Reviving this topic because I’m finding more things done in a lot of work lately that I feel as though writers should be looking out for. I think I’ll also use this to post more things I find as I find them.
Today’s pet peeve: capitalization. I’ve been working with a lot of stories that are capitalizing non-proper nouns, mostly titles and cardinal directions. Here are some do’s and don’t’s:
- Unless you are talking about them in the specifics of their being, the words “god” and “devil” do not get capitalized. “The Devil will get you for that sin.” “He, can shoot lightening out of his hands, so he must be a god.”
- Cardinal directions are not capitalized unless referring to a specific place. “The man traveled east to get to East Berlin.”
- In general, referring to someone by their title does not capitalize their title, unless their name is included. “I spoke to President Obama yesterday. The president was concerned about the US not consuming enough corn dogs.”
There are more rules, but the above have been a problem in several stories I’ve been editing lately. Figured I’d bring it up.