Learning to Spell “Hoe” (or “Ho”)
This subject came up last week when a colleague and I were discussing the spelling of various slang terms. She and I are both suburban white women, but we’ve done our share of editing urban black slang. Actually that might be a better title for this post: “Suburban White Woman Edits Urban Black Slang.” I [...]
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief is not quite like anything I have read before. This is the book I began reading at six in the morning during my staycation. It became a big part of the reason I stayed at home in my easy chair for most of my week off. The story takes place in Nazi [...]
My First Book
The very first book I ever wrote was a nifty little number entitled Charlie at the Fish Olympics. I think I was in the fifth grade. Our teacher gave the assignment right around the time of the 1980 Olympics (hence the sports theme). I don’t remember actually writing the story, and my memory of the [...]
The Paralysis of Perfection
I’ve wanted to write this post for at least the past two weeks. There was only one problem: I didn’t have the perfect opening sentence. Actually there were several problems, but they all amounted to one thing: The idea wasn’t perfect yet. And so the post remained unwritten. This is what happens to a lot [...]
An Editor’s Holiday
What do editors do when they take a vacation? I suppose some may go to Rome or to a warm, sunny beach, perhaps in Mexico. At this time of year, others may head to New England to see the fall colors. What did I do? I stayed home and read a book. I know, it [...]
National Novel Writing Month
In case you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to plant your hindquarters in a chair and write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days, here’s your chance to find out. Yes, November is National Novel Writing Month, in which slightly insane people (just like you) commit to writing a novel in one month. Impossible, [...]
The New York Public Library Desk Reference
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a writing reference, but it is a cool book. If you’re a curious person (and I know you are) go to your library and flip through this book for a while. Need to know how to tell time by a ship’s bells? The proper seating arrangement for a wedding rehearsal dinner? [...]
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