Reading time: Less than 1 minute Here’s why I care about correct use of the pronoun who — and why you should care, too… I try not to be outraged by simple grammatical errors. I grew up in a household where my father heaped scorn on people who didn’t speak […]
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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 handful of similes and metaphors from Alexandra Fuller… I used to belong to a book club and one of the first works we devoured was the 2003 memoir
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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: dilatory… Are you too dilatory in your writing? I encountered the word dilatory in my recent reading. It appeared in the book Birdsong
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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 article on why stories are so important by Mathilda Harris… I regularly lead workshops for corporate communicators on how
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Reading time: About 2 minutes When the votes are counted in the BC transit plebiscite, I fear the answer is going to be a resounding no… A mail-in vote — a plebiscite — is being held now in Greater Vancouver, where I live. Citizens are voting on whether they’re willing
Why yes side is running out of track 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 simile from Katherine Ashenburg… California has enacted water restrictions for the first time in state history. For some cities — such as Sacramento — this will mean cutting water usage
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Reading time: About 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: sententious. I’d avoided the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — by Jean-Dominique Bauby (pictured above) — for years. As a survivor of
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Do you need to learn how to write a thesis? Here’s some advice from someone who’s just finished the job… I can’t begin to calculate how many words I’ve written in my life. If forced to give a total, I’d say well over a
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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 an article on writing and the subconscious mind by Charlotte Seager… I’ve never believed in outlining. Even in
Why you shouldn’t write from a blueprint Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Don’t ever under-estimate the power of signage… Advertisements for TV shows and movies are always created by professionals. Ditto for print ads in magazines and newspapers. But why, oh why, is signage often left to amateurs? Do people who create (or place) signs imagine
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