7 confusing word pairs

The English language is full of confusing word pairs. How many times have you changed accept to except or stationary to stationery when editing another’s work? The word pair that I correct most frequently  — comprise and compose. Considering that there are an estimated 250,000 distinct English words, it’s easy to understand the confusion. Those of us who ply our trade with words are in a unique position to understand their shades of meaning. Others who are less experienced may not understand the distinctions. Take note of the following word pairs . . . Adverse and...

A brief reprieve

Taking the week off from blogging while I attend the Ragan Corportate Communicators Conference in Chicago. Looking forward to networking with my fellow editors and writers. Maybe I’ll meet someone else who shares my appreciation for the em dash.

Write it anyway

Writing has never been easy. Good writers make it look easy, but struggle until the last word is printed or posted. For me, I have the most trouble following my own advice and separating the writing and editing process. My “left brain critic” seems to subdue my “right brain muse” with alarming frequency. The result — writing paralysis. Recently, however, I was encouraged by the words of one of my favorite writers — Philip Pullman. “Writer’s block . . . a lot of howling nonsense would be avoided if, in every sentence containing the word WRITER,...

Linchpins of the world, unite!

To my professional detriment, I have not really paid that much attention to “business” books. I never really cared who moved my cheese or wanted to break all the rules for that matter. But recently, a friend told me about Seth Godin. I am ashamed to admit that I was only vaguely familiar with the name. But for the past 12 years, I’ve been sailing the high seas with Patrick O’Brian and exploring dust with Philip Pullman. There has been little time for non-fiction. Recognizing that I had completely ignored this genre, I decided to start with Seth Godin’s Linchpin....

That vs. which . . . oh the humanity

This week, I edited a lengthy article written by a fairly experienced author. The article was well written, but (isn’t there always a but) there was one problem . . . that and which were used incorrectly in most sentences. This is hardly surprising; in my experience knowing when to use that and when to use which is one of the most confusing usage issues. The reason for the confusion? Those who try to explain the use of these relative pronouns invariably launch into an explanation using words such as relative pronouns, subordinate clauses, restrictive clauses and...

At a loss for words? Make them up . . .

I recently attended a performance of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by The Baron’s Men, a local acting troupe dedicated to performing Elizabethan plays using historical staging and costumes.  Like all other productions from this troupe, Twelfth Night was brilliantly cast and played. In addition to relishing in the pageantry and authenticity of play, the word nerd in me was enlivened when the program listed “a sampling of unfamiliar vocabulary.”  Words such as “mellifluous,” “contumely,” and “perfidious” were defined. I enjoyed listening for those...