Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch: Let Verbs Power Your Writing (Hardcover)

Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch: Let Verbs Power Your Writing By Constance Hale Cover Image
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Description


A writing handbook that celebrates the infinite pizzazz of verbs.


Writers know it instinctively: Verbs make a sentence zing. Grammar gurus agree: Drama in writing emerges from the interplay of a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb). Constance Hale, the best-selling author of Sin and Syntax, zooms in on the colorful world of verbs. Synthesizing the pedagogical and the popular, the scholarly and the scandalous, Hale combines the wit of Bill Bryson with the practical wisdom of William Zinsser. She marches through linguistic history to paint a layered picture of our language—from before it really existed to the quirky usages we see online today. She warns about habits to avoid and inspires with samples of brilliant writing. A veteran teacher, Hale gives writing prompts along the way, helping readers “try, do, write, play.” Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch guides us to more powerful writing by demonstrating how to use great verbs with style.

About the Author


Constance Hale is the author of Wired Style and Sin and Syntax. She has taught at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and UC Berkeley Extension. She is based in San Francisco, California.
Product Details
ISBN: 9780393081169
ISBN-10: 0393081168
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: October 15th, 2012
Pages: 400
Language: English