My favorite part is of the writing process isn’t crafting the perfect sentence, making a brilliant point, or polishing words. No, it’s research. That’s a good thing, because as a nonfiction author, I spend a great deal of time actively researching, even when not at work on another book. Sometimes that work doesn’t look like […]
Writing
Metaphors in Nonfiction: Unexpected Truths
What does the gin represent in T. S. Eliot’s The Cocktail Party? How about the water? Questions like these torment students of literature. As an English major in college, I dedicated many brain cycles to analyzing figurative language in fiction: similes, metaphors, imagery, etc. Little did I know that the study of figurative language would […]
Books for Writers: Liminal Thinking
Understand Readers’ Beliefs – and Your Own We live in an increasingly divided world. Whether you’re gathering news and information from television, traditional newspapers, or online sources, chances are that you pay attention to people who share your beliefs. When we encounter people on the “other end” of our political or belief spectrum, we can […]
When Writing Is a Team Sport
When you think of a writer, what do you envision? Do you picture someone struggling alone in an attic, surrounded by crumpled papers, overflowing ashtrays and empty whiskey bottles? Papa Hemingway, perhaps? Or maybe you envision a cozy writing retreat, with scenic views and solitude. No matter what you imagine, it’s probably one person, working in […]
Writers and the Planning Fallacy
You don’t want to hear this, but I need to say it anyway: Your writing project probably won’t go exactly as you plan. The book will take longer to draft than you think. You will be surprised by the length of the revision phase or magnitude of comments from editors or early readers. Your blog post […]
Don’t Buy Into the One-Step-Writing Myth
“Before they hire you, the client wants you to come in for a timed writing test. They’ll give you a topic, then see what you can do in fifteen minutes.” This request came from a technology company a few years ago. The founders probably thought that they were cleverly optimizing the hiring process by making sure […]
