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Backstory

Sat Feb 10 00:00:00 EST 2007

I was a cocky, sure-footed 29-year-old when I sent my Godmother a tear sheet from one of the celebrity magazines I wrote for. I was proud of it, in that Los Angeles, I'm-so-important-now kind of way. I was a writer working in the entertainment industry. It just didn't get any better than that. I was hob-knobbing with teen idols, movie and TV stars, rock 'n' roll bands, and had access to any backstage area I chose. Life was good.

Word Count

The Art of Interviewing

Wed Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2007

The Visual Thesaurus is very excited to support WNYC New York Public Radio's The Leonard Lopate Show, part of our commitment to sponsor public radio across the country. For those of you outside of Gotham, Leonard Lopate is a radio legend, a masterful interviewer who holds captivating on-air conversations with eclectic guests -- actors, writers, artists, sports heroes, chefs, even ex-presidents. We thought it would be fascinating to turn the tables on Leonard: Interview him about the art of interviewing. Here's our conversation:

Candlepower

Marketing Writing: Six Questions to Ask Before You Start

Mon Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 2007

Early in my marketing communications (marcom) career, my supervisor gave me a pretty typical writing assignment. "This datasheet needs to be written pronto. Here's some information -- it should give you everything you need." I looked over the material and thought, "How am I supposed to write a datasheet using this? I don't even know what this product is!" Being new at the job, I didn't want to appear "dumb" by asking too many questions.

Dog Eared

Dianna's Marcom Books

Mon Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 2007

Marketing communications expert Dianna Huff, who contributed this week's "Candlepower" feature, recommends these books on copywriting and grammar:

The Elements of Copywriting "This is my favorite, and most referred to, "Bly" book on copywriting. It's concise, well-organized and a great resource for experienced and "newbie" B-to-B copywriters alike."

Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay "Does the thought of reading grammar rules make your eyes glaze over? Me, too. That's why I like this book. It's a fun read plus you'll learn something."

Write on Target "If you don't have a clue what a "buck slip" is or want to get more from your direct response campaigns, read this book. It covers everything from "anatomy of a direct mail package" to "TV, Radio and Telephone Marketing."

Blog Du Jour

Dianna's Marcom Blogs

Mon Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 2007

Dianna Huff, this week's "Candlepower" contributor, reads these marketing blogs and websites:

Web Ink Now

Blogging for Business

MarketingSherpa (Dianna also writes for them)

Marketing Profs

ClickZ

Blog Excerpts

Mastering the Long Sentence

Sat Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2007

Writing Tools is a must-read blog for any writer striving to write better (Ahem, that means all of us!). Produced by author, teacher and scholar Roy Peter Clark (read our interview here), it covers a wide range of writing-related topics. Roy's posts typically feature great examples of the writing he's talking about, like this entry on mastering the long sentence.

Backstory

Marcus Sakey, author of "The Blade Itself"

Sat Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2007

I was starting to feel like Milton from Office Space, the character who walks around mumbling, "I... I... I could set the building on fire." Ten years in advertising can do that to you. Finally, one ordinary February day in Chicago, I came home and told my wife I was fantasizing about smuggling an automatic weapon into work. We split a bottle of wine and discussed options that didn't involve jail time. By the end of the night, I'd decided to quit.

Announcements

Introducing Visual Thesaurus Wordlists!

Fri Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2007

The Visual Thesaurus team is very pleased to announce an exciting new feature: Wordlists! You can use these interactive lists to learn, share and -- most of all -- have fun. How do you get started? It's easy.

Language Lounge

Paper Wanderlust

Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2007

This month in the Lounge we take three trips without leaving the farm, thereby making our small contribution to reducing modern travel's huge carbon footprint.