Reading time: Less than 4 minutes If every day is a bad day, you may be facing trouble. Here are nine ways to prevent and recover from burnout…. Burnout is a stealth operator. I experienced it when I was in my mid-20s, working in stress-laden environment — my parents’ business, a struggling weekly newspaper. Our […]
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Thanks to the Get It Done group, I have the chance to have many delightful conversations with many interesting people — all of you! I’m currently working with my webmaster to try to devise a way in which we can all be in broader conversation with each other more easily (watch for developments in the
What are the benefits of writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes You’ve certainly heard of standing desks, but have you ever heard of walking ones? Here are some treadmill desk benefits… I am an eccentric. Here are some of my credentials: I have a computer file with all my recipes and I make a menu plan once a week (before the pandemic,
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If you’re ever feeling discouraged and downhearted about your own writing ability, you can learn a lot from the insecurities of other great writers. Don’t you think it’s vastly encouraging to learn that a widely idolized writer had moments of grave doubt? Such was the case with Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964). An essayist as well as
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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: codswallop… I’ve known the expression, “that’s a load of codswallop” since I was a child, likely on account of my father’s British heritage. But I’ve never understood
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Reading time: Just over 5 minutes Do you make the mistake of trying to research WHILE you are writing? Make researching less painful by separating these two steps. Does the following scenario sound familiar?… You’re writing something that requires a great deal of research, and accuracy is paramount.. As a result, you have about a
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At one of our weekly Get It Done calls, one participant recently asked why I’ve started focusing on speed. I’m paraphrasing freely here, but he said something like, “I’m comfortable with the speed at which I write and I don’t really need or want to do it any faster.” While I respect everyone’s right to
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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 phrase: in spate… When I read the novel The Porpoise by Mark Haddon, I was struck by the number of “British-isms” in his text. You know, those words
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Reading time: About 5 minutes Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and healthful pieces for writers. When I worked in the newspaper business, I had to learn how to cope with what we called “silly season.” At the height of summer — late August
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Something about creative work — painting, playing music, acting, sculpting and, of course, writing — makes many of us believe that a mystical element called “inspiration” is necessary. I have never believed this point. Sure, some people are born with more natural talent for these activities than others, but with enough hard work you can
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