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: feculent…. I picked up the novel Finding Dorothy, by Elizabeth Letts, in a bookstore and read the first three pages. It engaged […]
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Do you faithfully follow your goals, even when the going gets tough? Or do you tend to give up rather easily? It might help you to learn how to make your writing resilient… Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Anyone who’s been on a diet — not that I’m endorsing
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Many writers struggle with the editing phase of the writing process. Here are some principles to remember that should make the task easier for you: Before doing any editing, you need to allow a period of incubation where you do not LOOK AT anything you have written. The purpose of this break is not only
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Reading time: Less than 4 minutes Travel can be relaxing but it’s also invigorating. And, against all odds, it might even teach you some writing lessons…. One way I amuse myself is by finding writing lessons in unusual places or situations. My husband and I recently spent four weeks in
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Many of the writers I work with often try to write too soon — before their brains are ready to do the job. I think this situation occurs most often with academics who are perhaps freaked out by a deadline and figure that the sooner they start getting words on the page, the faster they’ll
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Do you sit down at your desk intending to write and then find yourself struggling to start? There’s an easy solution to that problem…. At the end of each day’s writing session, take a couple of minutes to give yourself an assignment for what to write about the next day. For example, non-fiction writers might
Why you should give yourself instructions for the next day…. Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Arthur Quiller-Couch developed his famous maxim — murder your darlings — while working as a professor of English at Cambridge University near the turn of the last century. Here’s why his advice still applies to writers today…. I have a close friend, whose work
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A member of the Get It Done group recently asked me for advice on how to juggle different writing projects. I wrote her a detailed response before it occurred to me that other people in the group would benefit from this information, too. So, for anyone who’s ever struggled with multiple writing projects — or
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you tend to set big fat writing goals for yourself? Today’s column describes what the Japanese can teach you about writing…. When my family and I moved out of our house for a major renovation 10 years ago, we wore our paper shredder to
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As a a member of the Get It Done program you’ve probably already heard my lecture about NOT editing while you write. I wouldn’t belabour the point except that postponing your editing is going to make you a much better writer. Why? Because if you try to edit WHILE you’re writing, you’re doing three major disservices
Are you still editing WHILE you write? Read More »
