March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This is an indirect way to express the idea that the month of March often begins with harsh weather and ends in mild weather. My kindergarten students loved this idiom. After I explained its meaning, they’d ask each morning in March, “Do you […]

Lately I’ve seen the ampersand used frequently within sentences in formal writing. The ampersand (&) represents the word and. The word ampersand comes from the phrase and, per se and. It means “and intrinsically the word and.” The symbol is a graphic representation of the Latin et, which translates to “and.” It’s used to indicate […]

Do you ever avoid doing something you need to do by delaying it in favor of focusing on something you find more enjoyable? Many writers sometimes procrastinate. Maybe you don’t consider yourself a writer, but you need to produce a written document for professional purposes; so you procrastinate. When a project becomes challenging, and you’re […]

I like balance. Not just because my zodiac sign is the symbol of the scales but because balance is the state in which things work best. Balance creates stability and order. What happens when things are out of balance? Something fails. In writing, a lack of balanced sentences means that your message may fail to […]

The start of a new year is a great time to review my editing philosophy. Defining a philosophy gives me an awareness of how I work, what I consider important, and what my goals are when working with you. Do you want to know what principles are guiding your editor? You should; they’ll influence your […]