Tucked away in a corner of the rather crowded nook that passes for my memory is a fragment of a conversation that I overheard several years ago. Two young soccer fans were discussing players. One of the lads remarked that … Continue reading
Recently, I was given a rather substantial document to read. It was just short of 80 pages long – most of it text. ‘This is going to take me a moment or two to read,’ I said. ‘Well, you can … Continue reading
To some extent, what we read shapes the way we write. If you read enough clear, concise writing, you are likely to adopt such a style yourself. You may not succeed entirely. But your reader will certainly feel the influence. … Continue reading
‘The desire to write grows with writing.’ – Erasmus
Some of life’s more useful writing lessons are surprisingly simple. Many years ago, one of my classmates discovered the joys of the thesaurus. Overnight his essays became models of the sequipedalianist’s art. He didn’t just replace commonplace words with less-common … Continue reading
I recently had lunch with a chap who is a more-than-competent pianist. At one point during our conversation, I asked him a vaguely technical music question. ‘I’m the wrong person to ask,’ he said. ‘What I know about music theory … Continue reading
My first paid writing job was with an advertising agency. I applied for an art job, but there weren’t any. ‘We do need a junior writer though,’ the MD said. ‘Why don’t you do that until there’s an opening in … Continue reading
A few years ago, I worked with a chap who was an absolute wiz at speed reading. I reckon he took about three, maybe four, seconds to read a page of a typical hardback book. For David, reading a 200-page … Continue reading
I had heard of Kurt Vonnegut. It was difficult not to have heard of him. I had also heard of several of his books. I had just not got around to reading any of them. So when, more than 20 … Continue reading
Outside KiwiStreet’s front door, ‘tis now, officially, the season to be electioneering. Up and down the motu, would-be Members of Parliament are scrambling to put their digitally-enhanced mug shots in front of us. They are also rehearsing their promises-writ-large – … Continue reading