Reading time: Just over 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: miasma… Inspired by a mostly positive review on NPR, I recently read the novel The Devil and Webster, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Described by some as a “thriller,” I found it more of a […]
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you know how to boost your productivity? It starts with making a list… I started writing lists when I was 10 years old. I recall sitting at the whitewashed student desk in the corner of my childhood bedroom and itemizing all the tasks I wanted to accomplish that
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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 blog post and video about sharing on social media….. Some young American researchers have now documented the decision-making process that takes place
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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 and metaphors from Rose Tremain… I hadn’t read anything by British author Rose Tremain until I happened to pick up her most recent book, The Gustav Sonata, at my
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Reading time: Les 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: hectic… I recently enjoyed a very fine piece of historical fiction, The Gustave Sonata, by Rose Tremain. Set in Switzerland, largely during the Second World War (the end
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Reading time: Just over 6 minutes Here is everything I know about how to write a better speech and some detailed thoughts on how to deliver a better one as well…. I love TED talks, and perhaps you do as well, but be aware of the significant problem they’ve created in our society. Everyone now expects all public speakers to
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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 an book written by Nell Stevens… I don’t do this very often, but I read a book excerpt in my daily
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about personification from Amy Krouse Rosenthal… Amy Krouse Rosenthal, an American children’s book author, memoirist and public speaker died of ovarian cancer this week in Chicago. She was 51. I had never heard of
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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: pantheistic… As a writer and editor, I’m fascinated by issues of taste. People often ask me whether a particular book is any “good” and I try to
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Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Being more focused as a writer means you’ll be able to finish your work faster and with far less angst. Here’s how you can improve your focus… How do you stay focused when you’re writing? There are some basic moves. Turn off your email, for a start. You can collect
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