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: rubicund…. When I’m reading, I’m always looking for new or interesting words. Sometimes, I’m surprised to find thoughtful and sophisticated books almost […]
What’s the meaning of ‘rubicund’? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 5 minutes Here are my 10 favourite articles or posts from last month, focusing on the most useful, helpful and healthful pieces for writers. As American Thanksgiving approaches, Black Friday looms and we start preparing for Christmas, perhaps it’s time to step back and consider our
PubCoach top 10: November 2020 Read More »
Viewing time: 33 minutes Here is the original text of the piece of short fiction for which I did a substantive edit in the video shown above. Raj Kishore by Pankaj Tandon Naresh knew that his father, Raj Kishore Taneja, had seen action during the Second World War. He was an officer in what was
Substantive edit: short fiction (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 a series of similes and metaphors from Niall Williams…. An Irish writer whose novels have received critical acclaim and widespread success, Niall Williams is known for
Niall Williams’s figurative language… 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: maelstrom…. Occasionally, I like to investigate words with which I am quite familiar, in terms of their meaning, but totally clueless as
What is the origin of the word ‘maelstrom’ Read More »
Writers in Get It Done sometimes tell me they have a hard time dealing with criticism of their writing. Over the last 10 years, I’ve touched on this topic a number of times on my blog. Here is an amalgam of two posts I’ve written about the subject. I hope you find some of this
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Reading time: Less than1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Chris Voss… A reader of my blog whose name I’ve managed to misplace (my apologies!) strongly suggested I read the book Never
The figurative language of Chris Voss…. 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: calcareous… I’ve been captivated by the very fine writing of Stefan Hertmans. The Belgian writer and head of a study centre at
What does the word ‘calcareous’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Many characteristics can help writers succeed. But here’s one you might not have thought of: Did you know it would help to learn how to develop grit? Some people see me as successful. Maybe this is because I was a senior editor at a then-large
Do your writing habits reveal grit? Read More »
In a previous post, I gave detailed directions about how to launch a sustainable writing habit. Today, I’m going to delve in a little deeper and I’ve provided slightly different directions, depending on the nature of your project and your own background: If you need to do any research… Be sure to have a place
READ THIS 2ND: How to develop a sustainable writing habit, part 2 Read More »
