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Writing style

Annoying words and phrases that are best avoided

Annoying words and phrases

I have written about clichés in a previous blog but there are some words and phrases that are just as annoying as clichés. Clichés at least have the distinction of once being original — it’s their overuse that makes them

Chris 05/26/202005/26/2020 Writing style No Comments Read more

Titles – tips on how to write an attention-grabbing title

Titles

Good titles are the best way of grabbing the attention of your audience. Have you ever been drawn to a book in a bookshop, an article in a magazine or a blog on a website by its title? Or, have you ever rejected

Chris 01/19/2018 Writing style No Comments Read more

Cinquains – what are they and how do you write one?

cinquains

My blog on six-word memoirs is all about brevity and and so continuing with this theme let me introduce you to the world of cinquains. What is a cinquain? A cinquain (pronounced sin-cain) comes from the Latin for five and

Chris 01/18/201801/18/2018 Writing style No Comments Read more

Develop your own writing style

Develop your own writing style

As a new or inexperienced writer you probably haven’t given much thought to your own writing style. You are probably just relieved to get something down on paper and the last thing on your mind is what style you are writing in.

Chris 11/22/2017 Writing style No Comments Read more

What are idioms and should you use them?

What are idioms and should you use them

What are idioms and should you use them in your writing? The Cambridge Dictionary definition of idioms is ‘a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on

Chris 11/21/2017 Writing style No Comments Read more

Why you should avoid clichés like the plague

Why you should avoid clichés

Clichés are words and phrases that have been used so often they have ceased to have much impact. When they were first written they may have been original and colourful but overuse has guaranteed that they are now anything but.

Chris 11/21/201711/21/2017 Writing style No Comments Read more

Never use a long word where a short one will do

Never use a long word where a short one will do

A mistake some new or less experienced writers make is to believe that if they want to appear clever they should avoid short words and use long, pretentious words or phrases which are not part of their normal vocabulary. But you

Chris 11/21/2017 Writing style 2 Comments Read more

Recent Posts

  • Planning an oral history interview – how to get started
  • The oral tradition of storytelling and its role in history
  • What’s in a name? How your surname can connect you to the past
  • Take a closer look at photos to create memorable stories
  • Commonly confused and misused words in the English language
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