The Write Coach

18/06/2026

We have a complex relationship with texts (like films, shows, programmes) we encounter. In the first place, it's pretty simple: we watch (or listen to or read) the text. What we think of it depends on who we are. Then as we process it, we start to extend its meaning beyond that original 'meeting.'
When I was a teenager, I was consumed by Franco Zeffirelli's film of Romeo and Juliet. I couldn't think about anything else for days. I remember that same feverish focus on various books (The Chosen by Chaim Potok, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series) and films (Grease!). My particular fandom was all internal - I never even really talked about these texts. I just got angry when I had to do anything other than think about them (go to Maths, for example, or clean my room).
What do you remember being obsessed about? And what did that look like for you?

16/06/2026

People don’t just consume stories - they extend them.
They speculate, imagine, fill gaps in their knowledge.
A striking example of this is how fans can behave (and misbehave!) in relation to stories and actors they love. I'm fascinated (in a ghoulish kind of way) by how groups of fans 'take over' a text and make it their own.
Enjoying a programme or film is great - that's what its creators want, after all - but what about when that enjoyment becomes obsessive? When does it cross a moral line?

12/06/2026

If youd like to have some fun identifying how politicians are steering our opinions, head over to my website and download (free!) my Election Bingo cards. Let's make the intentions of political language visible!
https://thewritecoach.nz/

10/06/2026

We don’t arrive at information empty-handed.
We bring our beliefs, experiences, politics, culture, and background.
All of that shapes what we think something means.
Clever writers are aware of that. Think of a children's picture book. The writer has tailored the words for a particular age and level of experience/imagination - and those words have been reinforced or extended by the illustrator.
It's kind of scary, though, when that relationship between the creator and the receiver of the texts gets wildly unbalanced. I've thought about that, and how it plays out, in my blog this month. Check it out here:
https://blog.thewritecoach.nz/

08/06/2026

We can learn a lot from Fandoms and Politics when it comes to who controls meaning.

We put a piece of writing out but we can't control how people interpret it or what they do with it.

Take a fandom for example... A show comes out and people fall in love. But what happens when it's over? When the text ends? Often fans continue the story, fill the gaps, make assumptions and continue to evolve the world beyond the original text.

Or politics... Say you get two pamplets in the mail from two different parties. Now let's imagine you read them instead of chucking them out. Chances are you preferred one over the other. Not because one was better than the other but because you already had a preference before reading them.
In my latest blog, I explore how it's not just the writer who makes meaning from a text.
https://blog.thewritecoach.nz/why-your-writing-gets-misunderstood-and-how-to-make-it-clearer/

02/06/2026

Sometimes, we're encouraged to think a particular way through the word choice a writer makes. Adjectives are a prime example of this - often a judgement slides into a sentence in a describing word.
Keep an eye out - once you start noticing them, they're all over the place (particularly in election year!)
And if you'd like to spot other comon political snippets of language, download my free Election Bingo Cards today - look for the free download on my website.
https://thewritecoach.nz/

01/06/2026

In my June blog, I explore the relationship between the writer or creator of a text and the audience - what happens when it's unbalanced, and how, by understanding the relationship, you can make your own meaning clearer when you write.

01/06/2026

We try to control what we write, but our values, beliefs and experiences sometimes show up unintentionally. Then, when the writing goes out into the world, we can't control how people interpret it or what they do with it.

Take a fandom for example... A show comes out and people fall in love. But what happens when it's over? When the text ends? Often fans continue the story, fill the gaps, make assumptions and continue to evolve the world beyond the original text.

Or politics... Say you get two pamphlets in the mail from two different political parties. Now let's imagine you read them instead of chucking them out. Chances are, you were predisposed to like one more than the other. You're bringing your own mindset to what someone else has written.
When a piece of writing goes out into the world, we collaborate with the writer to make meaning of it. I explore this idea in my blog this month.
https://blog.thewritecoach.nz/why-your-writing-gets-misunderstood-and-how-to-make-it-clearer/

21/05/2026

14/05/2026

Read about the benefits of clear writing in May's blog:
https://blog.thewritecoach.nz/perfection-doesnt-make-writing-make-sense-clarity-does/