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: bawn When I read the book The Innocents by Newfoundland writer Michael Crummey, I sometimes felt as though I was reading a work written simultaneously in two […]
Reading time: About 4 minutes Looking for some recommended books in time for summer reading? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year. I aim to read 52 books every 12 months, and my habit is to post a complete list of the names of them for you, twice a year. Here is a description
Recommended books: summer 2023 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 the topic of hybrid publishing… You may recognize me as someone who doesn’t much like hybrid publishing. But in case you don’t know what hybrid publishing
More thoughts on hybrid publishing Read More »
Viewing time: 6 min. 30 sec. 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 #63, with advice on how to resume writing after a holiday. The post first ran on Aug. 3/18.
How to resume writing after holidays (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 and metaphors from Ian McEwan, I’m generally a big fan of the English novelist and screenwriter Ian McEwan and have written about him many times before. I didn’t like his latest
The figurative language of Ian McEwan Read More »
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: bloviate… The term bloviate has long been one of my favourite words. I smiled when I spotted it in the interesting and unsettling novel The Submission by
What does “bloviate” mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute You could win a prize for filling in a quick survey about your writing habits and hurdles. Just four questions that will take you only a couple of minutes… I’m turning the tables today. Instead of my regular newsletter, I’m providing a quick survey and asking YOU to tell me
What’s holding you back? Quick survey on writing hurdles 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 a blog post about anticipation by Donald Maass…. If you’re a novelist, does your writing give your readers enough… anticipation? You know what I mean by
Does your writing have enough antcipation for readers? Read More »
Viewing time: 4 min. 48 sec. 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 #62, with advice about how to promote a book without social media. The post first ran on July
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from JR Moehringer… John Joseph Moehringer, known by his pen name JR Moehringer, is an American novelist, journalist, and ghostwriter. In 2000, he won the
JR Moehringer and his figurative language… Read More »
