Word count: 165 words Reading time: About 30 seconds A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is my sentence of the week. I uncovered it while reading. I like lists. And wit. That’s why the following paragraph (yes, I’m cheating by […]
The players’ names a novelist’s dream… Read More »
Word count: 200 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my regular installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Readers frequently confess to me that they’re dying to quit their day jobs and become
Do you want a so-called freelance life? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Do you see yourself as a bad writer? Read on for advice on why and how you can reframe this problem. My 18-year-old daughter, Claire, last week announced she wanted to make a nosegay of Ferrero Roche chocolates as a gift for a friend
What a bad writer can learn from chocolate flowers Read More »
Word count: 208 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. I just counted and it turns out I now follow about 89 blogs in my
How to manage your writing Read More »
Word count: 194 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute Each week I identify a sentence from my reading that has interested me. Emulating other writers is a particularly effective way of improving our own writing. When I read the book The Wife: A Novel, by Meg Wolitzer, I was
Terrified of death’s dress rehearsal… Read More »
Word count: 273 words Reading time: About 1 minute Need help? Here I tell you about some tools for writers. I normally dislike shopping but something about buying on the Internet makes the whole procedure easier and far more fun for me. That’s why I currently have an Albatross hanging
Why you might want an Albatross Read More »
Word count: 200 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute If you increase your vocabulary you’ll not only help your reading, you’ll also make your writing more precise. Here is my word of the week. Here is a word I’ve used many times without ever being 100% sure of its
He was preternaturally shy… Read More »
Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you leave everything until the last minute? That’s a mistake! Instead, you should always plan your writing time… Until about 10 years ago, I lived my life perpetually behind the eight-ball. In school, I delayed writing essays until the day before they were due.
Why you should get out from behind the writing 8-ball Read More »
Word count: 195 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. What do I like about Colleen Wainwright? I like the way she writes: she’s informal,
Channeling Colleen Wainwright Read More »
Word count: 211 words Reading time: Less than 1 minute A great way to improve your writing skills is to emulate the work of others. Here is a sentence I read recently that I’d happily imitate. When I was a Girl Guide, back in the dark ages, one of
The very word gloaming reverberates… Read More »
