I tried to read a Jack Kerouac book once that was worse because not only did no one talk, but Kerouac used little punctuation. It was 300-some pages of the world’s longest run-on sentence. He may have thought he was being unconventional and edgy, but the book was a train wreck. My favorite used-book store didn’t even want it for free.

Conversation adds pep to otherwise banal copy.  Features and profiles, such as those you might write about your company’s employees, or success stories that highlight how your products and services solved your customers’ problems, are excellent places to experiment with conversation.

Have some fun with it, too. You don’t have to stick to the traditional he said, she said. Try mixing it up with quotations within quotations or full paragraphs of quoted material. Variety shows off your versatility and helps engage readers.

Quote mark basics

Direct quotes: These are the simplest form of quotations: “Make sure you complete your assignments by Friday,” the teacher said. Robert told his wife, Suzanne, “If you go to the grocery store after work, please don’t forget the eggs.”

Quotes within quotes look like this: “When Bob Marley sang, ‘Man is a universe within himself,’ I think he was right,” Dave said. When an individual is quoting someone else, use single quotes around that content, as in my example. Here’s another one: “Did she ask, ‘What’s going on?’”  The quoted material needs single quotes, ‘What’s going on?’ and then a double quote to complete the thought.

Running quotations: Are you getting a visual of quotations growing legs and chasing you in your nightmares? It’s OK – you’re not alone. This term refers to a full paragraph of quoted material that is followed by a paragraph that continues the quotation. Do not put quotation marks after the first paragraph. Do put quote marks before the second paragraph. Here’s how this works:

“Despite the anemic economy, our company will continue with its long-range marketing plans that we developed last year,” CEO Donald Weiss said. “Our social media initiatives, in particular, are on target and surpass what our competitors are doing. We also plan to build on the momentum we’re gaining from our recent website redesign. (No quote marks here, but use a quote to kick off the next paragraph.)

“Furthermore, our management team is investigating a possible overseas expansion that would include our partners in China, France and Germany,” Weiss added. “This untapped potential could open many new doors for us in terms of market penetration and industry competitiveness.” (The CEO is finally done talking, so you need a quote mark to complete his Very Important Points.)

Unfamiliar terms or irony: Put quote marks around these so they will stand out for readers. She tried to explain what she meant by “knowns” and “unknowns.” Now for irony: The “debate” turned into a free-for-all.

Dialogue or conversation: No matter how many people are speaking and no matter how brief their thoughts are, place them in separate paragraphs, with quote marks at the beginning and end of each person’s comments:

“Will you go with me to Glade Creek?”

“No, I’ll pass.”

“Would you like to go to Lewisburg instead?”

“Sure.”

“When?”

“Let’s go now.”

Avoid fragmented quotations: Don’t use quote marks for a few ordinary words. This sentence is incorrect: The tea party candidate said he would “go home to Florida” if he lost the election. Here’s the correct usage: The tea party candidate said he would go home to Florida if he lost the election. (No quotes.)

Quoted material in headlines: Put single quote marks around any words that you pull from a story. Say you wrote a headline for a story about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and the copy contained this quote: “I will be glad to testify during my retrial. In fact, the truth will come out when I do.”

The headline would be, Blagojevich: ‘The truth will come out’ at retrial.

That covers most of what you need to know about quotes. If you need help with any copy that falls outside my examples, I’ll be happy to help you sort it all out.

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While more expensive than e-mail, good, old-fashioned snail mail still has its place, particularly in the b-to-b world. I touched on this idea here, and think it’s an important point to bring up in light of USPS’ enduring struggles. Most companies can’t, and shouldn’t replace mail entirely with electronic communications. Here are some tips on using direct mail appropriately and efficiently:

• Find out how your customers like to receive their communications, and plan marketing campaigns accordingly. Do they use electronic invitations often? If they’ve never heard of Evite, for example, think twice before forgoing printed invitations to your company’s next important event.
• Use mail when the stakes are high and you want to make a splash. People are more likely to look at and remember nicely done printed pieces. They may even tack them to their cubicle walls.
• Be selective. Mail is expensive, so don’t waste your resources on unqualified contacts. If you’re on a budget, make sure that your direct mail lists are targeted and that the design and copy of your mail pieces are equally targeted to those audiences.
• Integrate with the Web. Just because you’re using mail doesn’t mean you should abandon more technologically advanced mediums: Drive people to your website or campaign-specific landing pages and encourage them to connect with you through social media using vanity or personalized URLs on your mailers.

While the USPS may be flailing, mail should not be overlooked as a relevant form of direct marketing.

Accept, except – These are often misused and confused. Accept means to receive or agree to. Should I accept the gift even though I know it’s really expensive? Except means to exclude. Everyone was invited to the party except Bob.

Aid, aide – Aid is assistance. Aid can also be a verb. Pakistan desperately needs aid to recover from massive flooding. Aide is only a noun and it’s a person who serves as an assistant. As a teachers’ aide, Lori helps students learn to read.

Allude, elude – Allude is an indirect reference to something. The CEO alluded to his company’s acquisition plans. Elude means to escape or avoid detection. The robber eluded police for several days.

Capital, capitol – These are a little tougher. Capital is the city where a seat of government is located. Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming. Capital also refers to money. The struggling business needs a large infusion of capital to survive. Capitol is the building in which the U.S. Congress or state legislatures meet. Capitalize U.S. Capitol and the Capitol when referring to the building in Washington, D.C., and when writing about state capitols. The meeting was held on Capitol Hill in the west wing of the Capitol. The Virginia Capitol is in Richmond.

Complement, compliment – My personal favorites because so many people confuse them. Complement is a noun and a verb that indicates completeness or the process of supplementing something. Her new shoes complement her dress. Compliment denotes praise. I complimented her on her new dress and shoes.

Conscience, conscious – Conscience is a noun for the sense of moral goodness. She could not, in good conscience, keep the wallet that she found in the park. Conscious is an adjective that means being aware. I am conscious of the fact that he lied to me.

Ensure, insure – Use ensure to mean guarantee. We will pack everything ourselves to ensure that nothing breaks when we move. Use insure for references to insurance. The policy insures his life.

Hangar, hanger – I use these so rarely, I always have to look them up when I do. A hangar is a building. The airplane hangar is just to the left of the terminal. A hanger is used for clothes. I need to trade my wire hangers for wooden ones.

Medal, meddle, metal, mettle – Double your trouble! A medal, often made of metal, is a prize for winning something or doing something brave. She won a silver medal in the marathon. Meddle is to interfere in something that is none of your business. Her nosy neighbor liked to meddle in her private life. Metal is a shiny substance that conducts electricity and heat. The artist makes hanging garden decorations from refurbished metal. Mettle is strength of spirit or temperament. She showed a lot of mettle in finishing the race.

Premier, premiere – As a noun, a premier is a prime minister or a leader of a country. Jean Charest is Premier of Quebec. As an adjective, premiere means first in rank or position. President Obama holds the premiere place in U.S. government. Premiere is also a noun and means a first performance. The premiere of  The Lion King will be next Monday.

Reign, rein – Reign is the period a ruler is on the throne. The king began his reign in 1952. A leather strap for controlling a horse is a rein. I asked Susan to rein in her horse. She took the reins and headed back to the barn.

Sight, site – Sight is the act of seeing. It also relates to something that is seen. My mom and I went sightseeing in Ireland last year. We set our sights on traveling across the entire country, but we ran out of time. Site is about a place. The developer selected the ideal site for the new shopping center.

Stationary, stationery – Stationary means to stand still. The soldier remained stationary in his position. Writing paper is stationery. Now that so many homes and businesses have computers, few people take the time to write letters by hand on stationery.

I could go on because there are many other confusing word combinations, but I’m more interested in any that you get stuck on. Send them my way.

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I’m all about instant gratification, but first you must grasp essential and nonessential clauses, often referred to as restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses.

You cannot eliminate an essential clause from a sentence without changing the meaning of that sentence. In other words, an essential clause helps define the meaning of a sentence. “That” introduces an essential clause. Some examples follow:

I remember the day that we met in Paris.
This sentence wouldn’t make any sense if I wrote, “I remember the day which we met in Paris.”

That is a decision you must live with.
You’d definitely get some strange looks if you said, “Which is a decision you must live with.”

The senator said that he might run again and that, if he did, Mary Rosenthal would be his campaign manager.
Same principle as the previous examples.

You can delete a nonessential clause from a sentence without changing the basic meaning of that sentence. Think of a nonessential clause as a way to elaborate. “Which” introduces a nonessential clause:

The soccer team’s trophy, which was displayed in the main hallway, is missing.
If you delete the nonessential clause, “which was displayed in the main hallway,” the rest sentence stands on its own. You know that the trophy is missing and, thanks to the nonessential clause, you know where it’s missing from.

He downloaded numerous software updates to his computer, which is the most expensive model he could get.
Taking out, “which is the most expensive model he could get,” doesn’t change the meaning of the rest of the sentence. The nonessential clause just tells you that the guy had a lot of money and could afford a pricey computer.

The company’s new product line includes advanced sorters, which feature adjustable controls and multifunctional monitoring stations, will be unveiled next week.
The important information here is that the company will reveal a new product line next week. If you can’t wait to learn more, the nonessential clause, “which feature adjustable controls and multifunctional monitoring stations,” shares some of the juicy details.

Tip: Essential clauses, phrases or words do not need to be set off from the rest of a sentence, so they don’t need commas. In contrast, commas separate nonessential clauses.

Are you up to speed on “that” vs. “which” now? If you still have questions, check out this excellent Grammar Girl post from Mignon Fogarty.

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Now comes the latest development in the war against DVR junkies like me, who fast forward through millions of dollars worth of TV spots without a second thought: The Web series phenomenon. It’s been gaining speed over the last couple years, and some have been wildly successful (Ikea, American Family Insurance and Kraft) while others never stood a chance (Maybelline, Palm Pre and Kodak).

A recent Ad Age article analyzes these campaigns and begs the question: Are these efforts actually generating sales or are they just offering Web content that is merely entertaining enough that viewers will overlook blatant commercialization? I marveled at the idea for “In the Motherhood” as much as the next marketer, but Ad Age poses a valid question. Do you think the Web series idea is a fad or an effective advertising channel that’s here to stay?

We’ll have to go back in history to the days of typewriters to reveal the answer. Remember typewriters? Yeah, those big mechanical things with keys that struck letters on paper. Not quite as ancient as stone tablets, but many of you may not be old enough to have used one. I learned how in high school, and the teacher drilled into us that we should always, ALWAYS put two spaces at the end of every sentence. Being the drones we were, no one ever asked why.

Here’s why: Typewriters used monospaced fonts. That means every character took the same amount of space. A “k” used the same amount of space as an “m,” for example. Because every letter was the same width, adding two spaces made it easier for readers to see where one sentence ended and the next began.

Thankfully, typewriters are now relegated to the dank, cobweb-ridden shelves of thrift shops and everyone uses computers. Most fonts on computers are proportionally spaced, so the characters are different widths. Adding extra spaces doesn’t improve readability; it only annoys those of us who have to go through the copy and delete them.

As a reminder, we follow AP Style, as do most journalists, publishers, marketers and other professionals. The AP rule is one space after a period at the end of a sentence.

The next time you’re tempted to space out, break the habit. I know you can do it!

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