Archive for May, 2009

If you do any sort of writing with any sort of regularity, at some point you are going to have to deal with gender.  I’m referring to unknown gender.  Of course when I’m writing about specific people, then I know their gender. However, I’m talking about generalizations — like in the previous sentence.

Gender is something to be dealt with and seriously considered.  Unfortunately it is also often misused.  I offer my tips for writing easily with gender. These are tips that I use myself and have taught a few classrooms of writing students.

Decide where  you stand on the he/she debate. For years the rule was that if you don’t know the gender, then use masculine pronouns.  Like: “Everyone should read his book.”  Then we came across using both.  Like: “Everyone should read his or her book.”  These days I read quite a few articles that pick one and stick with it or alternate between the masculine and feminine pronouns.  I have one e-newsletter I receive that refers to gender one week as male and one week as female.  No matter what you decide, be consistent.  Admittedly, I’m still a bit old school and tend to use “he” when in doubt.

Go plural and avoid gender all together. Even once you know where you stand on the gender debate, your best bet is to go plural as often as possible and not have to deal with it at all.  Sometimes plural doesn’t make sense, but often it does.  Take the example in the previous point.  Change it to: “People should read their books.”  Now that it’s plural, gender isn’t an issue.    One major caveat here is make sure your pronouns match.  Had I said, “Everyone should read their book,” I would have been grammatically incorrect.  “Everyone” is singular and deserves a matching singular pronoun.  “Each” is another singular example that often gets “their” incorrectly used with it.

That the economy has been in a slump is a surprise to no one.  Not only has this been all over the news, but the average family is feeling the downturn in its budget.  But, some companies are finding ways to “cash in” on the downturn and some publications are doing the same things.  And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

First, when it comes to advertising, those in the business have long since known that playing to what people are dealing with helps sell products.  In this situation, consumers are actually benefitting.  In an effort to increase weeknight movie attendance (I assume), Carmike movie theaters are offering a “stimulus package” on Tuesday nights.  I recently visited a Carmike theater while on vacation in Tennessee and noticed ads for $1 popcorn and $1 sodas on Tuesday nights.  Considering we’d just paid $15 for a popcorn and two sodas at a Sunday matinee, the deal sounded pretty good to me.  Definitely good advertisement in a tough economy.

Another business using the economic downturn to its advantage is candy-maker Mars.  The business editor of my local newspaper reported on this in today’s paper.  I checked it out for myself and found that Mars is indeed giving away from candy bars.  Titled the “Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act,” it allows consumers to go online starting at 9 a.m. on Friday (May 22) and sign up for coupons for free chocolate.  As the Web site explains: “Times are tough and we at Mars want to help. How, you ask? Every Friday through September, Mars will give away FREE real chocolate to 250,000 people. That means you can enjoy your favorite Mars candy brands—M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, MILKY WAY® and DOVE®— for free!”  Only 250,000 people each Friday will get a coupon, but that’s sure to bolster Mars image.  And, in fact, it makes me think how good their products sound right now.

Finally, publishers are also cashing in on the downturned economy.  Anyone who has had a journalism class ought to be able to tell you that one news value (those things that make editors decide a story is worthy of printing) is timeliness.  While this can mean reporting on an event that happened when it happens, it also means you can angle articles to fit in with the times.  For example, on my same recent vacation, I was purusing the local library and spent some time reading through a large women’s magazine while my husband sat with his iPhone using the WiFi to do some work.  Nearly every article I read mentioned something about the slow economy.  Truthfully, so many of the articles pulled on this angle that I felt it was overkill.  But, then again, I was on vacation and didn’t want to be reminded of the state of affairs, so I may not have been 100 percent objective.

In my own writing I have addressed the slow economy.  It’s too big to ignore.  In writing a slew of local business profiles lately, it came up more often than not.  Business owners would tell me why consumers needed their products, even in tough times.  They would share what they were doing that worked to get them through the hard times.  And they would share what they wanted customers to know, like how they were going strong or offering certain promotions to counteract the economy.

While sharks are out there waiting to “cash in” on the downturned economy and take advantage of folks, at the end of the day many advertisers and publications are doing what they can to use the issue a bit to their advantage and, in some cases, to the benefit of consumers.  Not so bad.

As you read this (if you’re reading it the day it’s posted), I am enjoying some vacation time relaxing in my favorite vacation spot in Tennessee.  The photos throughout my blog are from this very spot.  It’s my favorite place on earth.

And though I’m actually writing this a week ahead of time to post while I’m gone, I can tell you that I am fully relaxing.  Plans for vacation include sleeping, eating, reading and fishing.  And that’s about it.  We might drive to a nearby city to watch a movie, but that’s the most scheduled activity planned.

While work is important, downtime is also important.  Working without downtime leads to burnout.  I struggle sometimes to take downtime and not just check one more e-mail.  I’m fortunate to have a husband who helps keep me accountable.  He knows that I tend to overdo it sometimes and leave myself exhausted and ready to throw in the towel.  I get that way, and I love my work.

As a Christian, I go back to God’s plan for things.  He worked for six days and then rested.  That’s a good reminder that I need rest and downtime, too.  When I get done with rest and downtime, I also find that I feel refreshed and a renewed sense of purpose in my work.

A week of vacation doing nearly nothing beside a lake is definitely great for downtime, but smaller ways exist to get downtime, too. Sometimes I work from other locations.  Not necessarily downtime, per se, but sitting on a couch on a sunporch can be enough change of scenery that I don’t feel so bogged down.  Going for a drive is good.  Even just 20 minutes away can be refreshing.  I also love to read or watch a favorite television program.  Playing with my dog or taking him for a walk can also rejuvenate my spirits.

What do you do for downtime in major and minor ways?

If I were to be completely honest about myself, I would tell you that I can stress out over the small stuff — contrary to what those books tell us to do.  I tend to be a perfectionist and not all that fond of change.  For that reason, when I decided to major in journalism all those years ago, my older brother was concerned I couldn’t handle the pressure and stress of deadlines.  In journalism classes professors would sometimes give short deadlines to simulate the real world and he had friends who had dealt with that.  He didn’t think I would do well with that.

While his concerns were definitely well founded, I discovered in college and since that I actually thrive on and love deadlines.  Sometimes they are short and stressful.  Sometimes they are longer and let me plan, but I enjoy them.  As a freelancer, deadlines keep me on task.  They give me a goal to work toward.  I know that by this certain day this project or article will be completed.

In graduate school, I had a part-time job where I was working on a huge and unending project.  I enjoyed the work, but it never had a sense of finality to it.  So, I set deadlines for myself to complete certain tasks and give me not only a goal to work toward but also a sense of accomplishment when the goal was reached.

Without deadlines these days, it’s too easy for a task to get pushed to the back-burner.  Project deadlines help me prioritize and organize my workload.  They keep me motivated and on task.  I would definitely say deadlines are bliss, even when it makes working late or working weekends; deadlines keep me going.

How do you feel about deadlines?