Tag Archives: language

Superfluous Verbiage and Unnecessary Words

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Christie | Subscribe to Proof Positive by Email

by Anita Stratos, Proof Positive Editor Did you trip over the title of this post? Did you have to read it twice? If so, that’s because both phrases, “superfluous verbiage” and “unnecessary words”, mean the same thing, but your mind was … Continue reading →

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“Literally” Is The New “Figuratively”…And Other Word Anomalies

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Christie Stratos | Subscribe to Proof Positive by Email

Language evolution is an understandable and even necessary thing – linguists agree that when a language stops evolving, it quickly becomes a dead language. But English is undergoing an interesting type of evolution: word definitions are changing and expanding to … Continue reading →

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The Joys of Language Evolution

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Christie Stratos | Subscribe to Proof Positive by Email

No one likes change. Or so they say. The English language is in a constant state of evolution. Some people think it’s a bad thing and mourn the idea of static language. I think it’s a good thing – even … Continue reading →

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What Makes Good YA (Young Adult) Fiction?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Christie Stratos | Subscribe to Proof Positive by Email

Every genre has its own characteristics, and characters in novels each have their own personalities, accents, speech patterns, etc. It’s what distinguishes them from each other and makes each character unique, turning them into believable people. YA writing goes a … Continue reading →

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Be Careful How You Flash Those Descriptives…

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Christie Stratos | Subscribe to Proof Positive by Email

I was reading a take-out restaurant menu when I came across this description – look at the orange word on the first line: “Homely” vegetarian food? In America, that would insinuate “plain, unattractive” food. I’m sure that’s not what they … Continue reading →

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