Word count: 371 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 look at the book English Prepositional Idioms. My father was a bit of a crank. Eccentric, bull-headed and verbose, he […]
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence by David Sedaris I read recently that I’d happily imitate. I used to host a book club and I’ll never forget the meeting about eight years ago at which one
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute I read widely, watch movies and listen to the radio. Here, catch an interesting piece of figurative language I’ve encountered recently, which comes from a New Yorker article describing Steinway Hall. I remember exploring Steinway Hall’s quiet corridors about two years ago, when my husband, son and I were
Steinway Hall has the ponderous stillness of a funeral home Read More »
Word count: 290 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute If you increase your vocabulary you’ll not only help your reading, you’ll also make your writing more precise. Today, my word of the week is sessile. I like to think I have a large vocabulary but there’s one part of my brain that’s so empty
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Word count: 731 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Attention Deficit Disorder doesn’t just affect school children. It can also have an impact on writers. Read on to learn more…. Last week I was visiting a friend who lives in downtown Vancouver. We were sitting in her living room, chatting, and I suddenly noticed it was
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Word count: 275 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 discuss a website focusing on stories. I’m a big believer in the power of stories. I can see the
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Word count: 329 words Reading time: About 1.5 minutes A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence I read recently written by Gay Talese (pictured right.) I was unable to go to journalism school. My university, UBC, where in 1979 I earned a BA
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Reading time: About 1.5 minutes I read widely, watch movies and listen to the radio. Here, catch an interesting piece of figurative language I’ve encountered recently. For many years, I subscribed to the magazine Cook’s Illustrated. I liked its old-fashioned appearance, complete with botanic drawings and the kind of fonts you might see in a
Cook’s Illustrated dissed by NY Times Read More »
Word count: 215 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute If you increase your vocabulary you’ll not only help your reading, you’ll also make your writing more precise. Here is my word of the week. When I read Cal Newport’s book So Good They Can’t Ignore You last month, I scribbled a note to myself
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Word count: 642 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes If you want to produce effective writing, stop looking at your writing and start considering what you’re actually doing! What’s the trick to effective writing? I think the biggest secret is to stop focusing on the product – the piece of writing – and start looking, instead,
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