Word count: 710 words Reading time: less than 3 minutes If you’re unfamiliar with readability statistics, here’s an introduction. And if you haven’t gone beyond the Flesch-Kincaid index, here’s a new idea for you… Did you know that in pre-Elizabethan times an average written sentence was 50 words long? Fifty […]
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Word count: 286 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 present an article on nominalizations. Are you familiar with “nominalizations”? These are verbs (action words) or
What happens when you turn a verb into a noun? Read More »
Word count: 286 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s writing comes from Susan Silk and Barry Goldman. Today, I’m going to
Do you worry ever about saying the wrong thing? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from British actor and comedian Russell Brand. When Margaret Thatcher died on April 8, I felt nothing. I hadn’t liked her politics but, then, she wasn’t my Prime
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Word count: 195 words 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: maculations. I don’t reach much poetry but whenever I do, I always regret not reading more. A friend
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Word count: 721 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you allow yourself to get tied up in your own writing problems? Here are five strategies to try the next time you get stuck. My husband and I were in Oregon last week and spent several days on the Coast,
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Word count: 327 words 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’s article comes from Geoffrey O’Brien, general editor of the 18th edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. For
Are we what we quote? Read More »
Word count: 295 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from Susan Orlean. I’ve been a Susan Orlean fan for years.
Pining at a closer proximity… Read More »
Reading time: about 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from an opinion piece written by Jessica Soffer in the New York Times. Have you ever read the spritely Opinionator column billed as an “exclusive online commentary from the
The figurative language of Jessica Soffer… Read More »
Word count: 246 words Reading time: 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: rapacity. I’ve always enjoyed the acting of Gerard Depardieu. I saw him first in the film My American Uncle in 1980.
