Polished Language and Healthy Writing

Polish up your language with the Oxford Dictionary of Style, and news about my next arts and health writing project.

Nuggets For You: Oxford Dictionary of Style

If you’re self-publishing a book, one of your biggest jobs will be to edit your book. You can hire an editor, but if you want to get the value from them, your book needs to be as polished as possible.

The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors is your style guide, advising you on how to spell commonly used acronyms and brand names. If there’s a word that can be spelt more than one way, it’ll help you choose the right spelling.

Photo Description: This is the cover of Oxford Dictionary of Style. It’s grey, with little multicoloured dots underneath the title.

For example, this dictionary says that all right is spelt as two words, the first word with two Ls. That’s fairly definitive. And the restaurant McDonald’s is spelt with an Mc, not as Mac, despite the Big Mac. Using the guide will help you be consistent in your language choices, giving your writing a polished and professional style.

My Own Nugget: Waterford Healing Arts Project

I was delighted to be chosen late last year as one of the artists on the Waterford Healing Arts Panel. I’ve been assigned to the Iontas programme (Irish for wonder) which delivers arts projects in the mental health services.

While it may take time for a project to emerge, I am being offered ongoing training, which will help when I do start a project in this challenging field. I’m on the panel for three years, with an opportunity to extend, so I’m sure a tasty project will emerge.

And don’t forget about Speak Up in Waterford tomorrow night, 30 January. Email me on derbhile@writewords.ie if you want to find out more about it.