A lot of information flashes by in the 575,000 tweets that flood Twitter every minute. And yes, there’s anger and fake news aplenty. But you’ll also find helpful hints, smart advice, late-breaking news and hello – adorable dog thoughts and kittens and hedgehogs and such.
Once again, here are some of the helpful and interesting finds I’ve shared on social media, in case you missed them:
Writing tips
- 18 writing tips like “Make your words burst to life in readers’ minds” and “Supercharge your subheads,” by Kevin J. Duncan via Smart Blogger.
- From the WordRake writing expert, Gary Kinder: “In 25 years of teaching writing, I know people learn best through stories. With these Writing Tips, I share over 125 engaging stories to illustrate the intricacies of grammar, usage, sentence structure, persuasion, and much more.”
- “Express your best thought in your shortest sentence.” Writing tips from six of Roy Peter Clark’s books via publisher Hachette Book Group and Little Brown and Company.
- Five ways to put a little rhythm in your writing, like don’t overuse adjectives and read your writing aloud, by Dr. Clare Lynch.
Words
- As vaccine hesitancy continues to be fueled by a powerful “misinformation machine,” researchers are realizing the power of words. They recommend “assertive fact-checking,” using visual comms and improving public health messaging “down to the level of sentence structure and active verbs.” By Schuyler Velasco in Experience Magazine.
- Shed sentence deadweight and use powerful verbs (e.g. snaked, clamped, drilled) and metaphors to help make your writing soar – and not just science writing. By Carolyn Wilke for The Open Notebook.
- “Short words are best, and old words when short are the best of all.” Improve reading ease with short words, says Ann Wylie, Check out the excellent example of an 800-word story in one-syllable words.
- How’s your jargon tolerance? Ira Wells looks at “why so many people now talk like tech CEOs,” including all the “leveraging” being done to produce “some indeterminate ‘change.’” Yes, I have been asked if I had the “bandwidth” to take something on.
Made me laugh
- “Many people think being an entrepreneur is all about getting processes in…getting all of your ducks in a row…there is a LOT about running your own business that is more like a wild rave of squirrels than a nice row of ducks.” Blogger Chantal Fraser on being a solopreneur.
- ’Tis the season for silliness about punctuation, in 2.47 minutes. I always thought the comma in “God rest ye, merry gentlemen” went *after* ye, talking to “merry gentlemen.” This suggests the comma goes before, indicating “rest ye merry.”
What other terrific content have you found online? Please share in the comments or send me a message.
Photo by Edge2Edge Media on Unsplash.
Related reading:
Links posted in October, including interviewing tips and top 10 buzzwords
Links posted in September, including tips for inspiring creativity and squirrel parkour
Links posted in August, including headline formulas and avoiding ableist language