We pay attention to and remember puns, alliteration A hand shoots up in my Make Your Copy More Creative workshop. "But," the communicator says, "don't you risk confusing people with wordplay?" Well … yes, you do. And that's part of the point. When readers encounter wordplay, they first try on the literal meaning of the words. When that doesn't work, … [Read more...] about Your brain on wordplay
Readability
Color bind
Yes, Communicator, you can make your copy more colorful How can scanning old news headlines, getting a quick education from Wikipedia or asking your BFF and research assistant Google a question or two save a boring story? By helping you add concrete detail to your message in 30 minutes or less. One of my favorite editing assignments is to turn dry, abstract message … [Read more...] about Color bind
How is editing like closet tidying?
Audition your words to go in, not out When Lynn Wylie, aka Best Sister Ever, sent me an Unfancy blog post arguing that all you need to look great every day is a capsule wardrobe of 37 items per season, I scoffed. After all, Dear Reader, Aunt Ann is a maximalist. I love Jessica Harper's quote in Pennies From Heaven: "It's not the money; it's the stuff!" My jewelry … [Read more...] about How is editing like closet tidying?
Shatter the pyramid
Another communicator takes on the feature Too many communicators married the inverted pyramid when they were 19, have made a lot of triangular babies and have remained monogamous for all these years. Problem is, the traditional news structure doesn't work well with humans. But Janelle Davis, for one, has started to flirt around with other structures. During my Catch … [Read more...] about Shatter the pyramid
Big stories, tiny words
The Times' word length averages 4.9 characters When I recommend to my clients that they limit their word length to 5 characters per word, they roll their eyes and chortle. But when I tell them I know they can do it, because The New York Times does it every day, they sit up and take note. (The Wall Street Journal also accomplishes this feat, day after day, rarely rubbing … [Read more...] about Big stories, tiny words