A key part of being a better translator is being a better writer. But this aspect of our work is often overlooked. In this talk, we’ll go on a tour of what it means to be a good writer, above and beyond its use in translation. We’ll explore writing from a number of angles. Why do we write? What do we write about? And for whom? For ourselves? For our clients? For social media or commercial purposes? We’ll even look at where we write.

And then what about the art of writing? How do we go about researching our texts? How to draft and craft text that makes people want to read, and keep reading? We’ll address the key role of empathy, observation, and self-deprecation, as well as notions of conciseness, structure, style, and those killer opening and closing sentences.

The goals? Engagement and ultimately action on the part of the reader, whatever form that takes. Writing as persuasion, as a call to action.