Gifts for writers and readers, 2019 edition
As usual, festive decorations have been everywhere even before we got Halloween and Thanksgiving out of the way. So it’s time for my fifth annual list of holiday gift ideas for the readers, writers and word nerds in your life: 1. Greeting card gift pack A pack of...
Do your homework before launching a newsletter
A prospective client called me this week to talk about an e-newsletter he wants to send his customers. I’m fond of newsletters, so it would be easy to just say, “Sure, let’s do it!” Instead, what I suggest in situations like this is to ponder...
7 ways to trim and tone flabby writing
Some days I flex my writing muscles. Other days, red pen in hand, I’m trimming and toning flabby writing. By that I mean reviewing a document for typos, jargon, wayward punctuation, grammar errors, the passive voice and other writing that stops readers in their...
Don’t let fear stop you from growing
“When you make friends with fear, it can’t rule you.” – Writer Anne Lamott, in Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith With Halloween on the doorstep, it seemed time to talk about things that scare you. No, not zombies and ghosts — I mean things you want to do...
Choose your words wisely to be understood
I’m on Plain Language duty. While my client overhauls structure and cuts duplication on the website, I’m trying to make the content more readable. The existing words are often off the readable charts – post-graduate, say, or grade 13 – whereas my client hopes for...
Wordnerdery: CEO support fosters great internal comms
You need to bulldoze, guilt, beg and pressure your company’s management (“leadership”) into doing their part for internal communication (IC). That was a key message from a recent Ragan Communications webinar on “What makes communications great.” The webinar talked...
Why Coming Out Day matters
October 11 is National Coming Out Day — meant to be a reminder of the power of coming out as gay or lesbian.* The day marks the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1988. Why is coming out so powerful? Simple. It’s easy...
It’s no Dad joke: M-W adds 530+ new words
As Merriam-Webster likes to say, the English language never sleeps, and neither does the dictionary. Whether we like it or not – and many do get upset about certain changes – modern dictionaries constantly reflect the state of our word nation. We have no one but...