Crime & Federalism

I'm addicted to everything writing-related.  I care about where my commas go, and I agonize over hyphen placement. (I usually misplace or omit hyphens, due to a strange mental block.)  I read style manuals for fun.  I read so much about legal writing because I'm still a technician.  I'm good with words, but a brief or blog post lacking my name doesn't scream, "Mike wrote this."  Slowly, and somewhat painfully, I'm progressing from technician to stylist.  Given that it takes ten years to master something, and given that I've been working on my legal writing for about three years, I still have a lot of learning to do.

I was pleased learn about a newish blog, "Plain Legal Writing."  Its editor, Wayne Schiess,  wrote an excellent book on legal writing, so his blog does speak with authority.  His posts are all well-written and instructive.  They're well-written enough that even if I don't soak up the post's lesson, I'll probably pick up a few good habits through osmosis.  We write what we read, after all.  Anyhow, I encourage you to read Plain Legal Writing. (Via Ray Ward).  UPDATE: Blawg Review #23 mentioned Schiess' blog last week.