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 40 years ago. My professor […]
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 eyes are rolling (or perhaps
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 plenty of room to grow.
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 changed. As different as grapes
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 of a Teflon plan. I
How to deal with writer’s guilt 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 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. Timothy Gallwey. I recognized that
Do not criticize seeds as rootless and stemless… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes What do you do when Hemingway needs help? Call another editor! Do you know the proverb, ‘two heads are better than one’? In addition to applying to life, you should also be aware it governs editing apps. Even good ones, like the Hemingway editor. I counsel just about everyone
What to do when Hemingway needs help 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 by Phil Cooke… Do you know the answer to the question, how do you eat an elephant? It’s: One bite at
Work when you don’t feel like it Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Not all copying is dishonest and a bad idea (as in the photograph, above). If you do it right, the value of copying can be enormous… When I edited a cookbook more than three decades ago — my first entry into the professional book publishing business — I learned
Why you should copy others 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 simile from Hilma Wolitzer… The book, A Story Larger Than My Own, edited by Janet Burroway, carries the intriguing subtitle: Women Writers Look Back on Their Lives and Careers. A collection of essays by a
Words fall off and roll out of sight… Read More »
