Word count: 756 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Being called a copycat is generally an insult. Instead, I think it’s a valuable tool for writers to try… If you’d been able to sneak into my home office last Wednesday at 6:15 am, you would have found me hunched over […]
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Word count: 440 words 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 writers. Today, I discuss John Lehrer’s apology for plagiarism. I was a longtime fan of Jonah Lehrer. I
Word count: 267 words Reading time: About 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 Michael Specter in the New York Times. I’ve never much liked
Oz is fifty-two and jauntily fit… 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 John Medina, author of Brain Rules. I’m the kind of person who aced English and Social Studies classes while in high school — and passed Science and Math
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Word count: 232 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: lèse-majesté . I was in grade 6 when Richard Nixon was elected to office. I was too young for
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Word count: 641 words How did you fall in love with writing? Here is my story…. I’ve sounded off many times about the difficulties I’ve had with writing – the horror of producing my honours’ thesis, my mean Scottish editor, and my struggle to stop editing while I wrote. But
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Word count: 271 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, I look at a new book on introverts. If you’re a writer you might want
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Word count: 297 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 is by Adam Gopnik. I’ve long admired the writing of Adam Gopnik,
A glint-eyed scientist with a tiny box… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I read widely, watch movies and listen to the radio. In today’s post you’ll see an interesting piece of figurative language by John McPhee that I encountered recently. Many years ago I mentored a young student. He took off to journalism school in New
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Word count: 274 words 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: virescent. I’m re-reading Spunk and Bite right now — a marvellous book on writing by the inimitable Art Plotnik.
