Brain gym - contranyms are synonym-antonyms

Did your alarm go 'off' this morning before you turned it 'off'? And is anyone 'left' at your party after the others have 'left' the party?

If you love language, you probably know about synonyms and antonyms - words that are similar and words that are opposite. Did you know that words can be synonyms and antonyms at the same time? Have a look at these contranyms  in mental_floss.

Clarity... and the words you can't say out loud

There are loads of very precise words around, but we can’t always use them. Clarity is the goal. It’s no use looking like an expert with your technical terminology if your audience doesn’t understand what you’re saying.

See the post from Johnson that got us thinking about this.

There’s a word for it — but you can’t use it

When it comes to creative writing, know the rules of writing before you break them

Do the rules of good writing apply to creative writing? Surely creative writing is the complete opposite of information writing, with its focus on structure and clarity? 

In some ways, that’s true. When it comes to creativity, anything goes. The only real criterion of successful creative writing is whether anyone wants to read it. Does it work for the reader? If you can attract readers to your page of ungrammatical blank verse, good for you.

It’s the same in any art form. Who hasn’t looked at a famous piece of modern art, with a minimal painted squiggle or primitive-looking blobs of colour, and thought ‘my 3-year-old could draw that’?

Be careful. A good artist or writer really knows their craft. They know how to reduce complex ideas into something that seems deceptively simple. Simplicity in writing is hard to do well, because it often distils many ideas down to their essence. To do that, you have to understand the rules of writing. Once you know the rules, you can be free to break them—but it should be a conscious choice.

I came upon a useful explanation of how and why rules apply to creative writing in an interview Script Magazine did with Joseph McBride, a well known screenwriter in the United States. McBride teaches screenwriting at San Francisco State University, and has written successfully for film and television.

Here’s what he said:

‘Even though, in an important sense, creative writing doesn’t have ‘rules,’ writing without any knowledge of the rules of good English prose, the rules of grammar and sentence structure, is a guarantee of muddled, messy writing. There’s a frequent misconception among students that it’s not ‘creative’ to learn the rules of good writing. Those students’ writing is often merely free-form indulgence. Discipline is essential to any genuinely creative writing. You have to know what you are doing and where you are going. Otherwise it’s just scattershot, and the story falls apart on the page. If you can’t write grammatically correct prose, your writing will lack clarity, and the reader will become exasperated in trying to follow or figure out what you might be trying to say. My screenwriter friend Sam Hamm says the first job of a screenwriter is ‘to keep the reader’s eye moving down the page.’

Well said, Joseph. Any good writing, creative or not, has to meet the needs of its reader, or they simply won’t read it. And then all that creativity goes to waste.

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves

Martin J Eppler, PhD, an American expert in clear communications, said:

‘In today’s attention economy, clear communication is the decisive factor to being heard and understood. Leaving this factor to chance is a risk that no organisation can afford.’

We agree.

He has written about how to achieve clear communication in CW Bulletin, the magazine of the International Association of Business Communicators.

Read his article Examples and tools for clear communication.

Stormy forecast for plain language

How do you make specialised subjects accessible to a non-specialised audience? How do you convey technical information with clarity and precision, in a way that the layperson can understand?

We're often asked these sorts of questions. And it doesn't take long before someone brings up the perennial charge of 'plain language = dumbing down'.

But we think making your language clear is 'smartening up'!

A recent post by Skyler Goldman on the American Meteorological Society blog wonders if the messages about such topics as climate change are getting through. 'Making more scientific work available to the public in plain language would increase awareness.'

Read the full post here: http://blog.ametsoc.org/uncategorized/making-the-public-aware-of-the-science/

Better not read this if you're a vampire

Sandra Fisher-Martins is at it again. This time she's found a great article about information design and blood test results. Take a look -- you'll be inspired to ask for clearly presented lab reports next time you go to the doctor.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_bloodwork/all/1

Clarity Conference 2010 - Portugal

While Anne-Marie is in Portugal, I'll be posting the blogs she sends.

Clarity 2010 - Day one

The first day of the Clarity 2010 conference has gone very well. We have seen some fascinating presentations on everything from explanations of world water footprints using information design to resources on disaster preparedness.

Other highlights were the latest report from the international plain language working group, updates on what's happening in places as diverse as Sweden, Brazil, and South Africa, and commentary on language used during the global financial crisis.

Our small New Zealand delegation is making the most of the opportunity to talk to people from around the world, sharing our experience and learning from others.

And our hosts from Portugues Claro are doing a fabulous job of providing translations for all sessions, catering with delicious food and coffee, and greeting every request with a smile.

The conference venue is the Universidade Nova de Lisboa with its award winning backdrop of Lisbon and wonderfully mild weather and you have the perfect setting for an international conference!