I like many songs by the group America, but these lyrics from A Horse With No Name make me scratch my head: In the desert you can remember your name ‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain Really? Seriously, it was that hard to find better…
When something is done to someone, that is the passive voice. When you do something to someone, that is the active voice. The active voice is always the best voice to use, because: It is more interesting, because action always is (you’re welcome, Bruce Willis) It uses fewer words It…
I have a wonderful client in Chilliwack Community Services. In many ways it’s a perfect partnership, because I understand and am passionate about what they do, and they see the results of that in the writing I do for them. The passion I feel for their work drives my writing,…
In the ’80s, I was taught to double-space after every period. Don’t do this, people! This convention goes back to a time when typefaces dictated every character occupy the same space—whether it was the letter i or the letter o. Now software programs allow the right amount of space between…
When you’re communicating to staff, customers, vendors or the general public, consider the kind of information you’re sharing and then carefully choose the right tone to convey it. Read this recent article from the Globe Investor on how TD Canada Trust got it wrong.
I found this great article that examines the ethics of having a CEO hire someone to write their blog. You can read it here. I believe anyone signing their name to something should have written it. Blogs by their nature are personal, even when they’re corporate. If you can’t claim…
I recently found this in a book publishers blog comments. It was made by a reader and not the blog author: I am a gluten for punishment. In case you’re unsure, it should read “I am a glutton for punishment.” Thank you, dictionary.com, for telling us that gluten is a…
There’s a famous saying that writing is rewriting. Rarely if ever does someone have a first draft go straight to the press. When you are writing your communications, cut yourself some slack and don’t be critical of any character, word or phrase you put down on the page. Write it…
I’ve never had the chance to write a TV script, but I would love to! If you are a company that is looking for a writer for this, e-mail me and I will do it for free. That’s how much I want to try this. A screenwriting course I took…
Many times I will work very hard on various little tasks in order to clear a block of time to dedicate to writing either a blog article, a marketing piece or even the first draft of a brand report. I have lots of enthusiasm when I’m completing those little tasks,…