Why this blog?

Words are my business. I’m a freelance writer so I need to  skillfully use words to grab and hold a reader’s interest.

No easy task, that.

More often than I care to admit, I find myself grasping for a more precise word when I write or grappling with a sentence to make it clearer. Consult a dictionary and thesaurus, you say. Well, of course. But I’ve decided to go a step further and work on improving my vocabulary. I’m a little self-conscious admitting I’m a writer whose vocabulary could use some polishing. But I’m taking these words of writer and teacher William Zinsser to heart: “You’ll never make your mark as a writer unless you develop a respect for words and a curiosity about their shades of meaning that is almost obsessive. [Emphasis mine.] Master the small gradations between words… . Learn to use them with originality and care. Value them for their strength and their precision.”

And that’s what this blog is about: my curiosity about words, my efforts to master their gradations and my musings on the original (and sometimes, not so original) way writers use them. You can expect at least a weekly post about words that intrigue me, their “shades of meaning,” the sometimes comical and convoluted use of language, and anything else that piques my linguistic curiosity.

I hope that will pique your interest, too, and you’ll visit often. Be sure to bring your curiosity along and share your musings.

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