Tag Archives: writing
1 Rule to Follow When Writing for Others
One of the hardest things to keep in mind as a writer is that you’re not writing for just yourself. A lot of the time, you’re writing to help others. Whether readers want to learn something new, need to make an important decision, or are searching for a sense of belonging to combat isolation, the writing—if you want to build an audience, which…
Need a Crash Course on Web Copy? Try “Nicely Said”
Title: Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose Authors: Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee Publisher: New Riders Publishing Rating: 4 out of 5 Format: Print Writing can be a daunting prospect for many people, and the way that the internet has changed both how we write and how we read can…
How Crutch Words Weaken Your Writing
Whoa! The “4 Myths About Editors” post has really taken off in the past few days. Thanks so much for all the positive feedback! What I want to talk about today is related to one of the myths I discussed in that post: the idea that an editor will change your voice so much that it won’t sound…
4 Myths About Editors
What editors do is often kept hidden. In fact, a good editor is supposed to remain invisible by giving the text enough care and polish that it shines brightly and speaks for itself. The thing is, when your goal is to be invisible, people get a distorted image of what you actually do. Myths about editors exist, and…
The Value of Plain Language
One of the hardest lessons I ever had to learn as a writer was that using complex words was not a sign of good writing. It’s a natural assumption to make. “Good” writing means writing that sounds “smart” — and what’s smarter than using vague or polysyllabic words that you really have to think about to understand?…
A review of the Ryerson publishing program – Part 1
I’m proud to say that I’ve just reached one of the goals I set for myself when I started out as an editor: I’ve graduated from Ryerson’s publishing program! My last lecture in my last course – Intro to Book Design – finished the evening before, so I’ve had about a day to bask in…