Category Archives: Thoughts on writing
E.C.T. Update, Perspective, and an Unknown Poet
4:34 AM E.C.T. Update In June I went to Tempe, Arizona to get electroconvulsive therapy for my nightmares which have been regularly going on since 1988. There were to be three treatments a week for four weeks. I stopped after … Continue reading
Revised Post on Revising
NB: I wrote this post last year and titled it “More on Revising.” (internal link) I noticed tonight that it needed more work so I have revised this post on revising. Argh. Editing never ends. More on Revising — Updated … Continue reading
CBS Claims Unbiased Reporting
CBS claims in their latest advertising that they offer unbiased reporting. How stupid do they think we are? Everyone knows that reporting is biased to a greater or lesser degree. Every reporter and every editor and every network CEO has … Continue reading
Not Marble nor the Gilded Monuments by William Shakespeare
Took another look at Shakespeare’s sonnets. (internal link) Number 55 is very good, outlining the hope of all poets to live beyond the grave. Maxwell Nurnberg (A Gathering of Poems, Washington Square Press, 1969) says that the first two lines … Continue reading
Posted in editing writing, fiction, Poetry, Thoughts on writing, Uncategorized, video, Writing by others
Tagged david calder, Poetry, shakespeare, sonnets, YouTube
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Not Only
Not Only “Not only” is a phrase which brings negativity to a piece and prevents you from directly and quickly stating your position. Original: Not only is ice cream tastier than sherbet but it appeals to more people. Revised Ice … Continue reading
What’s The Most Dangerous Point in Editing?
What’s The Most Dangerous Point in Editing? When your eyes glaze over. When you skip over writing because it is so dull or complicated. You can’t edit if you aren’t reading. I wrote and edited a great deal in the … Continue reading
Real Life Word Problems
Few online editors rely on a manual of style anymore like CMOS. They may have a self-developed style sheet but that’s it. Complicated word problems are the province of editors with university presses, literary reviews, or those hardcopy editors working … Continue reading
Revising, Style, and Time – Revised
Revising, Style and Time Excellent writing takes time which you may not have. Tighter writing is better writing by making reading and understanding easier. That writing, though, takes time and alters the style of a piece. In revising other people’s … Continue reading
Can Writing a Certain Amount of Words a Day Improve Your Writing?
ROUGH TRANSCRIPT Can you improve as a writer by writing a certain amount of words every day? I have heard this advice over the years or read this advice over the years. I remember Ray Bradbury in particular. I think … Continue reading
Original Photographs and the Impossibility of Everything Connected to Them
After your article proposal has been accepted your next challenge will be providing photographs to accompany the text. I hope you can take them yourself. The world of Nat Geo doesn’t exist anymore for freelancers. You will not have a … Continue reading