Before writing for a new publication or publisher it is wise
to familiarize yourself with the style of work they publish. The easiest way to
learn, of course, is to read previous magazines or other books and actually see
the preferred style in use. There are times when you might receive an
assignment with little to no time to review other work; these are the times
when knowing the preferred “style” will help you produce a finished piece of
work that is likely to be accepted.
“A style guide (or manual of style) is a set of standards for
the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific
publication, organization, or field. (It is often called a style sheet, though
that term has other meanings.) A style guide establishes and enforces style to
improve communication. To do that, it ensures consistency within a document and
across multiple documents” (from Wikipedia)
There are a lot of style guides, some of them specific to a
country, region or type of writing. For the purpose of this post let’s
concentrate on American publications and just a few purposes.
For general writing:
· The Careful Writer, by Theodore
Bernstein.
· Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome
Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right, by Bill Bryson.
· Garner's Modern American Usage by
Bryan A. Garner.
· The Classics of Style — presents
writing guidance from William Strunk, Jr., Emerson, Whitman, Poe, and other
writers.
· The Elements of Style. By William
Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. (Often referred to as "Strunk and
White".)
For journalism:
· The Associated Press Stylebook. By
the Associated Press (AP).
· The New York Times Manual of Style
and Usage. By Allan M. Siegal and William G.
Editorial style guides
on preparing a manuscript for publication:
· The Chicago Manual of Style, by
University of Chicago Press staff.
· Words into Type, by Marjorie E.
Skillin, Roberta
· Connolly.
· The Wall Street Journal Guide to
Business Style and Usage, by Ronald J. Alsop and the Staff of the Wall Street
Journal.
There are also specific style guides for the U.K., Canada,
Australia and International use; also different styles are used for academia,
medical, legal, art, science, computers and more. Many libraries (for lending)
and bookstores (for buying) have these style guides available. It’s worth it to
you to study the one(s) that are used in the line of work you desire. Among the
differences in the style guides are the use of commas, citations, punctuations
and sentence formatting.
Writing Exercise: Choose a very important event in your
life. Change any three significant things from that event (people, time of
year, location, etc.) that helped to create the outcome. Write a short “What
If?” story.
Writing Prompt: Open the dictionary to a random page, choose
any five words. Using the definitions given, use those words in a very brief
paragraph.
Challenge Assignment: Choose a job that would be ideal for
one of your main characters. Research the job credentials and requirements.
Using your character’s “background”, write a resume that would help them get
the job.
