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 the writing of Charles Darwin… It’s been decades since I even peeked at The Origin of Species by […]
Can you write like Charles Darwin? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Schools and social media can be a toxic mix, as the Abbotsford school district learned this week… I went out of town to teach a workshop earlier this week. Following the event, I ended up having dinner with a school administrator. “Let me ask you this,” she said to me,
What happens when you mix schools and social media? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some personification from writer Olive Senior… Despite having several rave reviews on Amazon, the novel Dancing Lessons, by Olive Senior, hasn’t yet persuaded me to finish it. I find it too self-conscious and the characters
The figurative language of Olive Senior 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: feuilleton. I began my working life in the newspaper business so, honestly, I should have known what the word feuilleton meant. But when reader John Friesen sent it
What’s a ‘feuilleton’? Read More »
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 Robert Fulford article about writer’s block… Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, a recent piece in the National
More on how to beat writer’s block Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes If you ever have to do a difficult media interview I urge you to follow one essential tip: embrace silence… I used to work for a daily newspaper. Mostly, I edited, but every once in a while, I had the chance to write. In those days, I didn’t enjoy writing
Why you should embrace silence Read More »
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 metaphor from Lori Lansens… I jokingly like to say I have a “lifetime to 10 list.” By this I mean that I have 10 books that so impressed me they have changed
The figurative language of Lori Lansens 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: attar… I had long associated the word attar with scent, but I didn’t know its meaning any further than that and would have been reluctant to use it in
What’s an ‘attar’? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Does the topic you must write about seem unspeakably dull and boring? Here are some tips for how to increase your interest, no matter what the subject… Imagine you have a blog piece, an article for your employee newsletter or even a long report that you’ve been procrastinating over.
How to get more interested in what you’re writing Read More »
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 sharing Marcel Proust’s reflections on why we read… When people ask me about my hobbies I always say, “reading.” I’ve