“Ain’t Misbehavin’ ”: When Quotation Marks and Apostrophes Collide
In 1929, when the song “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” became a big hit, composers Thomas “Fats” Waller and Harry Brooks probably weren’t too worried about that final apostrophe.
Can I Put an iPhone in My Novel?
Now and then, a writer or editor asks our online Q&A whether mentioning a brand name in a work of fiction requires permission or the addition of the trademark (™) or registered (®) symbol.
Space Breaks in Fiction
A few weeks ago at my local library I came across a novel I’d been wanting to read. I didn’t have time for another book, but I took it home anyway.
Chicago Style Workout 40: Grammar, Part 4
This month’s Chicago style workout, “Grammar, Part 4,” focuses on paragraphs 5.39–51 of CMOS 17, which cover personal pronouns, including their possessive and reflexive forms.
Making Word’s AutoCorrect Options Work for You
Microsoft Word does a lot of things automatically, and it does them by default. Some of these interventions are welcome. But to a copyeditor, Word’s meddling can be dangerous.
Preparing an Audiobook for a Narrator Who Isn’t You
Recently I read through a book to make notes for a professional voice actor who would be reading it for an audiobook production.
A Dash of Poetic License
One of the goals of Fiction+ has been to encourage writers and editors to leave the stylebook behind whenever it gets in the way of creative expression.
Chicago Style Crossword No. 1: Editorially Speaking
For this month’s workout, we invite you to play (and solve) our very first “Chicago Style” crossword puzzle.
Do You Overstep When Editing Fiction? Three Easy Cures
The other day, I ran across this line in a recent novel by a best-selling American writer (key words are disguised): “His disposition warmed faster than did the gradually dawning day.”
Decades (CMOS 9.33)
This year isn’t over just yet, but when it does finally come to an end, the current decade will end with it. In other words, we will soon be leaving the 2010s and entering the 2020s.
Chicago Style Workout 39: Word Usage, Part 9
This month’s workout, “Word Usage, Part 9,” finishes our run through the “Glossary of Problematic Words and Phrases” in section 5.250 of CMOS 17. For our usage finale, we’re focusing on words beginning with the letters t as in “that” through w as in “whomever.”