Update: I bought beach chairs.

Authors and readers often struggle to answer the question, "What's the book about?" @thejoeltruth.bsky.social says it's because they're trying to *describe* the book instead of *sell* it. Here's how to do better: LISTEN: buff.ly/KAxHL95 READ: buff.ly/2y0Pvd3

I got two fillings today, and I am grateful to live in the age of modern dental care. And I am even more grateful to live in the age of pharmaceuticals right now because, holy mother of god, that was a lot of pain. 😬

I love this!

The British language magazine "Babel" is on Bluesky! Here's the post about their writing competition for young linguists with alt text. "The competition is open to all linguistics students in further and higher education, i.e. at sixth-form, college or university."

Pat does not eat cheese on his burgers, but when someone asked who wants cheddar and who wants Swiss, Pat asked, “Why not both?” Pat is now the hero of dinner.

Ginger mint lemonade at the parade. Highly recommend!

Sharing my best (US-based) money-saving tip again: Pirate Ship. I just mailed a big box of papers that would have been ~$19 if I had taken it to the post office. It was only $10.30 with Pirate Ship. I printed out the label at home and still dropped it off at the same post office. pirateship.com

This came up in a recent interview I did with Daniel Hahn about translating Shakespeare. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" doesn't hit the same in some countries.

My camera doesn't do it justice, but I feel like I could sit and stare at this ocean forevermore.

Thank you to everyone who posted kind messages about the loss of my mother. I appreciate you all so much, and I have a small nice story to share. This morning my stepdad found a letter she had written for us back in 1995 labeled "last thoughts." 1/4

I didn’t make it. She’s gone.

I just got a call that my mother is in the ICU and probably won't make it through the day. She was fine yesterday, and I'm in shock. We just said goodbye on Facetime. Rushing to to the airport to try to see her in person again. Hug your loved ones.

This time of year, new grads always ask me how to find freelance work, so I put together my best tips. Share it with people you know who are looking for gigs! APPLE: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h... YOUTUBE: youtu.be/N7BCrTCVqz4 TRANSCRIPT: www.quickanddirtytips.com/transcripts/...

I loved this book -- a weird and wonderful tale of unlikely love.

I've never been opposed to the word "hallucinating" for describing how AI makes mistakes ... until now. Why now? I just talked to someone who thought AI hallucinations would be obvious because it would be obvious if you talked to a *person* who was hallucinating. 😱 2/2

This week, I talked with @ivacheung.com about the power of plain language, including: → When to use jargon. → How to test documents with readers. → Why verbs beat nominalizations. Her plain language tips will improve your writing today! 📺 youtu.be/QvGcABMS00I 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

"A real trouper" or "a real trooper"? The "powering through" phrase comes from theater and originally used "trouper" (with a U), but the "trooper" spelling surpassed it in the late 1990s. Check out this week's podcast for more: APPLE: buff.ly/dVO3Enn YOUTUBE: buff.ly/YVTXv3A

Yoda's grammar is unusual, but he uses normal English words, plurals, and conjugation — it's mostly word order that differs. This week, I looked at how Yoda's language changed over time and in different situations. APPLE: buff.ly/dVO3Enn YOUTUBE: youtu.be/42YrsnxIqgg

These book club scams are rampant right now. Another widespread new scam is interest in buying your business if you have one.

I have something weird going on with my eyes, and I need to do warm compresses. If you ever need to do something like that, a mask like this is VASTLY better than a wet drippy washcloth! So glad I got it. myhalos.com/products/hea...

California teenager wins Scripps National Spelling Bee with 'bromocriptine'

About 10% of viewers click "like" on my YouTube videos? Is that high? That feels high. I'm just going to go with it being high. <nods and walks off>

If you think your story isn't "big enough" to write about, think again. You could write seven memoirs by age 43. @gfaulknerwriter.bsky.social shares why you should just start writing — no rules or classes required. APPLE: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... YOUTUBE: youtu.be/LxOMHTJ7aOk

This week, I'm talking about the history of recipe writing! Medieval recipes were shockingly vague: "Boil until it be enough." But modern recipes use a highly specialized style — publishers even have cookbook style guides. APPLE: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h... YOUTUBE: youtu.be/SKnAJUpbE50

Imagine arriving late for dinner in 1902 and your friend saying he's ordered you bee's knees and canary birds' tongues. That wasn't a real meal, but it was part of the strange early life of "the bee's knees." I have the whole story this week: APPLE: buff.ly/ohvtq3z YOUTUBE: buff.ly/f4u3Hv7

I'm starting a thread on ways I've saved money. Feel free to add your tips. 1. Pirate Ship. pirateship.com/ I sent a package today via UPS with them for ~$7.50 that would have cost ~$16 if I'd gone direct. I've used it three times. It's real. None of these are ads. They're just stuff I've used.

This week, I talked with @thejoeltruth.bsky.social about his book "Get to the Point." It's a classic Grammar Girl conversation — filled with quick and dirty tips you'll be able to use right away to make your writing (and speaking) better. APPLE PODCASTS: buff.ly/mEpaaNM YOUTUBE: buff.ly/yk2tuGF

I'm really hoping that #StetChat will encourage more editors to come to Bluesky, and for existing users to use the platform more frequently for publishing-related content.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee starts May 26! Ever wonder why we call it a "bee"? The name could go back to the buzzing insects (but maybe not). Get the whole story (plus info about some fun "bee" idioms): APPLE PODCASTS: buff.ly/Cb1NJws YOUTUBE: buff.ly/V5KJvhc

Have you ever heard "two troops" and wondered if that means two groups or two people? You're not alone! "Troops" has confused people for centuries. Historically, a "troop" was a group, but by the 1700s, writers used "troops" for individuals. Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

Some people think you shouldn't use "that" to refer to people, but writers as well-known as Chaucer and Shakespeare have been doing it for centuries. The objection only started in the early 1900s. Learn more: Apple: is.gd/Nf70h7 Spotify: is.gd/MZFFSa

English spelling is not as bad as advertised. I went on the @grammargirl.bsky.social podcast to make the case for the messy, chaotic, amazing English spelling system.

Wonder if this will ever make it to the US www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I just heard “my gob is smacked” and I am enjoying this extension of “flabbers are gasted.” More re-analyses please！

Ever wonder why English spelling is so chaotic? @colingorrie.bsky.social of the fabulous Dead Language Society newsletter and I chatted about the hidden logic behind silent letters, and he explained why "ghoti" ≠ "fish." Apple: is.gd/Id2olW Spotify: is.gd/eaWr6k

Remembering the good times while looking through my saved posts for something else.

"Lingua franca" literally means "Franks' language" from a Crusades-era pidgin. Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin all had their turn as lingua francas before English took over in the 1940s, but Mandarin and Arabic are contenders now too. Listen: is.gd/Nf70h7

Well, congratulations to the news. I'm now so angry that I no longer care about the annoying little work thing I was dealing with before dinner.

Have you ever wondered where "dog" came from? Or "nerd"? The origins of some of our most common words are mysteries. This week, Karen Lunde looked at words with shadowy origins — "girl," "quiz," "Yankee," "bird," "gun," "beach," "puzzle," and "hug." Apple: is.gd/8d3q9t Spotify: is.gd/wLCMnc

This is really terrible, & my editor has been among the employees impersonated. “This list is not exhaustive.” us.macmillan.com/publishing-f...

AP style lovers: Check out this week's podcast with Anna Jo Bratton, the @apstylebook.com editor! We talked about "healthcare" as one word, new words such as "AI slop," and her pet peeve: "petted" is the past tense of "pet" (not "pet"). Apple Podcasts: is.gd/rHM7KF Spotify: is.gd/E13IWT

Are you passionate about SF, fantasy, and pop culture? Our Managing Editor is looking for original essay pitches: author appreciations, scholarly analysis of all aspects of pop culture, critical and personal essays, think pieces, literary analysis and deep dives into film, television, and fiction

Colon rules vary by style guide: AP & Chicago: Capitalize after a colon if it's a complete sentence. MLA: Capitalize after a colon only if it's multiple related sentences or a question. More tips in the podcast! Listen: is.gd/8d3q9t

Have you intentionally included typos in your work? Last week, I talked with Reader's Digest about whether typos are — get this — the new status symbol. 😱 I'd heard of people doing it to "prove" they aren't AI (bad), but I hadn't heard of the new "status symbol" idea. It's wild! is.gd/sp6ho0

I made a calendar outline on a watercolor note card, and now I'm doing a tiny drawing each day. Friday's highlight was a delicious burrito. Saturday, I read part of a book about cake. Today was gray and drizzly. Make art.

I'm not sure it counts as being lesser-known, but "inconceivable" may have gotten a boost from being in "The Princess Bride," which came out in 1987.

I've read "Verb Your Enthusiasm" by Sarah Kaufman twice — rare for me! And it's so great, I can imagine rereading it every year just for inspiration. We talked about why verbs are English's secret superpower and how your verb choices can change the way people think and act. 🎧 APPLE: is.gd/simNMf

English is a "stress-timed language," giving us homographs — words that are spelled the same but have different meanings when you stress different syllables. Like OB-ject (a thing) vs. ob-JECT (to disagree). Learn more about the rules (i.e., guidelines) in this week's podcast: is.gd/7DyhXC

A wholesome story for nerds: On Saturday, I was signing books at a local bookstore for Independent Bookstore Day. The store had a signing-palooza with new authors every hour; toward the end of my hour, a woman came up and asked what my book was about. "Dictionaries," I said, and she lit up. 1/n