I hate bad prose. (Maybe you’ve noticed.) This affects the way I edit: with inspiration, with passion, instinctively, and relentlessly. All prose has flaws — I find them and critique them mercilessly. I can’t help it. And weirdly, people seem to like it. When a writer sends me something inadequate, I tear it apart. I delete…
Based on the material I’m reading and editing, a lot of people have forgotten how to use evidence in their writing. They make unsupported statements that the reader is just supposed to swallow whole. If you want to persuade me that your assessment is valid, your prediction is accurate, or your advice is effective, here are five ways…
I have made many predictions in my life, publicly. And I have been wrong plenty of times. If you write boldly, you will be, too. People who are sometimes wrong are smarter than people who are always right. So learn how to be wrong properly. If you’re one of those people who don’t ever want…
It time to learn to write without bullshit. Let’s be frank. In school, in college, and at work, you’ve been exposed to dreadful, mind-numbing prose. It’s time for a radical rethink of how we all write. If you want to expose yourself to a bold, shockingly clear and simple new way to write, the tools…
My Boston Globe arrived yesterday with a second, scary front page, dated April 9, 2017, featuring stories from a future Trump presidency. (It’s actually the front of the Sunday op-ed section, an illustration for an op-ed article called “The GOP Must Stop Trump.”) Donald Trump, predictably, responded by calling the paper “stupid.” Having written pretend stories about…
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just released a very clear shareholder letter. He’s very clear and direct about Amazon’s successful products. But when it comes to culture, he’s opaque and oblique. That speaks volumes. I’m a fan of shareholder letters (like Warren Buffet’s) where the CEO lays out what happening in clear simple language. Bezos’ 9-page letter lives…
In an unprecedented move in presidential politics, the campaign of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is preparing to file for bankruptcy. Without Bullshit has gotten access to internal campaign documents that reveal a detailed plan to close the campaign, sell off its assets, and put an end to Trump’s involvement in politics. In a not-yet-released interview with MSNBC’s…
News is a matter of selection — we can read only what writers and editors choose to publish. But regardless of what outlet you’re reading, from the most massive newsgathering operation to the smallest blogger, you’re not getting the whole story. Why? Because of unspoken biases that we all accept. I want to be clear here:…
Carlos Sousa is the PR Director for Mossack Fonseca & Co. This has to be the most thrilling week of his career, since someone leaked 11 million of his firm’s documents — the “Panama Papers” — implicating prominent world figures in corruption. But when you parse Sousa’s statements, you realize that his main message to clients is “don’t…