Reading time: Less than 2 minutes If your company or group has something to announce — especially if it might be considered negative — you need to do some planning first. Here’s how to make a big announcement… Planning an announcement is a little bit like launching a book or a new product. Details matter! […]
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Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Canadian writer Ian Brown. I don’t know Ian Brown personally. But I feel as if I do, from reading his writing. A journalist for the Globe and
The figurative language of Ian Brown… Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes 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: desultory. Whenever I read I like to record words that either tickle my fancy or that I don’t yet know on a first-name basis. (I use the notes
What does desultory mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Here’s my advice: don’t plan to write when you go on holiday. Instead, take a break…. My husband and I had been out for dinner. I awoke at 4:30 the next morning feeling vaguely “off.” After tossing and turning for half an hour, I decided to get up and work.
When you take a break, take a break! Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 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 piece of software — designed to help you write like Hemingway — available free on the Internet….. I’ve never been a
Can the Hemingway App help you? Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes Personal pronouns can be tricky. Here’s a primer on when to use I and when to use me. As I write this post I am eagerly anticipating National Grammar Day, March 4, 2014. Yes, I realize this is a US holiday, but there’s no good reason why Canadians shouldn’t mark the
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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 metaphor from poet and novelist Jane Urquhart. I admire the writing of Jane Urquhart, even though I don’t like it very much. I’ve read three of her novels — The
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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: turgid. I have a daughter with a genetic disorder. She’s done really well, but the nature of her condition (neuro-fibrom-atosis) means that something can go wildly wrong at
A twenty-four-hour state of turgid alarm Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes We all let our writing productivity wane from time to time. Perhaps we’re frightened. Or tired. Or overwhelmed. Don’t let this happen to you! Is your writing as productive as it needs to be? Here’s a checklist that will help you figure that out… Do the most important job first.
13 ways to improve your writing productivity Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you were give five extra minutes, what would you do with them? Say, could you spend them writing? Sometimes I catch myself wasting time, especially when I’m doing something I don’t like (such as working on my accounts for my bookkeeper. Yuck!) If you’re the kind of person who
9 productive ways to spend 5 minutes instead of checking your email (again) Read More »
