Reading time: About 6 minutes (but very skimmable) Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and healthful pieces for writers. North America is still in the deep midwinter, but because I’m lucky enough to live in the damp west coast, […]
PubCoach top 10: January 2021 Read More »
I recommend most people in Get it Done (night owls possibly excluded) do their writing first thing in the morning. But writing is NOT the same as researching. Here’s why I suggest a different strategy for the researching process. First, you want to START your day with a solid accomplishment. Writing 500 words is just
WHEN to do your researching 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 dealing with writer’s block…. I’ve worked with many writers struggling with writer’s
Writer’s block: ways to deal with it 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: 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: pishogues…. I always enjoy reading books by authors from different countries. Almost inevitably, their language or expressions are quite different from my
What are ‘pishogues’? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Self-sabotage might sound like a dramatic way to behave but, in fact, it’s a relatively common type of reaction for many writers… When I was in high school and university, I always left writing my papers until the night before they were due. At
Why do you self-sabotage and how can you stop doing it? Read More »
There are lots of lists on the internet about the best books for writing. But I’ve noticed that the same five or so titles appear on most of them. In the much-longer list I provide here, I cast a deliberately wider net. But at the same time, I’ve limited myself to only those books I’ve
Daphne’s bookshelf Read More »
Reading time: About 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 active and passive scenes… Writer J.D. Edwin has produced a very fine piece
Understanding active and passive SCENES 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 images from Maggie O’Farrell…. I had heard positive reviews of a new novel by Maggie O’Farrell, pictured above. Titled Hamnet and Judith, the book
More figurative language from Maggie O’Farrell 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: percipience…. When I read the marvellous novel, This is Happiness by Niall Williams, I knew I was going to learn a host
What does ‘percipience’ mean? Read More »
