Category Archives: Uncategorized

A few thoughts on writing from Dorothy Sayers, taken from two essays in her collection Unpopular Opinions, “Plain English” and “The English Language.” Two notes: 1) Some quotes I include because her images are so good, though as quoted they … Continue reading →

My friend Maureen Mullarkey responded to Gowers Against Jargon (or, to be perfectly accurate, to the email to friends that become the weblog entry) by pointing me to Lionel Trilling’s remarks in The Liberal Imagination: A specter haunts our culture — it is that people … Continue reading →

Two friends, Judy Warner and Todd Speidell, pointed me to Charles Murray’s short article These 9 Words Don’t Mean What You Think They Mean, taken from his new book The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead. All the mistakes he noted were, I … Continue reading →

One can tell the exact truth and still mislead, and in fact tell the exact truth in order to mislead. Tylenol, used in ways people may unknowingly use it, can damage the liver and even kill people. According to Pro Publica, … Continue reading →

I like “word blur,” a term I’d never heard before, and the writer’s explanation in Missing from Christie’s proof of innocence claim: the proof. The lawyer, Randy Mastro of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, released a statement Tuesday, saying, “The governor’s office … Continue reading →

On Sir Earnest Gowers and his Complete Plain Words, one of the books on writing I recommend to people, an article from the Telegraph titled, not surprisingly,  Speak Plainly. Nothing new but some entertaining examples. Gowers hated jargon “above all,” partly because it was … Continue reading →

Very late, but in case  you didn’t see Penguin’s press release about their new series Penguin Now!, here it is. The series will replace all full stops with exclamation marks, as a way of reaching younger readers formed by the … Continue reading →

Stephen King’s rules are directed to fiction writers but most of them apply to every other kind. I endorse them all but would heavily qualify the “You can write!” last two to “You can write! But probably just for your mother.” … Continue reading →

A story about the journalist Richard Ben Cramer writing “What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?” for Esquire. Whether he was right about the disputed 1,500 words I have no idea but my sympathies are with the editor. [Cramer’s editor, David … Continue reading →

Continuing the thoughts on editing begun in Bad Editing: Granted that bad or little editing may help a magazine or newspaper sell copies, I think, to get all moralistic, that the editor who doesn’t edit closely and force the writer … Continue reading →