Welcome to the inner ramblings of my creative mind.

Every waking moment my thoughts drift to the words around me; written, spoken, advertised, thought and read.

I’m drawn in like dog hair to a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

With advertising and marketing saturating our screens on the daily, we are often exposed to shocking abuse of the English language. Though some choose to ignore it, poor spelling and grammar squeals at me like fingernails down a blackboard.

Do you really gain PIECE of mind from your insurance provider? (Uh hum. That is PEACE).

This is just to much to bare… (No, this is too much to bear!)

DEFINATELY! (Now you’re definitely killing me).

Effect vs affect / should of vs should have / their vs they’re vs there…the excruciating slaughter continues. Is there no end to the carnage?

There’s no need for it. EVER.

Spellcheck takes seconds; it’s literally a highlight and a click away. (The calorific burn is negligible…I promise you won’t raise a sweat). And that little squiggly line that appears beneath your text? It’s telling you something…

Proofread. Edit. Check. It even gives you the answers.

If it’s all too much for you – send it my way!

Call me crazy, but once I’ve drafted a written piece, I email it back to myself and set it aside for a while – I use this refresh time to grab a cuppa, stretch my hip flexors or walk the dog – whatever it takes to clear the brain fog.

Changing the viewing platform helps; from laptop to iPhone, I read the words out loud and listen to the rhythm of each sentence:

• Do the words flow seamlessly from the tongue or is it awkward and clunky?
• Can I say more with less text?
• Am I too heavy-handed on the adverbs?
• Should I tone it down or ramp it up?

In my world, obsessive compulsive is good. Really good.

Bring peace back to your words…your readers will love you for it.

KS x