Simple words explaining complex ideas
A dictionary of ways to avoid annoying readers Early in the pandemic, many of my friends laughed when they heard their partners talk in zoom meetings for work. One friend said, “I didn’t know they were bilingual.” It turned out my friend’s partner was fluent in Management Speak. On zoom, they engaged stakeholders in paradigm-shifting…
Frustrated by your spell-checker? Learn to laugh at those squiggly red lines under our Canadianisms. Whether you’re a Canadian writer or someone who comes-from-away writing about us, you need to know these spellings and vocabulary unique to canucks (the people, not the hockey team). We start with a combination of British and American spellings. Then we mix…
I’ve spent years advising people to declutter their life because it will enhance their ability to focus. Clear away the nonsense and you’re left with what really matters, right? I started out this pandemic with heartbreak about a writing and yoga retreat I’d looked forward to for months. As I realized it would need to…
I’m a wannabe-minimalist living a simple, happy life without clutter [see: Every single thing I post]. I choose my excesses with joy [see: ALL THE PENS!] and my favourite is ... Words. I write words, play with words, copy words, read words, think in words. I fit words into crossword puzzles, I study words in…
I drafted a post about needing a user manual for my house. A few neurons connected and it became a metaphor for me needing a user manual, for me. My house is over a hundred years old. The exact date of its construction unknown, the kids and I held a birthday party for its centennial…
I did a thing. A fabulous impulsive thing I'm so glad about! I didn't set out to do the thing, but it was meant to be. I gave them my money - threw all sorts of money at them - and got an email saying thanks, things fill up quickly so we'll get back to…
Want to get your message across better? You don’t need specialized editing or grammar software, you can tighten up your written work with any word processing program. I’m getting lots of editing work these days (could be because my answer to those requests is always YES PLEASE! MORE! MORE!) and thought I would share my simple…