The Daily Port of Call: January 8, 2014

In today’s Daily Port of Call, grab the list of the most anticipated great books of 2014, find out how reading affects your brain, and discover 27 words that have been out of use for a long time, but really should be revived.

Want to write a memoir? Get started here.

“We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically." See for yourself how reading affects your brain.

Grammar Cat uses a mnemonic device to help us with that tricky customer the semicolon: The Hairball Has Actually Been Ingested Twenty Times.

Is there a golden rule of writing? “Success is entirely dependent upon constancy of purpose.”

27 delightful and obsolete words that should certainly be revived. This list is so good, you’ll be gorgonized.

Check out this list of the most anticipated great books of 2014. 

The Daily Port of Call: January 7, 2014

In today’s entry, we look at the many words to describe touch, the correct use of quotation marks, and a literary smackdown, among other things.

Discover six secrets to writing a novel without an outline.

Did you know that there are at least 209 words to describe touch?

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Annie Dillard in The Writing Life.

Here’s a quick and dirty refresher of the ins and outs of using quotation marks. When you’ve finished that, check out some entertaining examples of the unnecessary use of quotation marks.

Finding your way: Here are three steps for creating meaningful writing goals.

Witness a literary smackdown: Chaucer vs. Shakespeare.

See you tomorrow!