The latest winner in the quirky contest for wordplay lovers: Philosopher Fish
Voters have spoken: The oddest book title of 2024 is The Philosopher Fish: Sturgeon, Caviar, and the Geography of Desire, by Richard Adams Carey. While the title may be odd, the book itself looks at sturgeon, the fish from which caviar is harvested, and how the fish...
A way with words; November Wordnerdery looks at Taylor Swift lyrics
The city of Toronto went wild for Taylor Swift this month. I wasn’t at any of the city’s six sold-out shows in her blockbuster Eras tour, but I have the friendship bracelets to show I was “concert adjacent.” You can’t hear about Taylor Swift...
Even more writing tips you might have missed
After a writing webinar I sat in on this week, a follow-up survey looked for suggestions for future webinars. Don’t laugh, but I said…writing. I always want to know more about how to be a better writer, how to grab attention, how to tell better stories. In case...
Fun gifts for writers and readers, 2024 edition
Is it that time already? Yup. All the Halloween decorations are tucked away for the season and stores have been filled with Christmas decorations for weeks. I haven’t heard a cheerful “Only X weeks to Christmas!” yet but it’s only a matter of...
Plain language improves public alerts (in October Wordnerdery)
While you’re prepping for incoming cold weather by consuming pumpkin spice everything, the U.S. National Weather Service is talking about plain language, of all things. It seems people don’t necessarily pay attention to warnings about cold weather. Or maybe they don’t...
4 ways to give numbers context (in September Wordnerdery)
Sometimes the right words are just as effective as the famous picture that’s worth a thousand words. You may have heard about the wildfires that tore through Fort McMurray, Alberta, in 2016. News reports showed walls of flame and images of desperate people...
More to say about artificial intelligence, in links you might have missed
Did you know you can spot the use of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence from the language they use? Apparently AI loves buzzwords. An investigation into scientific articles found a suspicious increase in the use of words like intricate, commendable,...
Steps to fix flabby writing (in August Wordnerdery)
Artificial intelligence may be fast, but its first drafts are not usually ready for prime time. Users complain an AI first draft is wordy and repetitive. It meanders and takes a long time to get to the point. And it can be filled with transitional words like...