Word count: 200 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. Here is a word I’ve used many times without ever being 100% sure of its meaning (embarrassing, I know!) Preternaturally. […]
He was preternaturally shy… Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you leave everything until the last minute? That’s a mistake! Instead, you should always plan your writing time… Until about 10 years ago, I lived my life perpetually behind the eight-ball. In school, I delayed writing essays until the day before they were due. For my career, I chose
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Word count: 195 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. What do I like about Colleen Wainwright? I like the way she writes: she’s informal, she’s funny, she’s honest. I
Channeling Colleen Wainwright Read More »
Word count: 211 words Reading time: Less than 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. When I was a Girl Guide, back in the dark ages, one of my favourite campfire songs, called
The very word gloaming reverberates… Read More »
Word count: 240 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Need help? Here I tell you about a piece of technology or software for writers. Today’s pick is called Audacity. I am a particularly dim bulb when it comes to technology. Just ask my 18-year-old son. He’s my in-house IT department (and not all that
Do you have enough Audacity? Read More »
Word count: 251 words Reading time: About 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, peripatetic. When I read the Walter Isaacson biography of Steve Jobs, the author reminded me that novelist Mona Simpson (pictured here) was
A dreamy and peripatetic life… Read More »
Word count: 682 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you have the self-control to motivate yourself to write regularly? If not, consider this book one of the best possible tips for writing. I really, really, really, really didn’t want to write today’s column. I’ve been covered in hives all week (the result of
How to increase your writing willpower Read More »
Word count: 191 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Need help? Here I tell you about some tools for writers. This one involves writtenkitten. I like to turn writing into a game whenever possible. My Twitter buddy, Dawn Bugni, feels the same way and she introduced me to a great website for doing just
Dogged by writing? Get written kitten! Read More »
Word count: 224 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence about boxer Claressa Shields that I’d happily imitate. I have almost no interest in sport unless you include hiking and canoeing (which probably aren’t actually
If Claressa Shields were a man… Read More »
Word count: 216 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Need help? Here I tell you about a piece of technology or software for writers. Today I focus on 1Password. Do you ever feel as though you head is about to explode from having to deal with too many usernames and passwords? (Or, alternatively, do
Get away with just 1password Read More »
