Lessons from the plagiarism in Melania Trump’s speech
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Lessons from the plagiarism in Melania Trump’s speech

Parts of Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention are strikingly similar to Michelle Obama’s speech from eight years ago. How does this happen? Plagiarism at this level is typically the result of sloppiness, not outright theft. If you don’t want this to happen to you, then you need to change how you work. What…

Donald Trump, “The Art of the Deal,” and the ethics of ghostwriting
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Donald Trump, “The Art of the Deal,” and the ethics of ghostwriting

The New Yorker just published a fascinating article, “Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All,” revealing what really happened when Tony Schwartz ghostwrote The Art of the Deal for Donald Trump. Schwartz says, “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.”…

Marco Rubio: the candidate that might have been

Marco Rubio: the candidate that might have been

How did we end up with such unpopular candidates? Donald Trump continues to respond to pain with hate. The GOP Rules Committee voted down a proposal to unbind delegates from their promises, so he’ll be the nominee of the Republican party. Dozens of prominent Republicans have withheld their support. Mitt Romney and both ex-President Bushes won’t be…

Enough with the excuses for poor writing. Don’t be a but-head.
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Enough with the excuses for poor writing. Don’t be a but-head.

All day long I hear excuses for why people’s writing is worse than it ought to be. “But my company insists we write it this way.” “But I don’t have time.” “But I learned to write this way.” Don’t be a “but-head.” Leave your excuses behind.  Here’s a handy guide on how to get past the…

Not sure if it’s bullshit? Try reading it out loud.

Not sure if it’s bullshit? Try reading it out loud.

I narrated the audiobook for Writing Without Bullshit this week, spending about 12 hours in the studio. It was a vivid reminder of how absurd some prose sounds when read out loud — which is a good test for whether your writing is bullshit. A good nonfiction audiobook sounds natural, as if someone is explaining something or…

How our leaders responded to events of this week
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How our leaders responded to events of this week

Yesterday I told you that our leaders’ responses to events of Baton Rouge; Falcon Heights, Minnesota; and Dallas would tell us a lot about them and the years to come. Today, I rate those responses. President Obama and Hillary Clinton rate well; the other candidates rate poorly. I didn’t have high hopes; this is an…