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 about how to write funny… If I could wave a magic wand and give myself any talent in the world, I […]
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Reading time: About 2 minutes What can a labour dispute teach you about communications? Quite a lot if you look at the current BC teachers’ strike as an example. A series of rotating strikes by teachers and a partial lockout by the employer (the provincial government) is crippling the school system in BC right now. It’s
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Helen Oyeyemi…. I’m not a superstitious person, except when it comes to reading. I was standing in a bookstore on Galiano Island last weekend and the novel Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen
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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: karoshi. Before I met my husband, 27 years ago, I was a self-diagnosed workaholic. My husband’s relaxed, easy-going manner helped me lighten up a lot, even though I continue to work
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Last week I wrote about the “why” of paraphrasing. Today, I explain how to paraphrase…. Before you read today’s post, decide who you are: Are you a university student, writing a thesis or essay? If so, refer to part 1. Are you a corporate communicator or freelance writer? If so,
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 a New York Times article written by Pamela Erens… When I read Pamela Erens’ article headlined “The Joys of Trimming,” in the
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Are your communications strategies so antique they belong in the Edwardian England of Downtown Abbey? Remember: you need to adapt with the times… I recently had lunch with a colleague — a senior vice-president — and heard her confession that she had just “unlocked” the privacy settings on her business-related Twitter account. “My communications people
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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: ekphrasis. When I saw the noun ekphrasis, I had no idea what it meant. But by the sound of it, I knew it was Greek. I encountered it in a
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Paraphrasing isn’t a job just for academics. It’s something that all writers need to learn how to do… When I was in high school and university, I hated writing. I adored editing, mind you, but I found the pain of extracting that first draft torturous. The most painful part?
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Reading time: About 1 and a half 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 an article written by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni. I don’t expect everyone to read as voraciously as
Helping kids become readers Read More »
