Stop with the Overdone Modifiers On Writing Well taught me to cut the use of modifiers such as “really,” “very,” “so,” and “quite.” I save those for when I *really* mean something 🙂 It’s amazing how many articles I’ve edited that abused these words that they lose meaning. Using Only in Sentences “An Ode to … Read more
Thanks to poor Pluto’s recent declassification as a planet, the American Dialect Society — an organization founded in 1889 that “is dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by” — picked “plutoed” as its 2006 Word of the … Read more
A person or a business can do everything right and still struggle to move to the next level simply because it doesn’t stand out from the crowd. Sam Horn opens with a great example of this from American Idol. Judge Simon Cowell told an eliminated contestant, “You have a good voice and you’re a nice … Read more
Textual annoyances shares three things that annoy Mark Hurst, who wrote the entry. Maybe it has to do with where I live and what I do because I haven’t run into the problems he has. Of course, when I’m trying to think of an annoyance, only one comes to mind (and there are plenty that … Read more
Need quick content about your business that sounds like you took your time to craft? Let the Corporate Gibberish Generator do the work for you. Al you have to do is enter your company name and click “Generate.” Ta da! Look at this amazing paragraph it created within seconds (before you read it, double up … Read more
We encounter politics in our lives daily, and it’s not just the kind we see in Washington, DC. It’s handling delicate situations in just the right way with the right words and the right actions to avoid making it worse or more uncomfortable. It can be a simple case of the harried volunteer who can’t … Read more