1. Write Wright RightAn exploration into the essence of writing Tim Slavin tim@owlhillmedia.com http://linkedin.com/in/timslavin (516) 234-0607 This presentation is copyrighted by Owl Hill Media. Fair use with an explicit reference to this presentation is okay.

3. 18 different ways to write the wordred

4. 18 different ways to write the word red

5. Words are organized marks on a surface

6. Words are agreed upon sounds we make

7. Instead of red, why not dre or rde or erd?

8. Words are arbitrary, byproducts of social interactions

9. Now, define the word red

10. One definition of the word red: any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nm. something red. ( often initial capital letter ) a radical leftist in politics, esp. a communist. Informal . red light ( def. 1 ) . Informal . red wine: a glass of red. Also called red devil, red bird. Slang . a capsule of the drug secobarbital, usually red in color. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/red

11. One word, one set of marks = endless marks that only begin to scratch the meaning of the original word: red

12. Wait, it gets worse…

13. Write Wright Right … Three words, three different sets of marks, three different meanings, but all share one sound (btw it’s called a homophone)

14. Writing is not about forms: an article, a manual, a poem, a short story, a blog post, an email, a letter

15. Instead, writers marshal marks on surfaces and sounds in the ear of their readers and listeners

16. Some marks, some sounds, are better than others:

17. “You know, if the Germans show up, we’ll probably fight.”

18. “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.” -- Winston Churchill

19. Rhetoric is the means to marshal marks and sounds …

20. Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines.

21. “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.” -- Winston Churchill

22. Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases adds punch. Inspires. Motivates.

23. There are many rhetorical techniques ...

24. Chiasmus: the words in one phrase or clause are reversed in the next.

25. “It's not the men in my life that counts: it's the life in my men.” -- Mae West “Is manone of God's blunders or God one of man's blunders?” -- Friedrich Nietzsche

26. Hypophora: one or more questions or objections are asked or stated and then answered.

27. “But there are only three hundred of us,' you object. Three hundred, yes, but men, but armed, but Spartans, but at Thermoplyae: I have never seen three hundred so numerous.” -- Seneca

28. Simile: a comparison between two different things that resemble each other.

29. “Let us go then, you and I, where the evening is spread out across the sky like a patient etherised upon a table.” -- T.S. Eliot

30. Kenning: multiple words that use images take the place of a single noun.

31. wound hoe = sword wave’s steed = ship fire-brandisher of blizzard of ogress of protection-moon of steed of boat-shed = warrior http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenning

32. Rhetoric is the means to marshal marks and sounds …

33. What is the purpose to marks on paper? To sounds we agree hold one meaning, and not another?

34. Writing is about change. Perhaps from ignorance to knowledge. Sadness to laughter. Prejudice to empathy.

35. Writing is about connection between writer and reader.

36. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Rhetorical_techniques http://www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html http://rhetoric.byu.edu/ http://www.speaklikeapro.co.uk/Rhetorical_techniques.htm http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm

37. Tim Slavin tim@owlhillmedia.com http://www.reachcustomersonline.com http://linkedin.com/in/timslavin (516)234-0607