Reading time: About 1 minute When you’re writing arts marketing copy, don’t reach for hyperbole. You’ll make your audience suspicious when what you really want is for them to buy tickets… Hyperbole can be dangerous. All writers need to learn this principle and none more acutely than marketing writers. Here’s what made me think of […]
Nothing short of a miracle? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Laura Shapiro… As you may have sensed from some of my previous blog entries, I’m a big believer in home cooking. Thus, when I read a reference to
The figurative language of Laura Shapiro… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: fungible. I’d heard the adjective fungible before but I’d never retained its meaning, perhaps because I’d never had cause to use it myself. I encountered it most
What does fungible mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 3 minutes What do you do in December? Is it a party month for you? Or, like me, do you enjoy the chance to reflect and plan…. My worst December memory? Actually, I have two. 1) My parents owned a struggling weekly newspaper and one Christmas — the only time of
What are you doing with the rest of the year? Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I discuss an article about science writing by Michelle Nijhuis… Believe me when I tell you I know nothing about science. I was an Arts student
Better science stories put results in context Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute Here is a mini-review of the book Masters of Disaster by Christopher Lehane, Mark Fabiani and Bill Guttentag… If your company is facing a disaster, no book will be enough to help you. You’ll need a real live person to make a plan, thrash out the key messages, handle the media
Mini review: Masters of Disaster Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from food writer Michael Pollan. My family of origin is famous for its obsession with food. Many guests have told us we’re the only people they know who invariably end
The figurative language of Michael Pollan… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: Brobdingnagian. I don’t typically welcome distractions when I’m writing, but I appreciated writer Marie Myng-Ok Lee’s spirited defence of the Internet in a recent article in the
What is Brobdingnagian? Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes Have you ever considered how much influence doubt may have on your writing? It could be one of your secret enemies — although, in truth, it’s relatively easy to turn it into a friend. I have a new companion. Or, at least, a new recognition of a longtime acquaintance. Its
How to befriend doubt Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help writers. Today I discuss the 22 rules of story-telling from Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats… I like Pixar films (Up is my absolute favourite), but even
