Someone asked me this week about the case for reading fiction (as opposed to science, politics, more weighty genres), and my answer is always the same: stories are how we fuel our ability to make change. And it doesn't really matter if you're reading something that's true in the sense of having happened to real … Continue reading The Value of a Good Story
Category: Writing Principles
Storytime
I'm an organizer for my local 1 Million Cups community, and I find myself often repeating the same advice in our weekly meetings: starting with the simple question: what's your story? Several of our organizers are language experts, and we've come to think of ourselves as the Story Folk (I'm trying to make Story Squad … Continue reading Storytime
Finding Your Type
Writing for our businesses can be overwhelming, whether or not we think of ourselves as writers in any other context. Sometimes it's even the last thing I find energy for because I'm more focused on writing for my clients--and I won't find energy for it at all if I don't have a clear motivating goal. … Continue reading Finding Your Type
Let’s Be Less nice in the Workplace
Hang on, hang on. Stick with me. I'm not advocating for rudeness, meanness, or disrespect. But I think the emphasis on nice (over, say, kind or clear) can get in the way of effective communication--and reinforce some pretty awful power systems in the process. For instance, one of my current clients has explicitly asked me … Continue reading Let’s Be Less nice in the Workplace
Bot Bloviation
I have a friend: I may have once called him a robot bootlicker, but here let's call him Bob. It's not uncommon for other friends to mention AI near Bob and I...and then bust out popcorn. I want to tell you a story about Bob's failure to produce an AI story. Bob is a member … Continue reading Bot Bloviation
The forever undead five-paragraph essay
Close your eyes. Picture one of your middle school English teachers handing you a sheet of paper to prepare for an upcoming essay. It has a series of fill-in-the-blank lines that you've seen before, adding up to a series of five short paragraphs. With me? Cool. Now let's crumple that handout, throw it in a … Continue reading The forever undead five-paragraph essay
Is The AI Assisting?
The short answer: sometimes. AI can certainly streamline our generative creativity, and help us move on our ideas faster and with less executive function expense. But...it can't replace us just yet. Take, for instance, the new built-in AI feature for WordPress sites like this one--which I noticed while moving through the final posting checklist on … Continue reading Is The AI Assisting?
Putting your Face on, Rhetorically Speaking
When I was small, I thought "putting my face on" was my aunt's term for applying makeup. What I didn't understand was the role that morning ritual played in helping my aunt prepare her private self for public consumption; putting her face on meant she was moving through familiar steps to create a space between … Continue reading Putting your Face on, Rhetorically Speaking
CTrl-F, Then What?
Ok, you've identified some comfort words and developed a habit of searching for them as part of your revision and cleanup process. So you can find them. Now what? Like most strong writing habits, shifting the reliance on the same old thought placeholders depends on your understanding your own contexts a bit more fully. But … Continue reading CTrl-F, Then What?
When to Break the Rules
Most of the time, I actively work against my impulse to correct every language mistake I see in public because I don't work for free Most English grammar rules are contextual at best And rooted in oppressive power structures at worst It's just really annoying and usually not welcome enough to be helpful I am … Continue reading When to Break the Rules
Something Polished 