Wilbers: Follow eight rules for numbers for consistency and
precision    • Article by: STEPHEN WILBERS , Special to the Star
Tribune   • Updated: December 1, 2013 - 2:00 PM  “There are
three rules for writing a novel,” W. Somerset Maugham once
wrote. “Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.”  If I had to
adapt Maugham’s quip to business, scientific and technical
writing, I would say, “There is one rule for writing numbers.
Fortunately, everyone knows what it is.”  Do you?  It’s simple:
Be consistent.  Here are eight guidelines to help you follow
that one simple rule:  1. Spell out numbers less than 10; use
figures for numbers 10 and higher (except in scientific and
technical writing, where all numbers may be written as figures).
One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four — makes 10
potatoes.  2. Spell out numbers that appear as the first word in
a sentence (or restructure the sentence to avoid beginning with
a number).  Sixty-four bottles of beer were on the wall, 64
bottles of beer.  3. Use figures f