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 blog post about the inner critic written by Lilian Wissink… The inner critic undoes many writers. Do you know what I mean by […]
Have you spoken with your inner critic lately? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I’ve long recommended mindmapping for writers but other people in the business suite might find it useful, too… I’ve been promoting mindmapping for years so I found it encouraging to find out, as I did yesterday, that the Harvard Business Review also endorses the practice. In their Management Tip
Another way to use mindmapping 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 some metaphors and similes from Dana Goodyear… I live in Vancouver, Canada which is geographically considered to fall within a coastal rain forest. Trouble is, we haven’t had any rain to speak of
The figurative language of Dana Goodyear… 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: eureka. I was reading with interest a New Yorker story about the history of mass-market publishing, written by Louis Menard, when I came across the word eureka. Here’s
What’s the origin of the word eureka? 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 about Grace Paley… Grace Paley (1922 – 2007), pictured above, was an American short story writer, poet, teacher, and political activist. As famous for her teaching
Writing doesn’t work when the tension is gone… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I’m a demon for efficiency and I love it when technology helps me work better, faster. Here’s a redesigned app you might want to put in your pocket… I consider myself a bantam or lightweight nerd when it comes to technology. I love the stuff (don’t ever try to
Why you should pop this app in your pocket 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 series of similes and metaphors from novelist Joshua Ferris… I’m a relatively fast reader but it took me more than two months to get through the novel The Unnamed by Joshua
The figurative language of Joshua Ferris… 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: thrawn. I read Kate Atkinson’s 1995 debut novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum more than a decade ago and it has remained one of my favourite books. I found
What does the word thrawn mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Being a natural writer might sound like a good thing. Here’s why it usually isn’t… My 21-year-old son started singing when he was two years old. We’d taken the kids to a Raffi concert and it was comical the way we could see the lightbulb turn on in Duncan’s brain.
Are you a natural writer? Here’s why that’s bad Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes 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 book about procrastination by Tim Pychyl… I haven’t yet read The Procrastination Puzzle by psychology professor Tim Pychyl but I’ve put it at the top
Solving the procrastination puzzle Read More »
