by Carol McCarthy | Dec 15, 2025 | posts
In a world drowning in words — many of them inflammatory, hateful or misleading — I can’t help thinking less is more. But writing shorter requires you to find the most accurate, precise and powerful words, and then hit “control X” on the rest. As any reporter given a...
by Carol McCarthy | Mar 22, 2025 | posts
Remember that old phrase used when someone unintentionally uttered a rhyme? “You’re a poet, and you don’t even know it.” Despite accidental harmonizing, I am not a poet, and I do know it. I’ve made my living as a writer and editor, largely at newspapers, and currently...
by Carol McCarthy | Feb 6, 2024 | posts
Euphemisms — soft terms used to replace something that is unpleasant or offensive — pepper our conversations about everything from using the bathroom (“powder my nose”) to illness (the “Big C”) and death (“passed away”). Such disguises and deceptive language can be...
by Carol McCarthy | Feb 16, 2021 | posts
I don’t write fiction, which means I’ve probably never had true writer’s block. But I have had writer’s blasé. It’s that feeling when you can’t muster the interest or energy to write an article, even with ample source material at hand. As director of communications...
