Precision and variety ensure our words are more effective — Children are fantastic at learning new vocabulary. They hear a new word a couple of times and BAM, they remember it. Why can’t we do this as adults? Well, it turns out that our perception of children as fast learners is misguided. They are simply efficient learners. According to literary…

Here’s everything you need to cover before starting to write Some writers love flying by the seat of their pants. Others, work to meticulous plans In terms of which method is right for you, ‘pantsing’ can work well for creative forms where the reader is heavily involved in constructing the…

A supernatural surprise atop an isolated mountain — Patrick had loved burgers ever since he was old enough to cram them into his mouth. He loved hotdogs, wings, ribs and steak too. Then one year, during his physical, the doctors told him he better stop eating meat, or he’d be next to go. His family and friends wondered…

Write your cake, then eat it! — We all know when a piece of writing ‘makes sense’. It feels logical and guides us through to the end without any missed steps or wrong turns. At the end of the article, we feel satisfied and are likely to go back for a second helping of the author’s writing. …

Accelerate your progress with these ten actionable ideas — This article is not about cool prompts for ChatGPT, secret productivity hacks or replacing your fingers with robotic pistons. I’m assuming that you want to create unique, novel, and personalised writing for your job or your blog. My clients are mostly writers with English as a second language and one…

Those wooden guardians of the land — Through endless fields the debris swirls, a choking hand around the air. On threadbare hill the dust beds down under blanket green. Aging stalwarts keeping watch, a whispered breeze as sun beats down. With palms upturned, they pray for rain; ammunition primed. On fractured rocky ground they stand, unbroken color uniform. Beyond the peak a wisp of smoke, casualties announced.

Paying close attention to sentence structure and word choice is key. — What is your writing style — fast and chatty or slow and scholarly? If you mainly write on Medium, you’ll be used to the need for high readability and simple vocabulary. Or maybe you write hundreds of corporate reports or provide in-depth explanations which require longer, more authoritative sentences. What’s…

When household junk takes over the neighborhood — In the winter of ’95, junk invaded our neighborhood. It moved into our front yards at night and stayed. A gleaming sink appeared on my lawn with ‘free to a good home’ scrawled on the wooden backing. My good home already had two sinks. Didn’t everyone have sinks? We lived…