Creative writing

Romance meets finance in this feature

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

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

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

‘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