Words Words Words

Back in graduate school, in the writing workshops, we were told that Tolstoy said you could use the word 'suddenly' just once in a 1200 page novel. I have no idea if this is true, but I passed the rule on in my workshops.

Working on Velocity 4, I'm wondering how often I can use the word 'dubiously.' As in, "Are you sure?" she asked dubiously.

What do y'all think?

Destroying Your Credibility

Some time ago, when I was a young pup of a blogger, I read a post by another blogger, AWB, about how important it was to protect your brand. (I might not have the phrasing exactly right here; I can't find that post now. Lost in the mists of the blogosphere.)

The basic thesis: mind what you say, the arguments you make, what you publish, the words you put out in public. These will become your brand. They will become what you are known by. It will be hard to escape that brand.

This was one of those watershed moments for me (thanks, AWB!). Maybe it's hard to believe, but that was something I'd never thought of before. I'd been functioning, up to that moment, as though my life were something like a white board*. I could say things one day, and then erase them, and write something new the next. Who would remember? Certainly not me!