This is the worst line in all the children's books I've read: It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood today, and now it is nighttime. I hate that line. I'm not sure why. It seems inartful, like fishing with dynamite. I guess it gets the job done—but at what cost to our sensibilities? My … Continue reading What Makes a Good Children’s Book Makes a Good Book
Category: Legal Writing
Writing an e-book seems easy, at least when it's the kind you give away. All you need is a short PDF that's interesting or useful to potential clients. Yet few lawyers actually produce a good giveaway e-book. I confess to planning a few e-books myself, none of which got far off the ground. I love … Continue reading What Makes a Good Giveaway E-Book
To anyone who's been paying attention, there hasn't been much to pay attention to when it comes to blogging and lawyers. The notable exception is LexBlog, which has launched its own network of legal blogs and announced a new $49/month hosted blog plan. Apart from that bit of ruckus, all's quiet on the blawgosphere. Many … Continue reading Is Legal Blogging Dead?
The practice of "morning pages" has been hovering in the periphery of my Internet reading lately. It's the exercise of handwriting three pages stream-of-consciousness, first thing in the morning. My initial thoughts were similar to those expressed in this Guardian column. Morning pages—sounds like something my high school English teacher would do, who also made up … Continue reading Try Morning Pages (or Freewriting)
After publicly wondering why there aren't any podcasts devoted to legal writing, I've decided to take steps toward starting one. Here's what I'm thinking. First, I can't get mired in setup and equipment. Partly because of the expense (every dollar counts right now); but mostly because I've been down that road before and I know … Continue reading A Podcast About Attorney Authors and Publishers
It seems there's a bevy of law-related podcasts available now. Bob Ambrogi recently rounded up a bunch, and others I've discovered serendipitously through Twitter. Curiously, though, I have yet to see a podcast devoted just to legal writing or publishing. I made this observation on Twitter to see if perhaps I missed something, and that … Continue reading Recent Podcasts and Resources on Legal Writing
More lawyers should self-publish. Also, fewer lawyers should self-publish. Let me explain. We lawyers become experts in our areas of practice and learn a mountain of useful information over our careers. It's natural to share that information with a wider audience by writing a book. It's natural, but it isn't easy. Especially for busy professionals. … Continue reading More Lawyers Should Self-Publish—Mostly
Writers get jazzed up about punctuation, with good reason. Those dots and squiggles have a lot to do with the character and clarity of writing. And there's no mark that exemplifies the many uses of punctuation better than the em-dash. I was reminded of the em-dash by Jeremiah Shoaf of Typewolf, whose newsletter included a … Continue reading Fear Not the Em-Dash
I've been taking a break from posting here since I ended my one-week experiment with daily posting. I wanted to write more. I'm happiest when I write—even more so when I publish. It was a good experiment, but daily posting took too much time. I'd like to think I could fire off some pithy remarks … Continue reading Experiments with Daily Posting and Deep Work
I've been reading, for the first time, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, that puzzlingly popular little book on punctuation. I found it for two dollars at a local used book sale. It's very British, and I mean that in a good way. But I've found it a little disappointing so far. Lynne Truss' rants on apostrophes … Continue reading Semicolons