Hollywood screenwriter John August is known for writing films like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the Disney live-action adaptation of “Aladdin”.

In this “Academy Originals” YouTube video, John talks about his amazingly creative process and where his ideas come from.

See how he uses a whiteboard to plot his stories—and a weird keyboard to type his script. You’ve probably never seen anything like it before. Well, I hadn’t!

The Safe Zone Project is a free online resource for creating powerful, effective LGBTQ+ awareness and ally training workshops.

I found this document particularly interesting—and I thought you might, too.

You’ll find:

1. lots of core terms explained—like bisexual, cisgender, genderqueer, transgender, pansexual and LGBTQ; GSM; DSG and so on,

and at the end of the document:

2. a list of LGBTQ-inclusive language dos and don’ts. One example: Rather than say “transgender and normal people”, say “transgender and cisgender people”.

Do you also find this useful?

How often do you use the German phrase “Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof”?

It’s actually one of my favourites.

In English we might say, “It’s all Greek to me.” Or even, “It’s as clear as mud.”

However, if you work with non-native speakers of English, I suggest that you avoid using phrases like these and choose to use plain English. It makes your message easier to understand.

In that case, I would just say, “I don’t get it!” Or even better, “I don’t understand it” or “I don’t understand you” or just “I don’t understand a thing!”.

Do you use any of these phrases?

Just because emoji are widely used in instant messaging, email and social networking, it doesn’t mean that everyone understands them in the same way.

We might send a thumbs-up symbol—👍— to show that we agree with someone. In the Middle East and Greece, however, it is seen as an insult. 

We use the clapping hands emoji—👏— to offer praise or to congratulate someone. But in China it can be understood as an invitation for making love. 

The slightly smiling emoji—🙂— is not seen as a sign of happiness in all countries. In China it implies distrust or disbelief, for example. 

This means that we need to be aware of these differences when communicating with a multicultural audience.

Do you often use emoji? Do you have any favourites?

Keep your head down. Follow the rules. Do as you’re told. Play it safe. Wait your turn. Ask permission. Learn to compromise. This is terrible advice according to Casey Neistat and Max Joseph. 

Want to be a creator? Do what you can’t—and you’ll get there!

A quick and dirty writing tip today.

We can replace these wordy phrases with one word:

a majority of = most
in order to = to
despite the fact that = although
continues to be = remains
at which time = when
at this point in time = now
due to the fact that = because

Can you think of any other phrases we could shorten?