3 unusual exercises to improve your writ...

It’s January, so naturally we’ve heard a lot about new-year resolutions — not to mention all the advertising for weight-loss programs, gym memberships, and smoking-cessation products. If one of your resolutions is to improve your writing skills, consider these tried and true writing exercises. 1. Turn your writing process upside down. Do you plan, outline, and organize before you start writing? Or do you “just write” and put things down without considering how to organize the content? Whichever you prefer, do the opposite. Try writing without an outline, and see...

There’s a word for that?

Several of my previous posts have been dedicated to the power of words. I’ve written about words that describe words, confusing word pairs, and words that make writers swoon. Let’s dive down even further by looking at examples that will make you say, “There’s a word for that?” Hypergraphia: a compulsion to write, sometimes uncontrollably. She was disappointed that her hypergraphia did not yield anything worthy of being published. Mysophobia: an abnormal fear of dirt. Don’t let a little mysophobia keep you from enjoying the camping trip. Lissotrichous: having...

10 more signs that you might be a word n...

In a previous post, I wrote about 15 telltale signs of word-nerdiness. On the list were attributes such as correcting the grammar in children’s stories and quoting from Eats, Shoots & Leaves. At the end of the post, I asked PR Daily readers to share their word nerd giveaways. Here are a few of those responses: • “I love to find typos in books/articles/pamphlets, not because I love that they’re there, but more so because it’s a weird dim-witted victory for me. Strange, I know. Nerd alert for sure!” • “My latest pet peeve? The rampant and...

15 unusual words that make writers swoon

In a previous post, I wrote about the value of using simple words in place of complex words. Readers are not impressed by the use of complex words; they’re frustrated by them. Though I strive to use simple, clear terms in my own writing, there are some words that I am just dying to use. Archaic, unusual words that I have stumbled upon in fiction. Words that have drawn me in. I like the ways these words sound. I like the way they look. If I could only find a way to work them into my next article on surgical checklists. Vex. To cause someone to feel annoyed,...

Keeping it simple

A page from my third grader’s school planner:

15 signs you might be a word nerd

Do you have more than one style guide on your desk? Are you the one person in your company others call when they have a grammar question? That book you read before you go to bed at night—how many typos have you found in it? If you answered yes to the first two questions and more than 10 to the second question, you might be a word nerd. Never fear; no one here will make fun of you. PR Daily readers are a group of like-minded people who—though they have different interests and opinions—share an appreciation for the power and subtlety of words. Still not quite sure if...