Viewing time: 59 seconds Concise writing has rules. Learn them in The Concision Power Hour, a one-hour class that helps you cut long drafts faster. Transcript Your first draft is too long. Mine is too. That’s normal. Overwriting is how drafts get made, but trouble starts when nobody goes back
Do you want more concise writing? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about metaphors and personification from Barbara Kingsolver… I’ve been a fan of American writer Barbara Kingsolver (pictured above), ever since I read her 1998 novel The Poisonwood
The figurative language of Barbara Kingsolver Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Karen E. Osborne used to think that making things up was way more fun than doing research. But writing her historical novel, True Grace, taught her to appreciate a step she’d previously scorned… Karen E. Osborne is an award-winning author of suspense and social-issue fiction,
Reflections on writing with Karen E. Osborne Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Writer burnout doesn’t respond to rest. Learn what really causes it and the research-backed habits that help you recover for good… I burned out once. In those days, I ran a struggling weekly newspaper, owned by my father, and it was a stress +++ job.
Why your holiday won’t cure writer burnout (and what will) Read More »
Viewing time: 59 seconds How to focus your writing: find the one idea your draft is really about, then cut every line that doesn’t serve it. One idea wins. Transcript Many drafts sprawl because the writer is trying to say everything at once. Here’s the fix. Ask yourself one question
Are you trying to say more than one thing? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from writer Caity Weaver… A digitally restored edition of the 1987 box-office winning film Moonstruck, starring Cher, pictured above, was
The figurative language of Caity Weaver… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes An unrepentant “binge writer,” Ruth F. Stevens sometimes has to force herself to take breaks when she’s deeply embroiled in a writing project… Ruth F. Stevens is author of the award-winning South Bay Series, My Year of Casual Acquaintances and The Unexpected Guests. She is
Reflections on writing with Ruth F. Stevens… Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Wondering why reading matters? Guilt and discipline won’t get you reading. Pleasure will. Six ways to make books fun again… My son is severely dyslexic, and he struggled mightily with reading as a child. We could see he was incredibly intelligent, and we used every
Why reading matters (and why guilt won’t help you) Read More »
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 other writers. Today I discuss a blog post by Derek Sivers on the upside of self-employment… I have been my own
What’s the upside of self-employment? Read More »
Viewing time: 59 seconds Should you count words or time? Word count goals set you up to fail. Set a 10-minute timer instead, and the words will follow. Transcript If you set a word count goal, you may sabotage yourself. Here is the problem. You cannot control how many words
Do you count words or time? (video) Read More »
