"Slowpoke: How to be a faster writer" by Michael Agger in Slate (Aug. 10, 2011) does not, unfortunately, provide the miracle cure of its subtitle (darn!).  Instead, it very briefly introduces some major figures and conclusions in the field of studies of the work methods of professional writers.  It shares such nuggets as:  ( four excerpts )

I read an interesting essay on Scientific American yesterday, "Slipping the 'Cognitive Straitjacket' of Psychiatric Diagnosis: Psychiatry's diagnostic bible meets the awkward facts of genetics" by Steven E. Hyman, and I'd like to recommend it to anyone interesting in diagnostics, in mental health, in the influence of authority on science, or in the ( Read more... )

A pelmet is akin to a valance; both are decorative strips that hide the curtain rod at the top of a window, and may add insulation.  The difference is that a valence is fabric, while a pelmet is wood or plastic.  (An exterior stone or brick decoration over the top of a window may sometimes also be called a pelmet, for its resemblance to the ( Read more... )

I used the expression "by his lights," and amilyn had not heard it before, which made me curious.  Have you heard it?  It means, "by his own standards" or "as he understands things," and it usually implies that the person/character thus described is wrong in his standards or understanding, or at least creates a distance between the author/speaker and ( Read more... )

I prefer the phrase "recognized the right" to the phrase "gave the right."  If something is a "right," its existence predates its recognition.  Something that can be granted, on the other hand, is a privilege, not a right, I'm thinking.

From Strunk and White's revered The Elements of Style (fourth edition), under "Elementary Rules of Usage," item four:
Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause. ( Read more... )

I read What Jesus Meant by Garry Wills yesterday.  (Like all Wills books, it's erudite, idiosyncratic, biting, and can-hardly-put-it-down readable.)  One passing turn of phrase, nestled in the middle of the final paragraph of the penultimate chapter, really grabbed me: the Incarnation as God's "rescue raid into history."

much-madness and I were discussing fiction prompts the other day, the kind used in ficathons, list challenges and other venues.  We noted that they can be as tiny and generic as "pink box" or "catch-22" on the one hand, or as large and specific as that HP assignment Leela_cat received or the Dark N&N Yuletide challenges, on the other, but that they usually fall ( Read more... )

"The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping."  The New York Times should be ashamed of itself for this cavalier sentence, included in an article about the murders in Omaha today.

"Good writing remains good writing regardless of platform.  The Web tends to be a chattier place, more off-the-cuff, but it is still a place where readers appreciate a well-crafted sentence, a nuanced thought, a fully elucidated thesis and commentary undergirded by fact, honesty and a generosity of spirit ( Read more... )