Word count: 228 words 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: importunate. I’d never have predicted I’d discover a story on mushrooms — used as a packing material, replacing […]
What does importunate mean? Read More »
Word count: 754 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Ambiguous writing is generally a bad thing. But there are times when a writer ought to welcome a healthy does of ambiguity. Here’s why… When I learned I was pregnant with triplets, 20 years ago, I was desperate to know their
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Word count: 250 words Reading time: 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’s article comes from Sarah Jio. I don’t read murder mysteries and I dislike horror movies. When it
Word count: 278 words Reading time: Just over 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from Jill Lepore in a story about Robert Ripley. Somehow, the
He looked remarkably like a vampire… Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from David Sedaris. I’ve written about David Sedaris, before today. Just hearing the man’s name makes me smile. He’s so funny! But he’s also a deeply sophisticated writer who
The figurative language of David Sedaris…. Read More »
Word count: 221 words 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: punim. I hope to spare you the misery of watching the HBO special Behind the Candelabra — a
Word count: 667 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Have you ever struggled with how to improve your writing? Here are five ideas so simple you may kick yourself for not having used them before now…. When I was a senior editor at a daily newspaper, I occasionally used to
5 stupidly simple ways to improve your writing Read More »
Word count: 328 words 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 look at a piece about dictionaries. I once interviewed a man who owned hundreds
There is much more to know about a word… Read More »
Word count: 244 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. That’s why, every week, I present a sentence that I’d happily imitate. Today’s comes from Anthony Lane. Billed as an “unconventional coming of age story,”
Will have you praying for an early frost… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from Aaron Sorkin. My son and I were huge fans of the TV show The West Wing. We’ve watched all 154 episodes, twice. (Truthfully, I think my son
The figurative language of Aaron Sorkin… Read More »
