Ode to freelance joy

I can’t resist sharing Bill Dyszel’s “freelance national anthem,” about the joys of being a freelance writer. Appropriately enough, it’s sung to Ode to Joy (written by German poet Friedrich Schiller but best known in its musical setting...
War on weasel words

War on weasel words

The quest to rid employee communications of buzzwords and management-speak can never rest, so it’s always encouraging to find support. Of course, it’s unlikely those who speak in “methodologies” and “strategic imperatives” will read...

Fads spread like kudzu

Here’s one for communications guru Les Potter, ABC: Krudzu: Any proliferating management fad — or simply dumb concept — that overtakes and eventually strangles a company or organization. (From Buzzwhack.com.) Why Les? Because we had  a discussion...

Random misspellings II

More random misspellings spotted in places where there really should be someone who knows better: three discreet stages of innovation (discrete) his interest is clearly perked (piqued) this was born out by the conversation (borne) take a peak at the table of contents...

Words are precious

Trust a writer to take away a word-related lesson after a near-fatal experience. Daphne Gray-Grant’s regular Power Writing newsletter was delayed. When issue#149 did arrive, she explained the delay: she’d been in hospital because she’d had a stroke....

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...

Is a job you love still possible?

My husband and I were talking recently about how when we first started looking for work, my friends and I really didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about what we wanted. The pattern seemed to be this: apply for all kinds of jobs; take the first one offered to...