Reading time: Just over 2 minutes If the recent passage of Jan. 1 has you feeling bad for not having made some writing-related new year’s resolutions, remember this: plans for writers are a far better idea… I no longer believe in new year’s resolutions. This discovery came over me in 2013 and, ever since, I’ve […]
Your guide to a better kind of New Year’s resolution Read More »
Reading time: Less than 5 minutes Are you still struggling with what gifts to buy some writer friends for Christmas? Or, maybe, like me, you don’t even know what gifts to request for yourself. Here are 17 ideas for Christmas gifts for writers… I once overheard someone say, “Christmas is for musicians as tax season is
17 Christmas gifts for writers Read More »
Reading time: Just over 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 travel writing… I love to travel (our trip to Newfoundland last summer and our trip to Italy the summer
Travel writing: how to do it Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Do you need an expert to help you or would you be better off seeking some insider knowledge? I happily invested in a new version of Dragon Dictation software about seven months ago. Why? My doctor had told me that less typing might help my back. But here’s what made
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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 simile relating to the John Dory fish… I can no longer remember where I recently encountered the term John Dory — a book? a newspaper article? — but I couldn’t
It looks a little bit like a horseshoe that sprouted quills… 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 — or, today, phrase — of the week. Today’s phrase: Tarpeian Rock…. Two years ago, I stood near the Tarpeian Rock, and I didn’t even know it was an historic site. My husband
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Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Are you one of the non-native English speakers who’s afraid of writing. Don’t be scared. And don’t think that focusing on grammar is the answer. Here’s what you should do instead… I’m a debate coach at my local high school and a great many of my students speak English as a
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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 about some new scientific research on one of the surprising benefits of reading… I need no proof to persuade
The most impressive of the benefits of reading Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Could you improve the quality of your work? Consider the novel suggestion that you stop paying so much attention to what others think… Do you care too much about what others think of you? A recent blog post by Derek Sivers (pictured above) caused me to reflect on this question. Sivers is an
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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 Sara Baume… When I finished the very fine novel Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither earlier this month, I was electrified by the figurative writing of author Sara
The figurative language of Sara Baume… Read More »
