by Sue Horner | Apr 22, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
As confessed here before, I am certainly not perfect. But a flurry of errors in ads, newspapers, a concert program and a sign makes me wonder if anyone cares/notices any more. Spotted recently: Diamond in the ruff (rough) Patsy Klein (Cline) Gift’s with purchase...
by Sue Horner | Apr 18, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
This week, a client sent me two tapes to listen to and turn into an engaging newsletter article. The tapes contained two different interviews with executives. One took the time to explain acronyms and seemed human, by oh my! The other! I can’t tell you how many...
by Sue Horner | Apr 11, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
It’s a dull, rainy, cold, miserable day in Toronto and I am spinning my wheels. I’ve got several articles to write, having done the interviews and research required to get going. But I just can’t get started. I’ve read some of the blogs I...
by Sue Horner | Mar 30, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I’ve been playing with the grammar function in Word after a reminder from the Publication Coach, Daphne Gray-Grant. By paying attention to things like words per sentence (aim for an average of 14 or less), passive sentences (no more than 10%) and Flesch-Kincaid...
by Sue Horner | Mar 16, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Writers love to interview someone who speaks naturally, compares a complex topic or object to something others can relate to and isn’t afraid to share personal feelings or thoughts. It just makes the whole writing process a lot easier. In the corporate world,...
by Sue Horner | Mar 3, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Here’s a great quote on writing (by Ernest Hemingway) that I ran across the other day: “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” Most...
by Sue Horner | Feb 27, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
The Toronto Star’s “the week’s best invented words” on the weekend included two I particularly enjoyed: Springbroke: the financial condition that follows Spring break (from UrbanDictionary.com) Landspam: spam delivered the old fashioned way: on...
by Sue Horner | Feb 14, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
From a recent newsletter from the always inspiring Daphne Gray-Grant: “From time to time, I make the mistake of letting myself feel discouraged by the inadequacy of my writing. At other times, I make the equally pointless error of wallowing in self-satisfaction...
by Sue Horner | Feb 8, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in emails? My friend, podcaster and fellow writer Donna Papacosta has great tips for dealing with the growing volume of mail in “Taming the email beast.” My favourite: Use the telephone. Not only can it save...
by Sue Horner | Jan 29, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
One of the best reminders I’ve seen lately related to keeping e-mails brief and to the point comes from Matthew Stibbe’s “Ten laws for better email copy”: “Imagine…that you were paying by the word.”
