Free writing workshop for 3 Philadelphia nonprofits

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Susan Perloff

5000 years in Philly
Would you like a free writing workshop for your employees? If you manage a 501(c)3 organization based in Philadelphia, you may apply for one.

The free workshop will cover

  • Any nonfiction topic that works for your people. See some examples.
  • In your office or another space you provide.
  • Two hours.

Participants can include

  • Up to 12 people.
  • One person – the CEO, a supervisor or a new hire – who needs unique, confidential coaching.
  • Board or advisory folks, if appropriate.

The trainer

I am a writing trainer, teacher and coach since 1983. I teach adults to write better nonfiction for their for-profit or nonprofit work. I have taught people to write for dozens of organizations.

Apply for the free workshop

Please e-mail me. Write “free writing workshop” in the subject line. Deadline Monday, June 3. Please send up to 300 words explaining:

  • Why your organization deserves this workshop.
  • What levels of employees would participate.
  • Approximately how many adult learners would participate.
  • Topics you would like to cover.

Please share this message with anyone who might be interested and eligible.

Posted in Philadelphia Writers Group, Writing Philadelphia, Writing tips, Writing training | Leave a comment

FAQ: Capitalizing headlines

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Susan Perloff

 

Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv

Q. When writing a title, should I capitalize every word or just the first word?

A. For most press releases, books, magazine and journal articles, capitalize the first letter of the first word and the first letter of all other words in the title. Except: Use lower case (small letters) for articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (in, on, before and so forth).

A: Exception 1. If the name of the organization includes a capitalized preposition, like Living Beyond Breast Cancer, do capitalize that word.

A. Exception 2. On the internet and in e-mails, capitalize only the first word and all proper nouns.

A. Exception 3. If you or your organization believes in calming down the capitalization of America, as I do, then cut out the caps. In this case, capitalize only the first word and all proper nouns.

Posted in Philadelphia Writers Group, Writing Philadelphia, Writing tips, Writing training | Leave a comment

Farmers, mustard and grammar

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Susan Perloff

mustard
Not much is tasty about the mustard or the writing.

  1. When I toured a mustard factory in Dijon, France, last summer, I learned that all raw mustard seeds come from Canada. Even Dijon mustard begins with Canadian seeds, so I imagine U.S. mustard does, too.
  2. Canadian farmers make, or grow, mustard seed. But they don’t make it calorie-free. If mustard in a jar does not contain honey, mayo or oil, it has only 10 or fewer calories  per tablespoon. But if you smother your food in a cup of mustard, you’re eating calories.
  3. Improved grammar could make it easier to grasp what the advertiser is claiming: That neither farmers nor scientists make mustard zero calories. This sentence actually claims that farmers do not make scientists. I believe that to be a correct fact.
  4. Just sayin’.
Posted in Advanced writing techniques, Writing mistakes, Writing tips, Writing training | Leave a comment

A book in search of an author

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Susan Perloff

In 1962, an 8-year-old boy, was “delivered” to and virtually adopted by Father Divine, founder of the Peace Mission Movement. Now 59, Tommy Garcia seeks to learn what happened to him and why.

Garcia found me online, and I am trying to match him up with the right writer. I think he needs an investigative reporter, probably a Philadelphia writer with the financial resources to pursue the details. If you are interested, you can visit tommygarcia.com. Then please contact Tommy and his wife, Lori, not me.

Tommy writes: “I ask for transparency of this not-for profit, tax-exempt ‘religious organization.’ Staff members are belligerent when asked about loved ones. Why? I am looking for information about the mysterious deaths, in Philadelphia, of my natural mother, my guardian and my tutor.

“I want to know

  • Who killed them.
  • Why a medical examination, police incident report and death certificate have conflicting information.
  • Why, when a follower was found dead outside of Father Divine’s estate, police found no foul play.
  • More.”

Tommy and Lori Garcia
619-819-8634
702-526-3276
tommy@tommygarcia.com
tommygarcia.com

P.S. I have done nothing to check the veracity of this story.

Posted in Writing life, Writing Philadelphia | Leave a comment

Perpetrate powerful verbs to improve your writing

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Susan Perloff

dung beetles have right of way
This is the single strongest way to improve everything you write for business: Learn to master active verbs.

Use strong, active verbs. Avoid weak. passive verbs. That’s the entire lesson. Read on for details.

In the sentence, “Susan drops the pen,” Susan is the subject, drops is the active verb and pen is the object. You could also write, “The pen is dropped,” in which case the pen is the subject, and is dropped is the passive verb. Equally correct. But….

In the first, simple, active sentence, 4 words tell the whole story. In the passive form, 4 words tell only part of the story. They fail to name the person who dropped the pen. In all simple sentences, the active form, or active voice, tells the story more quickly, more concisely and more thoroughly than does its passive counterpart.

As you know, a verb expresses an action, a condition or a state of being.

Active verbs Passive verbs
Require fewer words. Require more words.
Are more personal. Are less personal.
Are more direct. Are indirect.
Convey conviction and responsibility. Mute the activity; lack authority; suggest doubt.
Emphasize the perpetrator. Hide the perpetrator.
Make the subject the perpetrator of the verb. Hide the perpetrator.
Excel for writing news, info. Excel for writing boring copy.

To use the strong, active voice, start every sentence with the subject, or, as I call it, the perpetrator of the verb. Follow with the active verb. Finish with the object, or victim, of the verb. These 3 steps will yield active-voice sentences every time.

“Is that boring?” you ask. It’s far less boring that phrasing every concept in a passive way. After you master this technique, you can mess around with other sentence structures.

Posted in Advanced writing techniques, World of words, Writing essays, Writing mistakes, Writing tips, Writing training, Writing website copy | Leave a comment