Daybook What is it, exactly? What makes a daybook different from a diary, or a journal? I'm still not sure. One of the online creative writing classes I took in 2019 required it: two entries a week in a digital document, dated like a journal and submitted through the same online portal we used to… Continue reading The morning pages and other lapsed intentions
Category: Writing about writing
Hurry up please it’s time
Every public middle and high school in my hometown sent two students per grade to an annual writing competition. It was a contest of speed: describe an object in 40 words before 10 minutes are up, argue a point of view for 120 words in 30 minutes, and so on. I went every year, and… Continue reading Hurry up please it’s time
Words I frequently mistype and what they should mean
Please feel free to use the following words in a meaningful sentence. Apologues ("AH-poe-logs"). Noun, plural. Apologies (especially fauxpologies) given for show, in the manner of a Shakespearean monologue. Ex. Grantland's apology, taken apart at Aoifeschatology. Historican. Noun. A cross between a historian and a publican; one who purveys history as if ale. Ex: Jaya Saxena, living my… Continue reading Words I frequently mistype and what they should mean
Eggcorn
Originally posted on Peachleaves. You guys, I learned a new phrase for weird language behavior: eggcorn! How did I never hear of this before? Particularly since they’re a useful tool for writers of crossword puzzles. Now I know that saying chalk full and chock it up are not malapropisms but eggcorns. I like this better; now it’s a quirk,… Continue reading Eggcorn
When to use ellipses
To indicate an omitted word or phrase. To indicate a meaningful silence. [Colloq.] To indicate that a sentence has trailed off, leaving a meaningful silence. When not to use ellipses: In place of a punctuation at the end of a complete sentence. I keep getting Emails today in which requests or mere statements are punctuated… Continue reading When to use ellipses
“An I-word Salad”
This post originally appeared on Peachleaves blog. A friend sent me this link to an article about a psychologist’s study of pronoun use: The Secret Language Code In brief, the study notes the frequency with which speakers or writers use different pronouns (first person singular words like I, me, my vs. first person plural words… Continue reading “An I-word Salad”
Sara Davis 