In my professional life writing and editing copy for a digital marketing agency I read a lot of other copy floating around the ‘net. And while the volume of trendy, quippy, or just plain prosaic writing in the cyber sphere may come as no surprise to many, what surprises and disappoints me is how much … Continue reading Writing with Precise Language: Why it Matters
Writing
On Writing Well: Don’t *Be* a Writer
In grad school I knew a young ninny who believed taking courses in technical writing would plug the gaping holes in his undergraduate academic experience and give him all the tools he needed to enjoy success in his anticipated professional life. I don’t know where he is now and I can’t say for sure whether … Continue reading On Writing Well: Don’t *Be* a Writer
Summer Reading: Some Promising Looking Fresh Hell
What fresh hell can this be? It is a line sometimes attributed to Shakespeare, but Dorothy Parker said it. Dang Shakespeare. It's one of those quips that sounds so civilized, so much better than any number of other crude things one might choose to say when a situation demands it (wtf comes to mind). I found Dorothy … Continue reading Summer Reading: Some Promising Looking Fresh Hell
My Journey to the Corporate World: Don’t Hate
A ballet friend and colleague recently asked whether I’ve been “itching” to teach again. I had to think about that. These days I’m not sure I would describe my desire to teach as an itch, but maybe—it felt like something more profound when I took the colossal and risky leap of faith to open a … Continue reading My Journey to the Corporate World: Don’t Hate
Learning to Write in Bits and Bytes
How many of your speech and language neurons are you willing to prune away? I write and edit wide-ranging content for a successful digital marketing content company, where we keep abreast of the latest in best practices. Maintaining high standards is important because we hand our clientele deliverables that ultimately affect their bottom lines, and … Continue reading Learning to Write in Bits and Bytes
(Dis)Comfort and Joy
Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I spent yesterday Christmas shopping over in Saratoga Springs. We had fun, observed people, marveled at humanity, privately assessed it as we are wont to do for amusement. We ate lunch and dinner out, rare for us, and arrived home content if a little weary, with a bargain Christmas tree tied to the … Continue reading (Dis)Comfort and Joy
Pruning Away Neurons (And Re-Growing Them)
Of his own writing Evelyn Waugh famously quipped, "I put the words down and push them around a bit." In Freshman Comp 101 you'd identify that literary device as understatement, of course. Sometimes I worry an entire generation of writers may be losing the penchant for pushing words around a bit. If I could distill writer … Continue reading Pruning Away Neurons (And Re-Growing Them)
Creative Workshop Takeaways: Publish or Perish
Today I attended a creative workshop led by New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz at this really groovy yurt in Cambridge, NY. (By the way, yurt is the word of the day.) I attended sessions on writing, photography, and blogging. One thing Jon underscored in his writing and blogging sessions was the importance of producing … Continue reading Creative Workshop Takeaways: Publish or Perish
What does THIS button do?
I lived in Denver for a few years in my twenties, mostly piddling around, as my mama would say. I took a brief break from academia (where I should have been hard at work), to dance a little, but mostly to explore. The last year I lived there I worked in a frame shop with … Continue reading What does THIS button do?
Bedlam Farm Takeaways: The Katz Effect
The spring open house at Bedlam Farm was a couple of weeks ago, Jon Katz and Maria Wulf’s generous semi-annual sharing of their farm and lifestyle with fans, animal lovers, other artisans, and curiosity seekers. I’ve been to three of these now, with gathering interest and meaning, and what I think you could fairly call … Continue reading Bedlam Farm Takeaways: The Katz Effect
Sycamore Stories 