Wikipedia: Fact or Opinion?
I've just concluded a writing assignment of a deeply technical nature. The assignment was in two parts, first of all dealing with the need for Solvency II in the context of life insurance companies and secondly, the factors that persuaded the Massachusetts legislature to implement a mandatory universal healthcare system, the first US State to do so.
By now, you are probably thinking "What?" or yawning. For the curious, click on the links above and they will take you to Wikipedia for a brief overview.
This assignment is not totally uncharted territory for me; I hold UK life insurance professional qualifications so grasping the general view and identifying the issues did not mean I was stumbling around in the dark.
My research took me first of all to Google - inputting search terms that related to the topics produced the usual, incredibly long list of results and in both cases, Wikipedia was featured on the top page of my queries.
Now this is one time when you really need to question the value of an online resource such as Wikipedia. Equally, you could be using some other voluntarily compiled reference work such as DMOZ, but my point is, you must question what you are being told by your source no matter who is providing it.
When to Use Who and Whom
I thought it time to nobble this particular English language conundrum - when to use Who and when to use Whom.
Supaproofread has a section that goes into far more detail than I will here on this post and you can find it in the writing tips section here.
Who is a subjective pronoun that describes what or which person.
Whom is a pronoun that acts as an object for a verb or preceding preposition.
Phew!
In plain English please!!
A subjective pronoun is a word that is used when the person is a subject of the sentence. So, "I like fast cars but he doesn't" - "I" and "he" are subjective pronouns. We would ask "Who likes fast cars?" but not "Whom likes fast cars?"
A verb object is the person or thing the verb is acting on. So, "ERH flew the plane" has ERH as the subject, the verb is flying and the object is the plane. Except we would never refer to a plane as "whom" so how about "ERH flew her to Paris." In the latter case, "her" would be the object and so we would ask "With whom did ERH fly to Paris?"
Got that?
Here's a cheat tip then.
If you have a sentence using he/she then use "Who" and if it is him/her use "Whom".
Writing the Dynamite Project Proposal
When you walk into a job interview, I certainly hope that you don’t wear jeans with holes in them and your favorite tee shirt. I hope you don’t slouch and talk to the interviewer like you would talk to your friends at a party. If you get my drift, you have to carry yourself into an interview showing respect and that includes what you wear and how you act.
It’s the same game in this online explosion. Just because you might be sitting in your shorts and sandals writing a project proposal doesn’t mean your proposal can be lacking in professionalism. You have to put your best foot forward and there are definite signals that will have your proposal flagged for the can or chosen for further consideration.
Content
The first thing in writing a project proposal is to identify what the client wants. Freelancers make the mistake of thinking that a template project proposal is all they need. I have to admit that it gets tedious writing the same things over and over. But, a good client does not want a template project proposal. They want to see a proposal that identifies their needs.
Defeating Prevarication and Stating a Position Improves Your Credibility
You are a writer.
OR
In my opinion, as you use the written word, then perhaps you should be considered eligible for the title "writer".
Which statement makes you feel like you really are a writer? Me, telling you that you are a writer or me, waffling about an opinion I have, that maybe, possibly you can be called a writer?
It's not a hard decision to make. Stating a position clearly and straight to the point without any caveat or ambiguous language makes my position clear to a reader, waffling does not. Adding language such as "perhaps", "maybe" and Heaven forbid, "in my opinion" makes you appear to readers as if you are not sure of yourself or the position you are taking.
As a writer, you are taking a leadership role in the community of the written word. Many people may read your work, some may comment upon it, some may use it themselves but you as the creator of that piece of work have taken a lead at that point in order to deliver it to the written community. You are the leader so act like one. After all, if you do not truly believe in what you are creating, how can you expect anyone else to buy into your work?
At The Bar of Writing Opinion
Writing is a skill you need to practice and experience; writing takes time and effort notwithstanding around in bars!
Before I get told off about a silly mistake with notwithstanding, that was deliberate.. honest 
You can read all you want about creating killer sales copy, erudite academic tracts, essays that garner top accolades and novels that bring tears to the eyes BUT unless you practice and actually "DO", none of these things will happen.
There is no substitute for actually writing; not only to produce work product but also to hone your skill. Just like a top athlete, you have to train every single day if you expect to be able to deliver the performance that is expected and reach your true writing potential.
A day without writing is a sad day for me. If I do not write, I get grumpy and moody while people around me notice it a lot more now than a couple of years ago when I became serious about writing as a career choice. That demonstrates one aspect of my own personal affinity for writing - I'm passionate about writing!
Breaking Through the Archetype
The debate goes on over how many stories actually exist. It is said that contemporary writers can only produce spins on the basic story types. In other words, no matter how ingenious a writer is, even a great writer can only write a reproduction of a story contrived years ago.
Boy Meets Girl
Good versus Evil
The Good Ol’ Comedy
The debate actually gets a little more in depth, but that’s the gist. Some writers feel certain that we’ve exhausted every angle of the Boy Meets Girl story type. Any story that comes out now is only a spin-off of a story already told.
Sometimes, writers are correct. I mean, how many different ways can you tell Cinderella? And they keep coming. The trend these days is to make the story more real. I grew up on a cartoon version that interested me very little since I was into GI Joe and the Superheroes. But, recent stories of Cinderella have told a less magical, more realistic type of story that makes the audience think that the story could actually be true.
This trend has taken place with such stories as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and The Wizard of Oz. Writers attempt to make the story come to life with realistic characters and a realistic story line. It’s the absolute reversal of years ago when the audience was hungry for fairy tales to escape the daily life.