Recipe for a Style Guide

Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization in internet, web, and net, but Wired Magazine continues to capitalize these words. Which should you do? For the most part, it's up to you. To ensure consistency on such tricky words, most editors will have a style guide.

This kind of style is the way you present yourself in words as well as the mechanics of words. Style addresses physical and editorial conventions.

If you don't have the luxury of creating one, there are a few excellent resources for your use. The ap style guide and ap style guide are the bibles for many editors. When you need to cite another source, use theap style guide or ap style guide for the rules. Just want a simple, small book you can carry with you? ap style guide is a winner.

Be warned that none of the cookbooks has a reference to words like "e-mail" and don't resolve all the issues you may encounter. In this case, you could refer to ap style guide. Here's what it says about E- words:

"In general, avoid forming new words with 'e-' (for electronic) unless you know your audience will understand. Some words that may be appropriate in certain circumstances are 'e-commerce' and 'e-money.' 'E-mail' and 'e-form' are acceptable. Use lowercase and always hyphenate for clarity."

Here's where creating your own recipe comes in. You can use a few other recipes and throw in your own modifications to come up with what best fits your tastes. Of course, we want to keep our readers in mind when creating the guide.

Start by thinking about the topics you write about. If it is high tech, then it helps to explore all the terms along with the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Check out the ap style guide or ap style guide. If you're in another field, then you'll want to explorer for a similar resource. ap style guide has a radio style guide and the ap style guide is for writers and editors. Example of style guides for building Web sites include Lynch and Horton's ap style guide and New York Public Library's ap style guide. For those in medicine, University of Washington presents the most frequently used entries from the ap style guide.

The next ingredient to tackle is physical conventions. For instance, when starting a new paragraph, do you indent or use a double hard return? What font size, face, and style will you use for titles? Will the titles be capitalized or in sentence case? This is similar to a cookbook. All the recipes are formatted the same way. Even CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a recipe since it ensures formatting consistency.

Once you make the tough decisions, the easy part comes next. You throw all the selected ingredients into one pan, or in this case, one document. The style guide should be organized to make it easy for your writers can find what they need.

Finally, put it where everyone can access it. It doesn't have to be a book. It can be a one or two page document. It's a living document that you can continuously revise. Heck, use a blogging tool to easily manage it.

Now back to the hard part, getting everyone to follow the new guide.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is the writer and editor of many articles and publications including eNewsletter Journal, Shavlik's The Remediator, and Web Design @ InformIT. To get your feed on things geeky, webby, and wordy or to subscribe to free newsletters, visit her site at ap style guide.

limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

---

How to Write a Short Story

Everybody knows writing a story is not easy. Like the... Read More

Cheap Therapy

I call it cheap therapy. That gushing, near-religious, poured-from-the-body stress... Read More

Save Time When You Write

I'm in the process of moving from one computer to... Read More

The Cost of Being a Writer

You are the only one who knows what being a... Read More

Basic Writing Tips ? Some Controversial, All Correct

As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More

Break in with Fillers: The Best Market for New Writers

Interested in breaking into writing or breaking into a new... Read More

What Is The Single Worst Mistake Most People Make When Writing Classified Ads?

All sales begin with some form of advertising whether it's... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

So you've decided to crown yourself with a title that... Read More

Tips For Better Writing

It is certainly true that we don't get a second... Read More

Increase Your Chances Of Winning Writing Contests

Winning writing contests can provide several advantages to writers. For... Read More

Writers Helping Writers - A Noble Legacy

It is satisfying to be a part of such a... Read More

Recipe for a Style Guide

Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization... Read More

Writing Made Them Rich #2: Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in1812. His father... Read More

Why Researching Is Good, And A Failure To Do So Is Not

What a lack of research could do to you.When creating... Read More

Screenwriting ? The Value of Structure

Structure in the form of frameworks, work processes and goals... Read More

7 Book Publicity Tips for Authors and Small Publishers

The biggest mistake authors make when trying to get free... Read More

Writing With Power: 5 Snappy Rules For Success

Almost everyone could profit from enhancing their writing skills. From... Read More

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 1 of 6

ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More

Rejection ? Have the Right Perspective and Don?t Quit

If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More

Common Writing Mistakes - Are These Holding You Back From Writing Success?

During the years that I've been teaching writing and participating... Read More

A Book Note Vs a Book Report

IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More

Multiplying Sales As A Writer

Often, time is an enemy of writers. Sales seem slow... Read More

Mama Dont Allow No Fighting in Your Writing

When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More

8 Reasons Why A Freelance Writer Should Use the Internet

What a wonderful resource the Internet is!Students find information to... Read More

Writing For the Joy of It

As a child, I loved to write. I can't remember... Read More

shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..