Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Self-sabotage might sound like a dramatic way to behave but, in fact, it’s a relatively common type of reaction for many writers… When I was in high school and university, I always left writing my papers until the night before they were due. At the time, I just thought […]
Why do you self-sabotage and how can you stop doing it? Read More »
There are lots of lists on the internet about the best books for writing. But I’ve noticed that the same five or so titles appear on most of them. In the much-longer list I provide here, I cast a deliberately wider net. But at the same time, I’ve limited myself to only those books I’ve
Daphne’s bookshelf Read More »
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 images from Maggie O’Farrell…. I had heard positive reviews of a new novel by Maggie O’Farrell, pictured above. Titled Hamnet and Judith, the book is a piece of historical
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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: percipience…. When I read the marvellous novel, This is Happiness by Niall Williams, I knew I was going to learn a host of new words. Like many
What does ‘percipience’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 4 minutes Do you routinely take way longer than you thought possible to finish your writing work? That’s likely a result of the planning fallacy… We were standing on the waterfront in Sydney, Australia, waiting for our tour of the Sydney Opera House to begin. It was Spring 2019 — well
How to write around the planning fallacy Read More »
Most mindmaps are what I call inspirational. They are not intended to be outlines that capture everything you want to say. Nor are they intended to identify the order in which you want to address points Instead, their purpose is to inspire you to write. See video on how to do that type of mindmap, here.
How to do a planning mindmap Read More »
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 metaphors from novelist Yaa Gyasi… Although she was born only in 1989, Yaa Gyasi is a Ghanaian-American novelist who already has an armful of awards. Her debut novel,
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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: tantara…. When I encountered the word tantara in the remarkable novel This Is Happiness by Niall Williams (one of my favourite books of 2020), I immediately thought
What is a ‘tantara’? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes What’s your policy on New Year’s resolutions? Me? I don’t like them much and I don’t think they’re helpful for most writers…. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? If you do, odds are high that you’ve already failed to keep them because today is Jan. 5. And odds will
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Some 35 years ago, I took a course in speed reading – although not for the reason you might suspect. I wasn’t actually interested in learning to read faster (I was happy enough with my reading speed thank-you-very-much). Instead, my purpose in taking the course was to satisfy my boss, a senior editor. He wanted
Could you benefit from speed reading? Read More »
