Word count: 794 words Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Looking for some book suggestions in time for Christmas? I’ve just reached my goal to read 52 books this year. (For more book suggestions, be sure to check out my list from June, as well.) My habit is to post for you the names of […]
Recommended books: Christmas 2012 Read More »
Word count: 209 words 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 writers. Today I look at a piece on writing and Miles Davis. I love extended metaphors. And I love music. Guess what
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Word count: 345 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 Rachel Joyce, author of the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry…. I wanted to like the
Neon bled pools of amber light… 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 I’ve encountered recently, this time in a book by Junot Diaz. I’d heard a lot of buzz about Junot Diaz. I knew he was a Dominican-American writer, a
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Word count: 361 words 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: anacoluthon. When I was in grade 10, an English teacher tortured our class by requiring us to keep a list of “new words” (for
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Word count: 758 words Reading time: About 3 minutes When I remember to use my SAD light, it helps me. But what else am I forgetting about? Vancouver has mostly a temperate climate. Crocuses start to poke through the dirt in late February or early March and people can be found playing tennis outdoors —
Let there be light! Read More »
Word count: 270 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 discover a variant of WrittenKitten! I know just enough about things technical to make myself truly dangerous. I’m not
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Word count: 288 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 Salman Rushdie. I bought Salman Rushdie’s 1988 book The Satanic Verses in 1994, intending to
Blackened, bloodied, bird-pecked eye sockets Read More »
Reading time: Less than 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 I’ve encountered recently. David Gilbert is a short story writer who lives in New York City. He’s author of the book The Normals, which I haven’t read
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Word count: 274 words 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: urtext. Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted in 1979 for the 1970 murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters. At the time of the murders, MacDonald was a Special
What does urtext mean? Read More »
