids are not female octopuses.<\/strong> <\/p>\n 63. Don\u2019t make a big deal out of segues.<\/strong> If you nail a segue between two topics, there\u2019s no need to pat yourself on the back. <\/p>\n Example:
\n\u201cAfter the kiss, Gretchen literally died.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n…thanks in part to increased cell phone sales. Speaking of phones, and how\u2019s this for a segue, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters <\/em>is back in theaters this week as fans\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n