Reading time: Just over 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 Niall Williams…. An Irish writer whose novels have received critical acclaim and widespread success, Niall Williams is known for his poetic style and evocative […]
Niall Williams’s figurative language… 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: maelstrom…. Occasionally, I like to investigate words with which I am quite familiar, in terms of their meaning, but totally clueless as to their etymology. The word
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Writers in Get It Done sometimes tell me they have a hard time dealing with criticism of their writing. Over the last 10 years, I’ve touched on this topic a number of times on my blog. Here is an amalgam of two posts I’ve written about the subject. I hope you find some of this
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Reading time: Less than1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Chris Voss… A reader of my blog whose name I’ve managed to misplace (my apologies!) strongly suggested I read the book Never Split the Difference. Author Chris
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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: calcareous… I’ve been captivated by the very fine writing of Stefan Hertmans. The Belgian writer and head of a study centre at University College Ghent is the
What does the word ‘calcareous’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Many characteristics can help writers succeed. But here’s one you might not have thought of: Did you know it would help to learn how to develop grit? Some people see me as successful. Maybe this is because I was a senior editor at a then-large metropolitan daily newspaper at the
Do your writing habits reveal grit? Read More »
In a previous post, I gave detailed directions about how to launch a sustainable writing habit. Today, I’m going to delve in a little deeper and I’ve provided slightly different directions, depending on the nature of your project and your own background: If you need to do any research… Be sure to have a place
READ THIS 2ND: How to develop a sustainable writing habit, part 2 Read More »
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 metaphors from writer Samantha Harvey…. There is a pop star named Samantha Harvey but the person I’m talking about today is very fine writer by the same name.
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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: ensorcelled…. I read the New York Times on my cellphone each day and get a great deal of pleasure out of the 30 or so minutes I
What does ‘ensorcelled’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Are you familiar with the phrase urgency bias? It’s governing your life and you need to stop it in its tracks if you want to write. When you hear that something is “urgent” how does that make you feel? Worried? Anxious? Sweaty? Panicked? According to researchers from Johns Hopkins,
How I deal with “urgency bias” so it doesn’t wreck my writing plans Read More »
