Editing McKennas

04/04/2026

Mystery orcas spotted in Seattle! A first for Editing McKennas! (Bad pic; cool AF experience.)

🧐 Quiz Time:

Q: What's the plural form of "orca?"

A: Trick question! Both "orca" and "orcas" are correct.

What does one do when more than one form of a word is technically correct? To make life easier, choose a dictionary (e.g., Merriam-Webster) and default to the first variation listed. In this case—orcas.

Like most rules, you can break it any time you like but use it as a tool to streamline your process.

BUT WAIT, there are MORE teachable moments ahead!!

**Lesson: Compound Adjectives**

The Merriam definition of orca is "a relatively small toothed whale."

- Does that mean orcas have small teeth?
- Small teeth for *whales*?
- Do other whales have BIGGER teeth?

Whether or not their teeth are subjectively small isn't actually mentioned. The definition tells us that orcas are small "toothed whales."

Fun fact: S***m whales are their MUCH larger cousins.

An even smaller toothed whale is...wait for it—the dolphin.

That's right, orcas are big dolphins and dolphins are itty-bitty whales! (And some whales have teeth but most don't.) 🐬

Dolphins are *also* smaller-toothed whales, meaning they do indeed have smaller teeth, even for a member of the small toothed whale family. (They might even have a small-toothed family of their own. You could even have a big-toothed small toothed whale! 🤯)

The only way YOUR READER will know what the heck is going on is if you strategically place your hyphens to indicate adjectival usage. Made up of two or more standalone words—hyphenated to combine their descriptive powers—compound adjectives are here to help with clarity and flavor.

🔦 TRICK: A simple trick to check your usage: Replace the word/s preceding a noun with a basic-bitch adjective, like the color blue, or a word that indicates size, and read what you've got. A favorite example of ours here at EMC3 (Editing McKennas) is this gem:

"Big ass monsters"

"Big-ass monsters"

The first are monsters with inordinately large bums, while the second are really friggin' big monsters, thus exemplifying the importance of the hyphenated compound adjective.

Follow us for more delightfully helpful lessons in writing mechanics! 🤓 🐳

PS: There are exceptions to every rule...

Adverbs ARE NOT combined with other words with a hyphen to make compound adjectives. An adverbs "-ly" does it all, indicating adjectival modification of another adjective that will no doubt follow, as in "delightfully helpful."

(PPS: The orcas currently visiting us in Seattle are a "mystery pod," never before seen in Puget Sound. They have cookie-cutter shark scars! What even are those?! Find out on the next episode of Seattle Cetacean Sightings 📺. Or guess, per the compound adjective in the name. Or you could just look it up like we did. 🤷‍♀️)

07/21/2025

Hey, friends! Here at Editing McKennas, we're 100% human (by most standards), and we're always looking for new (also human) writers to work with. We've got upcoming editing slots open for late summer/early fall, so keep us in mind when you're out there in the writing world.

Be a friend, tell a friend, Editing McKennas are at your service! We'll even buy dinner.

04/10/2025

We only do it when people ask us to! 😁

Image text: "My life is a constant battle between wanting to correct grammar and wanting to have friends."

05/29/2024

If you've been interested in getting some feedback on your writing, this is a fantastic way to do that while you make new friends and learn more about the writing industry. Go get the details at https://cascadewriters.com/2024-three-day-critique-workshop/

03/13/2024

Dad’s got jokes. 😏

WORD DAD
March 13, 2024
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01/29/2024

How cool is this?!?

Seattle, our Sistah Scifi Book Vending Machine at Distant Worlds Coffee, was restocked last night!!!!

Favorite Afrofuturism titles, such as To Boldly Go by and Bloodchild by signed Afrofuturism artist who did the art work for the Seven Stories Press edition got more inventory.

We also added new titles such as Kinning by rule book, screen, and dice. It is a science fantasy, Indigenous Futurism table top game in a world where the Americas were never colonized!

Distant Worlds Coffee is a geeky, sci-fi-themed coffee shop in Seattle's Roosevelt Neighborhood + U-District. Serving espresso drinks, vegetarian and vegan treats, and tea. It's two blocks away from the Roosevelt light rail stop along 65th, just two stops north of Capital Hill, and there is ample street parking!

Have you checked out a Sistah Scifi Book Vending Machine?

01/27/2024

Have you registered for our 2024 workshop yet? We have five fantastic speakers confirmed with more to come! Now is a great time to get a spot! You can register or ask any questions here: https://cascadewriters.com/2024-three-day-critique-workshop/

09/30/2023

I’m Jessie McKenna, and I approve of this message.

—Jessie McKenna

08/06/2023

Sunday musings from the “littlest” Editing McKenna.

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Today I learned:

“Just desserts” is spelled “just deserts” because it has nothing to do with your only getting to have dessert (and not the entire meal), which, I have to admit, I never understood why this was a bad thing. 🤷‍♀️

Apparently, the etymology involves an earlier definition of the word “desert” which came from the word “deserve” … and now it all makes sense. Though, “all you get is the Sahara” — and no food, water, or even a parasol to go with it — also seems like a pretty epic consequence of being a sh*tty human.


☑️
(sp)

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The three generations of Editing McKennas gave a writer/editor, new-ish to the editing world, some good advice recently (at least, we think it is): Being a good editor or even proof reader is not about memorizing every grammatical fact. When it comes to spelling and grammar, in particular, it’s about using what you know — and we all have varying knowledge of our craft, depending on our training and experience — to identify what you may *not* know and then using the available resources (CMS, AP, Merriam-Webster, Google, etc.) to find and verify information and place it within the context of whatever you’re working on.

As a proof reader, “just deserts” is an example of a phrase that I would have looked up — whichever way I saw it spelled — to make sure the spelling was correct, because I didn’t know the etymology. I knew what it meant and how it was used, but I also knew there was more to know and had the curiosity and my instinct was to dig into it.

(Another fun fact: Editors get stuff wrong sometimes! In the case of “good” editors, it’s the exception to the rule — but good editors are *always* learning, just like everyone else.)