by Sue Horner | Aug 9, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My word-a-day calendar is famous for sharing words that make you go “huh?” True, they are often the “perfect” word for a specific situation (like petrichor, as I’ve talked about before). But they are more likely to set up a roadblock to meaning than open up an...
by Sue Horner | Apr 25, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Do you want to explain something, clear up confusion, make a point or reflect or spark emotion? Reach for what I call expressive language (AKA figurative writing), which is a memorable way of showing rather than telling. For example, Oxford Dictionaries describes...
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 | Aug 22, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Do you want to explain something complicated, spark a flash of understanding or create a feeling? Reach for analogies. Analogies – metaphors and similes, which show how two things are alike – help readers quickly get your meaning. “Tools such as analogies and...
by Sue Horner | Jul 26, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You’ll find some of the best storytellers in the music world. Songwriters use lyrics to create a mood or trigger emotion. They are adept at alliteration, and use rhyme and rhythm to help listeners feel the tale behind the tune. Expressive language gets the point...
by Sue Horner | Apr 27, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Can you picture almost 80 million litres? Probably not. It’s a huge number, too big to understand without context. A client wants employees to understand the importance of managing energy like diesel fuel. To make the 80 million litres the company used in 2017 more...
by Sue Horner | Feb 22, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Never mind the famous thought that people have a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. (Who measured the goldfish anyway, and how?) People pay attention when they are interested, or when it’s in their best interest. So if you’re producing articles, web copy,...
by Sue Horner | Jul 13, 2017 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Do you want to explain something, make a point or reflect or spark emotion? Reach for what I call expressive language, which shows rather than tells. I’m always on the lookout for examples, and here are some appealing ones: “Catherine was his California – she was his...
by Sue Horner | Apr 13, 2017 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog, Writing samples
Readers appreciate when the writer does the heavy lifting to explain the complex and figure out “what’s in it for me?” That’s a big part of what I do. In 2016 and 2017, I had the honour of interviewing brainy researchers at Western University’s Faculty of Science. My...
by Sue Horner | Mar 23, 2017 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) launched an exhibit this week that explores the story of nine rare blue whales that became stranded in thick ice and died. The ROM recovered two of the skeletons after the creatures washed ashore in Newfoundland and Labrador in...
