"Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not"--Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968, paraphrasing playwright George Bernard Shaw.

www.garbl.com

Thank you for visiting Garbl's Writing Center, my free portal to these writing tools:

• an annotated directory of writing resources on the Web
• an editorial style manual
• several guides to concise writing
• a bookshelf of writing references I recommend.

Read more below about each writing tool here.

I hope you find my writing Web site useful, bookmark your favorite pages in your Web browser, link to it from your Web site, and tell your family, friends, colleagues, students and fellow writers about it. Please consider supporting this free service by visiting Garbl's Writing Bookshelf--Gary B. Larson, Seattle, Washington, United States.

"Politics and the English Language": "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink"--George Orwell, Horizon, April 1946.

If you don't like the political content here, please look elsewhere for free writing advice. I make no apologies about including my commentary here on the bloody, deceitful and greedy policies of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their cronies.

Finally revealed: The real reason Bush sent more than 4,100 Americans (so far) to die in Iraq! "The Iraq War Was About Oil, All Along" -- Bill Moyers Journal, July 5, 2008 | "Oil giants return to Iraq" -- Patrick Cockburn, The Independent, June 21, 2008 | "Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back" -- New York Times, June 19, 2008: The return of the four major Western oil companies will be greeted with dismay by many Iraqis who fear losing control of their vast oil reserves.

Death by Bush/Cheney: Their decisions are killing your sons, daughters, grandchildren, moms, dads, husbands, wives, partners, lovers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, colleagues ...

Shame on George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and all their supporters for their deceitful, costly fiasco in Iraq. All their hands are drenched and dripping with the blood and guts of dead and disabled humans.

Bush Led U.S. To War on 'False Pretenses' [aka Lies] | The War Card: Orchestrated Deception [aka Lies] on the Path to War | False Statements [aka Lies] by Month

Speaking Out: Your Right. Your Responsibility

Welcome to everyone who opposes the corrupt goals and actions of Bush/Cheney. Those greedy, sinister men and their cohorts deserve no respect. Cheney, in particular, is an evil manipulator of facts and people, intent on protecting the unearned and undeserved wealth and power of the privileged few.

I urge all visitors to my writing Web site to oppose Bush/Cheney's right-wing extremist goals and support progressive alternatives. Please use your writing and thinking skills to expose and thwart their dangerous threats, dishonest proposals and selfish plans.

Next Steps to Stop the War in Iraq: Contact your representative about war spending.

Mindless loyalty is neither patriotism nor a principle of a democratic nation. And it certainly does not support the troops in Iraq. If the self-righteous defenders of Bush/Cheney would tell them to end the pathetic U.S. military occupation of Iraq, they would truly be supporting the troops.

Speaking Out: Your Right. Your Responsibility ... continued.

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Garbl's Writing Resources Online

Online since Nov. 1, 1997

Use this free annotated directory to find information and advice on the writing topics below. One of the "101 Best Web Sites for Writers," Writer's Digest, 2001 and 2000.

• English Grammar -- includes Punctuation
• Fat-Free Writing
• Writing Process -- includes Overcoming Writer's Block
• Style and Usage -- includes Style Manuals and Guides and Avoiding Bias
• Wordplay
• Plain Language
• Action Writing -- includes Writing for the Web
• Words -- includes Spelling and Vocabulary
• Creativity
• Reference Sources
• Writing Experts

Garbl's Editorial Style Manual

This free style guide gives writing and editing advice about abbreviations, addresses, capitalization, English grammar, numbers, organization terminology, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling, word usage, and the World Wide Web.

A | B | C | D | E | F G | H | I J | K L | M | N O | P | Q R | S | T U | V W X Y Z

• abbreviations and acronyms
• addresses
• capitalization
• myths of writing
• numbers
• plurals
• possessives
• punctuation
• spelling
• World Wide Web

Garbl's Concise Writing Guide

This free writing guide gives alternatives to overstated, pompous words; wordy, bureaucratic phrases; and verbose, sometimes amusing, redundant phrases.

• Shorter, simpler words
• Redundant phrase replacements
• Wordy phrase replacements

Search Garbl's Writing Center

Enter terms below to begin your search:

Words can and do break bones: personal commentary on the misuse of language, April 24, 1999; updated Sept. 17, 2001.

Garbl's Writing Bookshelf

Reference books make great gifts. They're used again and again.

An annotated list of books on writing and editing that I use and recommend--all available online through my association with Amazon.com. Book categories: grammar and punctuation, concise writing and plain language, style, usage, dictionaries and thesauruses, writing and editing, business and technical writing, creativity, quotations, and Amazon.com's best-selling writing references.

Some of my favorites:

Also available are contemporary novels by some of my Favorite Fiction Writers.

"I use this clear-writing software often to check my work and the work of others" -- Gary B. Larson.

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Speaking Out: Your Right. Your Responsibility.

We must speak out strongly--and write clearly--about the foreign-policy failures and trickle-down economics of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. This lying, cowardly president and his deceitful, self-righteous vice president are weakening the United States and endangering our planet.

We must oppose the dangerous, unethical Bush/Cheney policies that enrich the wealthy; hurt students, workers and seniors; degrade veterans, women, racial minorities and gays; damage the environment; endanger civil rights; deepen the massive federal deficit; and weaken the United States.

Congress must listen! If you haven't already done so, please say "No!" to more war. Say it again and again. And encourage your friends and families to act.

Please call your U.S. representative and both your U.S. senators toll-free at these U.S. Capitol telephone numbers: 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588. Urge them to support the troops by bringing them home--sooner, not later.

What Every American Should Know About Iraq -- CommonDreams.org. Simply, the United States invaded Iraq. And now, mostly Iraqis are trying to protect their country from the American invaders. I don't blame them! If you truly support U.S. troops, your only choice is to urge our leaders to get the hell out of Iraq.

10 Reasons Why the U.S. Must Leave Iraq--American Friends Service Committee

Garbl's Action Writing Links: Advice and information about persuasive writing and writing letters to elected officials, letters to the editor, news releases and Web pages

George W. Bush administration controversies -- Wikipedia

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18 Nights and Dazed in Eastern Europe: words and photos of our mind-broadening 2½-week trek in fall 2007 through the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. Our Rick Steves Best of Eastern Europe adventure strengthened our appreciation for the centuries of art, music, wisdom and history, diverse humanity, and varied environments outside the United States and throughout our planet--Gary and Donna Larson.

Copyright 2008. Garbl's Writing Center created and maintained by Gary B. Larson of Seattle, Washington, garbltoo@gmail.com. Please understand that if I respond to your questions about writing, I may not respond quickly enough to meet your deadline. (If you're wondering, I've never been a cartoonist.)

This page updated Aug. 28, 2008. Whatever their acclaim and position, all writers need editors. I don't have one for Garbl's Writing Center, so if you spot a typo, unclear message or possible error, please let me know. Also, I try to make sure all the hyperlinks in my Web site are up-to-date, but if you find a broken link, please tell me.

Other Web sites are welcome to link to Garbl's Writing Center at www.garbl.com--or to any of its pages. Please let me know if you do. Thanks!

Except for selected books on the Writing Bookshelf and Favorite Writers pages, Web site listings do not signify endorsements of fee-based services, products or programs. Besides expressions of appreciation by site visitors, my only compensation for maintaining this labor of love is infrequent commissions paid by Amazon.com for items bought through this Web site.

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