Reading time: About 4 minutes Making enough time for writing challenges many people, even those who are deeply committed to their craft. Here are some practical ways to create more time for yourself…. Many of the writers I work with begin by telling me that they just “don’t have the time” to write. I ask […]
Writers: do you have enough time for writing? Read More »
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 from Patrick Radden Keefe… Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and one of the most remarkable book authors I have ever
More figurative language from Patrick Radden Keefe Read More »
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: trygghet… When I encounter a word I don’t recognize, I sometimes feel a sense of inadequacy. As a professional writer and editor, shouldn’t I know more words?
What does the word ‘trygghet’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes When the mercury starts to climb you might appreciate an icy drink — and some advice about how to write when it’s too damn hot…. If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen, according to an old adage. But those of us living in certain parts of
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I am not writing a regular blog post today as it is Canada Day, marking the country’s 154th birthday. That said, Canada has many reparations to make to the Indigenous people who lived here first, for countless generations. I was recently deeply saddened to learn of the 215 Indigenous children whose bodies were discovered on
Reading time: About 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: roshambo… A charming novel by Sameer Pandya — a creative writing and Asian American literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara — gives me my word of
What does ‘roshambo’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 5 mins (faster if scanning) Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and entertaining pieces for writers. I love blue, cloudless skies, but I don’t much like heat, unless I can park myself beside a big pool — under an umbrella for
PubCoach top 10: June 2021* Read More »
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 by Sameer Pandya…. A professor of creative writing and Asian American literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Sameer Pandya is also the author of
The figurative language of Sameer Pandya Read More »
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: synecdoche… When I read Rumaan Alam’s latest novel Leave the World Behind, the word synecdoche, rang a dim bell in my mind, although I couldn’t remember what it
What does synecdoche mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 5 mins. Looking for some recommended books in time for summer reading? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year. I aim to read 52 books every 12 months, and my habit is to post a complete list of the names of them for you, in early summer and December. Here is
Recommended books: summer 2021 Read More »
