I just love finding words eloquently or imaginatively written for the enjoyment of readers. Here are more examples spotted recently: “An earthquake will unzipper a fault at two miles per second.” – National Geographic “[Sea lions are] a cross between sea slugs and sumo wrestlers.” – Hidden San Francisco & Northern California, by Ray Riegert [...]
Tag Archives: Writing tips
Hard to find a fold on a web page
Have you noticed the use of somewhat dated phrases in modern copy? While they are interesting, I wonder if the reader’s eyes just skip right over the words without registering them. Here are a few examples: “Above the fold” when referring to a web page. The graphic design term refers to locating the most important [...]
Avoid this gobbledygook
If ever there was encouragement to stay away from the overused word “unique” (not to mention “very unique”), here it is. At least 48,095 news releases used it in 2008. David Meerman Scott‘s analysis of 711,123 press releases distributed by North American companies last year displayed in alarming numbers just how “unique,” “world class,” “flexible” [...]
More expressive language
Writing in an interesting, funny, thoughtful, expressive way is always worth a try. Here are some recent examples I’ve run across: “By yearend, investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game.” – Warren Buffet in his 2008 annual report message for [...]
More engaging phrases
For your reading pleasure, more examples of clever writers getting a specific point across: “Guys like Bruce were as common as white socks sold in six packs at the Wal-Mart.” – Jennifer Weiner in Good in Bed “Abiding by the rules worked until 2008, when someone let loose a pack of Irish Setter puppies in [...]
Get creative with metaphors
You can’t argue with the Publication Coach, Daphne Grey-Grant, when she encourages writers to use metaphors. “They add interest, colour and power to your writing,” she says. “As readers, we all do better when we can visualize something concrete.” So I’m creating a file of great metaphors (and similes – thanks, Gloria!) to use as [...]
And I quote…
Here’s one for those of you who “dislike” when misguided “writers” apply quotation marks with wild abandon: Mark DiCristina’s “Blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks (misinterpreting bad punctuation since 2005). You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll shake your head at the many, many instances of randomly distributed and misused quotation marks, many sent in by loyal readers. [...]
No, ’tisn’t
I read somewhere a plea not to use the tired ‘Tis the season in either a headline or an opening sentence. Having read that, I’m noticing that as the “holiday season” (as so many love to call it) approaches, that impulse is out there, growing stronger with each passing day. Last week, with a month [...]
Inclusive language
Some of the writing I do for Big Client #1 goes to American readers as well as Canadian. All along, the articles have gone on separate pages, so we stuck to American spelling with things written specifically for the U.S. page and Canadian spelling for the Canucks. Now the pages are going to be combined, [...]
Lovin’ Lee Valley
Christmas catalogues are starting to drop into the mailbox about as fast as the two maple trees next door dropped all their leaves last week. Today’s specimen: Lee Valley Tools. The company is based in Ottawa, but they have a dozen locations across Canada and a thriving mail-order business. I love these guys for two [...]
