Entries by Rebecca T. Dickson

Adverbs are sucking your prose dry :: Confessions of a Dirty Blonde

The girl I used to teach next to, back in the day, had a sign in her classroom that read: “Said is dead.” A philosophy I live by. But the poster comes to mind now because was swarming with adverbs and verbs she suggested students use to replace “said” and make shit shine. WRONG. I’m […]

3 Tips to De-clutter Your Second Draft

Is your house spotless? Your writing probably isn’t either. The common flaw? Clutter. In William Zinsser’s classic, On Writing Well, he describes clutter as the disease of American writing, claiming we here in the USA are “a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.” Dude knows his shit. House needs […]