Can you tell a story in just six words?
You may have heard the tale of how, in the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a complete story in just six words. He wrote: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." He won the bet and often referred to the story as his best work ever.
Want punchier writing? Don’t bury your verbs
Nominalisation is one of our pet hates. It's also one of the commonest ways in which writing falls down.
Do you really need all those words?
This month's writing tip is about less is more. Literally. It's about using fewer words to communicate more clearly and effectively.
Say no to the splice
Commas are a really useful writing tool. You could compare them to taking a breath when writing a sentence. However, it's easy to go over the top and use them incorrectly.
Take a rain check on the clichés
Office-speak and clichés are so well established, it’s easy to play buzzword bingo in management meetings. It’s less difficult to spot in writing, but a very easy habit to fall into.
Use your comma sense
Ever felt guilty for using a comma before ‘and’? Who can forget the mantra of English teachers: you don’t need a comma before ‘and’. Well guess what. They were wrong.
Don’t believe the myths
This month's writing tip is based on one of our mantras: don’t believe the myths. A lot of so-called grammar rules are actually fusty old school rules that aimed to homogenise the English language. (Usually enforced with a cane.)
Think before you write
As anyone who's been to one our writing training courses knows, one of the key tenets of good writing is only to use as many words as you need.