Bad Language

Writing about writing

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Me want: HP Windows 7 Slate

Mar 12, 2010 8:00am

I’m a sucker for small, ultraportable PCs. I am the proud owner of an Toshiba Libretto 70CT, OQO, HP95, Newton, Sony Vaio P11z, HP 2133, Kindle and an iPhone (my third). The iPad left me feeling a bit ‘so what’. Too big, too limited. But now I’ve spotted a new...

Significant, substantial, meaningful and unique: words to avoid

Mar 11, 2010 8:30am

Tim Phillips’s analysis of press releases on Factiva shows a worrying trend. The number of press releases that contain the words ‘significant’, ‘substantial’, ‘meaningful’ and ‘unique’ in the same text has nearly trebled in the last seven years. Something should be done. I don’t really understand how writers get away...

Free Articulate Seminars: learn, share, drink tea

Mar 9, 2010 11:14am

WHAT Free half-day seminars with Matthew Stibbe, writer-in-chief at Articulate Marketing. I want to help you get the most from your marketing copy: Print – writing for case studies, press releases and marketing collateral Online – writing for websites, blogs and social media WHY Make your marketing more effective Get better work from your agencies and suppliers...

New blog features – popular posts, comment love

Mar 9, 2010 4:31am

There are more than 600 posts on this site and hundreds of comments. I’d like to build on this so I’ve added some new features to Bad Language: A Popular Posts page that shows the top five posts in each category. It updates automatically, to reflect the latest visitor stats. Improved social...

Why do deadlines work?

Mar 8, 2010 10:25am

I’m reading Max Hastings Finest Yearsand there’s a lovely quote in there: “An Englishman’s mind works best when it is almost too late.” It’s the same for writers. But I wonder why? This is a slightly different problem from the one I discussed in November which involves doing stuff at the...

LEGO Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

Mar 4, 2010 8:13am

It’s a real shame that this Podbrix set has sold out. I want one. I particularly like the LEGO Space Odyssey calendar and the LEGO Apple II. Perhaps I should go get some LEGO for my birthday; it’s been a while. (Hat tip: Mashable.) Related posts:Awesome LEGO battleship Why I capitalise LEGO My...

Why hide your prices? The perils of writing about money.

Mar 2, 2010 9:02am

Most of my clients are very reluctant to talk about the prices of their products and services. On the other hand, it’s something that readers really want to know. I’m not making this up. Readers expect price information. This is why journalists and reviewers always give prices. Look at any...

The best plays in London – Jerusalem and Twelfth Night

Feb 25, 2010 1:42am

I went to see Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre on Tuesday night and Twelfth Night at the Bridewell theatre on Wednesday lunchtime. I recommend them both. Jerusalem was outstanding. Mark Rylance delivered a precise, compelling and surprisingly physical performance in the lead role of Rooster Byron. His character combines...

Twitters tweet for the Twitterati

Feb 24, 2010 12:29am

Nielsen, a market research company finds, reports that the heavy Twitter users make up 7 percent of the Twitter audience but spend 70 percent of the total time devoted to Twitter by the audience as a whole. In other words, it’s a whorehouse where the whores screw each other and...

Kindle and Stanza: great ways for writers to read more

Feb 18, 2010 3:56am

If you want to be a great writer, be a great reader. There are lots of ways to improve your writing but mindfully reading other people’s work is one of the most pleasurable and effective. This is why I love my new Kindle. It lets me keep a portable library of...