Jeff Zych

#writing

  • Notes from "Vernacular Eloquence"

    How can speech improve your writing? Your initial reaction is probably, not at all. But it turns out there's a lot that speech can offer writing, and that's what Peter Elbow's 'Vernacular Eloquence' is all about. It's full of practical advice for harnessing the power of speech to improve your writing, so I wrote them down here for future reference.

  • Adding clarity by removing information

    “Where’s the clipboard?” A customer wrote this in to our support team after using our “Copy with cite” feature. But who doesn't know where the clipboard is?

  • How to Write Effective Advertisements, according to David Ogilvy

    David Ogilvy is known as the “Father of Advertising." He earned that moniker by pioneering the use of research to come up with effective ads and measure their impact. He breaks down his methods in his book "Ogivly on Advertising," which is just as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1983. Since I’ve found his techniques useful, I’m publishing my notes here so I can easily refer back to them and share them.

  • Where do you get ideas for blog posts?

    People often ask me, “Where do you get ideas for blog posts?” I have many sources, but my most effective one is simple: pay attention to the questions people ask you.

  • Principles of Writing Well

    Writing, like design, is a craft that can be practiced and improved. To do so, I've been compiling a collection of principles from books and articles. I decided to share them online to crystallize my own understanding of what I've learned so far, and to help others who want to improve at the craft of writing as well. I will continue to update the page as I learn more.