Word count: 654 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes You probably learned the difference between past, present and future in preschool. But how hard do you think about tense when you’re writing? Perhaps, not hard enough…. I am fascinated by tense. Not becoming tense, of course. Just tense. What do I mean? Well, tense […]
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Word count: 353 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 focus on a remembrance of Nora Ephron. When my mother died in 2005, I wrote about her. But here’s
About Norah Ephron’s final act… Read More »
Word count: 377 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 Erin Morgenstern. I heard about the book The Night Circus when it was published several years
A cage of black silk 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 novelist Michael Chabon. The first Michael Chabon book I failed to read was The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. It was a book club assignment. But I was busy that month,
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Word count: 242 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: autodidact. Gun stories sadden me. Gun stories that occur on a university campus seem even more deplorable. New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden
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Word count: 767 words Reading time: About 3 minutes When I use the phrase “expressing yourself,” I’m making a pun. Today’s column is about my recent Battle Royale with American Express…. I’ve been fighting a guerrilla war with American Express since last November. On the theory that my experience might help you in expressing yourself
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Word count: 329 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 write about a blog post that warned self-published authors about troubles with Amazon. I was scanning through my RSS reader
Blog rings alarm bell for self-published authors Read More »
Word count: 254 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 American novelist Jennifer Egan. As soon as I heard the name A Visit from the Goon
The scramble of her heartbeat… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from Ransom Riggs. I don’t normally read fantasy. It’s not a genre that appeals to me and I try to focus my cherished reading time on material that stands a better chance of
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Word count: 197 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: relict. I’m not usually stumped by natural history signs, but when I was recently wandering the Mojave Desert (in Joshua Tree National Park)
What does relict mean? Read More »
