Never Use A Verb Other

There Are Cities That Get By On Their Good Looks, Offer Climate And Scenery, Views Of Mountains Or Oceans, Rockbound Or With Palm Trees. And There Are Cities Like Detroit That Have To Work For A Living.

I Won't Read A Book That Starts With A Description Of The Weather. I Don't Read Books Over 300 Pages, Though I'll Make An Exception For Don Delillo.

What Do You Tell A Man With Two Black Eyes? Nothing, He's Already Been Told Twice.

Avoid Prologues: They Can Be ­annoying, Especially A Prologue ­following An Introduction That Comes After A Foreword.

Keep Your Exclamation Points Under Control. You Are Allowed No More Than Two Or Three Per 100,000 Words Of Prose.