Amicus Scriptor September 27, 2013       Last month, I encouraged you to submit your story or self-contained novel excerpt to a magazine, journal or contest. And today, you may be all ready to go — story polished, guidelines followed, deadline still pending in the future. But perhaps you haven’t yet worked up the...Read More

Try rhymezone.com. It’s absolutely essential if you want to write rhyming poetry with any hope of avoiding the obvious. Be careful, though — desperate use of rhymezone may cause groans. Also, thesaurus.com offers a “word of the day” and fun facts, like the medical word for sunburn, “erythema solare,” and word games employing techniques magicians...Read More

  August 17, 2012 Lawyers make good writers because we’ve learned to be careful with words. To us, words have both a precise and a nuanced meaning, not just a Black’s definition, but also an entire history of consequences and implications, as recorded in volumes of precedent. Words are powerful. Words are the tools of...Read More

Fiction writing shows, not tells July 20, 2012 By Mary Hutchings Reed Mary Hutchings Reed, of counsel to Winston & Strawn LLP, has more than 35 years of experience in intellectual property and entertainment law. Read more about her at maryhutchingsreed.com/~maryhutc and fairwaysthemusical.com. Because you are a writer, and because you are well-practiced and disciplined, I’m...Read More

  Writing conjures up creativity April 27, 2012 By Mary Hutchings Reed If you write or want to write fiction in your nonbillable time, this new monthly column is for you. Writing is a solitary effort, but it need not be lonely. Writers need readers when they type, “The End,” but along the way, we need...Read More