Reading time: Less than 2 minutes How do you improve creativity? Neuroscientists suggest that you embrace the concept of messiness. I can’t write if my desk is untidy. That’s why I obsessively jam everything into my large wire inbox so my desktop at least gives the appearance of being clean. But my brain? I want […]
Is your mind messy enough for writing? Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes I didn’t get to travel when I was young because I had to work at a family business. Nor did I get the chance when I had my own family, because my kids were triplets. I’m making up for lost time now… I’m hoping you didn’t realize I’ve been
Cooking lessons from the heart of Italy Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes The year 2015 marked the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II across Europe, the 80th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth and, oh, the 500th edition of this column. Welcome to the 500th issue of this column. I’m a big believer in
Happy anniversary to me! Read More »
Reading time: About 5 minutes Have you ever wondered how to build a style sheet? Has your boss ever asked you to create one? Here’s a straightforward guide on how to accomplish the task… I’ve long held the belief that good copy editors are born, not made. I’m a very good substantive editor — I understand how
How to build your own style sheet Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes “Fail” is one of the most dreaded four-letter words. But it shouldn’t be! Here’s why you should overcome the fear of writing failure… When I worked in daily newspapers, in the early 1980s, I wrote and edited my stories on a computer. This was shortly before desktop computers were
Why we should WANT to fail as writers Read More »
Reading time: About 4 minutes Video: Just under 7 minutes Have you ever struggled with mindmapping? Here is a video, and a post, designed to teach you how to create a mindmap… Like a cardiologist who see nothing but hearts with problems — and therefore finds them easier to diagnose — I see a
How to mindmap… (video) Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes Being a natural writer might sound like a good thing. Here’s why it usually isn’t… My 21-year-old son started singing when he was two years old. We’d taken the kids to a Raffi concert and it was comical the way we could see the lightbulb turn on in Duncan’s brain.
Are you a natural writer? Here’s why that’s bad Read More »
Reading time: Just over 3 minutes Do you suffer from bad writing habits? Here are some ideas you need to overcome so you can develop the good habit of writing — easily — every day… I work with dozens of people every year who are trying to build the writing habit. Some succeed quickly. Others
Trying to build a writing habit? Beware these 5 traps Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Some writers feel as though they’re working in a black hole. Ask them the question, ‘Are you getting enough writing feedback?’ and they’ll answer with a resounding no… Back in my freelancing days, I used to write the occasional piece for national magazines. I didn’t really enjoy writing then (I
Are you getting enough writing feedback? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 6 minutes Even if you don’t know exactly how many words you can produce in an hour, here’s how to write faster… Ask a bunch of journalists or professional writers how many words they can produce in an hour and you’ll get a dog-pile of half-answers and creative guesses. I know because
The ultimate 7-step guide for how to write faster Read More »