Nice rant in the newspaper recently about the art world’s inability to discuss its works in a way that normal people can understand. But as one poster so accurately put it: It’s not just the art field; it’s most fields. People should be able to express complex ideas plainly, but they confuse complexity of languageContinue reading “I’m not sure what you’re on about…”
Category Archives: Writing style
Just say what you mean
Why faff around with pompous-sounding words that don’t help the reader and probably aren’t even used correctly? The use of ‘seeking’ has popped (maybe ‘pooped’ would be more appropriate!) up again today and it seems to be a bit of a trend in business writing. On this occasion, it’s the Guardian’s new Sustainable Business sectionContinue reading “Just say what you mean”
Writing for your audience: overseas students
One of my Spanish ‘intercambio’ friends has recently booked a place on a summer course in London to improve her English (which she speaks to a good level already). She’s also booked a room with Nido, accommodation for overseas students. She received the following email from Nido, but asked me for help because she couldn’tContinue reading “Writing for your audience: overseas students”
A great interview: Dan Germain, Innocent
I love reading interviews with people who work with words, from copywriters to translators. It’s always interesting to find out how they got to where they are today, the path they took. Roger Horberry’s interview with Dan Germain of Innocent fame is no exception. I think lots of writers stumble into their profession via aContinue reading “A great interview: Dan Germain, Innocent”
Commenting, manners and etiquette
Lots of us have done it: we ‘read’ a post or an article that we disagree with in some way, then leave a hasty comment before speeding off to some other task. More often than not, this takes on a different tone than you intended. So what is correct etiquette when leaving a comment? IContinue reading “Commenting, manners and etiquette”