I guess that’s the whole point of the post, really.

I’m currently involved in some online marketing campaigns and a single word out of place can kill the entire campaign. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to predict in advance which word it will be!

What it does tell us is that the effect on the reader is tremendously powerful.

When I think to pieces of writing which have affected me, I haven’t always been able to say exactly why. They just have.

I suppose we should marvel at a good writer’s ability to transfer a thought from his or her brain into the brain of another human. And to do it through the clumsy medium of writing.

As you well know, Susan, since you’re very good at it yourself. When I read your writing I’m always struck by the emotion. I guess it’s a little bit like the difference in hearing someone speaking clearly, or hearing them muffled from a distance.

Hmmm…

Can you hear me at the back? (Old English joke)

It’s possible to dilute the entire structure of a sentence with a single weak word. I know when I’ve written business letters in the past – many thousands of them – I’ve usually found a way to improve on my first attempt. In hindsight the changes have always been subtle, but the effect profound.

Just a point, on writing the sentence above I changed 4 words while typing it and it reads a whole lot better!

Who wants to take a single piano lesson? You want lessons. And, for whatever reason, the language seems to have a bias, in the case of the piano, towards “the” and not “a” piano.