Writing well is, of course, not all about grammar and punctuation. But every writer I know has writing errors that make him or her insane. The incorrect usage of "that" and "who" is one of my hot buttons.

Remember when you're writing that people are "who." The best way to illustrate this is with an example:

WRONG: "Mary is the woman that teaches my son."
RIGHT: "Mary is the woman who teaches my son."

In speech, we often refer to people using "that," but don't let it bleed into your writing. Or I'll be the woman that who chases after you with a red pen!

As a writer, I toyed with the idea of a blog two years ago but kept bumping up against my ego. What do I have to say that people want to listen to? After all, I have children so I spend my time trying to communicate and failing.

But when I launched The Art of Business Writing, there was never any question I would begin to blog. At least daily, I'm appalled at the poor written materials businesses send out to their customers.

In the olden days (which in this case is about 15 years ago), most people gave business correspondence to a secretary (or the more PC "administrative assistant") who very smartly corrected grammar, punctuation and nonsensical sentences. But the advent of the computer -- and believe me, I worship at the feet of electronic gadgets -- brought the ability to disseminate information to every level of the business world. No longer do a set of critical eyes look at written business materials. In fact, email has spun business writing into another universe, almost eliminating personal telephone calls and other forms of contact.

With a large freelance client base, I'm one of the first to appreciate the time-saving abilities of email. But it also means we all need to learn to write. You must be able to communicate clear, concise messages so your clients and boss know you are competent at your job.

At last, a blog I can commit to. (And yes, it is okay these days to end a sentence with a preposition, although real grammar sticklers will be emailing me!) So I'll be updating my blog weekly with writing suggestions, quick grammar/punctuation tips and examples of terrible writing. Please feel free to email me your favorite examples of atrocious business writing, and I'll be happy to share!

Write often. Write well!
Morgan