Cousin Itt Teaches Better Business Writing to It

by | Oct 27, 2013

ITT-Drawn

At the risk of revealing how old I really am, today’s post employs help from Cousin Itt.

Yes, I am old enough to remember the original.

Then there is the bonus of Halloween being this week.

Little Characters

I was also inspired by someone not so old – my good buddy, Shane Arthur.

I first met Shane at the wildly popular word prompt blog, Creative Copy Challenge.

Sadly, the blog has retired. I miss my weekly “chats” with Shane.

Shane is an editor extraordinaire.  He asked for my opinion on a book he wrote about editing.

  • And he never published the book
  • Publish the book, Shane!

Hee-hee (inside joke – Shane nags me about writing fiction).

Anyway, one of the best tips I took from Shane’s book came from one of its littlest characters – the word, it.

  • It dilutes your writing
  • It causes confusion
  • It drives me crazy at times (thanks, Shane)

In the interest of keeping it simple – oh no, do I need to change my tagline? – I created a presentation about the two-lettered son of a gun.

I hope you enjoy – IT!

Cousin Itt and the Reform of Little Cousin It

8 Comments

  1. Paula Hendrickson
    Paula Hendrickson on October 28, 2013 at 9:39 am

    Entertaining and informative, Cathy.

    Any plans for a sequel about Itt’s second cousin thrice removed? “That” thinks he’s helpful, but always seems to show up where he’s not needed.

    Reply
    • Cathy
      Cathy on October 28, 2013 at 9:50 am

      Thanks, Paula. THAT could be a fun one, too. 😉

      Reply
  2. Riza
    Riza on October 30, 2013 at 4:45 am

    Awesome SlideShare. And I couldn’t agree more with the thoughts shared through this. And that’s saying something, because I’m also guilty of committing that mistake of using “it” too much. LOL. I don’t know why, but I guess using the word “it” is easier than defining what I mean by it. See?

    Something I should work on. Thanks for this creative reminder. 🙂

    Reply
    • Cathy
      Cathy on October 30, 2013 at 7:17 am

      Thanks, Riza. I was not aware of how much I used “it.” 😉

      Reply
  3. Lori
    Lori on October 30, 2013 at 8:49 am

    “It” is one of those words, huh? We often think people get who/what we’re referring to when we use “it”, but I know in my own household, “it” has become one of those words we had to back up instantly with qualifiers.

    Reply
    • Cathy
      Cathy on October 30, 2013 at 9:44 am

      I guess that depends on what It means to you, Lori. 😉

      Reply
  4. Paula Hendrickson
    Paula Hendrickson on October 30, 2013 at 9:25 am

    Lori’s comment reminded me: When I was a kid and didn’t know how to spell a word, if I asked Dad, “How do you spell it?” He’d say, “I. T.”

    He got a laugh and made his point at the same time.

    Reply
    • Cathy
      Cathy on October 30, 2013 at 9:45 am

      LOL, Paula! 😀 What a great, simple teaching tool. 😉

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Pin It on Pinterest