Reading time: About 2 minutes Merrie-Ellen Wilcox says she can never restrict herself to reading a single book and can often be found starting whatever shiny new book happens to pass her by… A resident of Victoria, B.C., Merrie-Ellen Wilcox is a partner in West Coast Editorial Associates and has been […]
Reflections on writing with Merrie-Ellen Wilcox… Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Don’t avoid the vulnerability of making decisions. Instead, learn how to deal with your analysis paralysis… Most of us get a certain delicious pleasure when we hear rhymes. The Cat in the Hat One, Two, Buckle My Shoe Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill
Analysis paralysis is killing your writing — and here’s the antidote Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss how art is always a transaction… Every time an artist puts a painting on a gallery wall, writes a book, or
Art is always a transaction…. Read More »
Viewing time: 4 mins 19 secs The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #187, which answers the question: how do you write for one reader? The
How do you write for ONE reader? (video) Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes from Carole Radziwill…. I can’t recall what caused me to pick up and read a book by Carole Radziwill. She’s not in my usual demographic! In
The figurative language of Carole Radziwill… Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Martha Bátiz says she’s never afraid or ashamed of early drafts. “They are the rock that you’ll slowly shape into a statue,” she says…. Martha Bátiz is an award-winning writer, translator, and professor of creative writing and Spanish language and literature. She is the author
Reflections on writing with Martha Bátiz… Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes No writing project ever goes perfectly. Today I describe what you can do when your writing hits an inevitable wall… Would you like to write without the angst and distress often associated with getting started. This is a reminder about my one-hour class, The Right-Hook
When your writing hits a wall (and you want to hit back) Read More »
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 other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about how to sound more human….. Are you a writer who sounds like
How to sound more human Read More »
Viewing time: 4 mins 48 secs The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #186, which addresses whether writing should generate emotion. The post first ran on
Should writing generate emotion? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Elizabeth McCracken… Contemporary American writer Elizabeth McCracken has one of the best — most skillful — ears around for figurative language.
Elizabeth McCracken: more figurative language…. Read More »
