Nuala Gildea and Aine Kelly are consultant editors with the Write Words which is an Arklow based company with a mission to improve the communication skills of both individuals and businesses throughout Ireland. The Write Words offers many services including editorial, proofreading and online critiques.

In addition to this, Nuala and Aine also co-ordinated the ‘Marlton Mystery’. This book stands out as an example of collaborative writing to produce a fast paced and exciting murder mystery which was written by Wicklow based writers Carmel Grant, Edward J Ryan, Carol Boland, Cait Breathnach, Gerry Sheridan, Eithne Wright and Tess Doyle.

For more information on The Write Words and the Marlton Mystery please visit the write words website at http://www.thewritewords.ie

1. A brief history of The Write Words to date….

The Write Words website was designed and created by Nuala Gildea and Aine Kelly in 2005 in response to felt needs. Research and personal experience showed that many writers needed help to progress amateur words into professional scripts. Individual writers helped with exercises and feedback whilst copy for the site was progressed from stage to stage. Writers like to see their words in print. Increased access to new publishing technology has created a need for proofreading; correcting and a good quality editorial service to prepare manuscripts for publication.

2. The type of person or organisation who needs The Write Words most is….

Individuals and group projects alike can benefit from a service that converts an amateur script into a professional disk or manuscript. The contemporary fashion for self-publishing has created a growing need for ability to convert amateur scripts into professional packages. Individuals constructing reports, plotting a novel or shaping a memoir for publication need The Write Words.

The Write Words aims to help writers reach their target audience with both confidence and style. Nuala has extensive experience working with aspiring creative writers including novel writing and scripts for TV, radio and film. She has worked professionally with individuals in various arts disciplines helping them to refine their projects to professional standards. Her success is based upon her recognized ability to write material suited to the needs and interests of the students with whom she works.

Aine spent sixteen years working in London where she read law at university. She led and facilitated workshops for mature students, helping them to develop the language clarity and structure necessary for legal and creative writing.
We often laugh that between us we share over 100 years of hands on experience!

3. Can you give an example of how a badly worded piece of communication adversely affected a business or individual?

One glaring, although not recent example, is that of a speech delivered by Gerald Ratner to Britain’s Institute of Directors in April 1991. In the course of his speech Mr Ratner, who had built a firm up to be one of the world’s largest jewellery empires, described an item he sold as “total crap”. The words, once reported in the media, utterly devastated consumer confidence and the successful high street brand that included H Samuel and Ernest Jones all but disappeared!

4. What are the most common mistakes you find in day-to-day business communication?

An adversarial attitude to customer service! Take the Telecommunications industry for example. A major public service was deregulated without respect for demographics or for staff retraining, thus adversely impacting the customer service element of business and personal communication leaving many customers feeling frustrated and without recourse.

5. Is ‘text speak’ having an irreversible effect on the communication ability of the 14 to 25 year old age group?

Did Pitman’s Shorthand? But then it was used by trained specialists. Text speak represents a clever use of phonics as a shorthand and is used today by young and old alike. It is a fast and effective form of communication when used efficiently. Like any skill, sloppy usage creates barriers to effective communication. Training would help individuals to use this shorthand effectively for personal and/or business communication.

6. How have sales been for the Marlton Mystery and are there any plans for a follow up book?

Sales are satisfactory and on going. Two collaborative works in progress, one informative, and the other creative are aimed towards more traditional publishers. Meeting procedure, interview know-how and report writing from complaint to technical report are covered in our business manual whilst Another Word tells a story that climaxes in a courtroom drama.

7. One of the top life goals for people, as indicated by 43 things.com, is to write a book. Is this just a pipe dream or does everyone really have a book inside them?

Every individual is born to create a life script. Some yearn to share it in print or image, others are happy to experience, even to delegate. Ghostwriting is popular amongst today’s icons, especially sportsmen. Technology has shaped new standards in the field of written and oral communication with a domino effect on the world of publishing. Individuals who choose to share their memories or ideas are turning to self publishing whilst traditional publishers, for commercial reasons cherry pick the big names.

8. The 3 books I couldn’t be without on a desert island are….

Nuala

1. The Letters of WB Yeats
2. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
3. Inventing Ireland by Declan Kiberd

Aine

1. Ray Meares Guide to Survival!
2. Ocean Cuisine
3. The Bible

9. Which statement rings true to you… A picture is worth a thousand words OR words painted in the mind’s eye are more powerful than a picture.

The first for sure! A picture, like the eye of a camera, focuses in perspective whereas words can circle in dream like sequence.

10. The most powerful words ever written were….

That is a very difficult question to answer given the weight of powerful words written over time, however a collection of words from WB Yeats fits the present context….

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities.