Northern Trust goes beyond the pyramid
How do you organize a compelling feature?
Model this piece, which Loring Leifer wrote for Northern Funds’ marketing magazine, Northern Update.… Read the full article
Creative writing
Alphabet scoop
Create acronyms that help readers retain info
First there was FUBAR: F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition. Now, thanks to the Urban Dictionary, we also have PHOBAR: PHOtoshopped Beyond All Recognition.… Read the full article
Neologisms: Find half-and-half words
Gain inspiration for portmanteau from WordSpy
Tracy Ousdahl and Paul Pinney have traveled the globe. But sometimes, instead of venturing out to a cool destination, they use their time off to visit their families.… Read the full article
Creative process: Get to Aha!
Write better, easier & faster with this 5-step system
Have you ever come up with a brilliant idea — on the way home from the brainstorming meeting?… Read the full article
Adjectives can sell
‘Applewood-smoked bacon’ just tastes better
Turns out a Southwestern Tex-Mex salad by any other name would not taste as good.
Vivid menu descriptions — “applewood-smoked bacon,” “Maytag blue cheese” and “buttery plump pasta,” for instance — can increase restaurant sales up to 27 percent, according to research by Brian Wansink.… Read the full article
Incubation in action
If all else fails, run out of gas
When George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum had worked at the White House for about a week, he got an assignment to write a speech alerting the country that a serious recession was about to begin.… Read the full article
3 ways to explore
Tips for foraging from the author of IdeaSpotting
Einstein used to spend 55 minutes exploring for every five minutes he spent coming up with ideas, says Sam Harrison, the author of IdeaSpotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea.… Read the full article
Play twister
Four steps to twist of phrase
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
— Jack London, American author and adventurer
Some people are natural-born phrase twisters.… Read the full article
Metaphor at work
6 reasons analogy is more persuasive than literal language
Metaphor is more persuasive than literal language: It’s been proven in the lab.
Make that 41 labs over more than 50 years.… Read the full article
How readers process metaphors
People feel good when they figure analogies out
When readers encounter a metaphor, scholars believe, they:
- Process the literal meaning
- Analyze whether the literal meaning makes sense
- See the glitch in that meaning
- Seek the metaphorical meaning when the literal meaning doesn’t make sense
Some of the power of metaphor comes from readers’ pleasure or relief at figuring out the metaphorical meaning, researchers believe.… Read the full article