People often wonder why we writers obsess over phrases, cadences, and the like. They don’t understand when we say that + more
People often wonder why we writers obsess over phrases, cadences, and the like. They don’t understand when we say that + more
What I’ve long suspected—that American literature these days is dominated by a bunch of MFA-degreed Nancy boys who publish in + more
As someone who once scraped together a modest living as a music critic, I found the premise behind this diatribe + more
I’m normally not a fan of burning books, but I think I’d make an exception for The Associated Press Stylebook + more
As a followup to last week’s post about beginning sentences with “and,” let me just add one last point for + more
Many, many, many times I’ve been told to not begin sentences with “and.” Or any other conjunction, for that matter. + more
From Thomas Merton comes this, the sort of statement that would make for a fine mantra—if I believed in the + more
The Boston Globe‘s Erin McKean seems to think that the practice of “verbing”—perhaps the worst thing to happen to the + more
So the missus and I were enjoying a picnic in Cannon Hill Park last night when, as I was about + more
Following up on yesterday’s post (scroll down), here’s an application that uses a super-secret algorithm to determine, from a writing + more
Speaking of bad writing, it seems the winners of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest have been announced. Named for Edward + more
To those who read the last word and say, “Hey, I can do that”—and then wonder what’s to stop them + more
A few years ago, the journal Philosophy and Literature sponsored the Bad Writing Contest, its aim to celebrate “the most + more
Last weekend—and, it turns out, for the first time in my life—I read a Sports Illustrated article from beginning to + more