Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Does the idea of improving writing skills make you feel hopeful and excited? If so, the term “deliberate practice” is one you need to learn… Has our writing improved in the last 100 years? This question occurred to me as I listened to a recent podcast by Stephen Dubner. […]
Why aren’t we getting better at writing? 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 on handling criticism… What to you do when someone criticizes your writing? Put your hands over your ears? Argue with
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute Writers should occasionally cede control to graphic artists, particularly when it comes to visual elements such a logos. Here’s an example from the company Ballet BC… I don’t think about logos very much. Until I see one I really like. The dance company Ballet BC now has one of my all-time
Simple messaging with big nuances… 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: nocebo… I usually enjoy reading Seth Godin’s blog. I find it entertaining, interesting and frequently provocative. But it’s always written in plain English, so one thing I don’t
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes When someone thanks you, when someone helps you, when you need something, when you don’t know what to say, here’s a tip: Just say thanks… Why is the phrase “thank you” so hard to accept and so hard to say? Think about the last time you heard it. I’m
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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 discovery on brain research reported in the science journal Nature… New brain research, published recently in the prestigious science journal
New brain research reveals how we hear stories Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes Customer service is a big problem for many companies but it never fails to surprise me when I encounter it as a consumer… I’m a serious cook, and I recently subscribed to a paid service called Raw Spice Bar. For $6 dollars per month ($10 in Canada, where I
Raw Spice Bar botches customer service Read More »
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 similes from novelist Paula McLain… I discovered the American writer Paula McLain through her wildly successful novel, The Paris Wife — a fictionalized account of Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage to Hadley Richardson. Seeking to
The central bonfire licked the sky… 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: epergene… I view myself as a serious cook and entertainer, but I had never come across the word epergne until I read Patricia Volk’s memoir: Stuffed: Adventures of
What’s an “epergne”? Read More »
Reading time: Just over four minutes Is email the best, most efficient way of communicating or is it a heavy encumbrance that stops us for talking to each other? Whatever you think of it, email is part of the business world and you’d be wise to avoid these email mistakes… How many emails do you produce each
11 email mistakes you really shouldn’t make Read More »