Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Any given word is a bundle, and meaning sticks out of it in various directions.
—Osip Yemilyevich Mandelstam, Conversation about Dante

Think of a writing-related word you’d like to look up, and click its first letter.  Even if you don’t find your word, you’ll find others just as worthy.

This glossary is not a list of all words about writing—you’d be scrolling all day. It’s a set of definitions that evolved while I was writing Word Up! My research obliterated some of my assumptions, revealed some new terms, and deepened my understanding of some old terms. I hope that you will make discoveries of your own here.

Illuminating … If some of those sharp-witted classical rhetoricians were blogging in today’s idiom, they might sound like Marcia Riefer Johnston, delivering both quintessential and quirky writing tips along with charming, pointed asides. With bright style and nimble tips that even professional writers forget (or never knew), she channels the inspirations and lessons of her own writing career into a brisk giddyap for balky prose. —Arthur Plotnik, author of Spunk and Bite

Get the full glossary and more in the book: Word Up! How to Write Powerful Sentences and Paragraphs (And Everything You Build from Them)

Video trailer:

(Filming and editing by Asia Brown)