What’s Wrong with Adverbs? You can say it. Everyone in my writing group does. I am an adverb Nazi, and I’m not ashamed of it in the least. Don’t get me wrong. When I started writing my first novel, I used them. I used them heavily, one who isn’t writing Read more
Writing Woes In the academic writing classes I used to teach, most of which were for nonnative English speakers, many of my students came to the first class of the semester with this adamant stance: they did not like writing. Why? Their worries were plenty. I don’t have the right Read more
A Visual Model for Writing When I read an essay or listen to a presentation, I’m always fascinated by how the writer or speaker organizes and presents their content. Did the content drive the form, or did they fit the content into a desired form? A friend of mine explained Read more
Words Matter Week is wrapping up. I didn’t get a chance to post a blog for each day of it, but I definitely was thinking about words as I wrote, edited, and proofread all week. Through the sheer nature of my work, I’m surrounded by words on the page each Read more
Words Matter Week Today (March 4th) is National Grammar Day, and it’s also the start of Words Matter Week. According to the National Day Calendar, this is the 11th year that the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) “has sponsored Words Matter Week.” And according to NAIWE’s Executive Read more
Strong Opinions About Semicolons I’m a grammar nerd. A word nerd. A nerd. All of the above and more. I often think about punctuation. I analyze the way it’s used in the different books or articles I read. I think, hmm, would I use a comma there? Or I wonder: Read more