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The words I needed during my career freefall
Ken Banta of the Vanguard Network At 55 years of age, I dove off a career cliff. I left Alaska, where I had worked in journalism, broadcasting, and politics my ...
Why historians are indispensable
An online inflation calculator declares that a dollar in George Washington’s pocket was equivalent to $34 today. That’s nonsense. The value of money can’t be converted between different historical eras ...
My new book and its long path to existence
It’s a uniquely satisfying feeling, opening a box that delivers a new book you have written. I had that pleasure last week, and in the days since I’ve kept Our ...
He taught me the most important writing lesson
I never had a better boss than Tom Gibboney, the publisher at a weekly in an Alaskan fishing village where I covered little league baseball, the boat harbor, and eccentric ...
How to mix a cocktail of metaphors
One of my witty writer friends responded to my newsletter about style by suggesting I write next time about mixed metaphors. And he gave an example from my own piece ...
What prose styles tell us about our minds
English prose styles change through time like musical or artistic styles, but within the period of a dominant style people often don’t see it as changeable—they think the current style ...
She broke through fear to give students a better life
Our world would be better if we honored those applying their genius to humbly help others and paid less attention to the boastful and self-important ones. So here goes. Gretchen ...
A good coach helps you think outside yourself
Sometimes a coach can offer a single insight that makes all the difference. I discovered this recently on the squash court, and it is also true as a writing coach ...
Charles Wohlforth has written many of his own books, has ghost-written others, and helps many writers find their own way into print. Learn how to work with Charles.
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