Clearing Your Throat Ahem. *Cough.* Ahem (again). (Can you hear me?) Sometimes before speaking, I need to clear my throat, just so my voice comes out clearly. A kind of warm-up activity. Okay, it may not be the best metaphor, Read more
“Kill Your Darlings” The idea of writing yourself into a corner probably sounds like a bad idea. A kind of confinement. Nowhere to go. But restrictions in writing can be helpful, especially if you need help learning how to write Read more
Writing, Dogs, Family, and Collaboration I decided I wanted to be a writer when I was six years old. Or possibly even earlier than that–as soon as I could write words and form sentences. I still have a lot of Read more
Commas: Small but Potent I’ve previously written about the semicolon and its misuse. The comma is yet another punctuation mark that begs for understanding. From my experiences as a workshop facilitator, a teacher, and as a proofreader and editor, I’ve Read more
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 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. 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 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 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) 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, Read more