Notebook

For writers, notebooks are where ideas come to life. This blog is a space for sharing our news and ideas with you.

  • Times Haiku: when computers write poetry

    Noted by Matt on 12.06.13

    Storytelling

    An algorithm might be able to find haikus within the New York Times, but it still takes a human to recognise a really good poem.

  • And another thing: you can start a sentence with a conjunction

    Noted by Matt on 07.05.13

    Style matters

    There are good (and perfectly grammatical) reasons why you might choose to start a sentence with a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘but’. Used sparingly, this approach can create useful emphasis and keep sentences manageable. 

  • The rise of longform web content

    Footnote

    As more people read longform web content on different devices, Nicole Jones asks: What can we do to embrace this shifting landscape of content and devices? The answer, she says, is deceptively simple: make readers comfortable, no matter what they’re reading or what device they use. Read her post on Leaning into Longform >

  • Telling stories to our computers http://j.mp/Y8Hemy

    Tweeted on 12.03.13

  • Yes, you can end a sentence with a preposition

    Noted by Matt on 11.03.13

    Style matters

    It’s a myth that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a word like ‘after’, ‘in’, ‘to’, ‘on’, or ‘with’. In fact, sometimes it’s impossible not to.

  • Web design: words matter

    Noted by Matt on 06.03.13

    Web writing

    In the words of 37Signals: “If you think every pixel, every icon, every typeface matters, then you also need to believe every letter matters.”

  • Stories with a dramatic arc ‘change the way our brains work’

    Noted by Matt on 11.01.13

    Storytelling

    We all love a good story, right? Well, it turns out that stories with a particular structure can potentially change your brain chemistry.

  • Hoe, hoe, hoe

    Noted by Matt on 13.12.12

    Our news

    We’ve sent out our Christmas cards (complete with puns) and we’re looking forward to putting our feet up for a bit. Our last day at work is 21 December and we’ll be back on 7 January.

  • Seen on our travels today: a sign advertising ‘holy refs’. We think it was meant to say ‘holly wreaths’, but you never know.

    Tweeted on 13.12.12

  • Nice little change to the @Xero interface. ‘Bills’ and ‘sales’ are much clearer labels than ‘accounts receivable’ and ‘accounts payable’.

    Tweeted on 13.12.12