Writing

Why I Don’t Want to Learn to Read Faster, Thanks (Plus What I Read in July 2017)

Fuck those articles, man. They’re everywhere. You know the ones I mean, right? How to 10X Your Reading Speed and Never Have to Savour a Book Again! I suspect these are written with information gatherers in mind rather than people who read for joy. But still, what the hell? And then there are those ‘reading’ apps that will allow you to gather all the salient points from a book without […]

What I Read in April, May and June 2017

It’s been a while since I wrote one of these columns. I’m going to be honest: I planned to stop writing them. But then I changed my mind (because it’s fun) so here I am again. It will soon become clear that part of the reason I decided to stop was because, er, I haven’t been reading much? Oops. Anyway, whatever. Here we are. What I Read in April, May […]

How to Write Sales Copy That Will Make You Feel Really, REALLY Awful About Yourself

There’s a certain tone of voice some biz owners use in their sales copy that irks the shit out of me. It is the internet marketing equivalent of Chad from the high school track team. I call it Bro Copy. Which according to a friend of mine is not a term I coined, but one he did during a chat we had, so I am going to throw credit over […]

How to Write in a Consistent Tone of Voice When Your Mood Changes ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME

You know what your voice sounds like. You write in it every day, after all. (Haha, just kidding. Did I make you feel inadequate by implying everyone else in the world writes every day?) The trouble is, this is a business you’re running here. And you need your voice to come out the same every time you write. You know, so you look consistent and professional. You don’t want to […]

On Writing: How Much Description is TOO Much?

I started reading Geek Love by Katherine Dunn last year, and god, it was dense. Now, I am not someone who perseveres through books she’s not enjoying. I will dump that shit faster than my boyfriend the day before Valentine’s Day. (Side note: I like the 10% rule. If you’re not interested by 10%, put the book down and move on. Also applies to boyfriends, probably.) But this book had […]

What I Read in February 2017

Wow. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I did not read during February. I finished a grand total of one book, which is bad by my standards (though, er, not unheard of). I credit this abysmal reading month largely to the fact that I spent most of it in Seville, staying in an apartment with literally nowhere comfortable to sit and read. Although lying on the bed is one of […]

A Life-Changing Mantra for the Unconfident Writer

Are you one of those writers who panics about not being good enough? I’m betting you are. I mean, there’s like an 80% chance that you are. Unless you’re not a writer and are just here for the awesome logo (LOOK CLOSER) and witty repartee, in which case, well, hi, I guess. But back to the 80% – I know you. I’ve met many people like you. The lack of […]

What I Read in January 2017

A new exciting year of reading is ahead of us! Me? My year got off to a decidedly Japanese start, with my first three books all being about Japan or by Japanese authors. And then after that I read another book which was not at all Japanese and not as good. Correlation? Coincidence? Who can say. Here’s what I read: What I Read in January Attack on Titan, Vol. 20, […]

What I Read in December 2016

Ooh, the final month of the year and my last chance to hit my target of 75 books for the year. Did I make it? Didn’t I? COURSE I DID. On 31 December, naturally. I racked up a few more reads after I returned to Edinburgh for the holidays, making up for my rather lacklustre reading efforts throughout September, October and November. So, without further ado, here’s what I read […]