Reading time: Less than 2 minutes Did you develop a list of new year’s resolutions yesterday? Not me! I’m sticking with rituals for 2015. Welcome to 2015. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you may remember that I’ve given up on the idea of new year’s resolutions. But […]
My new rituals for 2015 Read More »
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes When making your holiday plans, think about the neuroscience of willpower and writing before taking your break… I’m a sucker for free shipping. In fact, that’s why there’s never any shipping charge for my own book. So, when I bought a bunch of Amazon titles for Christmas recently, it
Holidays, writing & the neuroscience of willpower 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 joint event by Joan Didion and Vanessa Redgrave… It took me 18 months to screw up the
Blue Nights by Joan Didion gets new life… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute If you’ve ever felt that you can’t afford a copy editor, here’s a suggestion that may work for you. Copy editors — people who fix spelling and grammar mistakes and double-check dates — are not expensive. Especially when you consider the cost of the material
Can’t afford a copy editor? 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 host of metaphors from Lorrie Moore… The coming-of-age story of a young woman in the ’70s, in upstate New York, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital is
The figurative language of Lorrie Moore… 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: prodome. In early November, I was in a panic. I resolve to read 52 books every year — and, in fact, I resolve
What does prodome mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Have you ever wondered how to fight perfectionism? I’ve battled it for many years. Let me share my strategy… Born into a highly competitive family, with a father — a writer — who believed his five children always needed to try a whole lot harder,
Why writers need to practice generosity 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 an article on how to become a prolific reader… Everything I’ve read about Ryan Holiday should cause me
How to become a prolific reader Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes We all need at least one decent grammar reference book for our shelves. My recommendation? The Transitive Vampire… I’ve never fancied myself as much of an expert on grammar. I hated the subject as a school child and I learned it only reluctantly as an adult.
My favourite grammar reference book 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: catercornered I love regional variations in language. In the US (and Canada), for example, some places call the sugary drink “pop,” others
What does catercornered mean? Read More »
