Rules from John Regener

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Author Message Ron Beard Senior Member Username: rm_beard_ccs Post Number: 479 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2021 - 06:28 pm:    Today, while working on one of my New Year's resolutions to clean off my desk, I ran across the following. IIRC, it was a post here on 4Specs about 15-years ago. This is classic Regener. 47 RULES FOR WRITERS 1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects. 2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. 3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. 4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. 5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) 6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration. 7. Be more or less specific. 8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. 9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. 10. No sentence fragments. 11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used. 12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. 13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. 14. One should NEVER generalize. 15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. 16. Don't use no double negatives. 17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. 18. One-word sentences? Eliminate. 19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. 20. The passive voice is to be ignored. 21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas. 22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice. 23. DO NOT use exclamation points and all caps to emphasize!!! 24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. 25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas. 26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. 27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know." 28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. 29. Puns are for children, not groan readers. 30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. 31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. 32. Who needs rhetorical questions? 33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. 34. The passive voice should never be used. 36. Do not put statements in the negative form. 37. Verbs have to agree with their subjects. 38. A writer must not shift your point of view. 39. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences of 10 or more words, to their antecedents. 40. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. 41. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. 42. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. 43. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. 44. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing. 45. Always pick on the correct idiom. 46. The adverb always follows the verb. 47. Be careful to use the rite homonym. And Finally... 47. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. "Fast is good, but accurate is better." .............Wyatt Earp Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 838 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2021 - 08:11 pm:    Thank you Ron. I needed that. I miss him. He was my direct mentor for many years. Sadly, he only squeezed a fraction of what he knew into my preoccupied mind. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 790 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2021 - 08:25 pm:    Thanks, Ron. I laughed and laughed. Pure John Regener. Like Nathan, I miss John, he was a good friend. Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEEDŽ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 2253 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2021 - 08:30 pm:    Thank you for preserving these for posterity! They are too good to lose. Chris Grimm, CSI, CCS, SCIP Senior Member Username: chris_grimm_ccs_scip Post Number: 536 Registered: 02-2014 Posted on Thursday, February 25, 2021 - 12:42 pm:    I remember when John posted that, and I thought he might have also posted Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer. Maybe the British Council made 4specs take it down for not giving the proper credit - http://discus.4specs.com/discus/messages/4254/7785.html?1444267530 Ed Storer Senior Member Username: ed_storer Post Number: 71 Registered: 05-2009 Posted on Thursday, February 25, 2021 - 03:07 pm:    What a wonderful list. I got several good chuckles as a birthday gift. Thanks for posting. I missed it the first time. Ed Storer, CSI Member Emeritus