Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Ocean Vuong…. Ocean Vuong is a young Vietnamese-American poet, essayist and novelist, who was born on a rice farm in […]
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: panopticon…. I’m a big believer in the relationship between writing and music. For that reason, a piece in the New York Times on
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Reading time: Just over 5 minutes Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and entertaining pieces for writers. Handle your perfectionism Are you a perfectionist? Many writers tell me they are although I usually find the bigger problem is their
PubCoach top 10: March 2021 Read More »
A member of this group recently posted a question in Jell. I thought the answer to it might be interesting and useful to more than just one person, so I am copying it here. Question: Can you give me any advice about how to make a mindmap so it becomes more than just a list
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about where to look for a literary agent…. Readers ask me all the
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Aminatta Forna…. Aminatta Forna (pictured above) was born in Scotland, raised in Sierra Leone and Great Britain and spent
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: clabber…. I had never heard the word clabber until I read the novel The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Here is how
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you have any bad habits with writing? Here’s how to demolish them so you can learn to write with ease, grace and pleasure… When people tell me they cannot write, I never suggest they get more disciplined or work harder. Instead, I try
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In 2006, Princeton University psychology professor Daniel Oppenheimer had an article published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. The title of his paper was: “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity.” But that was a joke. His subtitle gave the game away: “Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly.” Here is the link to
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about better email etiquette… The email manoeuvre I dislike the most occurs when
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