What really matters is:—1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.2. Always prefer the plain direct word to...

In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that...

I think ‘ambitious’ is one of those adjectives used for women in a derogatory way.

The pale sword came shivering through the air

…his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, and the words were mocking

Dorothy scratched her dark head, yawning wide, and white feathers floated out of her hair.

Shane met him owing to the storybooks she studied to discover what attributes made one princessly—this wasn’t technically a word, but she felt there should be equity in adjectives if not in life.