Writing tools

Check out the latest articles for writing tips and advice
  • Sort Blog:
  • All
  • Academic
  • Business
  • Community
  • Me
  • News
  • Writing Tips
Person sitting on laptop getting speech writing help

What’s a Writing Course?

What actually happens in one of my writing courses? How can I improve your writing skills? I’ve been working in a lot of different writing spaces lately, because I tailor my writing sessions to meet every client’s needs. I thought I’d take some time to take...

NCEA Essay

How to Write an Essay – and Why

[vc_row row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" text_align="left" css_animation=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] You’ve had lots of advice about how to write an essay. You’ve been given templates and organising principles.  You’ve seen formulae for the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The advice has been sensible and specific. So why, when you sit...

The Connected Project

We know that connectedness is vital to us as human beings, We also know that stories are powerful ways of feeling connected – both in the telling, and the listening. The Connected project began with a series of conversations between three of us: Daniel Betty,...

How should you handle a rude email?

You’re preparing an important Powerpoint in your office (or twirling your chair and throwing rolled up paper at the bin) when a new email pings onto your screen. You open it and have to read it twice before you can believe it. The writer, a...

How to Write a Wedding Speech

Someone’s getting married! It’s wonderful – you’re celebrating a relationship with a party. There’s just one thing that’s getting in the way of having a good time. That’s right. You’re going to have to (Jaws music please…) deliver a speech, to all to those people...

Can I help you weather the storm?

Here to Help - We’re sheltering from the COVID 19 storm here in NZ, but that doesn’t mean we’re not hurting....

Writing Tip 3: Why Punctuation Is Important

Punctuation is wonderful. It makes your meaning clear. On a page, we don’t have access to all the extras we use when we speak - our eyes, our voice, our gestures and stance. What we use instead is – you guessed it – punctuation. There...

Writing Tip 2: Using Sense Detail

Improve your writing by including sensory detail whenever you can. Imagine you’re selling a house, and want to emphasise the view. You could say, “Enjoy the wonderful view from all rooms in the house.”...

What’s a Writing Coach? Why do I need one?

Writing coaches are like archaeologists. We excavate the treasure of your words. A good coach will unearth what’s good about your writing, and help you scrape away what’s not. They’ll help you find your voice – that is, a way of writing that sounds like you,...

Writing Tip 1: The Value of Simplicity

Simplicity is beautiful. Or, as Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, “Less is More.” Just look at that statement. With 10 letters, in three words, van der Rohe makes a complex assertion, using contrast as a tool: ‘Less’ and ‘more’ are opposites, paired by the strong, assertive...