10 fun and inspiring quotes about writin...

For those who could use a little extra inspiration this week, here are 10 fun and inspiring quotations about writing:   1. “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”—Douglas Adams 2. “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”—Sylvia Plath 3. “After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”—Philip Pullman 4. “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was...

Hey communicators, let’s play R...

Last week my kids were playing “would you rather” in the back seat of the car. For those who’ve never played, it’s a party game that poses a question beginning with, “Would you rather…” It can be a choice between two good options or a true dilemma—one involving two equally unattractive options. Answering “neither” or “both” is against the rules. With my kids, their questions mostly involved superpowers (Would you rather be able to fly or breathe under water?); eating things (Would you rather eat a rotten egg or stinky cheese?); and school activities...

5 ways to humanize your writing

As a medical writer, it is sometimes difficult to apply the style guidelines and rules of medical writing to a general audience of writers. But recently, I was combing through the “American Medical Association Manual of Style” and I found a guideline that can apply to corporate communicators, marketers, and PR folks: “Avoid language that is confusing, depersonalizing, informal, or vague. Words and phrases that can be understood in conversation may not always translate to formal written English. Avoid language that trivializes or de-humanizes patients or...

8 great lines from “Raiders of the...

Memorial Day can mean an array of things to different people. For some, the roughly 150-year-old celebration honors both those who have or currently are fighting for our nation’s freedoms. To others, this past weekend simply meant an extra day or so off from work to grill out with family and friends. For filmmakers and movie studios in Hollywood, however, the holiday marks the unofficial start of summer, as well as the official start of the summer blockbuster season. And this summer, theatergoers have just as much to look forward to. With this year’s Memorial Day...

14 elements of a personality profile

I am very fortunate to have access to writing resources such as PR Daily and Ragan workshops and conferences. But this year, I’ve also learned about writing and editing from an unlikely source—my son’s fourth-grade teacher. Helping him with his assignments and reading his handouts has taught me about the eight parts of speech, traits of good writing, and how to defeat writer’s block. This week, his assignment is to write a three-paragraph biography about a family member. The handout lists the elements he should include. Though this list is very basic, I find it...

“Lazy” words you should use ...

There are some “writing rules” that stick around like an unwanted party guest. No matter how many times you hint that the party is over, he stays for one more beer. And no matter how many times we insist that these “writing rules” aren’t really rules, they’re still being taught. Examples of these rules include never ending a sentence with a preposition and never spliting an infinitive. Well let’s add another to the list . . . Last week, my fourth-grader very adamantly told me that I could not start a sentence with and. He was reading over my shoulder and told...