Search Results (writing and editing)

Choose an angle, identify what to leave out, work in short bursts, and embrace your clunky (perhaps even unusable) first draft.

These Latin abbreviations don’t impress, they confuse. Here’s what to write instead.

The famous ‘Elements of Style’ marks a century of lessons for writers: ‘Omit needless words,’ and use a ‘concise, comprehensive statement’ to anchor descriptive paragraphs, among others.

In an excerpt from his new book, the copy chief at Random House skewers a few linguistic tenets that obstruct fluid composition. Fans of E. M. Forster and ‘Star Trek,’ rejoice.

To get the words flowing, try starting at the end. You might also use a prompt, rewrite a classic, or craft a poem based on fodder from your spam folder. 

Grab a few minutes at time, or grab a crayon, a la James Thurber. This array of tips will unclog your creative axons and dendrites and get those words and ideas flowing again.

Write with your readers’ needs, problems and preferences in mind. Then, nix nonessential words, aggressively tighten paragraphs, and take your sweet time.

Vocabulary, grammar and observation are all important, but the hard work is thinking.