Heidi Croot
@heidicroot.bsky.social
An editor with and contributing writer to the Brevity Blog. Memoir in progress. Occasional developmental editor. Recovering corporate writer. Trading out Twitter for Bluesky and books. Favourite thing: taking my journal on cappuccino dates.
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Quiet writing...focuses on everyday moments, keen observation, details and imagery to demonstrate and investigate the human experience. It reads quiet but still carries the tension and conflict fundamental to good storytelling.~ @andreafirth.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/q...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/q...
Quiet Writing: Start with an Everyday Moment
By Andrea A. Firth Early on in grad school, one of my mentors told me that I was a quiet writer. As one of the oldest in the cohort (I started my MFA program at 51), I was nervous about fitting in,…
brevity.wordpress.com
April 23, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Quiet writing...focuses on everyday moments, keen observation, details and imagery to demonstrate and investigate the human experience. It reads quiet but still carries the tension and conflict fundamental to good storytelling.~ @andreafirth.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/q...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/23/q...
One of the most enjoyable newsletters ever—and you get to meet a little horse who will steal your heart.
Nine try to solve the world's hardest puzzle... and it's about a story! Have you tried it?
Also... a gentle treat. And a little horse. All in my newsletter mailchi.mp/ad6660fb2902... #writinglife #skywriters #humour #Bath #astronomy #horses #dressage
Also... a gentle treat. And a little horse. All in my newsletter mailchi.mp/ad6660fb2902... #writinglife #skywriters #humour #Bath #astronomy #horses #dressage
April 9, 2025 at 5:36 PM
One of the most enjoyable newsletters ever—and you get to meet a little horse who will steal your heart.
Just-in-time advice. Thank you Dinty!
Where is the line between leaving readers scratching at their temples with confusion and offering them a bit of delicious suspense?
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/08/r...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/04/08/r...
Think of Your Reader as the Smartest Friend You Have
By Dinty W. Moore Storytelling is always a balancing act. How much description of people, places, lush hills, brilliant sunsets, memorable meals, is too much and how much is too little? Do we plot …
brevity.wordpress.com
April 9, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Just-in-time advice. Thank you Dinty!
“Nature’s strange pairings”…for anyone looking for an enticingly unusual writing prompt
March 28, 2025 at 9:37 AM
“Nature’s strange pairings”…for anyone looking for an enticingly unusual writing prompt
Reposted by Heidi Croot
#copyediting
Neatness counts:
Use "insure" to describe the business of betting that something awful and expensive will occur.
Use "ensure" to describe guaranteeing an action.
Use "assure" for bucking up someone's confidence.
Roughly speaking.
Neatness counts:
Use "insure" to describe the business of betting that something awful and expensive will occur.
Use "ensure" to describe guaranteeing an action.
Use "assure" for bucking up someone's confidence.
Roughly speaking.
March 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
#copyediting
Neatness counts:
Use "insure" to describe the business of betting that something awful and expensive will occur.
Use "ensure" to describe guaranteeing an action.
Use "assure" for bucking up someone's confidence.
Roughly speaking.
Neatness counts:
Use "insure" to describe the business of betting that something awful and expensive will occur.
Use "ensure" to describe guaranteeing an action.
Use "assure" for bucking up someone's confidence.
Roughly speaking.
Reposted by Heidi Croot
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
My husband has finally signed his latest watercolour, which reflects his photorealistic approach to art and his awe of nature and the animal kingdom. We’re off to get it framed tomorrow. It’s going to look great next to his mom and son cougars.
March 17, 2025 at 10:05 AM
My husband has finally signed his latest watercolour, which reflects his photorealistic approach to art and his awe of nature and the animal kingdom. We’re off to get it framed tomorrow. It’s going to look great next to his mom and son cougars.
Reposted by Heidi Croot
With thanks to @dintywmoore.bsky.social !
We’re all on a hero’s journey: using archetypes to understand who’ll help you achieve your writing goals
The biggest problem I see as a developmental editor and coach? You might think I’m going to talk about technique problems such as show not tell. No, it’s this: writers don’t stay the distance.…
The biggest problem I see as a developmental editor and coach? You might think I’m going to talk about technique problems such as show not tell. No, it’s this: writers don’t stay the distance.…
We’re all on a hero’s journey: using archetypes to understand who’ll help you achieve your writing goals
The biggest problem I see as a developmental editor and coach? You might think I’m going to talk about technique problems such as show not tell. No, it’s this: writers don’t stay the distance. Most times I have a contact with an author, I’ll be sending them away with more to do. More to learn, more to think about, more to try.
nailyournovel.wordpress.com
March 9, 2025 at 6:31 PM
With thanks to @dintywmoore.bsky.social !
Barred Owl through the kitchen window. The juncos zooming around the feeders below him were unconcerned.
March 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Barred Owl through the kitchen window. The juncos zooming around the feeders below him were unconcerned.
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.
February 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Writing to discover feelings and thoughts churning on the inside. Powerful piece by Steve Mathias at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/w... #writingcommunity #authorscommunity #creativewriting #memoir #skywriters
Moving Your Story from Inside to Out: On the Power of Writing to Feel
By Steve Mathias A half-century back the essayist Joan Didion memorably said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” In a similar vein …
brevity.wordpress.com
February 22, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Writing to discover feelings and thoughts churning on the inside. Powerful piece by Steve Mathias at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/w... #writingcommunity #authorscommunity #creativewriting #memoir #skywriters
Pete’s here!
Hi Bluesky! Glad to be here.
February 11, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Pete’s here!
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Also on the subject of writer's block: easing yourself out of creative burnout @KMWeiland #skywriters www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/the-writers-... #writingcommunity #authorlife #creativewriting
The Writer’s Road to Creative Burnout Recovery
Recover from creative burnout with these holistic strategies. Create space in your life to rebuild creativity and overcome writer's block.
www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
February 4, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Also on the subject of writer's block: easing yourself out of creative burnout @KMWeiland #skywriters www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/the-writers-... #writingcommunity #authorlife #creativewriting
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Flash Nonfiction Time!
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/b...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/b...
Brevity’s Bright New Issue
Our first issue of the new year explores Mealworms, Komodo Dragons, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, and Fifteen Facts About Zebras, and more. Issue 78 offers wonderfully concise and powerful ess…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 28, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Flash Nonfiction Time!
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/b...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/28/b...
Works for me too!
I've always disagreed with the maxim of 'write what you know'! But write what you want to know... that works for me.
Don't miss episode one of Upstart Crow! Bestselling author Eric Weiner discusses his new book Ben & Me about living a good life Franklin-style (and he explains why "write what you know" is bad advice). tinyurl.com/ax9m6rwa
#books #booksky #read
#books #booksky #read
January 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Works for me too!
Actionable advice from an excellent writer.
How do you decide whether to write a blurb for a fellow author? @andreafirth.bsky.social at @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/16/t... #writingcommunity #authorlife #writinglife #publishing #skywriters
To Blurb or Not to Blurb
By Andrea A. Firth I’ve blurbed a few books. It’s been nice to be asked to provide a brief quote about a book to be used on the cover or in the front pages. To start, I took several books off my sh…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 17, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Actionable advice from an excellent writer.
This makes it all worthwhile, plus the thrill of seeing a writer’s essay go live on The Brevity Blog. Thank you @caitlinjgorman.bsky.social .
Up today at Brevity Blog. Many thanks to the inimitable @heidicroot.bsky.social and her sharp editing eye.
Shout out to some of my Substack favorites: @saribotton.bsky.social
@maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social
@annehelen.bsky.social
@andreagibson.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/15/h...
Shout out to some of my Substack favorites: @saribotton.bsky.social
@maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social
@annehelen.bsky.social
@andreagibson.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/15/h...
How to Love Substack Without Suffocating In It
By Caitlin Gorman I was drowning in my Substack. A deluge of daily noise demanded my attention. Monday essay roundups, Tuesday writing prompts, Wednesday self-revelation, Thursday threads, Friday w…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 15, 2025 at 9:18 PM
This makes it all worthwhile, plus the thrill of seeing a writer’s essay go live on The Brevity Blog. Thank you @caitlinjgorman.bsky.social .
Reposted by Heidi Croot
"As writers, we’re sold on the value of perseverance. Just do another draft. Just keep working. Send another query, another submission. One day you’ll break through."
…or maybe quit. You learned what you needed to from this project. Write something else.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
…or maybe quit. You learned what you needed to from this project. Write something else.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Quitting Time: Why You Need to Let Go of that Writing Project
By Allison K Williams As writers, we’re sold on the value of perseverance. Just do another draft. Just keep working. Send another query, another submission. One day you’ll break through. Sit down a…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 10, 2025 at 11:36 PM
"As writers, we’re sold on the value of perseverance. Just do another draft. Just keep working. Send another query, another submission. One day you’ll break through."
…or maybe quit. You learned what you needed to from this project. Write something else.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
…or maybe quit. You learned what you needed to from this project. Write something else.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Trust that in your head, in your heart, there are more ideas—hundreds, thousands of them. Some of them are half-finished on the page; some of them are hiding under the weight of that thing you feel obligated to finish. Let it go. ~ @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Quitting Time: Why You Need to Let Go of that Writing Project
By Allison K Williams As writers, we’re sold on the value of perseverance. Just do another draft. Just keep working. Send another query, another submission. One day you’ll break through. Sit down a…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 9, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Trust that in your head, in your heart, there are more ideas—hundreds, thousands of them. Some of them are half-finished on the page; some of them are hiding under the weight of that thing you feel obligated to finish. Let it go. ~ @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Dancers don’t save videos of every rehearsal. Artists throw away plenty of sketches. Yet writers often rework a piece to death, hoping the next version will finally be the one that gets published.
Here's what to do instead.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Here's what to do instead.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Quitting Time: Why You Need to Let Go of that Writing Project
By Allison K Williams As writers, we’re sold on the value of perseverance. Just do another draft. Just keep working. Send another query, another submission. One day you’ll break through. Sit down a…
brevity.wordpress.com
January 9, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Dancers don’t save videos of every rehearsal. Artists throw away plenty of sketches. Yet writers often rework a piece to death, hoping the next version will finally be the one that gets published.
Here's what to do instead.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Here's what to do instead.
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/09/q...
Reposted by Heidi Croot
Description in memoir and fiction is not just facts and details. Description is plot and theme. And if done well — each descriptive element contains the story itself. brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/08/a...
Writers! Add More Horns!!!
The Power of Context, Movement, and Desire in Literary Description By Dinty W. Moore In writing workshops, our fellow writers will inevitably tell us to “Add more detail!” Okay, but isn’t that a …
brevity.wordpress.com
January 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Description in memoir and fiction is not just facts and details. Description is plot and theme. And if done well — each descriptive element contains the story itself. brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/08/a...
Reposted by Heidi Croot
"I want to write toward gratitude. I want to write because I am fluid. I want to stand up on behalf of the work I have done, the theories I have offered, the sentences I have written." ~ @bethkephart.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/w...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/w...
What Is Your Ambition? The Reasons to Write
By Beth Kephart I think of my first book, all those years ago, as a letter—words of gratitude for the people I loved and for a child, most especially, who had taught me all that matters most about …
brevity.wordpress.com
January 7, 2025 at 12:26 PM
"I want to write toward gratitude. I want to write because I am fluid. I want to stand up on behalf of the work I have done, the theories I have offered, the sentences I have written." ~ @bethkephart.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/w...
brevity.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/w...
Reposted by Heidi Croot
This piece by @heidicroot.bsky.social is perfect and true. If you're a #writer or reader of writers and you know a writer or more than one, please take the time to read these words about encouragement. And Happy holidays. 🎄✨📚❄️🩵#AmWriting
"You have the power to change your writer’s life. With holidays coming, and birthdays always upon us, the time is now. Your gift list couldn’t be easier." ~ @heidicroot.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...
An Open Letter to Your Family and Friends This Holiday Season
By Heidi Croot On a sunny October afternoon last year, my 33-year-old cousin told me his recovery program involved group writing, and he’d written a love letter to his recently deceased parents. I …
brevity.wordpress.com
December 26, 2024 at 9:41 AM
This piece by @heidicroot.bsky.social is perfect and true. If you're a #writer or reader of writers and you know a writer or more than one, please take the time to read these words about encouragement. And Happy holidays. 🎄✨📚❄️🩵#AmWriting
Reposted by Heidi Croot
"You have the power to change your writer’s life. With holidays coming, and birthdays always upon us, the time is now. Your gift list couldn’t be easier." ~ @heidicroot.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...
An Open Letter to Your Family and Friends This Holiday Season
By Heidi Croot On a sunny October afternoon last year, my 33-year-old cousin told me his recovery program involved group writing, and he’d written a love letter to his recently deceased parents. I …
brevity.wordpress.com
December 24, 2024 at 12:51 PM
"You have the power to change your writer’s life. With holidays coming, and birthdays always upon us, the time is now. Your gift list couldn’t be easier." ~ @heidicroot.bsky.social
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...
brevity.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/f...