15 Writing Tips from a Professional Editor

 

Everyone approaches editing a little bit differently, but here are a few common things she always keeps an eye out for.

Let’s take a look at what they are.

1. Editors often expect writers to not accept a lot of the changes they mark within a document.

“We’re not grading a test; we’re flagging inconsistencies and potential errors to make sure they’re intentional. If you’re cool with 85-90% of my edits, I’m ecstatic,” she said.

2. If you self-edit, learn the ins and outs of a style guide such as AP or CMOS.

You’ll write more efficiently when you don’t stop to think about Oxford commas or whether that compound word should be hyphenated or fused.

3. Use only one space after a period or other punctuation.

“Two spaces are as dead as the printing presses on which they originated,” she said.

4. Put in the extra thought to avoid jargon and clichés. It’ll make your work more precise.

5. A “from” needs a “to.” No exceptions, not even when writing the time of an event.

6. “Since” and “due to” are not great synonyms for “because” or “because of.”

Colloquially, sure—but not in professional writing.

7. Refer to a government, a company, or a partnership as “it” and use a singular verb.

(The singular “they” is awesome, but it applies to people.)

8. Most words—including job titles, department names, and specialized technology—don’t need to be capitalized.

“A lot of capitalization orbiting out there on the web is meaningless unless you’re entering a password. There, I said it.”

9. Using simple language isn’t for the sake of your audience’s intellect; it’s about respecting their time.

10. Contrary to what the Bachelor franchise would have us believe, “I’s” is not a word.

To show compound possession, use “my”: “Britney’s and my first date.” If that feels awkward, swap in “our.”

11. Items in a list should share the same grammatical form.

This is called parallel structure, and it’s jarring when people get it wrong.

12. Em-dashes and en-dashes got their names because they’re, respectively, the same length as “m” and “n.”

Don’t use either one when you should use a hyphen, and vice versa.

13. Accuracy is currency.

Be credible with your sources or risk breaking the reader’s trust.

14. Grammar is more subjective than you might think.

Good editors understand nuance.

15. No one will read your work as closely as your copy editor.

(Well, except maybe your mom.) Relax and enjoy the attention!

Hope these tips are as helpful to you as they were for me!

And remember: Don't take edits personally.

When you work with an editor the goal is to produce the best possible piece. You're on the same team; not opponents.

 

From:  https://www.kaleighmoore.com/blog/2021/6/24/15-writing-tips-from-a-professional-editor

Limits and doubts

 

What are some ethical considerations of machine-generated content?

 

Huiling Ding
Professor of English

AI-generated content, be it texts or artwork, introduces many ethical challenges related to authorship, copyright, creativity, plagiarism and labor practices. For instance, text-to-image AI generators like Midjourney and DALL-E 2 use images available in the public domain and/or images available online through Google search, Pinterest, and other image-sharing and art-shopping platforms as training data for their algorithms.

By supporting text-prompt-driven image creation, these AI generators then produce artwork that can imitate individual artists’ styles. In doing so, they compete with if not displace artists who have spent decades improving their craft. 

AI-assisted writing faces similar challenges in terms of transparency, explainability, plagiarism and authorship attribution. Using online texts as training data, AI writers such as GPT-3 can generate original summaries and syntheses based on existing content. 

Traditional writing classes are disrupted by these AI tools, which speed up and automate the process of online research and the summary and synthesis of reference materials. Students can easily copy and paste AI-generated content as their own written work without being caught by plagiarism-detecting tools such as Turnitin.

In other words, natural language generation tools such as GPT-3 transform how we detect and define plagiarism. That, in turn, calls for new research and adaptation from writing instructors and scholars. 

Outside the classroom, professional writers and businesses use AI content generators to create preliminary ideas, generate quick summaries of online publications, write stories and engage with customers in chatbot conversations.

While famous artists such as Greg Rutkowski may feel their rights infringed by AI art generators, other artists are using AI-generated art for inspiration. In the content generation marketplace, these AI tools can compete with writers and artists or can be used as human-augmenting tools to help writers and artists produce content more creatively, efficiently and collaboratively. 

From: https://chass.ncsu.edu/news/2023/03/27/how-is-ai-changing-how-we-write-and-create/

Creating a plot made easy

 

The 4 elements needed to create a dynamic plot are:

1. The hero/heroine’s goal (what he/she wants)
2. The hero/heroine’s issue (the internal conflict that’s keeping him/her from her goal)
3. Obstacles in the hero/heroine’s path (the external conflict that’s keeping him/her from his/her goal)
4. The results of dealing with his/her internal issue (change)
   

 

In summary then, every plot needs a goal, conflict, overcoming obstacles, resolution. Looking close at this list should remind you of the story arc: Introduction, build, climax, resolution. The story arc is the chain on which the pearls of your novel are strung. You can think of story arc as the things that happen—the scenes or episodes—from the beginning of the novel to its conclusion. The story arc—also called a narrative arc—is the same thing as plot.

Impersonal Verbs

 https://www.grammarly.com/blog/impersonal-verbs/

Have you ever used an impersonal verb? Of course you have, you just didn’t know it.

Impersonal verbs are verbs that do not use a specific subject, but instead use the generic subject it. They’re often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because they’re commonly used to describe the weather, like in the impersonal verb examples “it’s raining” or “it’s snowing.” 

Although they’re fairly straightforward, impersonal verbs can be confusing if you don’t know how they work. Below we explain what they are and how to use them, plus we provide an impersonal verbs list so you can learn to recognize them. 

Unlike other verbs, impersonal verbs don’t use what’s called a “determinate subject,” which is a subject that describes something specific, like the person or thing doing an action. Instead, they mostly use the impersonal pronoun it, which does not represent anything in particular. In other words, impersonal pronouns don’t specify who or what does the action, the action just happens on its own. 

Impersonal verbs usually refer to the weather or other general conditions, like light and dark, but they can also be used with certain idioms or common phrases, which we will explain later. 

In other languages, stating the subject of a verb is sometimes optional, but English requires the subject be stated for all sentences except imperatives (commands), which use the “understood” second-person subject. So while in Spanish you can say that it’s raining by shouting “llueve!” in English it’s incorrect to shout only “is raining!” because that’s not a complete sentence. You need to add the impersonal pronoun it as the subject. 

With impersonal verbs, the subject it doesn’t actually mean anything; it’s more like a placeholder because the sentence needs a subject. When we say things like “it’s storming” or “it occurred to me,” the subject it doesn’t represent anything in particular. For this reason, the subject of an impersonal verb is sometimes called a “dummy subject.” 

Some verbs are always impersonal, but sometimes normal verbs can act like impersonal verbs depending on how they’re used. For example, the verbs be and happen can act as impersonal verbs when used to talk about the weather or certain general conditions. 

Why is it so hot today?

It’s darker in here than it is outside. 

It happened to rain during our camping trip. 

The majority of impersonal verbs relate to the weather, but not all. Certain idioms and phrases use otherwise normal verbs as impersonal verbs. 

So it’s come to this. 

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to war. 

Likewise, the verb phrase looks like can act as an impersonal verb when used in a generic sense or when used to talk about the weather. 

It looks like a win for San Lorenzo. 

It looks like a storm is coming. 

The verb occur has one particular meaning that causes it to act as an impersonal noun: when something comes to mind. 

It occurred to them too late that the whole thing was a scam. 

Be careful not to confuse impersonal verbs with their noun forms. For example, the impersonal verb snow can also be used as a noun, in this case the mass noun snow. Although spelled the same, the verb snow functions very differently than the noun snow, so you’ll have to consider the context to tell the difference.  

Why are they called weather verbs?

Impersonal verbs are often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because, simply, we use them to talk about the weather. Most impersonal verbs are directly linked to weather, such as rain, storm, snow, and thunder. 

Some weather verbs are not always impersonal and have other meanings unrelated to the weather. For example, pour can be used to talk about moving liquids, and in this case it is not impersonal and requires a standard subject. 

The scientist poured the acid into a safe container. 

However, when the meaning of pour is “to rain heavily,” pour becomes an impersonal verb. 

It’s pouring outside, so I’m taking an umbrella. 

What is valency?

In grammar, the valency or valence of a verb refers to how many elements in a sentence depend on that verb. Let’s look at transitive and intransitive verbs as an example. With an intransitive verb like sleep, only the subject is connected to the verb, so the verb has a valency of one. With a transitive verb like give, both the subject and the direct object are connected to the verb, so the verb has a valency of two, and when there’s also an indirect object, it has a valency of three. 

Impersonal verbs, however, have a valency of zero. That’s what makes them special. The only reason they take a subject at all is because English grammar rules require it.

Writing with impersonal verbs

Aside from their subject, impersonal verbs work like every other verb. You can still use impersonal verbs in different tenses, like the present perfect or future continuous, and you can use them with modal verbs, like can or might. Just look at these impersonal verbs examples below: 

It snows all the time here. 

It has snowed every day this week.

It will be snowing all month. 

It can snow as long as the temperature stays cold.  

As you can see from these examples, impersonal verbs use the third-person singular conjugation to match the subject it, no matter the tense, even when used with the contraction it’s. 

It’s snowing outside. (It is snowing outside.) 

There is only one exception to this rule, which we will address below. 

As mentioned above, some normal verbs can act impersonal depending on their usage. These include some irregular verbs or expressions that use irregular verbs, such as the idiom go without saying or the verb get when used to describe the weather or general conditions. Even when acting as impersonal verbs, irregular verbs still use their same unique conjugations. 

It goes without saying that smoking is dangerous. 

I thought it went without saying, but I guess not. 

In summer it gets dark in the late evening. 

Why has it gotten dark already?

While nearly all impersonal verbs use the impersonal pronoun it as their subject, there’s one common impersonal verb phrase that doesn’t. The impersonal verb phrase they say uses the impersonal pronoun they instead of it. This phrase refers to common knowledge or popular adages, so in this case, they doesn’t actually refer to anyone or any group in particular. 

They say all that glitters is not gold. 

They say spring is a time of new beginnings. 

Note that with the impersonal pronoun they, the verb takes the third-person plural conjugation rather than the third-person singular conjugation that all other impersonal verbs take.

Impersonal verbs examples

Luckily, there aren’t many impersonal verbs, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble using them. Here’s an impersonal verbs list, featuring the most common ones in English. Words and phrases with asterisks mean that they are not always impersonal, depending on the meaning. 

• be*
• blizzard
• come to*
• darken*
• drizzle*
• get*
• go without saying*
• hail*
• happen*
• look like*
• occur*
• pour*
• rain
• say*
• sleet
• snow
• storm
• thunder

Impersonal verbs FAQs 

What are impersonal verbs?

Impersonal verbs are verbs that do not use a specific subject, but instead use the impersonal pronoun it as a generic subject. 

How do impersonal verbs work in English vs. other languages?

Because English sentences almost always require a subject, impersonal verbs must use a generic subject, like the impersonal pronoun it. In some other languages, subjects are optional, so this rule does not apply. 

Why are they sometimes called weather verbs? 

Impersonal verbs are often called “weather verbs” or “meteorological verbs” because they are used to describe the weather, such as the verbs rain, snow, storm, and thunder. Even other verbs can temporarily act as impersonal verbs when discussing the weather, such as the verb be, as in, “It is cold today.”

 

Basic Punctuation

Punctuation is to writing as gas is to a car: you can’t have one without the other. Sure, you can try writing without commas, apostrophes, or periods, though there’s only so much you can do. Before long, missing punctuation leaves readers dazed and confused without enough context, clarity, or structure.

If you think punctuation only matters to English majors, think again. Good writing, including correct grammar and punctuation, helps you communicate effectively no matter your profession. Proper punctuation will take you far, whether you’re writing an email to a client or submitting a college application. That’s why it’s worth learning more about what punctuation means, common and uncommon punctuation, typical mistakes, and related questions. 

 

What Is Punctuation?

The best way to understand punctuation is to think of punctuation marks (like question marks, apostrophes, and periods) as writing tools. Punctuation refers to the use of these tools to add structure and definition to writing. For example, a sentence isn’t a sentence without a final touch, like a period or exclamation point.

Punctuation can also be used to change the meaning of a sentence without changing the words. For example, replacing one punctuation mark for another completely changes the meaning of the following text:

 

My Uber is here.

The period in this sentence indicates a statement or a fact.

 

My Uber is here?

When replacing the period with a question mark, the validity of this statement is called into question. The same words are used to indicate disbelief or potential confusion. This is one way that understanding the basics of correct punctuation can take your writing to new heights.

 

Common Punctuation

If you’ve ever wondered, “What are the basic rules of punctuation?” you’re not alone. Learning about the most common punctuation marks and their uses is an excellent first step. Here are some you’ve likely already seen, plus how to use them.

 

Period

Periods are used to finish a sentence or express a neutral tone. While the same dot is used in other forms of punctuation like an ellipsis (…), it’s not a period unless it stands alone.

 

Comma

Commas separate ideas or indicate pauses. For example, they’re found in lists in a sentence or to express a verbal break. Commas are one of the most common types of punctuation, though they’re also prone to misuse.

 

Apostrophe

This punctuation mark is associated with possessive nouns (like Abdullah’s house) or in contractions when two words become one (like won’t). It’s also applied to shorten dates (like ’22 instead of 2022) but not for plural nouns (CDs). Much like commas, apostrophes are a popular form of punctuation, though they are often misunderstood in practice.

 

Uncommon Punctuation

Semicolons and colons are slightly less common punctuation marks. They’re also somewhat similar to each other and sometimes mistakenly reversed. Here’s how to use both correctly for better writing.

 

Semicolon

A semicolon is a cross between a comma and a colon, hence its name. It’s also less common than a colon.

Semicolons are used in a number of ways, such as to link two independent clauses. (A clause is part of a sentence that could also be its own sentence, grammatically speaking.) They’re also used to separate items in a list when the items are already separated by commas. 

For example, “I plan to visit New York, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; and New Castle, Pennsylvania.”

 

Colon

The colon is used as an introduction before lists, explanations, or longer quotes. (Shorter quotes are preceded by a comma.)

For example, “You need a few ingredients: eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta.”

Colons are also used in between independent clauses if the second explains the first. 

For example, “I can’t make it tomorrow: I have a doctor’s appointment.”

 

Common Punctuation Mistakes

Punctuation marks are used in a number of ways, which can sometimes create confusion. Here are a few of the most common punctuation mistakes and how to avoid them.

 

Commas

Commas are used to separate transitional words or introductory phrases from what follows. Here’s an example of a missing comma.

However she was only five minutes late.

Here’s how to write it correctly:

However, she was only five minutes late.

As you can see, the comma separates the transitional word or introduction from the rest of the sentence.

 

Apostrophes

An apostrophe’s placement in a word indicates whether something is singular or plural. For example, when describing two people, here’s how an apostrophe is used incorrectly:

My parent’s house is a block away.

In this case, placing the apostrophe after parent indicates one person (i.e., one parent).

Here’s what it should’ve been:

My parents’ house is a block away.

In this case, the apostrophe placement indicates a plural noun instead of a singular noun (i.e., parents instead of parent). As you can see, correct apostrophe use requires precise placement within a word.

 

The Importance of Punctuation

Punctuation is as important to writing as the letters of the alphabet. Unless you’re writing something as elementary as “SOS,” you’ll need punctuation to add context and form to your text.

Have you ever wondered, “How do you memorize punctuation rules?” The good news is you don’t have to. While you may need to look up a few rules or examples initially, you’ll start to remember them through repetition.

 

 From: Editor World

How to Write a Biography

 

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

• 1. Seek permission when possible 
• 2. Research your subject thoroughly
• 3. Do interviews and visit locations
• 4. Organize your findings
• 5. Identify a central thesis
• 6. Write it using narrative elements
• 7. Get feedback and polish the text

🤓 Obsessed about someone's life enough to want to write their biography? Here's how you do it in 7 steps. 

 

Click to tweet!

 

 

FREE RESOURCE

Biography Outline Template

Craft a satisfying story arc for your biography with our free template.

Writing Forums

 

 Writing Forums is a non-profit community managed writing environment. We provide an unlimited opportunity for writers and poets of all abilities to share their work and communicate with other writers and creative artists.

We offer an experience that is safe, welcoming and friendly, regardless of participation level, knowledge or skill. There are several opportunities for writers to exchange tips, engage in discussions about techniques, and grow in their craft. Participate in forum competitions that are exciting and helpful in building skill level! There's so much more to explore!

https://www.writingforums.com/

Saguaro Books LLC Catalog Spring 2023

https://youtu.be/GFyG-yaGthk

Relexive Pronouns

 

1. A reflexive pronoun is used as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb: “I cut myself shaving again.”

2. The reflexive pronoun is used as an indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb: “She bought herself a new car.”

3. The reflexive pronoun is used as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause: “My son built our deck by himself.”

Note: The phrase “by + reflexive pronoun” shows that someone did something alone and/or without any help. The same meaning is conveyed when the reflexive pronoun alone is placed at the end of a sentence: “I baked all the cookies myself.”

4. The reflexive pronoun is used to emphasize the person or thing referred to: “The binding itself is worth £50.”

Note: This use of the reflexive pronoun is especially common when the person referred to is famous or powerful: “The Queen herself wrote a note of condolence to her butler.”

The most common errors made with reflexive pronouns are the sort the reader refers to, the use of a reflexive pronoun when the context calls for a plain personal pronoun:

INCORRECT: If you have any questions, you can refer to myself.
CORRECT: If you have any questions, you can refer to me.

The error here is using a reflexive pronoun as the object of a preposition that does not refer to the subject of the clause (you).

Other common errors include the following:

INCORRECT: Jack and myself traveled to Greece this summer.
CORRECT: Jack and I traveled to Greece this summer.

The error is in using the reflexive pronoun as the subject of a verb.

INCORRECT: When you give out the presents, don’t forget Margie and myself.
CORRECT: When you give out the presents, don’t forget Margie and me.

The error here is using reflexive myself as the object of the verb forget.

Although the phrases “myself included” or “including myself”seem to defy the rules they have enjoyed a long history of use by reputable writers.

The Ngram Viewer indicates that “including myself” is far more common than “including me” in printed books.

A Web search for “including me” brings 617,000 results; “including myself” brings 3,890,000 results.

An article by linguist James Harbeck lists fourteen examples of exceptions to the rules. Here are three of them:

You seem like a better version of myself. (object of preposition)

There are two others here besides myself. (object of preposition)

Myself, as director here, will cut the ribbon. (subject of sentence)

Sometimes “including me” is the obvious choice, but in other contexts, a writer may prefer “including myself.” Compare:

Everyone received a lavish gift, including me.

Many scientists, including myself, found the film outrageous in its inaccuracies.

The best advice about the use of reflexive pronouns is to master the rules, but to remain aware that sometimes “nonstandard” myself may be more idiomatic than me.

“If you have any questions, you can refer to myself” is unquestionably nonstandard, but in contexts in which a speaker or writer is espousing an opinion shared by others, “myself included” and “including myself” are established idioms. 

From: Daily Writing Tips

Unnecessary Uses of Scare Quotes

 

Rules are made to be broken, but more often they are made to be followed, because violation of those rules, in writing as in any other human endeavor, often leads to unintended consequences. One case is the careless use of quotation marks for emphasis.

Scare quotes, as quotation marks employed for this purpose are called, are often used to call out nonstandard or unusual terms, or merely to introduce a word or phrase. However, although this strategy used to be common, scare quotes have taken on a new role that has largely, at least among careful writers, supplanted the old technique: Now, they are better employed to convey derision, irony, or skepticism.

For example, a writer who describes how “the institute offers workshops in ‘self-awareness therapy’” is widely presumed not to be gently preparing the reader for the appearance of an unfamiliar phrase; more likely, they are calling attention to what they feel is preciously New Age-y terminology.

Meanwhile, the statement “The Pentagon’s strategy of ‘pacification’ certainly did make things quieter in the neighborhood” comments on the evasive military euphemism, while “The ‘new’ model strikes me as less sophisticated than the old one” calls attention to an unjustified adjective.

Here are three types of superfluous usage of scare quotes:

1. The astronomers reported Tuesday that they had combined more than 6,000 observations from three telescopes to detect the system of
"exoplanets."
Exoplanets is a term that has only recently entered the general vocabulary, but neologism is not a criterion for use of scare quotes; simply introduce the word, define it, and move on: “The astronomers reported Tuesday that they had combined more than 6,000 observations from three telescopes to detect the system of exoplanets.” (In the article from which this sentence is taken, a definition of exoplanet follows the statement.)

2. They engaged in listening exercises and musical analysis so as to better understand the "musical DNA" of their favorite songs.
If you use an established term in an unfamiliar but analogous sense, trust readers to make the connection; don’t bracket the term in scare quotes: “They engaged in listening exercises and musical analysis so as to better understand the musical DNA of their favorite songs.”

3. So-called “notification laws” require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.
Never employ scare quotes around a term introduced by the phrase so-called. Yes, you may want to signal to readers your dissatisfaction with the term, but so-called performs that function, so scare quotes are redundant: “So-called notification laws require businesses to notify customers when certain unencrypted customer data is improperly accessed.”

From: Daily Writing Tips

Who vs. Whom

No doubt about it, the pronoun whom is in its death throes.

If you need a refresher, here’s the difference: Who is the subject form of the pronoun, so it’s the doer of an action, as in “That’s the man who climbed Everest.” (subject of “climbed”). Whom is the object form of the pronoun, so it receives the action, as in “Whom do you like best?” (object of “like”).

Most grammarians agree that English speakers can get along just fine by using who for both subject and object, as we do with the pronoun you:

You light up my life. (subject)
I love you. (object)

An entrenched idiom like “to whom it may concern” will probably stick around for a while longer. Speakers for whom the who/whom distinction comes naturally will continue to use both forms. Even speakers who use who as an object may continue to use whom when it stands immediately after a preposition, but for the most part, the use of who for whom is a non-issue.

The use of whom for who, however, is another matter.

A great many speakers–including professional news reporters–fall into what I call the something-between trap. When something–a subordinate clause or a stock phrase like “in my opinion”–comes between the subject pronoun and its verb, the writer may stumble and use whom instead of who.

Observe the problem in the following examples.

1. The heroine is teen-aged Frenchy Hercules, whom one suspects is the director’s wife,

2. A Chicago man whom police believe is responsible for 11 burglaries to sheds and garages in the village is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 24 on theft charges, authorities said.

3. Fire personnel radioed deputies to stop the driver, whom, according to reports, appeared to have been under the influence of intoxicants.

4. Before we started coming to BBBA, I [had] taken him to numerous pitching and hitting coaches whom in my opinion were out for the money and not the overall improvement of my son’s baseball ability.

In each example, the whom should be who.

If the errors jumped out at you as soon as you read the sentences, you may as well stop reading now. If you’re not quite sure why these uses of whom are incorrect, read on.

Whom is an object form–like him–but in each of these sentences, the whom being used as the subject of a verb. Who is the subject form.

Writers can avoid falling into the something-between trap with whom by taking a close look at all the verbs.

Because whom can only be an object, eliminate all the subjects first. Determine which subject word goes with which verb.

1. The heroine is teen-aged Frenchy Hercules, whom one suspects is the director’s wife.
This sentence contains three verbs: is, suspects, and is.
The subject of the first is is “heroine.”
The subject of suspects is “one.”
The subject of the second is is “who” (not whom).
The in-between trap is “one suspects.”
NOTE: the verb “suspects” is what tripped the writer up. In another context, suspects. could be used transitively: He’s the man whom the detective suspects. In this sentence, suspects has no object.

2. A Chicago man whom police believe is responsible for 11 burglaries to sheds and garages in the village is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 24 on theft charges, authorities said.
This sentence contains four finite verbs: believe, is responsible, is scheduled, and said.
The subject of believe is “police.”
The subject of is responsible is “who” (not whom).
The subject of is scheduled is “A Chicago man.”
The subject of said is “authorities.”
NOTE: The in-between trap is “police believe.” In another context, “believe” could take an object, but not here.

3. Fire personnel radioed deputies to stop the driver, whom, according to reports, appeared to have been under the influence of intoxicants.
This sentence contains two finite verbs: radioed and appeared.
The subject of radioed is “Fire personnel.”
The subject of appeared is “who” (not whom).
The in-between trap is “according to reports.”

4. Before we started coming to BBBA, I [had] taken him to numerous pitching and hitting coaches whom in my opinion were out for the money and not the overall improvement of my son’s baseball ability.
This sentence contains three finite verbs: started, had taken, and were.
The subject of started is “we.”
The subject of had taken is “I.”
The subject of were is “who” (not whom).
The in-between trap is “in my opinion.”

If all this seems like too much grammar to deal with, there’s a second option for avoiding the something-between trap with whom. Stick with who. (Now isn’t that an interesting construction!)

From: Daily Writing Tips