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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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: chelonian… It doesn’t take much to persuade me to read a memoir. But make the main character a writer who’s exploring a different line of work and
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Do you know how to make stress work for you? Or do you simply dread it? Here is some advice specifically for writers…. Working as a senior editor in a metropolitan daily newspaper (1984-1990) was one of the happiest times of my life. I loved the stress! I always
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I’ve always seen writing as a multi-faceted job, requiring many steps. There’s… Planning Thinking Researching Thinking some more Mindmapping Writing Substantive editing Copy editing Proofreading Publishing/getting published The trouble is, many people see ‘writing’ as only one step – a giant hairball of a process in which they sit at a keyboard and try to
Not writing is not always slacking off 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: gormless… My father had English-born parents — his dad was a farmer from Cornwall and his mother, a highly educated woman from Oxford. (How those two managed
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Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Do you get frustrated by what you can’t seem to achieve? Here are 13 ways to develop writing goals that work for you… Whenever my husband and I play a board game — like Rummikub or Bananagram — Eric always rolls his eyes at me. “You’re so competitive,” he says
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I encourage participants in the Get It Done program to write in the morning. As early as possible (as long as you don’t shortchange your sleep). Why? Our brains are most creative during and immediately after sleep. If you ever remember any of your dreams, you’ll know what I mean by creativity. The kooky things
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Despite COVID, I’ve been lucky enough to arrange for a second very brief holiday this summer. This time, my husband and I are heading to Galiano Island (see image above) where we’ll be spending six days in a very small, 650-sq.-ft (or so) cabin. While our adult daughters hold the fort at home, we’ll be
