Category Archives: Flair & Finesse

Throw off Three Shackles

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Norm Friedman

  Contrary to what we might have been instructed in school––or what we think we were instructed––we are allowed to begin sentences with And, But, and Because. Here are examples of correct sentences that make good use of these under-employed beginnings: And we lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Punctuation Errors, Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment

The Math of Writing

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Do you ever think a writing task is going to take about 20 minutes, and it winds up clocking in at 40? Frustrating, huh? Especially because those 40 minutes probably involved a lot of maddening rearranging of text until you … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment

Beware of the Cliché Drawer

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Have you ever noticed how many TV news stories open with “It’s a (fill in the blank)’s worst nightmare”? A parent’s worst nightmare. A locksmith’s worst nightmare. A mime’s worst nightmare. I certainly don’t want to trivialize a parent’s heartache, … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone | Leave a comment

“I Got (Choppy) Rhythm”

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Did a teacher or professor ever say your writing was choppy––but you had no idea how to cure that malady? When you review an important item you’re about to send to your boss or a client, perhaps by reading it … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone | Leave a comment

Writing Lessons from the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Dorothy’s fellow travelers in The Wizard of Oz can remind us of of three business writing priorities that will command reader attention and separate us from the pack. A Heart.  The Tin Man was looking for a heart, and each … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone | Leave a comment

Using Twain’s “Very” Fine Advice

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Mark Twain doled out the following writing advice: “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it, and the writing will be just as it should be.” For me, his droll quote contains two takeaways. … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment

Writing and The Emperor’s New Clothes

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Norm Friedman

When you read something fairly impenetrable––or just too formal for your taste––do you ever feel like the innocent child in Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of the emperor and his elegant but “invisible” new clothes? The child proclaimed what was apparent … Continue reading →

Posted in Flair & Finesse, Tone | Leave a comment

Don’t Stumble at the Start

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Norm Friedman

Seeing as this is my debut blog, let’s stick with the theme of beginnings and expose a false start to many sentences. “There is no there there,” the poet Gertrude Stein once famously sniped, referring to Oakland, California––probably only because … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Grammar Errors, Common Punctuation Errors, Flair & Finesse | Leave a comment