by Sue Horner | Jul 23, 2014 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Any writing can be improved by careful attention to words that convey meaning or emotion, or metaphors and analogies that bring a concept to life. The July issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery, shares some wonderful examples of expressive writing I’ve found...
by Sue Horner | Jul 4, 2013 | Most popular posts, The Red Jacket Diaries blog
“I grew up sort of basted in words.” That wonderful evocative sentence comes from Richard Bach in The Bridge Across Forever. The line explains his childhood, where his father read stories in German – translating as he read – and the boy’s mother...
by Sue Horner | Oct 12, 2012 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I love reading the expressive ways people find to make a point. Here are my latest finds: “But even links that have nothing to do with Chinese cooking can bolster your profile if your site is barnacled with enough of them.” From a story on search...
by Sue Horner | Apr 29, 2011 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Don’t you love reading the expressive ways people find to make a point? Some of them make you laugh; some conjure up an appealing image or make an unusual connection. Here are a few of my latest finds, with the part I particularly liked in bold: “If you...
by Sue Horner | Sep 6, 2010 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I love reading the expressive ways other people have found to make a point. Here are my latest finds (the parts I particularly like are in bold): • “I sometimes think of cancer as a long and difficult journey, a quest out of Tolkien, or a dark waltz.” –...
by Sue Horner | Aug 13, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Here are more great examples of words eloquently or imaginatively written for the enjoyment of readers: “The files holding the data are as thick as unabridged dictionaries.” – Joshua Wolf Shenk in The Atlantic, “What Makes Us Happy?”...
by Sue Horner | Mar 30, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Writing in an interesting, funny, thoughtful, expressive way helps your reader (or listener) clearly understand your point. Here are some recent examples I’ve run across: “By yearend, investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they...
by Sue Horner | Jan 12, 2009 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You can’t argue with the Publication Coach, Daphne Grey-Grant, when she encourages writers to use metaphors. “They add interest, colour and power to your writing,” she says. “As readers, we all do better when we can visualize something concrete.” I keep a file...
by Sue Horner | Sep 14, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
One of the great things about having small children is watching Sesame Street. My children loved that show for the funny puppets and silly sketches. I loved it for the way it made learning fun, and because the writers did crazy things that made parents as well as...
by Sue Horner | Jul 29, 2008 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
A column in today’s Toronto Star had a great way of describing the liver’s function: “Almost all of the nutrients you eat have to pass through the the liver before moving to the heart for generalized distribution. Your liver decides what gets kept...
