Ann Wylie’s blog of writing tips

Analyzing is the 2nd creative process step

Look for themes, holes, relationships, structure

What’s the best way to come up with great ideas? What are the thought processes that drive the world’s most creative individuals?… Read the full article

Read like a writer, write like a reader

To become a better writer, read better writing

When I entered first grade, I got a brand-new red text called We Can Write What We Can Read.… Read the full article

How does reading help you become a better writer?

Find a mentor in your favorite communications

I recently sent one of my email pals a plea for holiday reading recommendations. “Read The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron,” he responded.… Read the full article

How to read like a writer

Make Churchill your muse for executive sound bites and more

Edward R. Murrow said of Winston Churchill: “He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”… Read the full article

How do you read like a writer?

Read for technique, not just for information and entertainment

Years ago, I ran across this passage Stephen Schiff wrote about Australian film director Fred Schepisi for The New Yorker:

As Schepisi talks, his hands play along: they’re the nipping boat, they’re the foaming river; when they clap, they’re the waterfall.

… Read the full article

To become a better writer you must read

Take it apart; put it back together

In her memoir The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion describes a moment with her late husband, the novelist John Gregory Dunne:

“When we were living in Brentwood Park we fell into a pattern of stopping work at four in the afternoon and going out to the pool,” she writes.… Read the full article