Word count: 348 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 write about the book The Political Speechwriter’s Companion. When I wrote about Robert Lehrman’s New York Times article on speechwriting, […]
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Word count: 299 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 Calvin Trillin. I’m not one of those people who eats to live. I freely admit
Sort of like bungee jumping… Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I read widely, watch movies and listen to the radio. In today’s post you’ll see an interesting use of figurative language by Ken Auletta I encountered recently. What could be more noble than the task of eliminating cliches? While I’m not afraid to wield my red pen — on my
Instead of eliminating cliches, tweak them! Read More »
Word count: 213 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: otiose. Some words make me eager to learn what they mean. Otiose falls into that category. I discovered it in the book Straphanger by
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Word count: 670 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Dorothy Parker hated writing. But she “loved having written.” How do you feel about the process? Do you want to become a happy writer? When I walked home from a client meeting yesterday, I strolled in the dark along the shimmering streets of Broadway. Coloured lights
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Word count: 391 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. Here is a link go an article arguing that many of us are simply too busy to write. Are you too
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Word count: 250 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 Amor Towles. There’s been a fuss about the novel Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. I
I sutured split infinitives… 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 Nathan Heller I encountered recently. A columnist for Slate Magazine and a film and TV critic for Vogue, Nathan Heller grew up in San Francisco but lives in New York now. He
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Word count: 268 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: fulgurating. I can’t remember where I first heard of Junot Diaz but I read the New Yorker each week so perhaps I encountered his
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Reading time: About 3 minutes It’s always essential to know the challenges facing your audience. And no where is this more important than when you’re learning how to write for the Internet… My son is training to become an opera singer. Last week he had his first term recital – he sang Caro Mio Ben
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