Words that sing and dance

We are craftspeople, meeting the needs of our clients

… a picture is often worth a thousand words

but … words can often conjure up a thousand pictures

long words short words boring words lively words ugly words pretty words rude words good words my words your words many words

few words

But they must be the right ones

And that’s the challenge

The choice of words is crucial

Words make patterns in front of you

You can hear them talking to you

They go round and round in your head

They make patterns on your mind and memory

You need to create a little piece of drama…

accuracy

challenge

clarity

connectivity

contemplation

creativity

economy

emotion

empathy

…to provoke a reaction essence

focus

gravity

humour

imagination

inspiration

integrity

language(s)

metaphor

revelation

rhyme

rhythm

sense-of-place

sensitivity

serendipity

simplicity

storytelling

whimsy

mystery

narrative

personality

poetry

probity

prose

reflection

repetition

resonance

What is QuiteWrite?

Poetry and prose for people at places

Speak with a local accent Use the economy of words in poetry Maintain the same discipline in text

An exhibition panel using 100 words

A wayside sign using 40 words

?

A museum panel using 25 words

A ‘for sale’ panel using just one word

Nature reserve – words by Sorley MacLean

Park bench – words by Tom Clark

Watching • timewatching • waterwatching • timewatching • rockwatching • timewatching • icewatching • timewatching • firewatching • timewatching • lifewatching •

lifetime • watching • time

Handrail on a Highland bridge

Michael Hamish Glen

River • river walk • river talk • river rush • river hush • river sing • river ring •

river spate • river fate • river prance • river dance •

river call • river fall • river fun • river run •

river splash • river dash • river slow • river flow •

river • forever

Handrail on a Highland bridge

Michael Hamish Glen

Five panels at waterfalls

Michael Hamish Glen

Toiling rivers turn mighty engines Nerth afonydd yn troi peiriannau mawr

Captured currents grind daily bread Ffrydiau caeth yn malu bara beunyddiol

Sudden torrents drown tumbling steps Llifiannau sydyn yn boddi grisiau serth

Searching waters carve dark secrets Dyfroedd chwilgar yn cerfio tywyllwch cêl

Seeping streams reach thirsty roots Nentydd yn treiddio i wreiddiau sychion

Five panels at waterfalls

Michael Hamish Glen

Six handrails on a new bridge

Michael Hamish Glen

Languid Leven loch, lowered for working water Snaking Leven river, replaced by working water

Sluice-curbed Leven cut, carved out for working water Sturdy Leven bridge, braced over working water

Thirsty Leven mills, maintained by working water Fertile Leven lands, left free from working water

The tumbles of lapwings and the gobbling of geese echo the spirals of skylarks and the squabbling of ducks

Chimney stacks, linen flax, corn mills, whisky stills snuff mills, paper mills, bleach fields, profit yields

Ducks dabble, geese gather, swans swoop, ducks dive, geese gobble, swans swank

Twenty-five benches on a loch-side walk

Michael Hamish Glen

The fisherman’s friend is the flirty fly, fickle food for fleeting fish

Sneaking snails, battling beetles, dashing dragons, dancing damsels

Ablow yon auld an scrievit stanes lirk Kinross toun’s respeckit banes

Three stone seats on a loch-side walk

Michael Hamish Glen

The tumbling of waters is the teeming of life

The felling of the timber is the making of the home

The face of the city is the heart of the mountain

The calling of the cuckoo is the other side of Spring

The harvest of the spruce is the start of letters home

Twelve ‘events’ in a forest

Michael Hamish Glen

Twenty ‘Signal posts’ on a forest walk

Michael Hamish Glen

Timber cut by stone and untold energy,

to smelt a life of new horizons from a fire-mouthed cave, and

axed by wintering traders, once Norse invaders, hauled high

on a repairing shore.

Yr Avon Ystwyth

Cwm yr afon ystwyth sy’n syrthio tros graig, heibio goedwig, trwy pentref a diwydiant coll, ar draws rhyd, tan pont, i lawr ceunant o’r hafod ger

y bwa

Or, in abbreviated form:

Cwmafonystwythsy’nsyrthiotrosgraigheibio- goedwig-pentrefdiwydiantcollrhydpont-

ceunanto’rhafodgerybwa

Strapline for a Welsh valley

Michael Hamish Glen

The Ystwyth Valley

The valley of the agile river that tumbles over rock, past woodland, village and lost industry,

across the ford, under the bridge and down the ravine from the upland farm near the arch

Or, in abbreviated form:

Thevalleyoftheagileriverthattumblesoverrock-pastwoodlandvillagelostindustryfordbridge-

ravinefromtheuplandfarmnearthearch

Strapline for a Welsh valley

Michael Hamish Glen

John Graham, Irish prisoner

There are many tales out of New South Wales but there’s none so strange as now, When you hear of John who was on the run; just wait till I tell you how. He stole some hemp, so was not exemp’ from a ship to Bot’ny Bay, Just as any lad, he was not all bad but the law got in his way.

Prisoner’s poem for an Irish gaol

Michael Hamish Glen

I’m Vera Vole, I live in a hole, Deep in the bank – I like it quite dank. Rushes are good, we eat them for food Then hide in the grass to let danger pass.

I’m Theo Dolite, I must get it right. Choosing a route that’s going to suit Owners of land and that merry band Of boatmen at large, each one with a barge.

Forty verses for a canal interpretive map

Michael Hamish Glen

Ròn : Seal

Glistening seals haul their awkward

sleekness from the easy seas and then dream,

flippers high, of fish suppers

Ten panels overlooking a sea loch

Michael Hamish Glen

A few guidelines

Ten questions to consider 1 Why am I writing this text?

2 Is there an interpretive plan?

3 Where does this text fit into the plan?

4 Who is the primary audience?

5 Do I have to think of other audiences?

6 Where will the text be located?

7 Will the text relate to objects, places, ideas, events?

8 Who will approve the text?

9 Will the text be tested before use?

10 Will it be in more than one language?

Ten more questions 1 Will there be photographs, illustrations or maps?

2 How long or short should the text be?

3 What is the principal story?

4 Are there subsidiary stories to tell?

5 Is the basic information available?

6 Must the text be in conventional prose?

7 May I choose the style of language?

8 May I use poetry or contemplative text?

9 May I use humour?

10 May I ask questions or just give answers?

Ten rules 1 Create eye-catching – but accurate – headings

2 Use a hierarchy of text content (and size)

3 Start with a summary of key content

4 Use simple words and correct grammar

5 Use first / second person and write as you speak

6 Use concise sentences but vary them in length

7 Use active verbs unless the sense dictates otherwise

8 Insert cross-headings to break up the text

9 Remember who will read your text, and their age

10 Don’t describe what is illustrated

Another ten rules 1 Avoid lots of dates and unnecessary details

2 Avoid capitals, semi-colons; and exclamation marks!

3 Avoid Latin and other abbreviations

4 Explain technical terms where necessary

5 Provide contexts, comparisons and relationships

6 Consider using quotations and questions

7 Consider using local and / or dialect words

8 Consider using bullet points ()

9 Consider using the Ekarv Method

10 Remember designers can help with good layout

The Ekarv Method 1 Use simple language to express complex ideas

2 Write in short sentences

3 Use the word order of normal speech

4 Include one main idea only on each line

5 End lines at the natural end of phrases

6 Restrict lines to about 45 letters

7 Always align text to the left

8 Break text into paragraphs of four or five lines

9 Read your text aloud and note the natural pauses

10 Adjust wording and punctuation to reflect speech

Journalists’ rules

Sourcing Accuracy Balance Speed

Significance

25 words Granny-friendly

Sourcing Accuracy Balance Clarity

Significance

50 words Visitor-friendly

Interpreters’ rules

Make it short and simple Make people want to read it

Make it fun to read Make the words sing and dance

Make it memorable

Michael’s rules

My mentor: Ian Hamilton Finlay Author of the one-word poem

CURFEW

Curlew

Maurilio’s challenge

Why are shadows always black?

Write a response – in 25 words –that will satisfy children.

Darwin’s challenge

Why are flamingos always pink?

Write a response – in 50 words –that will amuse families.

Rodin’s challenge

What is he thinking about?

Write a response – in 15 words –that will make people think.

Miaow!

Prrr!

That’s all folks!

Happy writing!