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 high school, when my teachers […]
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 that not very many people
The power of signage 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: maieutic… I wrote yesterday about Draftback — a fascinating piece of free software that will allow you to record your writing, keystroke by keystroke and then play
What does maieutic mean? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes If you’ve ever vowed to stop editing while you write, here’s a tool that will really make you want to keep that promise. Watch the video to see how writers waste time, editing while they write… Do you have difficulty writing your crappy first draft? Anguishing over every comma
How to see yourself in a writing mirror 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 remarkable collection of references assembled by Maria Popova…. I have a particular interest in writers who feel doubt. It doesn’t disturb
The collected wisdom of great writers Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes You’ve undoubtedly heard the expression ‘tempest in a teapot.’ Today I write about a crisis in a coffee cup. I’d missed the whole brouhaha over Starbucks’ ill-advised scheme to start a public discussion about race. Perhaps that’s because I’m Canadian and the program didn’t exist here. Or maybe it’s because I
Brewing a crisis in a coffee cup 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 Sebastian Faulks… In his interesting (albeit uneven) collection of stories and novellas, titled A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks offers some particularly delicious figurative language. I use the word “delicious” deliberately
The figurative language of Sebastian Faulks… 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: sprezzatura… Many attribute God-like credentials to American writer John McPhee and hold his writing in awe. I do not. In fact, I find some of it a bit hard to
What is sprezzatura? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes You may hate technology or love it but at least be aware of how the Internet is improving writing… I graduated from high school 40 years ago this June. (Yikes! Time doesn’t just fly. It’s rocket-propelled.) Back in this mesolithic era, teachers moaned about… the loss of our attention,
How the Internet is improving 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 written by Maria Popova…. I’m always impressed by the depth and sophistication that writer Maria Popova (pictured above) devotes
In praise of the anti-scholar Read More »
