Book Review: The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth – Part 1

Mark Forsyth is the witty and effervescent writer of several books on the history of language, etymology and linguistics. The Elements of Eloquence explains the timeless art of crafting memorable one liners. In other words, the rules of classical rhetoric.   This is a great guide for writers who want to master the subtle artContinue reading “Book Review: The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth – Part 1”

Book Review – Word to the Wise by Mark Broatch

Although I am an experienced writer, sometimes I get it wrong, either through laziness, tiredness or ignorance. The first two are under my control which is why I tend to circle back the day after I write, to re-edit professional work before I send it out. I’m the first to admit that I make mistakes.Continue reading “Book Review – Word to the Wise by Mark Broatch”

Finding the flow with writing and polishing a raw piece of meat into a powerful monster

I recently began a course with one of the most famed writers in the world teaching creative writing. I already know things, having studied creative writing years ago, however at the time I had zero confidence in my abilities. So I languished for a while in a corpo doing finance admin after my degree –Continue reading “Finding the flow with writing and polishing a raw piece of meat into a powerful monster”

Twenty Two of the Most Dirty Sounding Non-dirty Words in the English Language

Although akin to smutty words, this collection of innocent-until-proven-otherwise words come from a forum post on Reddit. I hope you enjoy them and can contribute your own slightly smutty sounding words to the list. If you find your skin crawling a little bit then refrain from using them or at least think of this sillyContinue reading “Twenty Two of the Most Dirty Sounding Non-dirty Words in the English Language”

Seven Curiously Contrarian Words in the English Language

Some words in English inexplicably have a defined meaning and then also mean the exact opposite of that meaning. These are known as contronyms or Janus words – the latter derived from the Roman god of beginnings and endings, often depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions). 1.Sanction To give official permission or approvalContinue reading “Seven Curiously Contrarian Words in the English Language”

Free Storytelling Tool Demonstrates Game of Thrones Map

Geo-located map apps are fun to make and fun for the audience to engage with. These storytelling tools have huge potential when the story is map-based. StoryMap can implement multimedia, text and interactivity along with location relevance. StoryMapJS is the brainchild of Northerwestern Univeristy Knight Lab and is a digital storyteller’s dream. To demonstrate it’sContinue reading “Free Storytelling Tool Demonstrates Game of Thrones Map”