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: concupiscent. I don’t usually read mystery stories; I’m much more interested in other genres. But someone recommended The Silent Wife to me and I […]
What does concupiscent mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Tempting as it is to obsess on particulars, it’s always better to play the long game when writing… Here’s a problem facing most writers: We want our writing to be better, so we turn our laser-like gaze on what we are writing, the product.
Why you should play the long game when writing 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 writers. Today I discuss an article from the Observer in which the writer mocks e-readers….. Did you get an e-reader for
Will e-readers change your life? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Here’s why your company needs to stop worrying about “pretty” and start concerning itself with readability… Look at the graphic I’ve attached to this post. Can you READ it? I mean, beyond the attention-getting headline saying The Three Rules Your Competitors Don’t Know Yet.”
Readability is more important than “looks” 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 Adam Gopnik. I’m not sure I care enough about the Beatles to want to read a three-volume history about them, (frankly, I’m more
The figurative language of Adam Gopnik Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 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: scurf. I read the book Tinkers by Paul Harding in 2010, the same year it won the Pulitzer Prize. Although I didn’t find
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Most writers aren’t terribly sporty but did you know you can help your writing by talking like an athlete? I’ve written before about how we writers seem addicted to self-sabotage by trash-talking to ourselves. I really don’t know how to write… My boss is going
How to help your writing by talking like an athlete 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 writers. Today I discuss the book Still Writing by Dani Shapiro….. I have already read most of the big-time books about writing:
Are you still writing? Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes Writing signage is one of the most challenging tasks facing many businesses (even if they don’t realize it.) Be sure to choose your words carefully! I’m seldom hired to consult on signage, but judging by the gaffes I’ve seen over the years, more organizations really
Choose your words carefully — especially for signs Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about two similes from American writer and psychologist Dan Shapiro…. I recently finished the marvellous non-fiction book Delivering Doctor Amelia by Dan Shapiro. A psychologist, the author describes
The figurative language of Dan Shapiro… Read More »
