Reading time: Just over 4 minutes Looking for some recommended books in time for Christmas reading or gift-giving? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year. I aim to read at least 52 books every 12 months and my habit is to post a complete list of the names of […]
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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 post about the downside of being perfectionistic with your book pitch… I like to do
Are you being perfectionistic with your book pitch? Read More »
Viewing time: 4 mins. 53 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 #33, describing when writing by hand is better than writing by keyboard .
Is writing by hand better than by keyboard? (video) Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about personification from English novelist Jonathan Coe… It’s always interesting to me to see how different writers use different types of figurative language. Some for example, have
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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: estival… To me the word estival looks like a typo. Didn’t they mean festival and just forget the F? But, no, it’s
What does ‘estival’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes As writers, many of us are hardwired to want to say YES! to every opportunity. Here’s why you need to say no more often… Businessman Warren Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes 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 editing too much… Writers tend to fall into one of two categories:
Are you editing too much? Read More »
Viewing time: 5 mins 4 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 #32, describing the perils of writing too quickly. The post first ran on
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Reading time: About 3 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of images from Patrick Radden Keefe… I view Patrick Radden Keefe (pictured above) as one of the best, most skillful non-fiction writers alive today. Not
The figurative language of Patrick Radden Keefe… 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: liana… I had never heard or seen the word liana before reading the marvellous Maggie O’Farrell memoir I am I am I
