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Category Archives: Flair & Finesse
Getting Started
Whether we’ve resolved to write our first screenplay in 2017 or simply craft better emails, we benefit from mindfulness that writing is a three-step process: pre-writing, writing, rewriting. Too many of us focus almost entirely on writing itself, largely neglecting … Continue reading
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Two Complementary Resolutions
Let’s put aside the usual fine points regarding grammar, punctuation, and word use in favor of two broader ideas for improving our writing in 2017: 1. Make sure our writing reflects the way we talk. 2. Look for opportunities to make … Continue reading
Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone
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Plus/Minus
To ensure clarity, some of our most valuable writing skills are ability to organize the message effectively, identify with the reader, avoid unnecessarily long sentences and paragraphs, and use jargon with discretion. But have you ever thought about the need … Continue reading
Keep Your Eye on the Ball
With the Cleveland Browns now winless in 12 games, let’s reflect, mercifully, on the Indians’ run all the way to the seventh game of the World Series. This was accomplished despite a relatively paltry payroll, as noted in a Nov. … Continue reading
Posted in Brevity, Commonly Confused Words, Flair & Finesse
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Listening
I think you’ll agree that an attribute we deeply appreciate in others is listening skills. So in a fast-paced digital world, how can we enhance our written communications to show we are paying attention? Here are three tips: 1. Echo … Continue reading
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Who?
Take a look at this sentence from an article that appeared shortly before the election: You could do a survey, which is merely a collection of answers from whomever cares enough to answer the survey. Did the author and editor get everything … Continue reading
Back Pain
We need to remember that many words beginning with re-, such as reflect, return, and revert, do not need to be followed by back: Even when I already know the story, I like hearing Grandma reflect back on her early days … Continue reading
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Sports News
Even the most casual sports fan knows that tonight the two teams with the longest championship droughts in baseball will be facing off in the opening game of the 2016 World Series. But did you know we are making a … Continue reading
Words Matter
Ironically, although an HR firm’s online article was titled “Words Matter,” it contained this sentence in need of editing. How would you improve it? As the economy has improved there are less active candidates in the marketplace. The two errors … Continue reading
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Is the punctuation in the title of the current movie correct? Yep. Would Jones’ also be correct? Yep. Sounds complicated, so let’s approach this in baby steps. We’ll start with a name not ending in “s” or “z,” such as … Continue reading