How to Be Alone and Other Friday Finds

Does your perfectionism get in the way? Does finishing feel constraining? Does your excitement for a project tend to wane? Do you equate finishing with submitting your work for judgment? Learn why you can’t finish and what to do about it …

Avoid the Stock Phrase

Take it from someone who reads a lot of manuscript in the rough. Stock phrases and tics are noticeable–and not in a good way.

“Individual authors will of course have their own idiosyncratic linguistic tics. Dan Brown, of “Da Vinci Code” fame, is partial to eyebrows. In his techno-thriller “Digital Fortress,” characters arch or raise their eyebrows no fewer than 14 times.”  [via New York Times]