By Estelle Erasmus
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So, I haven’t posted here in a while. At first I thought that I’d post after the 2017 ASJA conference in May in NYC, where I was chair and also taught a workshop on pitching. Here is a link to my post on the experience).

Estelle’s Publishing Wisdom
The Thing about “Thing”
My students often write the word “thing” in their essays and articles, and when I edit them I always cross it out and ask them to find a better word.
In writing, the more descriptive you are the better. Think about it: if someone says, “I loved that thing you did, “wouldn’t you want to know what it was exactly that they loved? Wouldn’t it be better if they had told you, “I loved the way you sang that song”? Of course, it would.
I always teach my students and clients that as writers we need to get more specific.
Here’s a great example.
When I think about the things we used to do together, it makes me sad.
Now, isn’t it better and more interesting to write it this way:
When I think of how we used to go out dancing, and sip milkshakes from the same straw, it makes me sad.
See the difference? Its a big one.
So bottom line; Use specific verb/nouns (sip milkshakes) and verbs (dancing) to make a sentence clear so it will resonate with the reader. It elicits emotion, which is what you want. Most people can relate to dancing and milkshakes, but they can’t to the word “thing.”
Travel Fun


In July, I stepped up my writing coaching business with international and national students (you can see their testimonials here), and got out a few pitches resulting in these articles which I’m proud of
Blowing the Best Invite of My Life (Ozy),
Finding Purpose in a PreRetirement Trip to Ecuador (Next Avenue/PBS)
Summer Crafts for Kids Using What You Already Have (Food Lion)
The Buzz on At-Home Microneedling Kits (Zwivel.com)
And because of my beauty background I was asked to write these pieces
The Best Clean and Natural Body Washes and Creams (ThirdAge)
9 of the Best Clean and Natural Facial Cleansers (ThirdAge)
Plus, I have a print piece coming out in Brain, Child this month and one in Family Circle next year.
In August, I spoke at the Writer’s Digest Conference on personal essay writing (see pics below)



I think being more specific in what we say (or write) is a better way to communicate with our audience. You really drove a point there. I may be guilty of it sometimes, but this time I will be more careful.
Thanks for weighing in to the conversation.
Thanks so much for your feedback. Glad you found my post helpful.
Estelle
Thanks for being an amazing English teacher to your students! I think that’s really a good move, to give them a chance to look up new words and use those instead!
Thanks so much for your kind words! I love teaching my students and watching them grow as writers, and get published in great places1
Estelle
Welcome back! It looks like you’ve been on some amazing adventures. I love your thoughts about the word, “thing.” 🙂
Thank you! It’s good to be back in this space.
It’s nice that you’re encouraging your students to write better and to choose their words wisely. It’s definitely not okay to keep using “thing” especially in essays or articles.
I wish more people understood that. Thanks for reading.
Wow what an interesting post. I never had that problem with expressing and finding bigger words than “thing” because I am an overly descriptive person.
Thank you. I’m glad to hear that. You are in the minority when it comes to using other words than “thing” so kudos.
Wow! Congratulations! It has been a great year for you! It’s great that you still have time to travel! Good job!
Thanks so much. I love to travel and I love to teach.
It’s cool that your students are interested in your blogging. I like that you have little lessons included.
Thanks. I try to combine my interests and the blog helps with that.
I was laughing pretty hard with your English lesson. I tell my kids all the time, if you just say thing, I have no clue what you’re referring to!
I love it! You tell them, momma!
I have a thing about the word “thing” as well. I’m a bit of an English obsessive person so I know what you mean about being more descriptive.
Glad to hear that. It makes such a difference.
It does sound like you’ve been busy! I appreciate the reminder to be descriptive, eliminating the thing. I tell my students that verbs give away a good writer from a great one. He said, she said, they said. Ugh. There are so many other choices out there.
Absolutely. Verbs and nouns make such a difference in a piece of writing.
What a great article! I noticed this year I am using the thesaurus more and more so that I can broaden my vocabulary and not sound so repetitive. I would love to attend something like your personal essay writing classes!
PS – Welcome back!
Thanks so much. If you sign up for my newsletter, I’ll alert you when my next personal essay writing class is.
Your trip sounds amazing. I’ve heard it’s incredible there!
Wow, you have been pretty busy! Did you see a lot of whales on your whale watch?
We actually did. We saw about five or six of them and they were very close to the boat.
It’s really cool that you’re teaching that class. Congrats on the verifications too! I’m liking your advice on the word “thing!”
Thank you for reading. Glad you found it helpful.
Looks like you have been busy! I had an English teacher teach me to use any other word but “thing”, and I know it has helped in my writing. It made me think more deeply about what I am trying to get across and how others read it. Looks like Israel was amazing. I would love to travel there some day.
I think that people might have learned it a long time ago (not to use thing) but its use is so prevalent that they forget. Glad you remembered what your teacher said.
You are absolutely right. I believe we learn that in school and then most quickly forget.
Sounds like you have really been busy with all you have been doing. Israel is on my bucket list.
Israel is so beautiful! It would be so awesome to go there some day.
It is awesome for so many reasons: the food, the people, the Dead Sea, and the climate. It’s a beautiful country.
I’ve heard Israel is so amazing! I’d love to go there on a family vacation!
It is amazing. I didn’t know what to expect and it exceeded my expectations.
I have never had the chance to ride a camel, but I’ve always wanted to do that type of “thing”. I kid, I kid. Great advice!
Thanks so much. I am going to give little bits of publishing wisdom in each post, hopefully. The camel experience was a bucket list one.
I’m so glad to see a new post from you! I agree about the word thing. I find it much better to actually get into what those “things” were.
Thanks Stacie. It makes such a difference. My students notice a big change in their writing when they start switching out thing with other words.
Wow, Israel must have been so amazing. I have a friend there right now and I am loving watching her journey though her social media shares.
I’m watching the #mediamagnets too. It was such a great trip in so many ways. And swimming in the Dead Sea was a magnificent experience.