Assignment: Share tips to be cyber safe
Scamming is big business and getting worse every day, with AI-generated images making it hard to tell real from fake. My client wanted to alert its members to common scams and provide helpful advice in an article that appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of their magazine,...
Plain language tips in links you might have missed, lawyer edition
Not everyone is a fan of plain language. Really! Even though it’s all about helping your readers find what they need, understand what they find and use it to meet their needs. In today’s episode of links to interesting posts you might have missed, we take a closer...
A spotlight on missing people keeps cold cases alive
A cold case is more than a crime drama on TV, where long-unsolved investigations are reopened. In Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment area, a non-profit group called Please Bring Me Home is working to solve cold cases close to home. My article in the Winter 2025-2026 issue...
Slop, rage bait and 6-7 top word lists in 2025
Before 2025 was even over, people were talking about the Words of the Year. These represent the topics people searched for online, that caught the public’s imagination, showed widespread use or reflected important events, people and preoccupations. I waited until...
Top 10 posts in the Red Jacket Diaries in 2025
Happy New Year! As is my annual tradition, I’ve taken a look under the blog hood to find the 10 most-viewed posts in 2025. 1. One of my clients regularly surveys its members for the views on topical issues. The most-read post was a reprint of an article for this...
One last Wordnerdery, and I’ve put a bow on it
It turns out there was more to the writer’s block I wrote about in my November newsletter than the need for a simple recharge. That block prompted me to do a little more soul-searching. Once the thought of “Should I keep publishing or end it?” popped into my head, it...
Drawing a blank? Try recharging (in November Wordnerdery)
As I sat down to write my monthly newsletter in November, I hit a wall. For the first time since launching Wordnerdery in March 2013 — after 152 issues! — I drew a blank on what to write about. The newsletter usually touches on recurring topics, like plain language,...
Fun gifts for readers and writers, 2025 edition
Halloween is long over and the windup to American Thanksgiving and Christmas is in full swing. I hear that some people have already finished their Christmas shopping. Good show, people! I have bought exactly one gift. But I am sniffing around for ideas. And if it’s...