An adjective is a word that provides detail about, or modifies, a noun. Adjectives are sometimes confused with adverbs, which modify verbs. The -verb in adverb gives you a clue, as does the -ject in adjective — just like the -ject in object: The names of objects are always nouns. Two divisions of adjectives are … Read more
Write. In order to be able to call yourself a writer, all you have to do is write. But I have another piece of advice: Don’t go passing out business cards emblazoned with that word just yet. Malcolm Gladwell is a fascinating writer (one who deserves those business cards) who has an uncanny knack for … Read more
Adjectives — descriptive words that modify nouns — often come under fire for their cluttering quality, but often it’s quality, not quantity, that is the issue. Plenty of tired adjectives are available to spoil a good sentence, but when you find just the right word for the job, enrichment ensues. Practice precision when you select … Read more
Try this: Go to a content Web site and click on an article, or open a Word document you’ve created, and search for the word that. This wallflower word is likely to appear with surprising frequency — but it shouldn’t seem very surprising, because that has five distinct grammatical functions: 1. As a pronoun used … Read more
Writers often miss opportunities to push home a point or spotlight an interesting observation by ignoring or not attending to the effect of cadence and syntax on written communication. Such incidents are like a standup comedian placing a punch line in the middle of a joke. Here are some examples of slight adjustments of sentence … Read more
Do you notice dangling participles and misplaced modifiers and unclear antecedents? Do you cringe when punctuation is misused, or when a writer employs the wrong word or phrases a sentence awkwardly or poorly organizes a paragraph? Do you shake your head when number style is inconsistent, abbreviations are incorrect, or words are indiscriminately capitalized? Have … Read more
There comes a time when you have to put down other people’s books and start writing your own. But if you don’t feel you’ve gotten to that point yet, or you’d just like a shot in the arm (or a more definitive blow to another part of your anatomy), explore these excellent writing workshops in … Read more
Few technical writing errors drive editors to distraction like superfluous capitalization does. This eruption of capitalitis (a pathogen otherwise known as Uppercasis ludicrosii) is most often seen in references to plants and animals. Words that comprise the names of plant species are generally lowercase: “Lumber from the live oak is rarely used for furniture.” Exceptions … Read more
Is rhetorician on your resume? It should be, because I’d be surprised if you haven’t employed one or more of the methods listed below for conveying emphasis to your writing. Rhetoric, the art of persuasive written or spoken discourse, was developed in ancient Greece, and every one of the terms below stems from classical Greek … Read more
In workshops and in writing guides, the admonition “Use fewer words” is one of the cardinal rules. Although I resist the excision of allegedly superfluous adverbs and adjectives, I heartily acknowledge that many other parts of speech are often unnecessary. Here are other ways to reduce word count: 1. “The standards define the process to … Read more
When it comes to linking words to form new words, English is a particularly mischievous language. Different compound words with an element word in common, or pairs of words analogous to each other, may be inconsistent about the presence or absence of a letter space or a hyphen when you see them listed in the … Read more
No. Because I’m getting paid to write posts of more than one word, I’ll qualify that answer. But first, here’s another question, and this time, it’s your turn to answer: Why do you want to self-publish? If it’s because publishers and agents have turned your work down, you might want to retrench and start small, … Read more