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Lucien Fewell shot James Clark after he apparently ran off with Lucien's 16-year-old sister. The murder trial that followed featured two Confederate generals and a former Virginia governor. What was the verdict? (also on Amazon.com)
Category Archives: Language
What’s the Stuff Above the Subtext?*
* Spoken by one of my favorite actors, from one of my favorite movies. One of the harder things for me to do in writing is to leave things out. It is unsurprising, with my journalism background, that I am … Continue reading
Posted in Inspiration, Language
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Speaking So You Are Understood
I feel a bit sorry for the writers of Downton Abbey. They’re getting a lot of flak for language infractions, and I’m not sure they deserve the microscope for that particular shortcoming. Frankly, I’m more in this guy’s camp. Still, … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Philosophy
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Why Use One Word When Thirty Will Do?
“I would have written a shorter letter but didn’t have time.” — attributed to Voltaire, Twain and Pascal, and probably a zillion other folks. It’s a clever saying, but it is incredibly, sadly true of most people I know. I’ve … Continue reading
Know the Lingo, But Don’t Let It Own You
I recently heard a story about a journalist who worked in a newsroom for more than two years before learning what the word “lede” meant, laboring under the assumption it referred to a headline. (Aside for you non-journos: the lede … Continue reading
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Read, Read, Read
There’s a certain literary voice I’m quite fond of. I guess it’s the Humorous Memoir voice. Think Jean Shepherd, or Clarence Day, or Patrick Dennis. (Well, Patrick Dennis’ tales of Mame were fictional, but you get my meaning.) It’s the … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Philosophy
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Look. It. Up.
My day job is keeping me stupid busy, but it has inspired today’s tip: If you don’t know for sure and certain what a word means, for God’s sake, either dig out your dictionary or use a word you do … Continue reading
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When Did Sitting Down Become a Big Effing Deal?
I’ve read at least five things in the past three days where the writer/blogger/emcee/whatever the hell used the construction, “Joe Blow sat down to talk with us/take a test/eat dinner.” Google gave me 3,950,000 hits when I searched the phrase … Continue reading
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Word List, 1
I love lists. Perhaps it is a byproduct of my attempts to get my ADD son and my own overheating brain on track — regardless, I’m a big fan of the bullet points. So here’s my first list for this … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Lists
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Arwen Adams Bicknell 