Today's Writing Tip Is on Obscure References

Last week, I finished reading Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich. It was a wonderful critique of the down side of too much positive thinking, and how this can be used to blame people for making themselves ill, and even contribute to economic decline, if leaders in power don't want to hear any "bad news."


I wrote Ehrenreich a letter and entitled it "The Bright Side of the Road." I wanted to grab her attention by using a song title by Van Morrison. Right after I pressed send -- naturally! -- it occurred to me that maybe she wasn't a fan of Van's. If so, she could've missed my reference and thought I was misquoting the title of her book.

Now I will be more careful with obscure references. What may seem obvious to me may be a mystery to someone else. The goal of writing is not to be clever, but to be clear in communicating.

This week I'm giving away three free e-copies of Be Your Own Editor to the first people who can each list five well-known dystopian books (not movies). If the first poster mentions The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the second poster cannot repeat that title. Post your answers on my blog at http://beyourowneditor.blogspot.com and gear up for the next quiz where the winner will win a free paperback copy of the book!

Sigrid Macdonald is an editor, a manuscript evaluator, and the author of three books, including Be Your Own Editor. Find it on Amazon in paperback for $12.92 (http://tinyurl.com/2a3zx6t) or on Kindle for $3.79 (http://tinyurl.com/2blyqng).