Luckily, I already have a reasonably foolproof way of solving anagrams, though it takes longer than the online versions as it still requires real thought.

When stumped by a particular anagram, I write the letters in a circle. I don’t understand the exact science behind this but, even if the answer doesn’t become immediately obvious, it is definitely easier to figure out with the alternative arrangement of letters. As, we are more attuned to reading letters in a line, mixing up the formation takes away the distraction of the existing word; if there is already something to read it makes it harder to look for an alternative.

An anagram takes the letters of a word or phrase and rearranges them to make a different one. A very simple example would be melon/lemon where only two letters have been rearranged. A more complex example might be wood silver/I love words. Most crosswords tend to take this one stage further by making the two alternatives related such as they see/the eyes.

Anagrams are often perplexing but surely the fun in a puzzle is actually working it out? Forget the quick fix and try the circle method instead and enjoy the fact that the crossword takes a bit longer but you did it yourself.

It is impossible to write down every word that a client or interviewee says - I have 110 words per minute  shorthand but still suffer from achy hands – so the trick is to extract the most interesting information and to understand when to leave things out.

Here are six tips to help you take effective notes:

1. Choose your tools – Everyone has a method of writing that they prefer and this is especially important when you have to write fast. I need a pencil and a spiral bound notebook to scribble at speed. Make sure you have a notebook and pen or pencil that suit your writing style.
2. Listen carefully – When you are interviewing someone, given them your undivided attention. Switch your mobile phone onto silent and focus on what they are saying. Listening is a skill in itself and helps you to focus on attention to detail which could enliven your final piece.
3. Pick and choose – You never need to write down everything someone says and, if you do, then you need a tape recorder. Knowing what not to write is as important as the notes you take down. Stay focused on the aims of your piece (news article, website, brochure) and use this as a guide.
4. Summarise – Use bullet points to highlight key information. Chances are you are not writing a verbatim transcript of what you are told so highlight the important information in your notes as you go along to make it easier to pick out when you write them up.
5. Speak up – Tell the interviewee if you need a minute to catch up with what they are saying and ask them to repeat themselves if necessary. It is impossible to focus on what someone is telling you if you are desprately trying to write down what they said five minutes ago.
6. Read it back – Depending on the job, it may be useful to quickly summarise what you have written to the client before you finish the interview, in case any deatils have been missed or are incorrect. This is always helpful if the final copy contains dates, times and locations.

Even though I am used to writing at speed, my notes often need translating afterwards so I always take time to read through before I start writing up as this gives me a chance to reflect on anything I may want more information on. There is no magic formula to note taking but there are ways of making sure that you can gather all the information you need accurately and effectively. Take your time, listen carefully and be aware of useful information as you write and you will have all you need for an interesting and informative piece of writing and positive feedback from the client.

To prove it’s worth, here is a simple guide to the two main uses of the semicolon in the English language:

The first use is to mark a break in some text that has more emphasis than a comma, but is not the end of a sentence. The semicolon prevents the use of two shorter sentences when the information is connected.

Here are a couple of examples:

• I went into the shop; it was busy and crowded
• He looked out to sea; the weather was changing

Another use for the semicolon is to divide up a complicated list which includes numerous items, many of which may already contain commas.

Here is an example:

The guest list includes John Brown, Mayor of Nowhere; Jane Smith, Leader of the Council; and Lord Doe, elected member for the Borough of black, white and grey.

The semicolon is great for adding emphasis and organisation to copy without the inclusion of bewildering numbers of commas or full stops. Slip one into a sentence today; it’s easy.

Most media outlets get lots of releases in  every day and select the most interesting and relevant ones to print or follow up. There are some things to think about  before you start writing to make it more likely that your release is read and printed. Here a a few top tips to get  noticed:

Content is essential – Make sure you have some actual news such as an award or a new service to publicise.

Create a catchy headline – This is a quick way to get your release noticed and use this as the email subject line if you are submitting electronically

Focus on the introduction- Keep it short – approximately 30 words – and pick out the most interesting fact about your news. The press release doesn’t have to be written in chronological order but does have to capture attention straight away; just like a newspaper article.

Include a quote – People like to read about other people so include a quote that will support your story.

Offer a photo opportunity – If possible,  include a photo call as stories with pictures attract more attention

Include contact details – Most writers won’t use your release word for word and will want to follow up by getting more information. Make it easy for them with full contact details.

Add additional notes- A press release should be short and to the point. If you have any other information that is relevant, include it on an additional page in brief bullet points.

Press releases should provide interesting and relevant information in a short, appealing style. Don’t waste time writing pages of copy which won’t be read, and make it hard to find the relevant information. Stick to the point of your story and make it easy for the writer to follow it up. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t get used as news changes all the time. Stick to these rules and keep sending in stories and you are sure to get something in print.

Rather than taking the time to flick through the pages of a brochure or hunt through lengthy blocks of text, Internet readers expect to find the information they need quickly and easily. The Internet is an opportunity to sell your products and services or provide information in an efficient and carefully edited way.

There are lots of technical ways to use copy to improve your online presence and attract new clients, but for website owners who are just starting out, here are five simple things to consider before sitting down to write your website:

1. Keep it short and sweet – Most readers will not spend a long time scrolling down through lots of copy. Try to sum up your main points in a simple way. Stick to the point and don’t digress. As a rule, 300 words is more than enough for each page and consider adding links to documents if you have lots of detailed information to include.
2. Stay Visual – What the copy looks like is important on a website. It should draw the eye in and complement the design. Choose fonts and text size with care and utilize punctuation tools such as bullet points where appropriate, to keep it succinct and break up big blocks of text.
3. Remember your audience - Knowing who you are writing for affects how your message is received by readers. Decide if you want your copy to be formal and professional or if you would prefer a more chatty and informal language and style of writing.
4. Consider your language – Think of five words or phrases that sum up what you want to say on your website. These can be used in the text and will help to set the tone of your copy.
5. Take Aim – Always know what the aim of your website is. Are you looking to drive sales for your business or to provide information on an organisation or service?

Many people find it easy to decide on the look and design of their website but struggle when it comes to what they should write. The words are as important as the design because they are the opportunity to really get your message across to people that click onto your site. Put equal thought into what your website says and what it looks like, and you have the basic tools for online promotion.

Some obvious abbreviations have proved useful, such as ‘tho’ for ‘though’ an ‘am’ or ‘pm’ for ‘morning’ or ‘afternoon’. There is also scope for a more creative use of the English language which has snuck into the everyday vernacular. ‘LOL’ for ‘laugh out loud’ and ‘LMAO’ for ‘Laughed my arse off’ are now routinely used in a  variety of contexts, and it is now totally acceptable to substitute numbers for the whole or part of words.

Who would have thought the letter 8 would proved to be so useful to texters across the globe? ‘Gr8′, ‘m8′, ‘l8r’ all save time and valuable character space for getting the message across. The number 4 is also a popular substitute and frequently paired with a letter U in business names and signs, for example retailer ’Phones 4 u’ which uses the text speak as a play on words. It can go too far in my opinion, an example being the estate agent near me called ’4 Sale 2 U’. While it does save space on signs and in text messages there is something a bit lazy about the casual use of numbers for letters that has appeared in on and offline language, especially when it replaces a two or three letter word.

There has been a revolution in how people communicate with each other over the last 20 years and there will no doubt be more amazing developments in technology to come. The purist in me hopes that we can leave the use of abbreviated digital language and text speak to the mediums it is intended for, and still find time to write proper words in full the rest of the time.

Stay tuned for the latest post coming soon.

Newspaper headline writers are the masters of the pun, regularly coming out with classics. In fact you only realise just how clever they are when you try and write something with sparkling wit and humour as there is a fine line between funny and tasteless.

For those of you who don’t know what a pun is, it’s a play on words which are alike or virtually alike in sound but totally different in meaning.

One of the best examples was from The Sun newspaper, reporting on the attempted diamond heist at the ill-fated Millennium Dome. The front page headline read: “We only came for De Beers”

Another favourite of mine was ‘Smoke on Trent’ which was a tabloid headline on smokers in the city of Stoke on Trent who flouted the ban when it started in summer 2007.

I have to title a lot of the copy I write for clients, particularly for newsletters or blogs. Sometimes the headline writes itself because it jumps out of the content but quite often I find myself with a choice – dull or cringe worthy. Finding the right balance between the two is a definite challenge.

Some of the funniest puns are unintentional and they tend to be either rude or humorous in a ‘graveyard humour’ way like these gems that I found after a quick scan of the internet:

MPs to Take a Close Look at Pornography

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says.

Often a pun can be resolved by some strategic punctuation (not so helpful in headlines) or simply by reading what you have written out loud. Personally I think there’s always room for a good pun provided your subject matter is not sensitive. You will probably find that the puns you write are quite average, but then I could just be mean.

Sometimes you may have all the information you need to tackle a certain task or situation but the brain cannot be trusted to take in every detail and when it spots a gap, that’s when we are more likely to fill it in with so-called logical thought which, for me, can veer from the mundane to the ridiculous.

Writers often find reading and proofreading their own work very difficult. There is a tendency to scan rather than read things properly which leads to basic errors. I frequently pass my work to a third person to read through before I submit it because I know the project so well that my brain sometimes skips over what my eyes are reading. A third person will also spot the spelling mistakes and errors that the computer is pre-programmed to miss. Popular ones are for and fro or from and form; any words that are incorrect in the sentence but spelt correctly (another thing on my long list of reasons to mistrust the computer grammar checker).

It is scary how quickly these typing errors can become ingrained. Working in the North of England, I went through a phase when one letter out on the keyboard at the end of Yorkshire gave the region a whole new (and not complementary) spin. My only tried and tested method is to follow each word with a pen to make sure I don’t miss anything when proofreading but even that is not totally fool proof.

How we read is an important element of how we write. I read very quickly and that can get me in a pickle when it comes to proofreading. Hopefully, the more I write the more I am learning my lesson and there is nothing like having a glaring error pointed out to remind you of the importance of taking your time to look at the content, tone and style of written communications in all their forms.

And, if all else fails don’t fall back on assumptions because, as my teacher used to say with annoying rightness, “Assume makes an ass of u and me.”

Getting in there is no mean feat – the OED employs around 50 readers who spend their days scouring the pages of contemporary, printed materials including songs, newspapers, novels, scripts and magazines, and noting down any new words they come accross to monitor their frequency.

Just because a word gets used a few times doesn’t mean it gets into the dictionary. On average, it will be looked at over five years to see if it is a long standing word or if it fades swiftly into popular culture and only then will it be deemed worthy of inclusion.

Once a word is in, it is not guarateed to stay in the dictionary forever. In fact there are many words which are fading into obscurity and could be lost forever as they no longer commonly used in popular culture.

The Grandiloquent Dictionary by C.S Bird is a collection of the most obsure and rare of these endangered English words, many of which deserve a reboot (to use a work from the modern lexicon). It a joyful celebration of our linguistic past though it’s hard to imagine many of these words slipping back into the vernacular.

It is also an education in how one word can be used to descibe so much, like the smell of cooking meat or a phobia of bald people. In fact there are 2700 words in total that were once as commonly used as ‘chav’ and ‘email’. I am beginning to sound like a bit of a philosophaster so I will stop being a dringle and a dowfart and shut up.

Surely, there is no real reason for these words to die completely. Go online and find a copy of the Grandiloquent Dictionary and see if you can fit just one word into a conversation or something you write today. You never know, it might make it under the eagle eyes of a OED reader and back into the public favour.