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 metaphors from novelist Elizabeth Hay… As a longtime fan of the Canadian novelist Elizabeth Hay, pictured above, I was delighted to learn this summer that she’d written a book back […]
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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: hypotaxis. I’ve watched the upcoming American election with more than my usual interest (I have an undergrad degree in political science), as a result of the bizarre performance
What’s ‘hypotaxis’? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes “That’s bad writing” is a phrase I hear a lot, whether applied to a book, magazine article or blog post. But what, specifically, makes writing “bad” and what can we do about it? When I recommended the Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked, to a neighbour of mine, I had no idea
‘Bad writing’ — what deserves that label? 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 about creativity based on the thoughts of psychologist Jerome Bruner… Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner (1915–2016), was celebrated for
Jerome Bruner’s essential conditions of creativity Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute If you want to make your web searches more fruitful and more effective, consider downloading a free app called OneTab for your Chrome browser…. I’m a fan of writer and tech expert Clive Thompson, pictured above. You may have seen a link to one of his videos I posted on
How to clean up your digital life 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 series of metaphors from Lauren Groff… Lauren Groff is a New York-born novelist who now lives in Gainesville, Florida. Her most recent book, Fates and Furies, won the 2015 American Booksellers’ Association Indies’ Choice Award
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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: pullulated. I may not know the precise meaning of a word but I seldom meet one I have never heard or seen before. Hence my surprise when I came
What does ‘pullulated’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Writing something stupid makes sense when the alternative is simply staring at a blank computer screen… When I was a teenager, I used to babysit a girl I’ll call Michelle. She lived directly across the street from me and she was famous in our neighbourhood for always asking “Why?”
Why it’s better to write than to BE right Read More »
siReading 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 on skills versus talents by Seth Godin… I’m a big fan of Seth Godin, pictured above. He’s smart and
Is writing a skill or a talent? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes If your office is an unmitigated mess (like mine was this summer), here are some office cleaning tips that will help you become more organized… Does having a tidy office or a clean desk motivate you? I know it makes a huge difference for me, although not everyone is wired
5 ways to clean your office better Read More »
