Reader Writer Topic There are three players in a piece of writing – the writer, the topic and the reader (as in the triangle above). Two of these dominate in any piece of writing, and which two should influence the types of words used. Why? Because usage of certain words can enable you the writer to influence your reader – what they know about and think of the topic, their...
Read MoreI did a couple of courses on writing recently, which may sound rather strange and unnecessary for me, as a writer – but they were from a linguistics perspective (given by Dr Michael Kranert). Here are a few things I found interesting: Men and women … they use language differently Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus. Maybe, or maybe not … but the book points out they use language differently: Clearly, language and communities...
Read MoreGREAT writing tips below, from an article ‘Take the First Step’ by the novelist and professor of creative writing, Colum McCann (The Guardian, 13 May 2017) – relevant for writing non-fiction as well as fiction. Your first line ‘It should plunge your reader into something urgent, interesting, informative. It should move your story, your poem, your play, forward. It should whisper in your readers’ ear that...
Read MoreThe paragraphs below explain each of the main types of punctuation. But the punctuation is missing. By doing this exercise you will therefore learn not only where and what type of punctuation to use, but also get practice in using it. My suggested answers are given at the foot of the blog. Commas are used in lists of things to clarify meaning after introductory words and phrases like however (at the start or mid-sentence) when providing...
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Emails are great… but because of where and how we use them, it is easy to make mistakes. Read on for may advice. Don’t let emails be a P-E-S-T P ressure of workplaces makes us over hasty when sending emails – or not check and work, and therefore make mistakes. E motions are hard to convey in text, and can easily be misread by readers who don’t know us etc. So, don’t email when annoyed, nor late at night/end of...
Read MoreGetting the right tone of voice/writing style is an essential part of writing … Here is an exercise to help you with your writing. How would you describe these writing styles – there are some prompts below? (They are all the very start of real reports, although I tinkered with the first one.) Secondly, what factors influence your decision, and influence a writing’s tone of voice? Keep reading. There is a surprise right at...
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