Reading time: Less than one 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 an article written by Ken Davis. Back when I was a features editor at a metropolitan […]
30 art-writing cliches to avoid Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes Have you ever had to hire a communications contractor? How did it work out for you? If you had any problems, here are three suggestions for how to make your next hire more effective… I was having breakfast with some colleagues who work in
How to hire a communications contractor 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: cloisonné. I’m not hugely interested in things, unless perhaps they are books. I hold no love for fashion or shoes (as most people can
What does cloisonné mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes People often laugh when I use the phrase “crappy first draft,” but I’m serious about it. Producing one is exactly what will turn you into a professional writer… Every beginning writer I know abhors the idea of a crappy first draft. It’s embarrassing, mortifying and humiliating.
The JOY of the crappy first draft 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 New York Times article headlined “Writing your way to happiness” by Tara Parker Pope. Can
Writing your way to happiness 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 Janet Malcolm… As a person with four siblings — three sisters and a brother — l love hearing or reading family stories. They remind me
The figurative language of Janet Malcolm… 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: exegetical. Recently, I’ve become a fan of the very fine American writer Nicholson Baker, pictured here. A winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award (for
What does exegetical mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you suffer from the toxic combination of writing and perfectionism? If so, I suspect the heart of the issue may be your own grandiosity… I’m not typically grandiose about my writing but I do have overblown, elaborate or pretentious moments in other parts
Is grandiosity hurting your 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 New York Times article on product naming written by Neal Gabler… That I read the
What’s in a (product) name? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I speak convincingly and passionately. But I’ve recently learned a secret to giving better presentations thanks to nervousness of a client… In a couple of weeks I’m going to be doing three important workshops for a client. They have 60 senior people who need to become
Practicing til you can’t get it wrong Read More »
