Oh no am I going to have to get myself a physical dictionary on no it's calling to me

Our house style is to have no spaces before or after em-dashes, so some of our copywriters have started replacing all their em-dashes with colons, which... doesn't work 😱 This is especially obvious when an em-dash contrasts two clauses: "Run or hide: just don't turn around." REALLY doesn't work.

I work₂ as an editor, but my real calling₁ is writing, so that's how I format it in my bio. It's a system from my favorite book of all time, "Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand", and it's a great example of how to use "technical" fields like orthography creatively when writing fiction (1/5)

'Scotch-free'? 'Scott free'?? The one you want to use is 'scot-free.' ‘Scot’ is an old word for “tax.” So, ‘scot-free’ literally means “exempt from tax.” It’s since been broadened to mean “completely free from obligation, harm, or penalty.”

My new substack essay about the philosophy of love in WALL-E (2008) is finally out! #Pixar #Disney #Moviereview

Idk the ethical workings of public #psychology but something about this message from my uni just feels off. Like they really just spell out the only reason you apparently could get therapy: if you're not a good enough individualized neoliberal actor. And what's with "mobilize your inner resources"??

How to spot #AI #copywriting: 1. Stupid emojis, easiest. 2. The final phrase linking a CTA to slang or meme, obviously generated from a prompt. Also true for the 1st paragraph, linking slang with game's selling point. 3. Construction "product is x,y,z" in the 2nd paragraph sounds unnatural.

Miffed about this trend that apparently you can tell something was written by #AI just because it has m-dashes. I want you to know any text I edit, even if it's written by AI, I am the one who personally put the m-dashes there because THEY ARE PROPER USAGE IN AMERICAN ENGLISH!!!

Used the bathroom in a high-class mall today and everything, the faucet, the soap dispenser, and the hair dryer were all sensor-activated. It suggests this reality where your wealth literally sets the inanimate world into motion. Your very presence activates (warrants) cleaning, washing, drying.

So if you're writing a #bookreview and you start summarizing the book I WON'T READ IT! Why do I care what the damn book is about? I'm not here for a synopsis, I can look that the fuck up!!! I want to know what YOU thought!! Why YOU loved it!!! What made YOU hate it!!! Why others need to read it!!!

last year I wrote a blog about queer interpretations of the epic of gilgamesh. my argument is that, sure, there weren't any actual gays back then, but we can still find meaningful queer interpretations in ancient literature that connect with modern readers. #literature #queer #litcrit #gilgamesh