by Linden Gross | May 14, 2026 | Editing, Language, Writing
Every writer has a natural tendency to sprawl. We fall in love with words, we hedge our statements, we add “just,” “really,” and “very” as if they were seasoning. But as Jack Smith noted in The Writer magazine’s article “Lean and Clean,” writing gets stronger when it...
by Linden Gross | Jan 22, 2026 | Editing, Language, Writing
Good, character-revealing dialogue does more than move a plot forward—it reveals who your characters are when they’re not trying to explain themselves. What they say, how they say it, and what they don’t say all build a portrait more vivid than any description could....
by Linden Gross | Dec 11, 2025 | Language
Do you really know when to use me not I, or have you joined the apparent national movement to get that wrong? The trend drives me so nutty that I’m going to do my bit to reverse it by reposting a version of this rant every quarter. Of course, it’s hard...
by Linden Gross | Sep 11, 2025 | Language, Writing
My longtime Bear Valley, California friend, Matt Welch, who passed this spring, was an amazing writer with an unparalleled talent for incisive humor. I truly believe that with a little work and plenty of editing, his hilarious book, Tales From the Barside,...
by Linden Gross | Aug 28, 2025 | Language
Do you really know when to use me not I, or have you joined the apparent national movement to get that wrong? The trend drives me so nutty that I’m going to do my bit to reverse it by reposting this Grammar Outs rant every quarter. Of course,...
by Linden Gross | Jul 25, 2024 | Language
Is me or I correct? Do you know? Or have you joined the apparent national movement to get that wrong? The trend drives me so nutty that I’m going to do my bit to reverse it by reposting a version of this rant every quarter. Of course, it’s hard to blame anyone for the...
