Reading time: About 5 minutes Need to work with difficult editors, whether they’re annoying, angry or thoroughly inept? Here’s a primer on how to accomplish that challenging task…. I once worked for a difficult editor at the daily newspaper where I cut my teeth. He started screaming at me in […]
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I like to joke with many of my friends about the annoying way in which my mornings are way too short. Why do they seem so short? Well, if I for sure want to get something done, I know I need to schedule it for first thing in the morning. The trouble is, I always
How to avoid burning out Read More »
I’m off for the week, escaping the city scene of Vancouver and enjoying walking and cooking on Salt Spring Island. Best of all, I have a big bag of books to take with me! Will be back to my blog next Tuesday, March 17/20.
Reading time: About 5 minutes If writing is making you miserable, don’t be loyal to your suffering! Here’s what to do instead…. Are you one of those writers who expects writing to be difficult, challenging, boring and — most alarmingly — unsuccessful? I’ve worked with people like that and I’ll
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Did the phrase “productivity shame” in the headline cause your heart to skip a beat (in an alarming way) or make you blush with self-recognition? Such shame — the feeling that you could, and should, be doing more — is practically a contagious disease in today’s society. No matter how any hours we work, no
Is productivity shame killing your writing? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 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 Emma Donoghue…. As a long-term fan of Emma Donoghue, I was disappointed that her latest novel, Akin, didn’t meet my expectations.
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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: speculaas… I picked up the new novel Akin by Emma Donoghue with eager anticipation. I’d enjoyed her earlier book Room (although I
What does the word ‘speculaas’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 4 minutes I know this may sound crazy, but, for writers, the benefits of boredom outweigh its downsides…. I’m going to ask you to do something difficult. I’d like you to stop seeing boredom as automatically undesirable, bad or negative. Instead, I ask you to see
The benefits of boredom… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Cathleen Schine…. I learned about Cathleen Schine’s 2019 novel in an interview — not with her, but with author Gish Jen
The figurative language of Cathleen Schine… Read More »
I’ve had sleep problems for most of my life even though I’m lucky enough to need fewer ZZZs than many people (seven hours is usually plenty for me). Back when I was in high school/university, and a chronic procrastinator, I’d use my relatively low sleep need to stay up half the night writing essays. I
Are you getting enough sleep for writing? Read More »
