When I first joined an advertising agency as a writer some 30 years ago, I thought I knew how to write. Then I met a British gent who would be my boss, my mentor and friend for the next 10 years. I still have a list of his writing tips that I saved from those days. One of my favorite quotes from him is, "If I would've had more time, it would have been shorter." It would be very rewarding to pass along the wisdom he gave to me.

Throughout my writing career, I have been responsible for proofreading everything that I wrote. Proofreading is a job that demands focus and a good eye, especially when you consider that if a mistake is found after printing, the agency might have to reprint 20,000 or 50,000 copies at their expense. A typo is not good for job security.

I consider myself relatively proficient in English. Throughout my school days, I seemed to perform better in subjects that required some sort of writing ability. On the other hand, I pretty much tanked in my math courses, so I guess that makes me a left brain person, or maybe it's right brain ... one of the two.

I think it's most important to have fun. Sitting around diagramming sentences or memorizing boring stuff just doesn't cut it for me. If we can learn and have fun at the same time, then we'll get somewhere.