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 William Maxwell… I had never heard of William Maxwell until a client introduced him to me. Although long dead (Maxwell lived from 1908 […]
The figurative language of William Maxwell…. Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Aaron Cully Drake is one of the rare writers who absolutely loves editing. Aaron Cully Drake doesn’t actually use his middle name — except in publishing — because people struggle to find the right spelling, so he doesn’t want to put that level of stress
Reflections on writing with Aaron Cully Drake… Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes The NATO typo shows why we need to learn from our mistakes and not obsess over them… It was a jaw-dropping typo. And it appeared in an astonishing place — the New York Times. In a headline. It read: “A North American Treaty Organization Without
The NATO typo, Jane Austen and why I’m not worried Read More »
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 other writers. Today I discuss a New Yorker article written by Hallie Cantor….. I am a person of habit. Fortunate enough to
Writing advice from Hallie Cantor…. Read More »
Viewing time: 3 mins 34 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 #207, which describes how to deal with supply chain problems in publishing. The
How can you deal with supply chain problems in publishing? (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 metaphors from Anna Wiener… There are few genres of books I enjoy more than a good memoir. So, when I heard positive reviews
The figurative language of Anna Wiener… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Meg Todd has a motto for writing: Get it down as fast as you can, and then edit slowly. Meg Todd grew up in the Alberta prairies. Her novel, Most Grievous Fault, was released in the fall of 2025. Exit Strategies, her debut short story collection, was
Reflections on writing with Meg Todd… Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Writing feels hard for many people. Check out my eight suggestions for dealing with that problem. I’m running a one-hour class on revising this week — perfect for writers who’ve taken courses with me before, though of course anyone can jump in. We’ll tackle structure,
Why writing feels hard (it’s not you — it’s the setup) Read More »
Reading time: Less than one 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 the writing speed of romance novelists. When I meet with new clients,
Writing speed? 2,500 words per hour 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 #206, which describes how to manage your memoir. The post first ran on
How can you manage your memoir? (video) Read More »
