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  1. Candlepower

     3 Questions Every Marketing Piece Must Answer
    Sat May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    Each week I come across countless examples of marketing and PR writing that are wonderful to read. The grammar is impeccable. The phrases are inventive. The words sing. But does that mean the resultant sales letter, web page, or press release will meet objectives? The answer, of course, is no.

  2. Behind the Dictionary

     Spelling, Usage and the Singular "They"
    Wed May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    A couple of weeks ago we ran the first part of our fascinating conversation with Professor Anne Curzan of the University of Michigan, an expert in the history of English and a member of the American Heritage Dictionary's usage panel. Here is part two of our interview -- a jaw-dropper for anyone interested in language -- where we focus on gender, spelling and much more:

  3. Blog Du Jour

     Saddle Up!
    Wed May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2007

    These websites celebrate the singularly American genre of cowboy poetry. So rustle up the livestock, pull up a seat by the fire, and read on... (assuming your particular cattle range is wired!)

    Western Poetry by Clark Crouch

    Cowboy Poetry Online

    Jim Janke's Old West

    Lonely Prairie Cowboy Page

  4. "Bad Language"

     How To Interview Someone
    Mon May 07 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    Interviews matter. Interviews are the foundation of good reporting. They are the best way of understanding a complicated situation and seeing it from someone else's perspective. A wise, old editor of mine used to say "report it out." She meant "go talk to people, don't rely on your own opinions and judgment." It's a good maxim. One of my rules of thumb is to do one interview for each 250-500 words of final copy. So here are my top tips for a good interview.

  5. Dog Eared

     Parenting, Literally
    Mon May 07 00:00:00 EDT 2007

    The anonymous mom behind the popular parenting blog Ask Moxie wrote us to say: "Parenting is such a life-changing and inherently traumatic experience that I'd bet at least half of us have seriously considered writing a book about it. (Mine would be filled with incidents like the time my 2 1/2-year-old accidentally glued the cat to the chair.) It's hard to improve on the standards, though, so if you're too bleary-eyed and laundry-wearied* to write your own, don't feel guilty about stealing some time to read these classics of the parenting narrative genre:"

    (In reverse chronological order)

    Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It, by Andrea J. Buchanan. "A series of essays about changing identity, joy, disappointment, and negotiating the daily ebb and flow of life as a new mother, Andi's book is real and raw and encouraging. It compares the process of becoming a mother to the process of moving to a foreign country and learning the culture."

  6. Blog Excerpts

     "Improve Your Writing and Your Business"
    Sat May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    The Roberts Group, a company that provides editorial services to businesses, posted their booklet "11 Ways to Improve Your Writing and Your Business" online. In the introduction, they write "the best argument for good writing is simple logic: People won't buy what they don't understand." Read this informative booklet here.

  7. Department of Word Lists

     SAT Vocabulary Deconstructed
    Sat May 05 00:00:00 EDT 2007

    You may remember an interview we did last year with Katie Raynolds, a remarkable 10th grader and dedicated linguaphile from Seattle, Washington. Katie recently spent a busy week with us here at the VT's New York office as our editorial intern, and put together this list of SAT words -- with tips on how to remember them:

    The SAT, of course, is one of the most important tests a student takes during their scholastic career. I can't help you with the math section, but I thought to give you a useful method for remembering tricky vocabulary. In the list below, I'll show you "memory hooks" you can find right within the word and its Latin root. I'll also share some cool linguistic histories!

    Dubious
    Root: Dubious derives from the Latin word dubitare (to waver, to hesitate)
    Relatives: Doubt
    Hook: When you see the dub-, you should remember the word doubt.

    Brevity
    Root: Brevity comes from the Latin breve (short)
    Relatives: Abbreviation, brief, breve
    Hook: If you're more familiar with the word abbreviation, then you should see the brev- in brevity and remember short!

  8. Blog Du Jour

     Parenting, and Writing About It
    Wed May 02 00:00:00 EDT 2007

    From practical advice to raising children while disabled, the authors of these blogs write engaging, touching and funny posts about the thrills, chills -- and, ultimately, the joys of parenting:

    Ask Moxie

    Sweet Juniper!

    Indigo Girl

    Twinkle Little Star

  9. Word Count

     Getting to Know Your Character
    Wed May 02 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    A few weeks ago the novelist Laurel Dewey graciously shared with us her story about writing her debut suspense novel Protector. It's a book driven by a complex protagonist named Detective Jane Perry. We were curious to know how Laurel created her hero so we called her up for an insightful and fascinating conversation about character development:

  10. Language Lounge

     Bewitched, Bedazzled, and Bewildered
    Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2007
    We have bedizened the Lounge in old-fashioned language this month and invite visitors to behold.
311 312 313 314 315 Displaying 3121-3130 of 3488 Results