Ten years after dropping out of high school, I returned to upgrade.  During those ten years without schooling, I read maybe three books.  I did no writing (outside of songwriting) and I had no need for math.  So, when I returned to upgrade, I faced a brick wall. Weirdly, I’d finished grade 12 advanced math… Read more »

When writing term papers, seek titles that sing, “Something catchy is coming.”  Then tweak those titles until your thumbs stiffen. To craft catchy titles, first master the art of slogan-writing.  Mario Pricken, author of Creative Advertising, shares tips for crafting slogans in bold below: Never snub creative ideas as the best ones need tweaking. At… Read more »

According to the Collins Gage Canadian Paperback Dictionary, an essay is “a literary composition on a certain subject, a written theme assigned as an exercise.” Writing essays is a major part of university assignments, particularly English courses. ‘Therefore, knowing how to go about writing a clear, concise, well-crafted essay will take you far in any… Read more »

Attention spelling bee kings and queens.  I have a challenge for you.  You’re top-notch?  Well, then, spell the word beginning with “c” for the bubbles growing on a witch’s nose.   The answer?  Carbuncle.   As students, we’re always looking for bigger, better, and more exact words to get our meaning across, or at least to pad… Read more »

If a professor punished lateness to class by making you sing opera, what would you do?   Hide under the lectern while whispering Marylin Monroe-style, your head paper-bagged?  Or rent a karaoke machine, sport a belly dance dress, and don a Lady Gaga wig?  Some of us would do the latter.  Truly. Proof of point: I… Read more »

Can you make words dance—like letters gyrating, Elvis-style?  Growing up, I wrote songs, danced, and stage acted.  These tasks demanded a sense of rhythm, or at least of timing, for mastery.  But no fine art compares, not at all, to tying rhythm into writing. Today, I sprinkle less rhythm, more rhyme, into writing.  Author Barbara… Read more »

Learn how to paint words—in your writing, life, and dreams.  Creative people think thoughts as vivid as movies, says author Barbara Baig (2015).  So, daydream Gone with the Wind in words.  But first, study your dreams. Once, I awoke during a dream, but the dream kept playing.  So, I quietly watched the dream like a… Read more »