One of my memories of primary school was the start-the-week ritual known as ‘the morning talk’. I assume that the objective of the morning talk was to help build social confidence among the five, six, and seven-year-olds – a sort … Continue reading
The recent passing of Ray Columbus reminded me of a friend of mine who used to wander about singing one of Ray’s greatest hits: Cheese ‘Em Off. ‘Cheese ‘em off, cheese ‘em off, cheese ‘em off. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. … Continue reading
I began my writing career writing advertising copy, press releases, and short stories. After a couple of years, I added radio plays to my repertoire. After a further five or six years, I started writing opinion pieces for a couple … Continue reading
As a friend of mine is wont to remind me from time to time: whether you are seeking to inform or persuade, it’s not what the writer puts in; it’s what the reader takes out. More years ago than I … Continue reading
Is there anything that business executives can learn from professional writers, people who write for their living? I think there is. Professional writers know that unless their writing is engaging, a lot of the people who read the first paragraph … Continue reading
Like many sailors, I learned to sail in a small one-sailed dinghy. I say that ‘I learned to sail’ rather than ‘I was taught to sail’ because the chap who I thought was going to teach me to sail simply … Continue reading
When I first started writing for a living, one of the senior sub-editors took me to one side and gave me his ‘new boy chat’. ‘Most people’s writing is heavily influenced by their reading,’ he said. ‘So read widely, but … Continue reading
Writing well is all about making decisions. In a sense, you begin by deciding on your first word. Although, in practice, most writers begin by deciding on their first sentence. Then you decide what follows those first few words. And … Continue reading
An old friend died recently. His death wasn’t unexpected; he was nudging 90 and he had been unwell for almost two years. As a young man he had survived The Great Depression and The Second World War, and, despite coming … Continue reading
In the English language, the meaning of words often changes with time. It seems that it has always been thus. When I was growing up utilise generally meant to make use of something which might otherwise have been lost or … Continue reading