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 writers. Today I discuss an article from the Observer in which the writer mocks e-readers….. Did you get an e-reader for Christmas? I’ve been an enthusiastic […]
Will e-readers change your life? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Here’s why your company needs to stop worrying about “pretty” and start concerning itself with readability… Look at the graphic I’ve attached to this post. Can you READ it? I mean, beyond the attention-getting headline saying The Three Rules Your Competitors Don’t Know Yet.” Even though the email version
Readability is more important than “looks” 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 metaphor from Adam Gopnik. I’m not sure I care enough about the Beatles to want to read a three-volume history about them, (frankly, I’m more interested in Linda Ronstadt’s book
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Reading time: About 2.5 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: scurf. I read the book Tinkers by Paul Harding in 2010, the same year it won the Pulitzer Prize. Although I didn’t find the plot — about an
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Most writers aren’t terribly sporty but did you know you can help your writing by talking like an athlete? I’ve written before about how we writers seem addicted to self-sabotage by trash-talking to ourselves. I really don’t know how to write… My boss is going to hate this… Readers are
How to help your writing by talking like an athlete Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I discuss the book Still Writing by Dani Shapiro….. I have already read most of the big-time books about writing: Stephen King’s On Writing. Natalie
Are you still writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes Writing signage is one of the most challenging tasks facing many businesses (even if they don’t realize it.) Be sure to choose your words carefully! I’m seldom hired to consult on signage, but judging by the gaffes I’ve seen over the years, more organizations really ought to employ a professional.
Choose your words carefully — especially for signs Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about two similes from American writer and psychologist Dan Shapiro…. I recently finished the marvellous non-fiction book Delivering Doctor Amelia by Dan Shapiro. A psychologist, the author describes his treatment of an obstetrician.
The figurative language of Dan Shapiro… 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: vitrine. It’s not often I stumble across a noun I find difficult to define (unless, of course, it’s a scientific name for an animal or plant.) But
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 writers. Today I discuss a New York Times article by songwriter Darrell Brown… I love the New York Times “Opinionator.” A daily essay, online, on a wide variety
Why you should lower your standards Read More »
