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 blog post about facing the blank page….. If you give me a choice between reading a blog post or watching a […]
Facing the blank page Read More »
Word count: 731 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Attention Deficit Disorder doesn’t just affect school children. It can also have an impact on writers. Read on to learn more…. Last week I was visiting a friend who lives in downtown Vancouver. We were sitting in her living room, chatting, and I suddenly noticed it was
Does your writing have attention deficit disorder? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes I’m a writer who’s more than ready to sing a battle hymn –- just not one like bestselling author Amy Chua. Much in the news in recent months, the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, irritated me. I’d read the comments in the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Daily Beast. Frankly, the author
Trade the tiger mother for the rooster writer Read More »
Word count: 654 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you tend to criticize yourself while you write? This self-sabotaging behaviour can spell the beginning of writer’s block. Here’s how to nip it in the bud. One of my 17-year-old daughters sometimes slaps the side of her own head and says, “stupid, stupid.” I don’t think anyone —
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Word count: 752 words Reading time: About 3 minutes Are you generally able to write easily and freely? If not, you might want to consider working to develop “flow”…. I first heard about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi about 15 years ago. The Hungarian psychology professor — now at Claremont, formerly at University of Chicago — is famous
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Word count: 585 words Reading time: About 2.5 minutes Do you ever struggle with finding new topics for your writing? If that describes you, consider these tips on how to get ideas for what to write about: “Writing is easy,” said Gene Fowler. “All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops
7 rousing ways to get ideas for what to write about Read More »
Word count: 678 words Reading time: Less than 3 minutes As those of us in North America approach the end of summer, I offer five tips on how to return to work and beat seasonally-induced writer’s block, no matter where you live. As I sit down to write this column the rain pounds outside my window. The precipitation is
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Reading time: About 2 minutes Do you ever delay and procrastinate with your writing? Today’s column provides an excellent (and no-cost) online tool for preventing writer’s block. It’s been snowing where I live. Okay, I know it’s January and all, and that might not seem like a strange complaint (unless you live in, say, Australia) but
Welcome to Dr. Wicked Read More »
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes I’m a big fan of a technique called “vacuuming your lungs.” Designed to eliminate breathlessness in people who need to deliver speeches, do radio interviews or even teach classes, it involves expelling all the air from your lungs, bending over and temporarily denying yourself of air and then taking a
How to vacuum your brain Read More »
