Year end lists highlight top words, typos of 2012

As we near the end of 2012, it’s time for best of lists, and ____ of the year stories. Writing and editing are no exception. Ben Zimmer gives his words of the year, and The Atlantic offers a nice roundup of all the best typos from 2012.

But let’s start with something we think about all the time: where we write.

The philosophy of writing space: Writers like to wax romantically about their writing room or cabin. If nothing else, they at least think they’ll get some work done by going to the coffee shop. David Wood explores some possibilities as to why writers long for the perfect writing space, and why surroundings matter. He focuses especially on the secluded writing retreats of a few famous authors: “Far from giving expression to, or feeding in some revealing way, the otherwise inaccessible inner workings of the brilliant mind, they reflect a disdainful resistance to the importance of surroundings …” Read the story here.