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: gimlet-eyed. Listening to podcasts has become one of my new favourite pastimes. I never miss Freakonomics and I also make time for Fresh Air, The West Wing Weekly […]
What does ‘gimlet-eyed’ mean? Read More »
This post first appeared on Oct. 23, 2007. Reading time: less than 2 minutes I’ve noticed that effective writers tend to share seven traits. So, with apologies to Stephen Covey (pictured above), here is my own list of 7 habits worth adopting. Have you ever wondered why some people write easily and fluently, while others
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This post first appeared on Sept. 15, 2009. Reading time: About 3 minutes There are two main types of writers in this world and here are three editing tips for each of them. A subscriber wrote to me recently with the alarming subject line “writing discipline” and told the following story: “I’ve been writing for years,” she
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This post first appeared on Aug. 17, 2010. Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s summer — and what could be better than paddling a canoe? My own paddling also made me reflect on some important rules about writing… Our summer was late getting started in Vancouver this year but it’s been flawless. Maybe even a
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Do you want to learn how to develop the writing habit? It’s not as hard as you might have feared… The hardest part about writing is not the work of stringing a sentence together – it’s the commitment it requires, day after relentless day. If you want to build
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute If you’re dealing with a lack of motivation, most people will tell you to start small or create a more supportive environment. Derek Sivers doesn’t do that, however… What do you do when you’re feeling extremely unmotivated? Watch TV? Surf Facebook? Eat a bag of Oreo cookies? Entrepreneur and professional
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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 and similes from Emma Cline… When I was young I had a stronger stomach for grisly novels. I read Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (and loved it) as an 18-year-old, and,
The figurative language of Emma Cline… 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: blowsily… I’ve always enjoyed the word blowsy and assumed it referred to a messy, gregarious woman with unkempt hair. But when I encountered it in the very fine novel The
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Do you struggle with being alone? If you’re a writer, it’s essential to learn how to work alone… I enjoy meeting people. I’m cheerful and friendly. I love chatting with friends. I never fear speaking in front of an audience. These are all characteristics of an extrovert. But, but…. If
Reading time: Just over 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 F. Scott Fitzgerald… Writers need coddling. I learned that first as an editor, when I became the
