Writer's Toolbox

Thinking the thought

Dear Geist,Why did my writing coach mark this passage to be re-written?

Quantum something

Dear Geist,Why doesn't my writers group like the best personal essay I've ever written?

Hyphen nation

Dear Geist,Why have people stopped putting the hyphen in “Asian Canadian,” “Japanese American” and so on?

Story world

Dear Geist,How many basic stories are there in English?

Eureka

Dear Geist,Is there also a case for reading stuff that is radically different from our writing style, for the shock value?

Cheers?

Dear Geist,Why did my prof take a mark off the word whiskey in a short humorous writing assignment?

Riff on

Dear Geist,Why does the word riff have such a wildly rich etymological past, while rift quietly goes around in a small space with a couple of lives?

Form Flip

Dear Geist,Is it true that reworking a novel into a screenplay is a good way to see the story and the blunders more clearly?

Long and short of it

Dear Geist,Do you have a simple guide for fiction writers on how many words a paragraph should have?

Only iffy

Dear Geist,What does the term “if and only if” mean in a book publishing contract?

Problem no problem

Dear Geist,Why does our boss at the restaurant tell us wait staff never to say “No problem” to customers?

Keeping Mum

Dear Geist,Is there any way to prepare my mum for the surprises she is bound to find in the memoir I’m writing?

Writing spooks

Dear Geist,What are the differences between a writing question, conundrum, dispute, dilemma, quandary and pickle, all listed at the top of Advice for the Lit-Lorn at geist.com?

Luxury emergency

Dear Geist,Can you possibly tell me immediately, or sooner, the difference if any between luxurious and luxuriant?

Editorializing

Dear Geist,Am I stuck with the book editor my publisher assigned to me?

Dear who

Dear Geist,When someone writes and sends a letter, who has copyright—the letter writer, or the person it was written and sent to?