Reading time: Less than 1 minute The challenge of slogan-writing should become clear when you listen to the genesis of the phrase: from showers to flowers… In listening to a podcast last week (apologies — I failed to remember the name of the podcast) I heard a politician reflect on a political message that had gone awry. The […]
From showers to flowers… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes 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 Stephanie Danler… Waitress and first-time author Stephanie Danler earned a jaw-dropping six-figure deal for her first novel, Sweetbitter. As a dedicated
The figurative language of Stephanie Danler 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: spline… Today’s word of the week comes not from my reading but from my husband. Yesterday we happened to be talking about a
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Usually, taking vacations means having less work. But my recent editing vacation has been highly productive… I write this column from British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, in a little cottage overlooking the ocean. I’m alone and it’s blissfully quiet. Right now it’s a cool rainy day
Why I’m taking an editing vacation… 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 the writerly musings of E.B. White… I discovered E.B. White when I took English 100 more than
The writer’s duty: to lift people up Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Proofreading seems like an unnecessary expense, until you have a large, embarrassing typo… I bear no ill-will towards the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The conductor, whom I’ve run into at my dry cleaning establishment, is a charming man and the orchestra is highly skilled. But I bet
Is proofreading too expensive? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Even though the Brexit vote is no laughing matter, columnist Frank Bruni managed to get some laughs and a clever extended metaphor out of it… The results of the recent Brexit vote have made me sad. A common European market gave the British economy
Figurative language from Frank Bruni Read More »
Reading time: About 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: roiling … I attended college at the very end of the 1970s. The place my children now attend — my own alma mater — seems vastly
What does ‘roiling’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you struggle with writer’s guilt? Don’t let it talk you out of writing. Use these ways to outwit it… I was not born a guilty person. I had impatience. Perfectionism. Even a titch of arrogance. But, somehow guilt always slid off of me like eggs out
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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 metaphor from Timothy Gallwey… I must have read the book The Inner Game of Tennis some 30 years ago, even though I’ve never played the game. by W.
Do not criticize seeds as rootless and stemless… Read More »
