Writing workshops, communication consulting and writing services
When the Federal Trade Commission needed to explain why the agency has decided not to develop a do-not-spam registry — officials feared that spammers would target people on the list — a spokesperson said:
You’ve got to love that sound bite!… Read the full article
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
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
My grandma and namesake, Annie B. Vrana, was an Oklahoma farm woman and one of the most colorful people I’ve known.… Read the full article
Ogilvy was right.
If you want someone to buy what you’re selling — whether you’re pitching products and services or positions and ideas — you must first engage them.… Read the full article
The sound your’re hearing in that Oscar Wilde quote is called balance. Also known as parallelism, balance works because of the rub between similarity and difference.… Read the full article
It’s been compared to The Sopranos. Before its debut, it ranked No. 1 on iTunes. When its first season was over, fans couldn’t remember what people do who aren’t listening to it.… Read the full article
To create balance, you might:
| Start with your original idea | Repeat and reverse |
| It was the best of times | It was the worst of times |
| It was the age of wisdom | It was the age of foolishness |
| It was the epoch of belief | It was the epoch of incredulity |
| It was the season of Light | It was the season of Darkness |
| It was the spring of hope | It was the winter of despair |
Have you tried Wordoid? This cool tool is designed to help you find a catchy name for your business by auto-creating new words.… Read the full article
Beware adverbs, counsels The Poynter Institute’s Roy Peter Clark.
Too often, they dilute the meaning of the verb or repeat it: “The building was completely destroyed.”
Instead, of using adverbs to intensify meaning, Clark suggests, use them to change meaning.… Read the full article
