Specific words and images make your writing clearer, more precise, and often more interesting. Whenever possible, avoid overly general words in your writing; instead, try to replace general language with particular nouns, verbs, and modifiers that convey details and that bring yours words to life. Add words that provide color, texture, sound, and even smell to your writing.

I kept shouting, 'I want some respect! I want some respect!' Ishouted it all day and all night. And nobody gave me any respect. Iwas asking directly for it, and people just kept walking around me.Avoiding me. Not even looking at me. Not even acknowledging m

Corliss couldn't help herself. She loved her mother, but her motherwas a bipolar storyteller who told lies during her manic phases andheavily exaggerated during her depressed times. Those lies and ex~aggerations were often flattering to Corliss, so it was hard to com~pletely resent them

Corliss had never once considered the fate of library books. She'dnever wondered how many books go unread. She loved books. Howcould she not worry about the unread? She felt like a disorganizedscholar, an inconsiderate lover, an abusive mother, and a cowardlysolider

I began to know his men a little, those unsteady hearts that he hadspoken of, those leaky vessels. Polites was better-mannered than therest, Eurylochos stubborn and sulky. Thin-faced Elpenor had a laughlike a screechy owl. They reminded me of wolf pups, their griefsgone when their bellies were full. They looked down when I passed,as if to be sure their hands were still their ow

"I appreciated him,in his way. But he made a terrible soldier, however many men hecould bleed. He had a number of inconvenient ideas about loyaltyand honor

You are kind, but I think we both know it is not. soon as I wason board, the seas around me lifted wrathful heads. The sky dark-ened to iron. I tried to turn the fleet around, but it was too late. Herstorm spun us far off from Troy." He rubbed his knuckles as if theyached. "Now when I speak to her, she does not answer.

About the only thing they had in common was that they were both Asian American, but even thatjust obscured the gulf between their backgrounds: Hsu’s parents had immigrated from Taiwan,whereas Ken’s Japanese American family had lived in the United States for genera

Hsu is a subtle writer, not a showy one; the joy of “Stay True” sneaks up on you, and the wry jokesare threaded seamlessly throughout. He recounts his relationship with his parents — how he feltextraordinarily close to them in some essential ways and distant from them in

l. The frat boy who made special trips to Abercrombie & Fitch “waspiecing together a theory about the world,” while the righteous Hsu, who had also started writingfor Asian American newspapers, assumed that whenever he and Ken would make a list of the fewAsian characters on sitcoms, they “were just goofing off and passing time.” But some of Ken’s“theory” seemed to leave its mark on Hsu — even if, like anything whose influence is so profoundit’s subterranean, it manifested less as a doctrine than as a disposi

Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf's hands

Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt, Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands As if alive. Will 't please you rise? We'll meet

While there are many different roles on a college campus that could be included in this list,advisors deserve a special place because they are crucial to your success; they are also the first place to gowhen a student has an issue. Some advisors spend considerable time with students to help them choose amajor and create a schedule each semester that will enable them to graduate. Others serve as a soundingboard for students who are struggling in a class and deciding whether or not to drop. Developing arelationship with your advisor has obvious benefits: They get to know what your goals are and can helpyou refine them

John sinks down in his seat, afraid she is going to ask him questions as well. He pulls out his phone and looksthrough social media to keep her from bothering him. As other students enter the class, some quiet andothers talkative, John wonders if he will have to interact with them. Even though he has not met many peopleyet–and certainly has not had any deep conversations with anyone–he feels anxious about having to get toknow strangers and feels most comfortable keeping to himself at least fo

When you are feeling calm and nourished, you are going to look forward to your day, and despite howbusy it is, you will prioritize time with friends and family. If you don’t take care of and learn to love yourself,you will never be able to bring your best self to any relationshi

This is the place. And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair streams black, the merman in his armored body.

I came to explore the wreck. The words are purposes. The words are maps.

I go down. My flippers cripple me, I crawl like an insect down the ladder and there is no one to tell me when the ocean will begin.