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 Paul Theroux… I have not read a great deal of Paul Theroux. When younger, I devoured his very funny non-fiction book The Kingdom By The Sea, the story of […]
The figurative language of Paul Theroux… 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: flibbertigibbet… Here is a novel about four college classmates — an artist, an architect, a lawyer and an actor —who move to New York and support and torment each other for
What’s a ‘flibbertigibbet’? Read More »
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 an article about grammar barbarians written by Jay Thorwaldsen… I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who corrected my
A battle with grammar barbarians… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Being prepared is better than being scared when it comes to responding to the media… I was leading a workshop recently, on the topic of how to respond to the media, when I had a question I really hadn’t expected. “Is it an obligation to do an interview with
How to respond to the media Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Colson Whitehead… I had heard many laudatory reviews of the novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. A National Book Award Winner and a #1 New York Times bestseller, the book also drew
The figurative language of Colson Whitehead… 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: scabrous I finished the novel Hot Milk by Deborah Levy (pictured above) last week and can’t say I much liked it. Despite glowing reviews from the New York Times
What does ‘scabrous’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Are you interested in becoming a better presenter? Here’s one unusual tip: Leave more ‘holes’ in your speeches… I do a lot of presentations — some in person, the others online. (The online ones are always much harder!) And here is something I’ve always done naturally: Whenever I have
Why you should leave ‘holes’ in your speeches 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 couple of similes from Marni Jackson…. Marni Jackson is a Toronto-based journalist who has won many National Magazine Awards for her writing, and she’s also the author of three nonfiction books, including the
The figurative language of Marni Jackson… 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: manumission…. I grew up on the west coast of Canada, where our prejudice tends to be displayed towards Asian, South-Asian or First Nations people. I don’t think
What is ‘manumission’? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes If the recent passage of Jan. 1 has you feeling bad for not having made some writing-related new year’s resolutions, remember this: plans for writers are a far better idea… I no longer believe in new year’s resolutions. This discovery came over me in 2013 and, ever since, I’ve
Your guide to a better kind of New Year’s resolution Read More »
