I’m a little tired of reading about successful people who rise and write for hours before daybreak. How about you? I’m filled with admiration for their work ethic and discipline. But it’s not my process, nor is it necessarily yours. And for reasons grounded in neuroscience, waking early to write might work against you. Writing first […]
Write on, Sisters! A Book Review and Interview
If you’re a woman who wants to write a book, or if you want to support a woman on this path, pick up a copy of Write On, Sisters! Voice, Courage, and Claiming Your Place at the Table by Brooke Warner. Brooke Warner has spent 15 years publishing books by women authors, first at Seal […]
Writing with Confidence About Uncertainty
Strategies for using indirect language patterns with intention When writing to communicate expertise and authority, you want to avoid language that makes you seem uncertain. My previous post here described indirect speech patterns that make you seem less confident or knowledgeable when they creep into your written words. However, indirect speech isn’t all bad. Indirect […]
Speech Patterns that Threaten Authority in Writing
Indirect speech is one way that we communicate politeness, willingness to collaborate, modesty, and other worthy attributes when we speak with each other. Despite the American love of “getting right to the point,” people who always speak directly may sound brusque, impatient, or rude. However, indirect language patterns often read differently in print. In writing, […]
Polite or Pushover? Indirect Speech in Business Writing
If you send business emails, write blogs in a professional capacity, otherwise write in a professional context, I think this might be a really important topic for you you should read this post. Indirectness. Copyeditors will find it and delete it. Writing coaches give you grief about it. My online course on revision includes a […]
Talking from 9 to 5: A Book Review
Short Version: In this fascinating book, Deborah Tannen explores how mismatched conversational styles affect women and men in the workplace. I highly recommend it for writers, as well as anyone who works with other people. Long Version: We each develop certain conversational habits and styles during our lives. The words we use when speaking reflect […]
