I know a marvelous 84-year-old gentleman and storyteller named Anand. A published author in his native land of India, he has written short stories in English for the first time, what a brave soul! Using my editorial background, I’ve been copyediting his material for clarity. One day, he glanced at me and said, “Erin, you do not seem to like the word ‘very’ too much.” This quotation is for you, Anand.

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

–Mark Twain