Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Jonathan Letham…. I read the 1999 novel Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham on the strength of a radio interview I heard with him. I must confess, I didn’t enjoy […]
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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: piebald. The Salley Vickers novel Miss Garnet’s Angel holds an honoured spot in my lifetime list of top 10 books. (My list, I must confess, changes regularly, but this book
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Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever struggled with how to make writing easier? Here are some tips I’ve picked up as I’ve aged… I have a weird psychological quirk. Significant birthdays — ones ending in 0 — never upset me. Instead, I get freaked out by ones ending in seven. Somehow, the oddness
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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 walking that appeared on the CTV News website… Quick question: How often do you find yourself sitting at
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute How you deal with a customer service problem tells people far more about your company than you might think…. I emailed one of my suppliers recently. I had a very small print job for a client and I needed a quote. Uncharacteristically, I didn’t hear back from the supplier right
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a smart metaphor from a Margaret Talbot piece in the New Yorker. When my husband and I finish with our New Yorkers, we pass them along to a friend. Preparing myself to let
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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: gallimaufry. When I read the new Elizabeth Gilbert novel, The Signature of All Things, I was gobsmacked to see a word I couldn’t fathom: gallimaufry. Here is how she
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Does writing scare you? Maybe the problem is you don’t have a system for writing. I faced the same challenge with Hollandaise sauce, recently…. Cooking doesn’t usually scare me. I’ve made soufflé, mousse, bread without a machine and turkey dinner for 22 without turning a hair grey. But for some reason,
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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 written by Kristopher Jansma. I am frequently troubled by endings. I don’t like many of them. The applies not just
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute Has anyone ever told you that speeches need numbers? Here’s why… I volunteer to coach a debating team at my local high school. I enjoy working with kids (grade 8s and 9s) and I’m glad to help them learn the value of public speaking at a young age. Here’s
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