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: logorrheic… Despite my habit of reading voraciously and widely, I don’t always accumulate enough words for this column. Thus, I’m always grateful when readers send me interesting words […]
What does logorrheic mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Are you always able to write the perfect amount of copy? It’s not related to luck. It’s the product of good planning and diligent editing… I awoke at 6 this morning, as I do most mornings, and went to my office to meditate. Then I attacked my “first morning tasks”
How to write the perfect amount of copy 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 blog post written by Seth Godin… I read Seth Godin’s blog every day. Not every posting is brilliant but most of
How long does it take to understand elegance? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute In Canada, at least, the end of journalism seems very near…. The metropolitan daily newspaper that gave me my first job as a senior editor is going to merge with its rival, it was announced this week. The Vancouver Sun will be sharing its newsroom with The Province. Similar
Is it time to say RIP for journalism? 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 several striking metaphors from novelist Ayelet Waldman… I read Ayelet Waldman’s affecting 2014 novel, Love and Treasure, last fall. It told the story of the Hungarian Gold Train, which carried valuables stolen from Hungarian
The figurative language of Ayelet Waldman… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 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: jiggery-pokery… As a youth, I wasn’t a huge David Bowie fan. But of course I grew up to his music and his Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke personas.
What is jiggery-pokery? Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes The price of groceries is rising these days. But that’s not true of everything. The Internet allows us to do so much at absolutely no charge. Here’s a digest of great no-cost tools for writers… Do you ever feel that there’s just not enough time in your day to accomplish everything
26 fantastic no-cost tools for writers Read More »
Reading time: About 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 book written by Washington Post copy editor Bill Walsh…. I recently read an article on the term the the American Dialect Society
Yes I could care less Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes Have you ever considered using speech recognition software? Here’s what it can do for you… I am writing this blog post without moving my hands. That’s because I’m using speech recognition software. Here are five reasons why you might want to consider using such software, too: It allows me to write faster than
Here’s a device to help you write faster… 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: jink…. I’d heard rave reviews of Anne Enright’s writing since 2007 when her breakout novel The Gathering won the Man Booker prize. Nevertheless, I’d never managed to read a
What does it mean to jink? Read More »
