Remaining at Attention for a Writing Seminar
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I was a featured speaker yesterday at the Boeing Military Aircraft communications team meeting in Arlington, Va., appearing on the agenda under “writing seminar.” Talk about a challenge! I followed an Admiral and then a panel of journalists (Bloomberg, Aviation Week, Flight International), taking the stage just before the afternoon break.
The talk seemed to be well-received and they even stayed awake! As promised here are a few links from the workshop:
The Readability Tool, by David Simpson — drop in your copy, click on the box and you’ll see an instant analysis of Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Score and more.
We talked about writing “snack sized” copy and using PitchEngine as a tool to create press releases in a format that delivers information in easy to read bits and pieces.
On Facebook, these groups are worth tracking to keep up on discussions about grammar: Association of National Advertisers (ANA); Good Grammar is Hot; and I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar.
Twitter is an excellent source for keeping up on the topic. A few I follow: @AdvicetoWriters; @Quotes4Writers; @GrammarGirl; @APStylebook; @GrammarMonkeys; @johnemcintyre
Finally, I have been a fan of Grammar Girl since its (not it’s) launch a few years ago. Listen to Mignon Fogarty’s “Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing” podcast and read this excellent guest post on her blog, by Julie Wildhaber, on “How to Write Clear Sentences.”
