by Sue Horner | Apr 18, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Google made me do it. My website refresh has been in the back of my mind for months. I had a few changes I wanted to make, but nothing seemed urgent and the project fell off my radar. I finally set things in motion after a few reminders about Google’s view of sites...
by Sue Horner | Mar 20, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Love them or hate them, numbers are all around us. Whether numbers mean anything to your reader or not often comes down to how well they are explained. I recently ran across Making Data Meaningful (pdf), a guide designed to be “a practical tool to help managers,...
by Sue Horner | Feb 14, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You can’t always (ever?) be wildly creative in corporate writing. But you can choose words and phrases that are interesting and colourful to help your readers “see” what you mean. If you want to explain something, make a point or reflect or spark emotion, reach for...
by Sue Horner | Oct 11, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Let’s be clear. Those “Terms and Conditions” we have to “accept” or “agree to” before using new software, phones and other technology are anything but clear. I blame lawyers, who stuff sentences with words to cover every possible situation. The sentences are wordy and...
by Sue Horner | Sep 20, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A blog post suggests that organization’s forget about people. A menu lists stir fry’s. An email warns about using knock off’s rather than original iPhone parts. A gift shop sells a charming sign about Cat’s leaving paw prints on your heart. As Grammar Monster says,...
by Sue Horner | Sep 13, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
When my sons were growing up, books were a big part of our life. One memorable series was Where’s Waldo? by Martin Handford. The boys enjoyed scanning the detailed illustrations searching for that one specific individual, the bespectacled Waldo. Company employees are...
by Sue Horner | Jul 20, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Writing experts agree that you should write first, edit later. Ann Handley calls this embracing “the Ugly First Draft.” For Anne Lamott, it’s “the shitty first draft;” for Daphne Gray-Grant, “the crappy first draft.” But at some point you need to wrestle that first...
by Sue Horner | May 24, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
So, you’ve crafted an interesting opening to your story, article, blog post or other writing. You’ve taken readers through the details and why the piece is important. Don’t let your writing screech to a halt as if you’ve hit a dead end sign. “From our earliest years,...
by Sue Horner | Mar 28, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You’ve found a terrific opening to your story or article. Readers are interested and willing to keep reading to find out more. Where do you take them next? The “nut graf” almost always follows the lead (also called a lede) and explains the news value of the story....
by Sue Horner | Jan 25, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Novelists, journalists and corporate communicators have this in common: We all want readers to read our writing. An effective headline sets the stage, but how we open the story or article invites readers in, or sends them scurrying for the door. How do you start? Here...
