Word count: 319 words 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 I read recently that I’d happily imitate. New writers, particularly bloggers, so often state nothing more than the obvious. Holidays or special occasions tend to […]
An invitation to move away from the noise… Read More »
Word count: 253 words Reading time: Less than 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 introduce you to The Charisma Myth. Like many others, I enjoy Seth Godin’s blog. I don’t recall if he was the person who
Is there a charisma myth? Read More »
Word count: 233 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Building your vocabulary is always a good idea. It benefits your reading and it also helps you be more specific and precise in your writing. Here is my word of the week: palimpsest. I love going to theatre. And when I can’t go — either
What’s a palimpsest? Read More »
Word count: 743 words Reading time: 3 minutes Have you ever struggled with the passive voice? Here is a tip for avoiding that problem. Readers ask me about grammar, a lot. I don’t quite know why. I’m not the Grammar Girl or anything. I make more than my share of grammatical mistakes. And my wonderful
Why you should look for a spell of bad weather Read More »
Word count: 216 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my regular installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I write about Amy Porterfield. I try to keep abreast of developments in social media and I have accounts in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter,
Interested in social media? Read More »
Word count: 165 words Reading time: About 30 seconds A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is my sentence of the week. I uncovered it while reading. I like lists. And wit. That’s why the following paragraph (yes, I’m cheating by using a whole graf instead
The players’ names a novelist’s dream… Read More »
Word count: 200 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my regular installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Readers frequently confess to me that they’re dying to quit their day jobs and become fulltime freelance writers. “Dare I
Do you want a so-called freelance life? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you see yourself as a bad writer? Read on for advice on why and how you can reframe this problem. My 18-year-old daughter, Claire, last week announced she wanted to make a nosegay of Ferrero Roche chocolates as a gift for a friend who was performing a violin
What a bad writer can learn from chocolate flowers Read More »
Word count: 208 words Reading time: Less than 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. I just counted and it turns out I now follow about 89 blogs in my RSS reader. Yikes! Time to
How to manage your writing Read More »
Word count: 194 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Each week I identify a sentence from my reading that has interested me. Emulating other writers is a particularly effective way of improving our own writing. When I read the book The Wife: A Novel, by Meg Wolitzer, I was both dazzled by her writing
Terrified of death’s dress rehearsal… Read More »
