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: riparian. As a youth, I was a serious canoeist. I had belonged to the Girl Guides (known as the Girl Scouts in the US) and, when I hit […]
What does “riparian” mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you think there ought to be some new year’s resolutions for writers? Let me suggest something that will work even better… I know it’s resolution season. New year’s plans seem to lurk in blogs like dangerous creatures in swamps. But not here. I don’t believe in new year’s
Here’s a non-resolution that could change your writing life Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Here are 7 reasons why you might want to use the principles of time management for writers in 2016… I know Christmas is looming (only three more sleeps!) so perhaps I’m crazy to take on the topic of time management right now. But Christmas is also often when we
Top 7 reasons why you should learn time management for writers 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 collective nouns from the Language Matters blog by the Oxford Dictionaries… Collective nouns — names for a group of people
Collecting some collective nouns… Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute Is your workplace riven by conflict? Here’s a video you might want to watch… I was especially interested by a recent talk by Rochelle King (pictured above) Global VP of Design for the company Spotify, a music streaming, podcast and video service. King speaks insightfully — and entertainingly — about how conflict
Are you embracing conflict? 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 metaphors and similes from Anthony Doerr. One of my favourite books of the last five years, the novel All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (pictured above), is
The figurative language of Anthony Doerr.. 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: limerence… I often discover some interesting books on the “Quick Reads” shelf of my local library. The loan period is just one week — and the overdue fines
What does the word “limerence” mean? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Is your major aim reducing writing stress? Over the last 40 years, I’ve developed 11 strategies that really work… My number 1 stressor right now? Organizing high school debate tournaments. Picture this: An event featuring 48 articulate and argumentative teenagers who must be matched against each other in 12
The definitive guide to reducing writing stress 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 a list of 200 journalism cliches from the Washington Post…. Do you ever use cliches? Be honest! Of course the answer is
Throw these cliches in the garbage pail! 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 metaphor from a New York Times review of Benedict Cumberbatch playing Hamlet… I’m a big fan of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch. I find his acting to be remarkably nuanced and clever.
Such whispery, self-effacing presences… Read More »
