ADVICE
The MuddyUm Elements of Style
Move Over Strunk and White
Titles
Capitalize the first letters of your words. Except for the conjunctions like and, but, or — you get the idea, don’t you?
No periods. Ever. We are not a sentence. We are a title. How to tell the difference — you would never capitalize all the words in a sentence.
Gratefully acknowledging the venerable Zach J. Payne, who reminds us all to choose cases carefully. No mysteries to solve there.
Titles are in title case, subheads are in sentence case, sentences are in subhead case. — Zach Payne
Subtitles
Refer to titles.
Photographs
Place the titles first. Curators will appreciate your attention to detail and consistency. Always remember to include your accreditation. Is the photo or illustration free of royalty use? Did you pay to use it? Did you get it at a free use site? Important things to consider to keep you out of the brig.
Kickers
Yes, please. MuddyUm requires kickers on all submissions. If you don’t know what a kicker is, see the tutorials in the Outlaws tab.
Parentheticals
We don’t want them aboard this ship. Make it real or ditch it.
(Really?)
REALLY.
What if I don’t really want it to be its own sentence, just a clause pause?
Use hyphenation.
Hyphenation
It’s like whisky. I’ll have a double please — neat.
Spelling
Doesn’t matter what grade level you write at, spelling always matters. Red lines in a piece exist for a reason. Look for them. They tell you something might be spelled wrong. Fix prior to submitting for publication and your editor will adore you and publish your pieces even faster.
If you insist the spelling is legit and you invented the word, for the love of God, tell your computer’s dictionary.
Periods
They always come at the end of a sentence. Always. And titles are not sentences so need no period.
Commas
Yes. Please do use them. Judiciously. And always, “inside the quote,” she said with alacrity.
Ellipses
Just — why? ‘Tis but a long pause.
Give a carriage return. An enter. A new paragraph. Be direct. Be bold.
You can do it.
Colons and Semicolons
You do realize we aren’t writing research papers and theses here?
Words
You have free rein. Make up new ones! Acronyms? OKAY. ←There’s one.
Riff, wriggle, slip and slide into your comedy and make your point. It’s all good. Keep it short.
“Brevity is the soul of wit. “— William Shakespeare
Exceptions
Unless you are Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Burt, or an obvious close imitation, please follow the style guidelines. Lest you fall prey to the ire of the editorial staff.
Susan B. has been writing comedy for a little over 2 weeks. And editing for even longer than that.