Tag Archives: Writing

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words

Paul McHenry Roberts (1917-1967) taught college English for over twenty years, first at San Jose State College and later at Cornell University. He wrote numerous books on linguistics, including Understanding Grammar (1954), Patterns of English (1956), and Understanding English (1958).  Paul also wrote this essay, which … Continue reading

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On Plagiarism

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing. – Salvador Dali Or, as Mark Twain explains in more fervent prose: Oh, dear me, how unspeakably funny and owlishly idiotic and grotesque was that ‘plagiarism’ farce! As if there … Continue reading

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Sell Before You Build

Derek Sivers describes a marketing genius’ approach to writing: Marketing guru Jay Abraham, in the pre-internet days, would run classified ads in newspapers and magazines. If he wanted to write a book about something, he’d run a classified ad, taking … Continue reading

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Story Basics, According to Pixar

Pixar story artist Emma Coats tweeted a series of “story basics” she had picked up during her tenure at Pixar.  These were generously compiled by The Pixar Touch: #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. … Continue reading

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How To Write, Part 3

This one comes comes from David Mamet, perhaps the most well-known living playwright.  He wrote a memo for the writing staff on the CBS show The Unit, where he was an executive producer, reminding everyone what makes for good drama. … Continue reading

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How To Write, Part 2

John Steinbeck, in a lengthy interview with the Paris Review (all of which is worth reading) shares some thoughts on writing: 1. Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just … Continue reading

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How To Write

More excellent advice from David Ogilvy, founder of one of the preeminent advertising firms in the world: The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and … Continue reading

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god Is Not Great

I recently reread Christopher Hitchens’ magnum opus against religion, and thought I’d share some of the excerpts I found most interesting on this pass.  No matter what you believe in, the book is fascinating, and littered with the venomous prose you’d expect … Continue reading

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No Adjectives

A tip to improve your writing: Use adverbs instead of adjectives. Abstractly, this is simple.  Difficult in practice.  Instead of describing something’s attributes, you’re forced to either craft each sentence around a verb, or go the Bob Dylan route and … Continue reading

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Productivity Tips, From 1932

Despite, or in fact because of, the 80 years of technological advancement, these tips are even more relevant today.  Courtesy of Henry Miller: COMMANDMENTS Work on one thing at a time until finished. Start no more new books, add no … Continue reading

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Politics and the English Language

In 1946, George Orwell wrote an essay that should be read by everyone who needs to convey an idea.  Orwell’s thesis is that clouded language leads to clouded thinking, and so we should strive to choose the words that most … Continue reading

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Hemingway’s Productivity Hack

One of the things I’ve made an effort to get good at is to do the little things as I notice them.  As soon as I notice something that needs to be picked up, or put away, or moved, or … Continue reading

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It’s Not Persistence, It’s Commitment

What would you do if you got rejected, not once or twice, or even a dozen or two dozen times?  What would you do if got rejected 60 times? Kathryn Stockett decided she was going to succeed, no matter what: … Continue reading

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How To Tell A Story People Can’t Turn Away From

Great video from Ira Glass about how to turn even the most mundane story into something compelling:

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