Tag Archives: writing

Writing Exercise – “Looking in the Rearview Mirror”

I wrote this essay as my exercise for this week’s writing group meeting. The prompt was “looking in the rearview mirror.” When I was in high school, one of my friends used to pull out a little compact with a … Continue reading

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Writing Exercise – “You left something behind”

I haven’t posted one of these exercises in a while. In fact, to my surprise, it has been well over a year! To recap: My longtime writing group (we’ve been together since 1991!) does short exercises to share each time … Continue reading

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Writing Exercise – “Plain Talk”

It was my turn to select an exercise for writing group this week. Being incredibly busy at work and opting for shortcuts wherever legitimately possible, I turned to Ursula K. Le Guin’s wonderful Steering the Craft once again and found … Continue reading

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The Key Book Publishing Paths: 2021–2022

Since 2013, I have been regularly updating this informational chart about the key book publishing paths. It is available as a PDF download—ideal for … The Key Book Publishing Paths: 2021–2022 Jane Friedman writes, speaks, and teaches online courses about all aspects … Continue reading

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Cool Google Docs “Insert Symbol” Feature

I was just working on something in Google Docs and needed to insert a letter “a” with a circumflex. I clicked on “insert symbol” and searched for “a,” but none of the options were what I needed. Then I noticed … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, Learning, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Colons: how and when to use them

A couple days ago I posted on semicolons, with a note that I’d decided to split my original post, covering both semicolons and colons, into two parts once I realized that the semicolon discussion was getting out of control.  Okay, … Continue reading

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Semicolons: how and when to use them

The most popular post I’ve written so far has been the one titled “What’s the difference between grammar, punctuation, and mechanics?”  It gets at least one view per day, and most days it tops my list of most-viewed posts. Because … Continue reading

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“Hawks Do Not Share”: Re-reconsidering Zelda Fitzgerald

I’m not sure why, but a slew of books is being published right now about Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott.  Here is an article/ book review from the March 22, 2013, Wall Street Journal that discusses several of the new (fictional) … Continue reading

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I’m back (hopefully . . .)

Here’s what happens sometimes when I’m not even trying. I have been away from blogging for over a month because my offline responsibilities have claimed the lion’s share of my attention.  Family, job, that sort of thing. Part of the problem, … Continue reading

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If you build it, they will come: the importance of infrastructure for creativity and innovation

Here’s a little factoid I’d forgotten about until my husband and I were discussing the recent Presidential debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney: The famous series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were not held during the … Continue reading

Posted in WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer), Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment