About
Asked by one of my publishers to describe myself in “100 words or less,” I began to wonder why people tend to say “less” instead of “fewer,” which some grammarians insist is the correct word, which led me to question why anyone worries about “less” amd “fewer” when no one even considers saying “100 words or much.” Which is all you need to know about me, except for the fact that I've written more than 50 books, including "25 Great Sentences and How They Got That Way" and "Sentence. A Period-to-Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers" (both published by WW Norton). I'm currently working on a mystery novel -- the usual hippie-detective-goes-undercover-in-a-monastery story, set in the early 1970s. It may be the first of a series. I post snarky comments on language at grammarianinthecity.com, often based on signs I see as I walk around my hometown, New York City.
Featured Work
25 Sentences and How They Got That Way
Publishers Weekly: “Woods’s selections mix classroom staples (Romeo and Juliet) and contemporary classics (Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me), and she also displays a winning enthusiasm for language, as when she illustrates the coinage of new words with Phil Rizzuto’s invention of the verb nonchalanting, or provides a sidebar on the tangled etymology of the word beatnik. This volume should be helpful for students, and older readers will recall memories of favorite English teachers leading them through the intricacies of writing.”
Kirkus: “A practical, nonboring companion for writers aiming to hone their style.”
Other Works
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English Grammar All-in-One For Dummies
2023
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Independent Study That Works: Designing a Successful Program
2022
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Sentence. A Period-to-Period Guide to Building Better Readers and Writers.
2021
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English Grammar Workbook For Dummies
2018
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English Grammar For Dummies, 3rd ed.
2017
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Basic English Grammar For Dummies
2015
