“Read, read, read. Read everything–trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write.” - William Faulkner Thanks to everyone who helped us select reading quotes for our bookmarks. How does reading help improve your writing?
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Category Archives: Writing Tips
As our business grows, we need a better way track our sales efforts. We need a Customer Relationship Management system CRM, right? But which one? There are hundreds to choose from. Since I’m busy and the internet is a vast library of excellent resources, I joined a couple of LinkedIn sales groups and asked the
Does writing fatigue you? If you’re like most people, the answer is yes. You’re not tired because of any physical exertion, since writing is sedentary, but rather from mental exertion resulting from having to make multiple, constant decisions. Roy Baumeister and John Tierney in Willpower call this phenomena decision fatigue. They explain that people who
The difference between writing to an internal reader and an external reader is the difference between being at home with your family and being with company. Chances are you’re mostly the same, with some small but important differences. The differences Keep your process to yourself and share results only. A client looking for help doesn’t
Are you suffering from email overload? Abuse? We hear about your pain wherever we go. We can train you how to write effective emails and practice email etiquette. To really make our advice stick, we recommend you create your own email protocol. It’s easy to do. Time required: Ten to fifteen minutes Size and kind
I recently lost my kid brother in a fatal bicycle accident. He’s left a terrible hole in my life—please please please make sure anyone you love wears a helmet. I’ve been thinking of all the ways he inspired me, especially in the early days when I was creating this business. Back in 1996 he was
Lots of good writers have difficulty with homophones—words that sound alike, but have different meanings and spelling. Hear and here is one example—there are lots more. The problem with homophones is that while your spell checker will flag a word that is spelled incorrectly, it isn’t nearly as good at flagging a word that’s spelled
In 2002, when I first joined Bruner Business Communication, keeping up with email outside of the office didn’t exist. (Email itself was still fairly new.) There were no Blackberries, WiFi, or 3G to make it possible. In ten short years, it has become not only possible but acceptable to check and respond to email while
I call it “the Lavalife construction.” If you’ve been on a dating site in the last ten years, you’ll know what I mean: “I’m as comfortable in high heels, as I am in my running shoes.” “I look as good in a suit, as I do in a pair of jeans.” “I love to walk
Last month I had the pleasure of taking our newest course, Freewriting for Business, on its maiden voyage. I designed the course with this principle to guide me: by the end of the two days, I wanted participants to see how different writing could be if they relax into it, how enjoyable, delightful, even therapeutic.
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