Wait, "sports" and "literature?" You bet your seventh inning stretch. As sports journalist Robinson Holloway explains, "Sport in general attracts superior writers, and great sporting events, with athletes achieving levels of excellence beyond expectation, have for many years provided the fodder for thrilling and poignant works of literature." Robison should know: She's been the ESPN/ABC Sports Editorial Advisor for golf telecasts for the past decade and before that a freelance sportswriter with 3,000 stories under her cleats. Here are her recommendations for great sports lit:  Continue reading...

"So many news articles are the same; only the names are changed," writes the website The Morning News. Their wry solution? A tongue-in-cheek template for harried newshounds covering subculture. All you do is fill in the blanks. Check it out here.

Will Berger knows opera. The author of four acclaimed books on the subject, his most recent is Puccini Without Excuses. And when he's not writing about this grand musical tradition, he's talking about it on the radio as a voice of New York's hallowed Metropolitan Opera. So how does Will connect with his audience about a subject that can be, well, a tad intimidating? We had a fascinating conversation with him about language in the world of the opera:  Continue reading...

We recently came across a terrific post on flip charts on the always-enlightening Presentation Zen blog. Flip charts? Yes, friends, in this PowerPoint-addled world of ours, the quaint, down-to-earth flip chart harbors untapped powers you just might want to harness in your next presentation. These websites show you how to get the most out of this oft-overlooked communications tool:

Using Flip Charts

Flip Charts: Low Tech Powerhouses

Make the Most of Flip Charts

11 Tips for Using Flip Charts

Basic Flip Chart Guidelines

If you're a copywriter or corporate communicator, you've been trained to not use the same words or phrases repeatedly in your copy. If you did, someone -- your boss or editor -- would strike the offending words as being repetitive, wordy, or even boring. As a writer, you're supposed to use your creativity, knowledge of the language, and intellect to craft beautifully written copy.

Imagine, then, when someone informs you that a new copywriting skill involves using the same words over and over again on a Web page. When you see the offending copy, you cringe. "Ack!" you think. "What hack writer got away with writing that... that... that stuff?" Welcome to the world of search engine optimization copywriting.

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Denver redux: Last week's blog excerpt talked about Denver's storytelling project. But Denver residents aren't the only ones telling stories about their beloved city. Paint the Town Read is an interactive map of Denver that connects the city to notable literary passages about it -- inspired by Jack Kerouac's Mile High musings in On the Road.

This month we open the kimono for lounge visitors and reveal why Samuel Johnson, all those many years ago, characterized lexicographers as harmless drudges.  Continue reading...