Today's Tip: Be Transparent

In their latest post, Men With Pens makes some interesting connections between web copy and cars.  While bullet points and terse advice can be valuable and speedy, web copy requires an extra element -- transparency. Just as a car's exterior speaks volumes about it's driver, your web copy should communicate your brand to the client. So decide whether you are a Toyota Carolla or a Maserati Quattroporte, and stick with your wheels -- customers who know what they're getting are more likely to stick around.

Today's Tip: Stick with the Office

Ever dream about working from home? This past February, the entire staff of business magazine Inc. decided to give it a go, as the The New York Times reports that all 30 producers, editors, and reporters spent the 28 days communicating via Skype and instant messenger.  The consensus? Staffers missed the watercooler chatter and collaborative energy of the communal work space.   While productivity increased, happiness levels plummeted. We'd love to hear from our writers out there: do you prefer working from an office?

The Power of a Strong Vision Statement

Sometimes the easiest way to a hard goal lies in planting a vision.  Twenty years ago, speechwriter Glynn Young was asked to write a vision statement for a CEO.  After countless drafts and the inspired seven-time repetition of "It is our pledge," the rhetorical handiwork he delivered came to change the company and the industry.  While not quite a religious experience, the vision statement does reach for a higher standard -- and no annual report can compete with that.

March Madness, the Bookworm Way

Now in its sixth year, the Tournament of Books may not lure participants with prizes (a rooster, anyone?), but it definitely keeps things interesting with sports-inspired competition.  Salon's Laura Miller takes a look at the athletic lingo ("quintuple toe loop") and unlikely opponents -- graphic novel Logicomix faces off with historical fiction Wolf Hall -- that may give the ToB what it takes to steal the stage from basketball this month.

Today's Tip: Busting Job Hunt Myths

The job search process is painful enough as it is, but the constant stream of "helpful" advice of others can make it doubly difficult.  Copywriter and job-hunt extraordinaire Anya Weber sifts through the wide array of often contradictory tips to separate the "pearls" from the "poppycocks." We wholeheartedly agree with the idea of volunteering or doing pro-bono consulting while on the job hunt.  Keeping a hand in your chosen field allows you to make relevant contacts, gain useful experience, and keep your resume current.  What have you taken away from job search experiences?

Today's Tip: More Tricks for Beating Writer's Block

Every writer gets stuck at one time or another -- from over-research to poor eating or too-long lists, there are lots of reasons we get held up and/or bogged down.  Public relations pro and Journalistics founder Jeremy Porter today offers a few of his own tricks to help bypass the block and get the assignment done.  Our favorite? Keep a notepad on you at all times -- those scribbles can help re-inspire when you're low on ideas. What helps you beat the freeze?

Weekend writing reading

Some excellent writing reading that caught our eye for this fine weekend:

• Check out this terrific interview with Israeli speechwriter extraordinaire Yehuda Avner in the Jerusalem Post (h/t to VSOTD), in advance of his new book, The Prime Ministers, about the series of great leaders he served.  It showcases both the eloquence and circumspectness of a great ghost.

• What's in a military campaign name?  According to this curtain-pulling-back article from the Washington Post, a lot more than you might think.