New Writing Tips Page for Moleskines

 

I built a new Writing Tips PDF. Print each page on one side of a piece of paper and then cut that piece of paper in half (I used the "fold, lick, fold, lick, tear" method). Fold each half twice and tuck it in the pocket of your Moleskine pocket journal.

The sources for the writing tips include Strunk and White's Principles of Composition, Edward Tufte's Presentation Tips, George Orwell's Six Rules and Six Questions, Robert Heinlein's Six Rules For SF Writing, and my own painfully acquired collection of Evil Metaphors and Phrases.

On the back of the sheet is a page from La Operina, a book written in 1522 by Ludovico Vicentino, a scribe from Italy, on the subject of handwriting. This handwriting is known as Chancery Italic and this book is the oldest known book written on the subject of handwriting. Though over 482 years old, the letters he carefully outlined are still very legible today.

You can copy and paste the Writing Tips Text version into your own format if you so choose and find something else for the reverse side.

Each 5.5 inch by 8.5 inch page folds over twice to end up less than half of the thickness of the original 8.5 x 11 version. Fold it up and tuck it into the back pocket of your Moleskine. Carry the words of these master writers with you everywhere you go!

Mike Shea
Contributor, Moleskinerie

Image: Rodenbeck @ Moleskinerie/FLICKR
© Rodenbeck

Comments

[Storiedime]

Absolutely great idea !

[Andrew]

Mike,

Thanks for sharing this with us all.

The Orwell essay is fabulous.

Andrew

[Kenneth]

Thank you for putting the pdf together. This should be required reading for every corporate presenter/writer. Of course, Politics and the English Language should be required reading for simply living in our time.

[Joy]

Thanks Mike!

I've had your original in my Mole for months, and have shared it with friends and writing students. This one's easier to use.

-Joy

[Stephen Buggy]

Thanks especially for the handwriting tips.

[Bill]

At the risk of messing with perfection, here are some suggestions for additional "Evil Metaphors and Phrases":

bottom line
at this point in time
stay the course
value-add
customer-centric
solution
paradigm
metrics
redeployed
on the runway
win-win
on the same page
Generation X
accountability management
core competency
alignment
incremental

[Kristi]

I'm ridiculously grateful for this and the previous version, so I hesitate to mention there is a spelling error in line 2 of Orwell ("Never us a long word...").

[Dirk Kirchberg]

Why not include the rules Ernest Hemingway received when joining the Kansas City Star? He was given a style sheet containing four basic rules:
1. Use short sentences
2. Use short first paragraphs
3. Use vigorous English
4. Be positive, not negative