4 ways to find your focus
My favorite scene in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is when Steve Martin finally blows his stack at John Candy’s irritating character.… Read the full article
Writing process, improvement
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
How to revise your message
4 steps to Cutting Through the Clutter
You’ve prewritten and freewritten your message. Now it’s time to rewrite it.
Here’s where you’ll edit, hit readability targets, and nail spelling, grammar and punctuation.… Read the full article
How to organize writing projects
Structure your message like Tom Wolfe, William Faulkner — and me
When William Faulkner couldn’t figure out how to structure A Fable, he wrote a simple outline — directly onto the wall of his writing sanctuary.… Read the full article