Does 'book-book' make sense? Fun words for jigsaw lovers. Chilly chickens.
1051. This week, we look at doubled words, like "salad-salad" or "job-job," and what the repetition is actually telling us. Then, in honor of National Puzzle Day, we look at the history of jigsaw puzzles and some fun words from the industry such as "whimsy" and "puzzband."The "puzzle" segment is by Karen Lunde, a former Quick & Dirty Tips editor and digital pioneer who's been spinning words into gold since before cat videos ruled the internet. She created one of the first online writing workshops, and she's published thousands of articles on the art of writing. These days, she leads personal narrative writing retreats and helps writers find their voice. Visit her at ChanterelleStoryStudio.com.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media | Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
28 Jan 14min
The secret to writing a good memoir, with Wendy Dale
1050. This week, I talk with Wendy Dale, author of "The Memoir Engineering System," about how to write a compelling memoir. We look at the differences between memoir and autobiography, the importance of plot, and why outlining can save writers years of work. Wendy shares practical tips on crafting scenes, connecting events, and handling sensitive topics while maintaining relationships with the people in your story. It's not just for memoir writing either — I found the tips inspiring and helpful for crafting fiction too.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media | Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
23 Jan 19min
Quotation marks in 1906. Starting stories in the middle. Road trip words.
1049. I came across a hilarious entry about quotation marks in an old usage guide and had to share it. Then, we look at a technique that can work for both fiction and nonfiction writing — starting a story in the middle.The "in medias res" segment is by Karen Lunde, a former Quick & Dirty Tips editor and digital pioneer who's been spinning words into gold since before cat videos ruled the internet. She created one of the first online writing workshops, and she's published thousands of articles on the art of writing. These days, she leads personal narrative writing retreats and helps writers find their voice. Visit her at ChanterelleStoryStudio.com.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media | Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
21 Jan 17min
'Rebel with a Clause,' the movie, with Ellen Jovin and Brandt Johnson
1048. Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on the street in all 50 U.S. states to talk with people about grammar, which led to the book "Rebel with a Clause." Now, her story, and the story of people who talked with her, is a movie by the same name. Mignon talked with Ellen and her documentarian husband, Brandt Johnson, about what they learned about both filmmaking and humanity.Find them at RebelWithAClause.com.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
16 Jan 24min
From "august" to "August." Why the union is always "strong." Nee nee
1047. This week, we look at word pairs like "august/August" that change their meaning when capitalized and how you can make your meaning clear. Then, we look at how we got to the point where U.S. presidents always seem to say, "The state of the union is STRONG," in their State of the Union addresses. 🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media | Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
14 Jan 15min
The psychology of fandom, with Jennifer Lynn Barnes
1046. Jennifer Lynn Barnes, author of the "Inheritance Games" books, discusses how writing from different points of view can help readers connect with characters in different ways. We also talked about her book recommendations, and how the "Grey's Anatomy" pilot surprised her by having almost all the elements she had identified as important for the success of novels.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
9 Jan 23min
Does 'Wicked' have a grammar error? What is the 'neck of the woods'? To be Frances
1045. A listener asked if the song "The Wizard and I" should actually be "The Wizard and Me," so we look at how you can tell. And then we look at interesting idioms about familiar places: "neck of the woods," "stomping grounds," and "haunts."The "neck of the woods" segment was written by Karen Lunde, a former Quick and Dirty Tips editor who has crafted hundreds of articles on the art of writing well. She was an online education pioneer, founding one of the first online writing workshops. These days, she provides writing tips and writing coach services at HelpMeWriteBetter.com.Find the "Wicked" grammar quiz at the bottom of this page: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/wicked-movie-grammar-wizard-and-i/🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
7 Jan 14min
The case of the mystery dialect, with Natalie Schilling
1044. Today, I'm talking about a strange disappearance that forensic linguist Natalie Schilling worked on that she calls "the case of the mystery dialect." This is the original bonus segment from our conversation back in October. Grammarpaloozians who support the show get these segments right when they come out, and maybe more importantly, give us the help we need to keep going and produce the bonus segments. So many thanks to all you wonderful Grammarpaloozians!Natalie Schilling is a professor emerita of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and runs a forensic linguistics consulting firm. You can find her on LinkedIn.🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript.🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.Audio Engineer: Dan FeierabendDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly HutchingsMarketing and Video: Nat Hoopes| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2 Jan 20min
