Don’t you find that it’s rare to see the word “discrete” used correctly? For some reason, that’s one of the most frequent homonyms (also called homophones) I keep running into lately – referring to one word mistaken for another that sounds the same. When I first saw the newspaper heading shown here, I thought the [...]
Tag Archives: Writing tips
Five! Is too many!
Please tell my client that five exclamation points (or exclamation marks, if you prefer) in six sentences is too many. Last week I edited an annual report written by a non-profit group. Knowing the group wanted “donor-centric” copy, I deliberately left tone and style alone. Instead, I did things that aimed for consistency, accuracy and [...]
Expressive writing, v. 3
As I’ve said before, I love reading the expressive ways people find to make a point. Some of them make me laugh; some conjure up an appealing image or make an unusual connection. Here are a few of my latest finds, with the part I particularly liked in bold: “If you have not seen The [...]
6 ways to improve email subject lines
An email arrived the other day and was promptly sent to the junk folder by my mail program. The reason? The subject line read, “Thought you might be interested in this.” I do scan mail in the junk folder, especially because postings to my school forums often seem to end up there. “Thought you might [...]
My grandma helps avoid the passive
Maybe it’s the influence of Legal departments, who prefer the blameless “mistakes were made” or “it was decided” to naming names. But corporate writers often have to fight for the active voice — you know, where the subject performs an action, like “The Legal department slashed my article to ribbons.” Instead, the passive voice creeps [...]
Where are the proofreaders?
Yesterday, a headline in a prominent newspaper boldly proclaimed that the Saudi king was handing over the reigns while he was in the U.S. for treatment. Since a king only has one reign, and he holds it whether he’s in the U.S. or not, I thought at first maybe the writer was joking. But the [...]
Lurkers, come out of hiding!
I had been mulling over writing here about the times I was surprised, pleased and even floored to discover someone had (secretly) been reading this blog, and I had no idea because they never commented. Just last week, a new IABC contact mentioned that something I had said “inspired” her, to which I could only [...]
Today we celebrate punctuation
What makes me crazy are apostrophes in signs. Know the one’s I mean? That is my haiku in honour of National Punctuation Day, September 24. (OK, I know an apostrophe is not punctuation, so it’s more of a haiku in honour of general grammatical attention to detail, railing against those “grocer’s apostrophes” often seen in [...]
More expressive language
I love reading the expressive ways other people have found to make a point. Here are my latest finds (the parts I particularly like are in bold): “I sometimes think of cancer as a long and difficult journey, a quest out of Tolkien, or a dark waltz.” – Dana Jennings, “With Cancer, Let’s Face It, [...]
Ditch the jargon
You know it’s a good idea to stay away from jargon, or what I like to call the “secret handshake” between insiders. Sadly, many people (many of them in high places) do not. My guest post at Advantis Communications is a reminder of why it’s a good idea to ditch the jargon.
