Every Sunday afternoon, a product marketing manager I know sits down at home to write the blog posts and other written projects that she couldn’t complete the previous week. She steals time from her weekend because she isn’t able to get compose blog posts or articles during the week, in the office. She told me this while we were […]
Writing
Feeling Lazy? In a Rush? Lame Reasons to Shortcut the Process
You’ve got friends coming over at 6pm for dinner, and you want to serve fresh-baked bread. But you didn’t get around to starting the bread until about 4pm. So – what the heck – you decide to shorten the rising time. You knead the dough, shape the loaves, and throw them in the oven. What could […]
Cognitive Science Terms for Writers
Writing is a product of human thought and behavior. What better way to fine-tune your writing processes than to better understand your brain? In the course of writing The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear, I read many terrific books on cognitive science, behavioral economics, and psychology. This glossary, from the book, aggregates the concepts most relevant for […]
Writing for Resonance
A few years ago, my brother and sister-in-law gave us a beautiful bowl. Although I have always considered the bowl to be lovely, we’d had it for a few years before it revealed its true gift: It sings with me. I’m a classically-trained soprano. When I hit a specific high note in practice, the bowl starts ringing, extending and […]
Managing the Muse
I wake for some unknown reason in the early, still-dark morning. A quick glance at the clock reveals that it’s 5am, so I settle back into bed, willing myself to sleep. I want and need those next two hours of slumber. As I try to resume where I left off, an idea for a blog post pops into […]
Writing Advice for College Students: Beware Academese
Heading off to college? No matter what your major, you’ll end up having to write at least a few papers or survive Freshman English. My first piece of advice is simple: Beware of Academese “Academese” is the specialized language of academics that belongs in scholarly tomes, not the real world. When writing term papers, you may be tempted […]