8 Great Hanukkah Reads

Hanukkah, if you didn’t already know, is a Jewish holiday that begins on the twenty-fifth of the Jewish month Kislev and lasts for eight days. It’s a winter holiday, and because Jewish months don’t correspond perfectly to the Gregorian calendar months, Hanukkah can fall in November, December, or even stretch into January. This year, it begins at sunset on December 24 and lasts until nightfall on January 1.

The Essentials of Cover Letter Format

Which applicants have a higher chance of being called in for an interview—those who submit an interest-arousing cover letter or those whose cover letters are generic? The answer is obvious, but each day recruiters receive hundreds of lackluster letters. One reason is that sometimes candidates just don’t know where to start or how to compose a good letter. Let’s look at the best practices for writing cover letters—one section at a time.

What Is the Oxford Comma and Why Do People Care So Much About It?

The Oxford (or serial) comma is the final comma in a list of things. For example:

Please bring me a pencil, eraser, and notebook.

The Oxford comma comes right after eraser.

Use of the Oxford comma is stylistic, meaning that some style guides demand its use while others don’t. AP Style—the style guide that newspaper reporters adhere to—does not require the use of the Oxford comma.

Be Specific! How to Get to the Point in Everything You Write

You want your writing to have a clear message. You want it to be easy to read and reach more people.

But your pieces aren’t getting a lot of engagement, and your readers are confused about your main points. You’re having to verbally explain to people what you wrote, and you’re getting fewer and fewer responses to your novel-length emails.

Maybe you were aiming for your next writing piece to be strong, effective, and easy to understand . . .

4 Ways to Find Writing Inspiration and Finish Your Work

Just a page. Just a paragraph. Just a word.

When you have a case of writer’s block, you’d take anything, any progress to get the creative juices flowing again. But it can seem like the well’s run dry.

Overcoming a creative block is a process. Sometimes the fog suddenly lifts, but more likely you will have to work until the sun shines again. It will take some willpower. Part of that process is understanding what causes writer’s block and the scientific ways it can be improved.

Pronoun Reference Rules

Pronouns are words that stand in for a noun in a sentence. Whenever pronouns are used, it should be unmistakably clear which noun the pronoun is standing in for. A faulty pronoun reference will result in a muddled sentence and a confused reader.

A pronoun is like an actor’s double on a movie set: it is a simplified version of the noun it is standing in for.

The mother called the daughter.

9 Workflow Strategies That Will Make You a Faster Writer

Whether writing is your livelihood or your side hustle, being able to produce content quickly is a skill you’ll never regret developing. And not only will a solid process help you write faster, it will ease editing frustrations by making your draft more organized from the start.

I write all day, every day, and although I’ll never be the fastest writer in the world, I’ve had to make some serious adjustments to my own process in order to get things done and meet my deadlines.