Why there’s no apostrophe in writers room
I’ve long wondered why there is no apostrophe in words like “writers room,” ‘homeowners association,” or “teachers college.” Is the noun descriptive or possessive? I found a good explanation in Emmy J. Favilla’s A World Without “Whom.” Do not use an apostrophe when a word is primarily descriptive rather than possessive…. The word is acting […]
JAN. NEWSLETTER: Verbs make your writing vivid
I was struck by this advice in Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: You want vivid writing. How do we get vivid writing? Verbs, first. Precise verbs. All of the action on the page, everything that happens, happens in the verbs. According to Chee, writer Annie Dillard told her students to “increase the average […]
MISTAKE MONDAY for December 30: Can YOU spot what’s wrong?
Can you spot what’s wrong in the image below? Please post your answer as a comment. I think that most people will find this mistake quickly. I post these challenges to raise awareness of the importance of proofreading.
Treasurys vs. Treasuries — Which is the right spelling?
What’s the right way to spell the plural of Treasury, as in U.S. Treasury bond? Should it be “Treasurys,” following the rule that the members of the Murphy family become Murphys? Or should it follow the normal rules of creating plurals for words that end in the letter y? I panicked when I saw “Treasurys” […]
DEC. NEWSLETTER: Banish “learnings” and take advantage of sale on my PDF e-books
Down with “learnings”! I’m not a fan of pedantic expressions like “learnings,” so I was thrilled to read “An insightful alternative to the dreadful jargon ‘learnings’ ” by Josh Bernoff. Bernoff says, “…a large proportion of your audience, when reading about ‘learnings,’ will tune out or resist. And that doesn’t accomplish your goal of communicating without […]