February 27, 2010
February 20, 2010
February 18, 2010
Historically, farther and further have been used interchangeably when referring to distance, but their definitions are diverging. Most usage guides, including Chicago and AP, distinguish between the two, reserving farther when referring to physical distances and further for figurative distances, measuring quantity or degree:
When I graduated from college, I moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles. My sister moved even farther...
February 17, 2010
Every couple of months, the Donald Maass Literary Agency, which represents a roster of genre writers in science fiction, romance, mystery, and horror, posts to its website “what we’re looking for”—a handful of book ideas within a central theme. The agency hasn’t updated its suggestions since late last year, but they’re good ones: literary and science-fiction novels. The story starters aren’t meant to be prescriptive but to promote a creative spark:
In a...
February 16, 2010
When direct quotations are cited in writing, usually they are introduced with a phrase such as he said or the like and set off with commas:
Presidents Day celebrates the birthday of George Washington, who said, “I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.”
The first president also wrote, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is...
February 15, 2010
Like most pronouns, the relative pronouns who, which, and that have antecedents—nouns or pronouns to which they refer. Usually the antecedent to a relative pronoun appears in the main clause of the sentence. For clarity, the relative pronoun should immediately follow its antecedent:
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, a holiday that popular belief claims is named after a third-century priest who was executed for performing...
January 23, 2010
January 22, 2010
Last semester, my graduate alma mater hosted a panel discussion on arts criticism. The timing was apt, as I had just started to review films again for a new outlet. Until recently, with opportunities shrinking (for paid gigs, anyway), I had resigned myself to the reality that I may not write about film anymore. I had been seeing fewer movies, and watching those I did see as a fan, not a critic. “Critics Talk Shop: Writing Books, Music, Food, Film, and Why It...
January 21, 2010
You can beg for forgiveness. You can beg for mercy. You can beg for money, especially in these tough economic times. But whatever you do, don’t beg the question. And don’t use “beg the question” incorrectly in your writing, either.
Let me explain: The phrase “beg the question” refers to a logical fallacy in which a writer attempts to prove a claim by restating the claim itself, often in different language. For example, consider this...
January 20, 2010
In addition to my other New Year’s resolutions, I resolved to reunite with my writing group. I arrived at the first klatch of the year armed with a prompt inspired by a quote from Wings of Desire...
