dragonfly editorial

Archive for 2008

Writer in the making?

Posted by: Samantha Enslen, president and senior editor, April 8th, 2008

My mom recently found this essay I wrote back in 1977, apparently just for fun. Typos, odd spellings, etc., left intact.

“Summer of ‘77″

After school was out (june i0) I had decided to go to day camp. It was not like I expected it to be. The first day it sprinkled, so we could not go swiming. THen we sat around telling stories. We soon eat lunch.

The next day looked for craw dads. The next, went canoeing. Finally the last day we had a cook out. After camp was over, we (my sister and me) went to swiming lessens at precious blood, but the Y.M.C.A. was holding it. Then while my mother went to tennis lessons we went to summer recreation with a friend of ours, lois. Then it was my birthday!

On the Satuday before it I went to shawnee hills for the weekned to celeberate. Shawnee hills is a place where my granny and grandad have a cottage by shawnee lake. For my birthday I got a tennis racket. Soon after that we went to fanisy farm. There me, my sister & my dad went on many rides. We then went to the lake and I asked my grandad if I could learn to ski (on water of course) and he said yes, so now I am going to try to ski. I hope I will learn fast so that I can go often. Way back when I was taking swiming lessons I learned to dive, and swim under water. I can’t swim verry long because I can’t hold my breath too long.

This is as far as I have gone this summer so I guess this is the end.

THE END

The budding talent of a writer in the making? Or just the scrawlings of a girl enamored with a typewriter? You decide.

Posted in Copywriting, Creativity | Comments Off

NY Times: Celebrating the Semicolon

Posted by: Samantha Enslen, president and senior editor, February 21st, 2008

The NY Times writes on the New York Public Transit System’s proper use of the semicolon.

The relevant sentence: “Please put it [your newspaper] in a trash can; that’s good news for everyone.”

The use of a semicolon in this instance is indeed correct, but I would prefer a period or an em dash. Either would add more punch to the final phrase.

And Allan M. Siegal, longtime arbiter of NYT style, is quoted as arguing for a colon: “The semicolon is correct, though I’d have used a colon, which I think would be a bit more sophisticated in that sentence.”

Posted in Punctuation | no comments »

The Joy of Finishing (or Starting??) a Writing Project

Posted by: Samantha Enslen, president and senior editor, February 20th, 2008

Correspondent M.C. sends this quote he ran across today:

Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.
– Nicholas Sparks, author (1965-)

M.C. notes that “this may be true for Mr. Sparks, but just getting that first sentence onto paper is one heck of a delight to me!”

M.C., I can only say that you are a braver person than me. Rather than delight, I am usually filled with abject fear and horror when I begin a writing project, which abates only when I’m done.

Posted in Freelance writing | no comments »

Talking with a New Client

Posted by: Samantha Enslen, president and senior editor, January 15th, 2008

Preliminary conversations with a potential new client can be nerve-wracking for many freelancers. If you’re nodding your head in agreement, check out this article from JCM Enterprises about their experience approaching blog designer Brian Gardner about a new project, and his interaction/negotiations with them.

JCM reminds us that you don’t have to have some sort of stellar sales pitch when you’re talking to a client, nor do you have to have an overly formal presentation. Instead, it’s better to just be yourself, speak frankly about your costs and availability, and freely give information rather than pushing a hard sell. Anyway, don’t bother reading my paraphrase — just check out their comments yourself.

Posted in Freelance writing | no comments »

“Not Everyone Can Be a Freelance Writer”

Posted by: Samantha Enslen, president and senior editor, January 15th, 2008

Good post from Deborah Ng at Freelance Writing Jobs on what it really takes to be a freelance writer. Chaps like Peter Bowerman sometimes try to tell us that it takes hardly any skill to be a freelance writer — just the right marketing pitch. Deborah begs to differ.

Posted in Freelance writing | no comments »

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