by Sue Horner | Sep 9, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
So much of what we see online seems pretty random. That’s because the lifespan of content posted on social media is mostly fleeting: On Snapchat, you might have 10 seconds, although Stories last about 24 hours. Tweets might be visible to your followers for an...
by Sue Horner | Aug 20, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Readers love lists. Organizing long and possibly confusing information into a list helps readers scan and understand the information. But there are multiple ways to use punctuation in lists, as I was reminded while proofreading a client document that used all of them....
by Sue Horner | Aug 6, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Oh, hello! (Gets up and dusts herself off.) You may have noticed that I’ve fallen off the weekly blogging bandwagon. I’ll blame work, and summer, and maybe a lack of blog mojo. Instead of an original post, here are some of the smart, helpful, and sometimes...
by Sue Horner | Jul 22, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Making a tiny change in your own life that would fight climate change seems impossible. That may seem especially so after a week that saw catastrophic flooding in Europe, wildfires in Western Canada and the U.S., a tornado north of Toronto and more. Yet Starbucks...
by Sue Horner | Apr 29, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
When you have something to write, do you focus and get it done? Or do competing priorities or back-to-back meetings pull you away, until suddenly you have lots to write and little time to do it? When you’re pressed for time and need to write, quickly, try these ways...
by Sue Horner | Apr 8, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Dense, complicated and potentially boring subjects need explanation, no matter who you’re writing for. That’s often what I’m asked to do, and here’s my “secret” for turning a potentially boring subject into an interesting one: Find the human, because...
by Sue Horner | Mar 26, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Does it matter if you dangle your modifier? Many would say it doesn’t matter; it happens all the time. I’ve done it. You’ve probably done it. Still, be aware that some people will notice your dangling modifier and have a laugh at your expense. That’s because the...
by Sue Horner | Mar 20, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
One of the joys of social media is how random posts pop up under your nose. That’s how I ran across @HistoryMuppet on Twitter. This is “a fan page run by Joshua Gillespie and dedicated to continuing the spirit and silliness of Jim Henson.” Take a look at this...
by Sue Horner | Sep 25, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
While the pandemic has been busy disrupting our lives, many of us headed outdoors to bike, walk, hike and take in the peace of being in nature. My 2020 was already going to include hiking along the Bruce Trail, Canada’s oldest and longest marked hiking trail (898...
by Sue Horner | Aug 21, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Your readers might just skim your text (sorry!), but chances are they’ll look more closely at the headline, photo and caption. Ideally, those three elements together should tell most of the story, in case the reader bypasses the rest of the article altogether. Photos...
