Cari Jackson

Second Helping: How Food Improves Your Fiction Writing, my one-day online class with the Newberry Library, is one month away! We’ll explore using food to create mood, advance plot, develop characters, and enrich stories, reading examples from Aimee Bender, Lydia Davis, Antonio Tabucchi, and Banana Yoshimoto, among others. Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eMpePxdY #onlinecreativewritingclass #amwriting

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Welcome to “Style Shenanigans!” A series of posts where this freelance copyeditor shares random style guide facts I stumble across while editing and try to make it deep (???). - For today’s random fact, we’re in APA 7 and looking at how we construct a list. APA Section 6.50 says elements in a series included in a sentence or paragraph narrative should be organized with lowercase letters in parentheses, not with numbers. So even in a sentence such as this – “Writing this post took four steps: (a) finding an interesting fact, (b) drafting some ideas…” – where the list is given a numerical quantity in the narrative before, it should be organized using letters and not numbers. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? It’s easy to look at this fact and think, “Okay, just make a list using letters. Who cares?” BUT this rule gets to the core of the numbers vs. letters debate – math vs. language. If a list that is numbered in a narrative can be lettered in the actual list, the two are interchangeable. What does this mean for the language lover who is bad at math? What does this mean for the reader who doesn’t want to count each element of the list to make sure the author didn’t miss count? Does a=1 like we found in that math problem in high school? Or are both just constructs we can’t understand?! It seems to me there is a lot more involved than a simple style battle. Readers, we’ve stumbled across the cosmic battle between math and language… what will we find next? (Jokes aside, if you’re looking to work with a super serious professional editor, I can help with developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. You can find more information and my portfolio at this link: https://shorturl.at/uv6YM ✉️)

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#Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but that doesn't mean #writers should toil alone from start to finish. Communities like these provide support, education, and sometimes credibility. Browse this roundup and see if one or two groups might be a good fit for your needs. https://lnkd.in/gMfC7vAX #writetip #writingtip

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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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My writing career was almost thwarted by a cockroach . . . . . . the one that Franz Kafka created in “The Metamorphosis.” (CW: AI cockroach illustration below) 🪳 During high school, I loved writing. English and AP History were my favorites. I thought writing research papers was fun. ✍️ In my senior year, I took Advanced Composition and was delighted to get one of only two A grades. 🏫 When I headed to college, I was confident about my writing skills. My English 1B class was led by a TA who was barely older than me. Our first assignment was to read “The Metamorphosis” and write an essay about it. I thought the story was disgusting. I don’t understand why it’s a classic. My opinion of the story was reflected in the paper that I wrote. I received a ‘C’. 😮 When I spoke to the TA about my grade, he raised it to a B-. I received A grades on all the other assignments. This taught me the importance of writing and editing about subjects that I find interesting.  I focus on healthcare, employee benefits, fraud prevention, medical liability insurance, and HIPAA. What literary classic do you find incomprehensible? #Writing #Editing #Proofreading #Healthcare #EmployeeBenefits 

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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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The Power of a Pitch "Publishing credentials, well-researched comp titles, and a bit of personalization will certainly help your case, but your pitch is currency." https://buff.ly/3Yv3wqF #writerscommunity #writingcommunity #writerslife #amwriting

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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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Writing and publishing a book can be fraught with stress, anxiety, and moments of "I can't do this." What if you had a team of experts to guide you through the process to make it seamless and support you every step of the way? Download the publishing guide that has helped many new authors understand the nuances of the publishing industry, so that you can make the right decision when it comes to your book. Whether it's traditional publishing, working with a hybrid publisher, or choosing to publishing under YOUR OWN imprint, this resource is worth it's weight in gold. Invest in yourself (and your book) this year and start it off, armed with the information that every author wishes they'd had at the beginning. Trust me, you'll be glad you took the time to read this nugget! 🍍 https://a.co/d/5IH3rsR

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Want to bring your book publishing costs way down? Learn to self-publish on your own. It's a great way to feel accomplished and know that you can accomplish all the tasks you set out to do #productive #youcandoit How to Self-Publish Your Book: An Indie-Author’s Guide (SC Writing) #writing #publishing #amzon #indieauthor

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When narrative perspective isn't static, it's always important to establish POV within the first few sentences of a new section or chapter, to make it clear to the reader who the story is filtering through. This is your POV contract. #writingcommunity #writingtip

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