Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

Commentary and insights about all things writing -- business, PR, books, film, storytelling, and whatever else involves stringing words and thoughts together. Houston, Texas Joined August 2010

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

I've long said that there is a connection between writing and rhythm. It now appears there's research to back it up. ow.ly/Qvse30jyEI9

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Interesting item on words and phrases we've always been told/taught are incorrect...but may in fact be right. ow.ly/dTXk30jyEeP

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

A Pew survey of social media use among adults reveals a somewhat unexpected finding: Facebook is no longer the No. 1 platform. ow.ly/LD2Y30iJwP7

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

WSJ: Procter & Gamble cut its digital advertising by $200 million last year, because the spending was "largely wasteful" and eliminating it helped P&G reach more customers, more effectively. There's a lesson here.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Brief but interesting commentary on how and why newswriting style guides can go from useful to not-so-useful. ow.ly/lwLh30iD74t

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Just read an article that said the Chicago Manual of Style is the "source of last resort" for writers. There's no doubt it's good, but it's not as good as Garner's Modern American Usage. That said, it's light years better than AP or Strunk and White.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

And now for something completely different: Data shows that writers of one-star online ratings make more grammar and spelling mistakes than those who write five-star reviews. So apparently when a dissatisfied reviewer's head explodes, proofreading is the first casualty.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

I'm no fan of Grammarly, but this Slate writer just skewers it. Key sentence: "The company’s ostensibly advanced tools are more likely to degrade our writing than improve it, if only because they don’t reflect the ways we really write." That's cold. ow.ly/snHR30igKpg

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Wow, at long last a list of "how-to-be-a-better-writer" suggestions that can actually, well, make you a better writer. Not much cosmic fluff, just real-world stuff. t2conline.com/9-writing-skil…

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

A reminder that emails are still writing, and that the rules of good, basic usage still apply. Here are some of the more common grammar crimes emailers commit -- and what to do about them. ow.ly/IFuo30ifXd7

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

I just read an article headlined "12 skills that will help you earn six figures writing for business." It preached gauzy concepts like commitment, vision, and resilience -- but not a mention of what's paramount: be a hell of a writer.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

The Academy may love The Shape of Water. But Robert McKee? Not even a little. ow.ly/PPuI30hX5HU

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Semi-interesting study of the top writing and grammar errors of 2017. Ignoring the obvious, there was this nugget: Only one in three students can detect wordy or redundant writing. In my experience, even those detection skills dim in adulthood. ow.ly/wtEl30hWfmU

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Interesting study from Knight and Gallup about perceptions of media and its role in politics and society: Lot of suspicion, breakdown in trust, and a ton of partisanship. But there's no consensus on how to fix it. ow.ly/D4kk30hWeSN

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Headline I really could have done without this week: Kylie Jenner will reportedly end her social media blackout when she gives birth. Proof the apocalypse is nigh.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Facebook says it can't guarantee social media is good for democracy. Wait wait wait -- didn't the 2016 election already prove that?

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Why focusing on individual social media posts, not on the log-term value of the content, is a bad strategy for marketers. ow.ly/sZgn30hWdF6

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

So I was reading a newspaper story about the Trump-Russia probe, and it included the term "new revelations." Note to editors: Revelations are, by their very nature, new. If they weren't, they wouldn't be revealing anything.

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

Here's what happens to your brain when you spend two-plus hours a day on social media. It's not pretty. bravo.ly/2CC8Yjh

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Doug Williams @WriteousOutrage

8 years ago

A cheat sheet grammar infographic for writers. Not a whole lot new here (it's vs. its, affect vs. effect, come on), but also not a bad reminder-tool to have on your desk. bit.ly/2lOkqgx