Reading time: Less than 1 minute Does your workplace take the time to discuss what you’re doing and how to do it better? Don’t ever underestimate the value of training. I held a one-on-one coaching session today with a PR writer from a large US-based corporation. Her employer had hired […]
The value of training 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 Jean Dominique Bauby… The 1998 memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won me over when I read it earlier this year. The book allows a French
The figurative language of Jean Dominique Bauby… 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: predella. I was recently in New York City where I satisfied a 25-year ambition: I finally managed to travel to Cloisters, a satellite
What is a predella? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Is writing burdensome to you? Consider whether you might be taking on more responsibility than you need to… My son, who is studying to become an opera singer, must display a panoply of skills: Singing without a microphone. Learning a smattering of six different languages.
What a circus act can teach you about writing… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes 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 recent Brain Pickings article about writer Ann Patchett… I’ve been a fan of Ann Patchett ever
I pluck the butterfly from the air… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes How much time do you spend preparing for what can go wrong? If you’re ready to be prepared you can save yourself both embarrassment and some bad decisions… Fallout from the May 6/15 Alberta election has made me recall some of the mistakes I’ve
Why you need to be prepared for anything… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some dazzling similes and metaphors from Kevin Brockmeier… I have a not-so-secret affection for memoir. It’s my favourite genre and I usually manage to read about a dozen each year. A memoir
The figurative language of Kevin Brockmeier Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes 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: henid. I love learning new words! Some writers — such as Alice Gregory — make the task especially easy by including definitions of
Reading time: About 3 minutes People often suggest to me that they’ll be wasting time if they allow themselves to write without editing while they go. Here’s why I disagree… Whenever I talk about the crappy first draft or writing first and editing later some people always object. Last week, when I ran
Feel like you’re wasting time with your crappy first draft? Here’s how to find out… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes 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 an article in defence of books on paper… I’m a dedicated reader who zips through at least 52
In defence of books on paper Read More »
