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: bibelots. When I studied French in high school, I loathed the subject. I think I might even have had a mild learning disability with languages when I […]
What are bibelots? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Our bodies may start to fall apart as we accumulate years, but if anyone asks me “does writing improve as we age?” I’m ready to answer yes! At age 56 I’m not yet a senior. But I’m starting to become constantly surprised by how young other people are – doctors,
Why our writing improves as we age Read More »
Reading time: About 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 that appeared in the Guardian newspaper describing novelist Philip Hensher’s unwillingness to write for free. Do you expect to be paid
Would you write for free? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. I comment today on one produced by the talented American fiction writer Maile Meloy. I don’t typically read books of short stories, unless
As though he were turning to himself to ask a question… 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 1940 simile from Edward R. Murrow. When my husband and I were in Washington, DC earlier this month (in the rain, with all the public museums closed) we spent a
The figurative language of Edward R Murrow… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 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: bisque. When I read the 1965 novel, Stoner, by John Williams, I disagreed with the characterization of it as the “perfect novel.” (This claim was made by
Reading time: About 3 minutes Do you have enough sentence length variation in what you write? The biggest problem? Most people don’t use nearly enough very short sentences. Perhaps it’s time to consider the age-old question: does length really matter? I’m talking about writing, and sentence length of course. Let’s begin by taking a look
Are your sentences the right length? 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 the blog Rejected and Alone: A Writer’s Life by Jon Stark….. Jon Stark is not as negative as his blog title —
Rejected and alone…really? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. I comment today on a sentence written by Jeremy Denk. Is it because my son is studying to become an opera singer that
A deep nostalgia for closets… 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 a metaphor by B.C. writer Tom Hawthorne. I used to work with Tom Hawthorne, an award-winning freelance journalist who was recently named Harvey Southam guest lecturer at the University of Victoria.
The figurative language of Tom Hawthorn… Read More »
