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: pentimento…. Like many people, I was obsessed with the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings in 2018 and the riveting testimony of Christine
What does ‘pentimento’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 5 minutes Are you looking for business tool recommendations? Here are nine tried-and-true options that make a big difference to my working life every day of the week…. Each of my grandparents was born in the late 1800s — not just before computers, but before domestic refrigerators,
9 business tool recommendations for writers Read More »
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 blog post about how to work smarter not harder… When I confess that I am
How to work smarter (not harder) Read More »
Viewing time: 3 minutes 14 seconds 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 #15, addressing the thorny topic of inspiration. The post first ran on April 28/17.
Is it worth waiting for inspiration? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Wayne Johnston… Novelist Wayne Johnston (pictured above) was born and raised in the St. John’s area of Newfoundland but now lives
The figurative language of Wayne Johnston… 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: belfry…. Of course, I know that a belfry is the part of a bell tower or steeple in which bells are housed.
What’s the origin of the word ‘belfry’? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Some writers worry about or are embarrassed by their spelling. Today I tell you why this is an unnecessary concern and when you should ignore spelling… I try to read about 80 blogs a week. Most of them are related to writing, productivity or creativity and these
When you should ignore spelling errors 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 on the best temperature for writing…. As I write this blog post, I’m
What’s the best temperature for writing? Read More »
Viewing time: 4 minutes 13 seconds 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 #14, addressing the topic of writing memoir. The post first ran on April 21/17.
How to write memoir (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 some superb figurative language from John Vaillant…. Although I had worked in the forest industry — as a professional writer and editor — for a number
The figurative language of John Vaillant… Read More »
