Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about actor and writer Steve Martin…. As a long-term fan of Steve Martin, I appreciate more than his […]
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you ever struggle with ‘important writing’ versus ‘urgent everything else’? Here’s how to change your mindset, so you actually accomplish your writing…. I have a date with myself to write this column at 9 a.m. every Thursday. But guess what happened last week? Someone else scheduled a meeting
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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 Robert Harris… I’ve read a number of Robert Harris books and I see him as a journeyman thriller writer rather than a fine stylist. Still, his
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes When you take a vacation should you also take time off from writing? Here’s a quick guide to handling holiday writing… Even if I didn’t have a calendar and was oblivious to the days getting longer and the temperatures becoming warmer, I would still know vacation time is approaching.
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes When you write, write. Don’t distract yourself with concerns about publication. That was the lesson Tom Wolfe learned with his book The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby… When veteran writer Tom Wolfe died at the age of 88 last week, I reflected on the first time I had heard the
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes I’m sure you’ve read elsewhere that good writers are always good readers. Here are the reasons why…. A grade 2 teacher reported to my parents more than 50 years ago that I wasn’t reading enough. The reaction? It was like an alarm going off in a nuclear plant. My parents dusted off
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Social media gets a lot of attention these days, but you also need to know how to promote your writing without Facebook or Twitter. Here are some suggestions…. I watch my time like a mama bear guarding her cubs. I recently quit Facebook, and I constrain my Twitter time
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you ever ponder the writing rituals of famous authors? Pondering is okay, but don’t use their habits as a model for your own behaviour…. Did you know that Sylvia Plath (pictured above) and Benjamin Franklin started their writing days at 4 am and 5 am, respectively? Oliver Sacks was
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a New York Times article about imposter syndrome….. I was 27-years old when I became the features editor of a large metropolitan
Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Does the mere thought of a test make your stomach clench? Here are some basic writing assessment test tips… I once failed a personality test. OK, to be honest, it’s not technically possible to fail such a test because we all have personalities. But I didn’t do well on it
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