Country music is about the plight of the everyday individual, laying out heartbreak, relationships, friendships, work and other aspects of life as a story – an adventure – for the listener to experience. It’s simply ‘Three Chords and the Truth’, as the late songwriting legend, Harlan Howard, once described.1 Ultimately, this philosophy is at the […]

PART 1 In this series, we’re going to ponder the works of famous writers from throughout history. Inexplicably transported through time to the present day (and hired as medical writers), how would these legendary figures approach Med Comms? What could we learn from them? After all, we are writers at heart – and there’s no […]

It’s no surprise that LinkedIn is seen as the Marmite of social media by marketers. To some, it’s the ultimate marketing platform, where you can find, connect with and directly sell to your target market all in the one place, and without spending a penny. For others, it’s a cesspit of humblebraggers, self-promoters, cryptocurrency hustlers […]

The phone had not stopped ringing. It seemed like the second Toothy bid goodbye to another promising lead, the Toothphone was glowing purple again. Toothy usually loved this part of his job, but Christmas was around the corner and there seemed to be no let up. He took a deep breath and picked up the […]

A senior medical writer’s perspective on what can be taken away from 5 world-famous guitarists and their playing styles – and applied to med comms. The composition is king Mastered by: Mark Knopfler Mark Knopfler is often cited as one of the best guitarists of all time – and for good reason. As Dire Straits’ […]

Not to put a downer on the miracle of humanity or anything, but one of the biggest problems with human nature, is that we’re hard-wired to constantly try to better ourselves. Take a look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs below. This is one of the simplest ways to explain the idea that we humans all […]

Today is International Men’s Day (IMD), a day where we can celebrate the contributions and value that men bring to the world, their families and communities. So, let’s all first embrace the nearest bloke we see (I’m sure they’ll understand), and then read on to learn about the six pillars on which IMD is founded:1 […]

Whatever you’re writing, getting people to notice it is always the most important part. As advertising legend David Ogilvy famously said: “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.” So, once you’ve compelled people enough to read further than your advert headline, or move onto the second […]

Word Monster goes global as medical writing support service sweeps Sydney The company now offer their life-first and remote-only workstyle to medical writers and healthcare clients in Australia Today sees the launch of Word Monster (a Monster Medical Group company) in Sydney, Australia. The expansion aims to help curb the extreme surge in global demand […]

Forget vampires; they’re just a result of a poor understanding of death and decay – and fertile minds. Forget werewolves, too – we’ve got a suite of explanations for stories of these hairy hairbrush-needing beasts, ranging from genetic disorders, psychiatric syndromes and rabies, to serial killers (OK, I guess werewolves sound quite interesting after all). […]

You might see ageing described as a universal, inescapable process to which all living things are inevitably bound. Indeed, king of evolutionary biology, William Hamilton – best known for kin selection – argued that all organisms must age (even theoretical organisms, like aliens). This was based on the idea that selection pressures are weaker for […]

The Sky at Night presenter, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock Margaret Ebunoluwa Aderin-Pocock MBE is a physicist, space scientist, telescope engineer, and presenter of the BBC’s ‘The Sky at Night’ (note – I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Aderin-Pocock, which you can check out here). Alongside her work in science communication, Dr Aderin-Pocock helped design the […]

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that means that it’s time for everyone around the globe, particularly us ladies, to give ourselves some essential tender loving care (TLC). But we’re not talking about a spa day with your girlfriends, what we’re referring to is some very specific TLC for your breasts. Unfortunately, breast cancer […]

Well, sort of – the oldest known pieces of written marketing are thought to be 5000-year-old ‘WANTED’ flyers from Thebes.1,2 Ancient Babylonians, too, were apparently into their ads, selling their products with the aid of fancy clay tablets that presumably smelled a bit funny.1 But leave it to the Romans to take it to the […]

Once upon a time, in the far-away years of the 1980s and 1990s, video games were regarded as a niche endeavour for elite-level nerds; proud owners of crumbs in their beards and mint condition still-sealed-in-their-boxes Star Wars action figures. But today, almost half the world’s entire population play video games at least once a week, […]