I link to this paragraph by Eva Parish at least once a week.
"One of the best writing tips I've ever gotten was to avoid using demonstrative pronouns. Instead of saying “this” or “that,” you should add a noun to spell out exactly what you’re referring to, even if you’ve just mentioned it. "
@whereistanya@palats it's very similar in spirit to my fight against the silly pluralisation of project names.
FFS I raged so hard when people insisted on Sisyphi or Sisyphuses -- just specify what it is! "Any Sisyphus job", "those two Sisyphus binaries", "Sisyphus instances started before yesterday."
(Only one time I raged in writing -- when it was coming from a tech writer who should have known better.)
Add comment