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: comity…. When I read the fascinating Danish novel — shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize — Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors, I was struck by the cool precision […]
What does ‘comity’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes Are you ready for Christmas? Here are some suggestions for how to make Christmas a happier holiday for writers…. As wonderful as Christmas is, it’s a celebration that often creates stress for writers, freelancers and companies. Here is some advice on how to manage the biggest holiday of the
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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 other writers. Today I discuss a Twitter thread on writerly rejection…. An American poet whose debut collection Prelude to a Bruise was named a 2014 finalist
How much rejection have you faced? Read More »
Viewing time: 5 mins. 21 secs. The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #35, about making editing easier. The post first ran on Oct. 27/17. Transcript: Welcome to The Write Question,
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes from the American author Steven Rowley… I was walking by a remainder table in my favourite bookstore when the title of a book grabbed me by the eyeballs and gave
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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: carnelian…. I have a pretty good vocabulary with a few gaping holes. I was a Liberal Arts student in school, favouring literature and history classes over anything
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Reading time: About 3 minutes The Covid pandemic has taught many of us about the perils of hoarding. But my advice relates specifically to computers: don’t be a digital hoarder…. Have you ever seen the TV program Hoarders? That’s the one where people have kitchens filled with dirty dishes and kitty litter boxes and living-rooms
Are you a digital hoarder? Read More »
Viewing time: 4 mins. 32 secs The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #34, describing how fiction writers can capture their characters’ travels. The post first ran on Oct. 20/17. Transcript:
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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 from Lionel Shriver…. American writer Lionel Shriver (pictured above) had her break-out novel in 2003. Titled We Need to Talk about Kevin it tells the story of a fictional high
The figurative language of Lionel Shriver… Read More »
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: augural…. When I encountered the word augural, I assumed I didn’t know what it meant. I found it in the moving and insightful memoir An Exact Replica of
What does ‘augural’ mean? Read More »
