Odd Bits
From the Archives: Semicolon
Some recent back and forth with a long time blog reader about paper, punctuation and other writerly subjects inspired me to go back to Cecilia Watson’s Semicolon, which I reviewed in August, 2019. Here’s what I said then. I am pleased to report that the book is just as good as I remember. If…
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From the Archives: A Brief History of the Pencil
In yesterday’s newsletter (1), I went down a research rabbit hole, looking for the difference, if any, between using blue pencils and red pencils as an editing tool. (Plus the pencil’s use by military and authoritarian censors, which is the place where I leaped into the rabbit hole.) In the process, I went back to…
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Happy Fourth of July
Here in the United States, we are celebrating the Fourth of July: one of those holidays where the point is often lost in the trappings. Take a moment in your celebrations to remember what we’re celebrating: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their…
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