I’ve never read all of Eliot’s The Waste Land, partly because the recondite references and foreign language passages dissuaded me, but James Parker’s recent Atlantic write-up–or more accurately, guide– has inspired me to finally complete it. I’m going to use this thread to keep notes and process the poem.

Mitchell and I have been discussing to what degree one should avoid the use of cliches in writing. I find that this discussion seeps into my consciousness when I’m writing, making me more aware of cliches, or possible cliches, in my writing. Additionally, sometimes when I’m in the process of writing, I write what I think might be a cliche, and I’m curious to know Mitchell’s opinion–on whether it’s a cliche and the alternate he would use instead. But I usually forget these specific examples. This thread will be a for these examples, as well as to discuss this topic more generally. By the way, I thought of this topic precisely because I was in the process of writing a sentence that I thought was cliched. Here’s the sentence: “Her judgment may not be as rock solid as she thought.” Is “rock solid” a cliche? I thought it might be so I changed it to “reliable.” But then I thought: Is “reliable” a significantly better word choice–i.e., does it significantly improve the writing? What say, you Mitchell? (Also, I think one of the obstacles in this discussion is the definition of cliche–or more specifically, properly recognizing and labeling a cliche. I hope we can discuss that topic here, too.)

A thread on writing and issues related to writing. Grammar Corner basically handled questions about writing, but it was technically more about grammar. Plus, that thread was getting long, so here’s a new thread. Here’s my first question: Continue reading “Writing Corner”

A thread to get your grammar questions answered. Ladies and Gentlemen, the host our show, Mitchell Dwyyyyy-eeerr! Continue reading “Grammar Corner”