Words Fly Up

Books and writing are the core of my life. I edit books, write books, and teach writing. I love this work, and will be happy to provide any editorial or writing service you need.
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December 15, 2023 By Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Writing Advice, Le Guin and Woolf

Create a Wave

When successful writers write books on how to write, the books tend to be one of two kinds: actual how-to books or how-I-did-it books. I find the former highly useful, and many of them have sat on the bookcase in my office for years, frequently revisited for use in my classes. But the latter tend to be much more interesting. Students and clients alike often cite Stephen King’s On Writing as their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books I recommend, The Writing Process, What I Read, Writing Tips Tagged With: books, rhythm, teaching, words, writers, writing, writing tips

August 9, 2023 By Elizabeth 1 Comment

Favorite Quotes

During a recent class, I discussed rhythm, starting with a passage from Ursula Le Guin’s excellent Steering the Craft, and moving on to Virginia Woolf’s equally excellent explanation: “Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words.” Simple, right? I then read aloud one of my favorite examples of style/rhythm/right words. It’s three paragraphs … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books I recommend, The Writing Process, What I Read, What the Teacher Learned in Class, Writing Tips Tagged With: books, reading list, rhythm, style, writing, writing tips

April 2, 2021 By Elizabeth Leave a Comment

“I’m Doing the Best I Can”

For my birthday last year, a friend gave me a book, one that I probably would not have bought for myself because it’s a memoir. I don’t tend to read memoirs. But I loved the title: All the Way to the Tigers. Who wouldn’t be intrigued? And the author’s name rang a bell—Mary Morris. I checked to see what else she had written and recalled that many years ago, I had read one or two of her novels. So, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Writing Process, What I Read, Writing Tips Tagged With: art, goals, memoir, perfection, writing, writing tips

September 29, 2020 By Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Pile of Books

I enjoy making an attractive pile of books as I contemplate which book to read next. This particular pile is comprised of books I got for my birthday last month. Well, all except that big Harry Potter book on the bottom. All of these are books I asked for as gifts. The top one, Draft No. 4 by John McPhee, is from my mother. She asked if she could borrow it when I’m done so she can reread it. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: What I Read Tagged With: birthday gifts, books, eckhart tolle, harry potter, helen macdonald, john mcphee, reading list

May 3, 2016 By Elizabeth Leave a Comment

What I’m Reading

I seem to be caught in a time warp with what I’m reading these days. It began with my interest in women detectives. A couple of months ago I searched Google for fictional women detectives, looking particularly for books set in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Among others, I found The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King, first published in 1994. I read it, loved it, and mentioned it to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: What I Read

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