Writeyness :: Info to snack on

I went to see Billy Connolly (still as funny as ever) the other night. One of the Big Yin’s best lines was…

“If you go into a house and they only have one book, get the *bleep* out of that house!”

Really I just wanted an excuse to get that line in, but it did get me thinking — if I had to choose one writing book to keep out of the ones on my shelf, which would it be?

I’d have to choose On Writing Well by William Zinsser.

Others making up a top 5 would be:

- Networds by Nick Usborne
- On Writing by Stephen King (yes, the Stephen King)
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White
- The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly

I would say all are required reading for anyone who wants to improve their writing.

Growing up in Scotland, I consumed the “great chieftain o’ the puddin’ race” — otherwise known as haggis — at least once a year on Burns Night and, honestly, it’s great mashed up with potatoes and turnips. Strangely though, not everyone agrees with me, and it can be tough to sell haggis sceptics on the delights of assorted sheeps’ innards boiled in the same animal’s bladder.

Anstruther Fish Bar — Scotland’s best fish and chip shop (and Tom Hanks’s favourite no less) — makes a valient effort, however. Last time I was there, I noticed this sign…

Ignoring any questionable ingredients, they go straight for the suitably vague “new improved” approach.

Got me thinking how else you can sell haggis…

“Just eat it! (And forget about what’s in it.)” (With apologies to Nike)

“Scotland’s caviar. Now with chips.”

“Not exactly healthy… but not bad for you either.”

“The original boil-in-a-bag meal.”

(It’s been a long day.)

By the way, the best haggis comes from Macsween of Edinburgh.