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: anfractuous… I encountered the byline, ‘Anthony Horowitz,’ somewhere during the last year and — because I found his writing amusing — made a mental note of his […]
What does ‘anfractuous’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 4 minutes Is it worth even thinking about writing during holiday time? If your answer is “maybe,” consider the ways in which you might be able to improve your focus… While many writing bloggers are currently addressing burning issues like best holiday gifts for writers and how to take a break during
How to improve your focus — during or after holidays… Read More »
In the Christmas season, let’s talk about how to handle writing when you’re on holiday. As a member of Get it Done, you are entitled to take holidays whenever you wish. In fact, I encourage you to do so, because people who look after themselves — by getting exercise, plenty of rest, and sufficient relaxation
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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 New York Times post about food writing… I am a writer. But I am also a foodie. I enjoy cooking,
The joy of food writing – whether reading or writing it 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 a series of similes from Michael Redhill… It was the promise of a doppelganger that led me to read the award-winning novel Bellevue Square by Michael Redhill. Described as a “darkly comic
The figurative language of Michael Redhill… 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: reticule…. Even though I am moderately well read, my reading history has huge lacunae or gaps. For example, I’ve never made it through George Eliot‘s Middlemarch, even
What’s a ‘reticule’? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you do your research with single-minded intent or do you know how to have a happy accident? My research for this column on the value of browsing — looking for something you didn’t know you were looking for, or having a “happy accident” — illustrates a profound problem with
In defence of browsing…OR how to have a happy accident 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 and an infographic about how to be a more productive writer…. I review about 80 blogs each week.
How to be a more productive writer 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 from Karen Joy Fowler… Described by a Guardian review as “a provocative take on family love,” the book We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, is one
The figurative language of Karen Joy Fowler 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: weltschmerz… Eleanor Oliphant — great name, isn’t it? — was my favourite literary character in 2017 and her book Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman,
What is ‘weltschmerz’? Read More »
