Word count: 267 words Reading time: About 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 Michael Specter in the New York Times. I’ve never much liked Dr. Mehmet Oz. He seems […]
Oz is fifty-two and jauntily fit… 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 John Medina, author of Brain Rules. I’m the kind of person who aced English and Social Studies classes while in high school — and passed Science and Math only by dumb luck. (Or
The figurative language of John Medina… Read More »
Word count: 232 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: lèse-majesté . I was in grade 6 when Richard Nixon was elected to office. I was too young for him to have much of
What does lese-majeste mean? Read More »
Word count: 641 words How did you fall in love with writing? Here is my story…. I’ve sounded off many times about the difficulties I’ve had with writing – the horror of producing my honours’ thesis, my mean Scottish editor, and my struggle to stop editing while I wrote. But I don’t think I’ve ever
How did you fall in love with writing? Read More »
Word count: 271 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 new book on introverts. If you’re a writer you might want to take a look at
The power of introverts Read More »
Word count: 297 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 is by Adam Gopnik. I’ve long admired the writing of Adam Gopnik, and not just because he
A glint-eyed scientist with a tiny box… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I read widely, watch movies and listen to the radio. In today’s post you’ll see an interesting piece of figurative language by John McPhee that I encountered recently. Many years ago I mentored a young student. He took off to journalism school in New York City and, when he
The figurative language of John McPhee… Read More »
Word count: 274 words 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: virescent. I’m re-reading Spunk and Bite right now — a marvellous book on writing by the inimitable Art Plotnik. Let me tell you: I
Word count: 756 words Reading time: About 3 minutes We all have writing troubles. But how deeply do you understand your own problems?…. The US Department of Transportation has proposed that all new cars be required to have a brake override. The purpose? To disable the accelerator when the brake pedal is pressed. This is
What’s your real problem? Read More »
Word count: 263 words 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 look at the topic of time management in a new book by Elizabeth Grace Saunders. I’ve told you before that I’m
The 3 secrets to effective time investment Read More »
