Answer your pesky editing and writing questions with these resources

To capitalize or not. One word or two? These are two of many confounding questions we run into as editors and writers. I’m sure I’ll never have every grammar and usage rule at the top of my mind, so luckily I have resources to consult that keep me on the straight and narrow writing path.

If you’re puzzling over a grammar question, checkout — I mean check out — my go-to source: Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Fogarty also has a book by the same name, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

Here are recent word and usage questions I looked up.

Further vs farther – “Farther” is for for physical distance and “further” for metaphorical, or figurative, distance. It’s easy to remember, says Fogarty, because “farther” has the word “far” in it, and “far” obviously relates to physical distance.

Here are several more. I’ve linked to the answers on Grammar Girl.

blond versus blonde – The usage of these words depends on gender.

A hold versus ahold – One word or two? Check out this word pair and others, including a light and alight, and a buzz and abuzz.

toward vs towards – Check out the convention in your country.

Specially versus especially – This one is especially interesting.

For other great writing tips, check out Daily Writing Tips.