The baby is due in March

Found online: Pugh and her husband, Gary Michael Pugh, are expecting their first child. The baby is due in March.

That's fine, but you could just say that Pugh and her husband, Gary Michael Pugh, are expecting their first child in March.

Found elsewhere: Lynn Hickey, the Texas-San Antonio athletic director, said, “It’s like we have our own little rock star.”

I don't like the way they broke up the attribution. They started the sentence that way because there's a quote from another writer above it. It would read better to start with the quote and finish with ," said Hickey, the Texas-San Antonio athletic director.

Passing: William Safire, the grammarian/columnist/novelist whom I've quoted here occasionally, died this week. The NY Times had a column called On Safire.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Two times two

Two kinds: You might check out the blog entry on Two kinds of people. The writer, Susan Bearman, has commented on this blog, and she's a member of my freelance network, Freelance Writers and Editors.

Comment: Another reader had a comment on a recent blog -- Jane said... What an interesting comment you make about Mr. Scheckner and his sigh. I just read another blog in which the author criticizes dialogue tags that "play double duty." I wasn't sure what she meant but assume she's referring to the same type of sentence you mention. Writers often want to avoid repeating "said" and "asked," but you clearly illustrate the ways in which that kind of avoidance can go too far. Thanks!

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment, Jane.

Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 12 years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!