Codebreakers and Editors: Not So Different

Some of you may recall that my paternal grandmother was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during World War II. Well, today would have been her 95th birthday, and I’ve written a little something in her honour. One thing we had in common was a love of the theatre.

Loaded Language: When Words Become Weapons

The last few months have been busy. I went on holiday, became the Managing Editor of a Canadian medical journal, spoke at an editing conference, landed a bunch of new clients, and brought home an Alaskan Malamute puppy. Busy might just be an understatement.

*dusts page, removes cobwebs from corners* 

Plain Language Practice. With Zombies!

I’ve been reading through some plain language resources over the last couple of days, which has inspired me to create a few before and after examples just for you. Before I get to the examples, a reminder that the goal of plain language is to make communication clear and accessible. For a full review of how plain language accomplishes that, you can read my post from last year, Getting to the Heart of Plain Language — or visit Plain Language Association International.

The Enigma of Editing. Or, What Exactly Does An Editor Do, Anyway?

Well, I’m not entirely sure how it got to be 2016, but here we are just the same. I’ve been contemplating my first post of the year for a while. I talk about grammar and etymology a lot, but I realized that I haven’t talked about editing very much. So today, I’d like to tell you a bit about the work that I do as an editor.

For starters, did you know that there are different types of editing?

Experimenting with Auto-antonyms and Generonyms

Excuse me while I dust the cobwebs off my blog and straighten the furniture.

I know it’s been a while since I posted, and I have to confess that I’ve been so busy that all the creativity seeped out of my brain to take a nap on the floor under my desk.

Getting to the Heart of Plain Language

Can you believe it’s nearly the end of July? I hope you are all having a lovely summer (or winter for those of you in the southern hemisphere). You probably don’t know this, but I’m a member of Plain Language Association International. Plain language is all about clear communication. It’s a way of writing and presenting information that makes it easy for readers to understand.