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: ouroboros…. I’m a big fan of Geraldine DeRuiter — a travel, food and, really, anything writer — who won a 2019 James […]
What is an ‘ouroboros’ Read More »
If you want to improve your writing, one of the first steps you should take is double-checking your readability statistics. If you’ve never heard this term before, the concept was first proposed way back in 1893 by an English professor from the University of Nebraska named Lucius Adelno Sherman. Sherman was the first person to
Why you should use readability stats 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 about how to embrace risk… I work with several hundred writers every year
How to embrace risk when you’re a writer Read More »
Viewing time: 5 mins 13 secs The Write Question is a weekly video podcast all about writing. Today’s question? How can you deal with a writing block? If you have a question you’d like me to answer you can email me, tweet me @pubcoach, or leave a message for me
How can you deal with a writing block? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some metaphors from Rachel Friedman… The book’s subtitle says it all: On Creativity, Potential and the Imperfect Art of Adulthood. A tiny, perfect book by Rachel
The figurative language of Rachel Friedman 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: zoonotic… I read the story in the New York Times because the headline grabbed my attention. “Mothers All Over Are Losing It,”
What does ‘zoonotic’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes If you think sunk costs are a topic suitable only for economists, read on to learn how this issue affects writers as well. Do you ever do any of the following: Work for a client who belittles you or who pays you poorly? Accept
How sunk costs sink writers Read More »
Like many people, I occasionally have problems with pronouns — words like he, she, it, and they. For example, I might write, “The folder was on the bus, but now it’s gone.” Do you see how that sentence is not clear? Generally speaking, this type of problem is referred to as an unclear antecedent because
Pay attention to pronouns Read More »
Reading time: About one 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 beta readers… My clients ask me about beta readers all the time: What
How can you work with beta readers? 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 similes and metaphors from John le Carré… I don’t read much “genre” fiction so it might surprise you that I consider myself a John le Carré
The figurative language of John le Carré Read More »
