Reading time: About 5 mins (faster if scanning) Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and entertaining pieces for writers. This is a summer of wildfires, where I live and in other parts of North America as well. So how do you keep writing when […]
PubCoach Top 10: July 2021 Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes and metaphors from Isabel Wilkerson…. Isabel Wilkerson is an American journalist and the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1994. She is also the author of Caste: The
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Reading time: About 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: stygian…. I didn’t used to read murder mysteries or thrillers but recently, thanks to the fine writing of Tana French, I’ve come to appreciate the sub-genre of the
What does the word ‘stygian’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Whether your absence was deliberate (a holiday) or an accident (say, a family crisis) here’s how to get back into writing after a break… If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, are you planning on taking some time off this summer? Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s the kind
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes and metaphors from Kate Elizabeth Russell…. A client of mine recommended I read the Kate Elizabeth Russell novel My Dark Vanessa and when I checked out the plot and reviews, it
The figurative language of Kate Elizabeth Russell…. Read More »
Reading time: About one 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: educe… I like being able to figure out the meaning of words from context. This challenge presented itself to me most recently when I was reading the novel
‘Educe’ — what does the word mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Making enough time for writing challenges many people, even those who are deeply committed to their craft. Here are some practical ways to create more time for yourself…. Many of the writers I work with begin by telling me that they just “don’t have the time” to write. I ask
Writers: do you have enough time for writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 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 Patrick Radden Keefe… Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and one of the most remarkable book authors I have ever
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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: trygghet… When I encounter a word I don’t recognize, I sometimes feel a sense of inadequacy. As a professional writer and editor, shouldn’t I know more words?
What does the word ‘trygghet’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes When the mercury starts to climb you might appreciate an icy drink — and some advice about how to write when it’s too damn hot…. If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen, according to an old adage. But those of us living in certain parts of
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