by Pernickety Kate | Sep 28, 2018 | Editing, Words, Writing skills
Everybody’s different. We can see people’s uniqueness in their clothes, their hairstyle, their accent, their hobbies or pets. And that individuality extends to their writing. I currently have an editing job involving lots of technical documents, destined to be part of... by Pernickety Kate | Sep 6, 2018 | Editing, Words, Writing skills
If you’re writing for your business – on your website, flyers, or other promotional material – there’s a harsh truth you need to know about your readers: they’re selfish. So are you; so am I. What we’re all thinking when reading business blurb is: “What’s in it for... by Pernickety Kate | Feb 15, 2018 | Editing, Words, Writing skills
“Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!” Even when not watching Cabaret, we’d all be happy to be greeted with these words, wouldn’t we? Such harmless pleasantry – what could possibly be wrong with treating customers like this? Well, in some contexts, nothing at all. At the... by Pernickety Kate | Jan 26, 2018 | Punctuation, Spelling, Words
Some words behave weirdly – and not just the fancy ones that few people understand. Here’s a collection of the first few that sprang to mind (as seen originally on my Facebook page). Weird Word of the Week #1: COMPLIMENT (and related words). Weird... by Pernickety Kate | Dec 13, 2017 | Editing, Words, Writing skills
Warning: this blog is interactive. It contains suggestions which some readers may find embarrassing. But to help you to be clear with your message, it’s worth having a go. It’s about the power of short words and phrases – what some call ‘plain English’. In an earlier... by Pernickety Kate | Oct 1, 2017 | Editing, Grammar, Proofreading, Words
If that headline is bothering you, you won’t be alone. This blog post is about language change that is sometimes uncomfortable – specifically, the use of jargon. The aim is to help you become more comfortable with it, or at least more understanding! I...