Writing & Editing

My guest today is Amy Bernstein. She’s a writer and book coach, but also has an excellent knowledge of the current publishing landscape. I invited her on specifically to talk about those publishers and services that some writers pay to help self-publish your book—and especially the dubious services and the outright scams to watch our for. This is “Caveat Scriptor: Watch Out for Scam Self-Publisher...

A couple of short announcements before the episode. First is that I’m not doing my usual “A Few More Words” feature today. I’ve done a lot of interviews over the past month or so, and I want to get those posted. I still have well over 150,000 words to go in English, so that feature will be back in a week or so. Second is that I was interviewed on a podcast hosted by the guy—his name is Matt Balake...

I’m solo today and this episode is a kind of prequel. I’m going to be interviewing the great American writer Lorrie Moore in a few weeks about her new novel, I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home , due to be published later this month. I’ve been a lifelong fan of her work, and in this episode I will give an overview of her past works, and my views on what it is about her books and her style that ma...

My guest today is Heidi Fiedler. She’s a writer, editor, coach, and teacher, with a focus on children and pre-teen adolescents. I asked her to come on the show to talk about the whole process of putting together a successful book for these readerships. Heidi’s Website https://www.helloheidifiedler.com/

I talk about the two most known uses of this word in English, one the very common “self-deprecating,” and the other, the less well-known sense in computing. Along the way, I discover that the two big dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged, don’t include the latter meaning, and the definition in the OED hasn’t been updated fully in a long time. Wikipedia http...

Before I get to today’s conversation, I have an announcement about swag. In the next few weeks I will publish my 200th episode and I wanted to celebrate a little by giving thanks to you, the listeners. I started the show in January last year, and both listenership and downloads have increased steadily, which makes me very happy. And I’ve been very grateful for the nice things some of you have said...

My guest today is Dr. David Williams, who is an associate professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo, located in Waterloo, Canada. He has a five-year academic grant of over $250,000 to continue his work on the Oxford English Dictionary , with two main goals, which we talk about. David Williams https://uwaterloo.ca/english/people-profiles/david-williams The Life of W...

I talk about the word doomscrolling and make some searches in dictionaries, in a linguistics corpus, and in Google advanced search to try to get an idea of when it first started being used. I end with a brief etymology of the very old word, doom itself. Merriam-Webster: Words We’re Watching “On ‘Doomsurfing’ and ‘Doomscrolling’” https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/doomsurfing-doomscrolli...

My guest today is Furkhan Dandia . He’s a first-time author of Pursuit of Self-Love: 30 Uplifting Messages and Reflections , which he paid to have published by the hybrid publisher Friesen Press, in Manitoba, Canada, just this past March. A bit more background here before I get to my conversation with Furkhan. If you’re a regular listener to the podcast, you may remember episode 152 in March, when...

My guests today are Susan Gabriel and Steven Eurioste. Susan runs a Christian publishing house with an eight-member team, including Steven. She’d contacted me about being a guest on the podcast, and I agreed as long as we could also talk about theism and atheism. She was amenable to that and brought along Steven as well. We don’t agree on much, but we have a good discussion. Soul Sonshine https://...

Sitting on a bench by a beach in my home city of Ottawa makes me think of “bad faith,” and in this episode I talk about one very specific meaning of the term, one fairly specific, and the general meaning that most people are familiar with (but I also give a bit of its etymology). Being and Nothingness , by Jean-Paul Sartre https://archive.org/details/beingnothingness0000sart/page/n5/mode/2up “Bad...

My guest is Frank King. Frank has a long career in comedy, even as a writer for The Tonight Show . After, in his words, he held a gun in his hand and found out what the barrel tastes like, he changed. He didn’t pull the trigger and now focuses on public presentations for corporate and other groups in which he uses comedy as a way to talk about the difficult topic of suicide. Frank King https://the...

My guest today is Sebastian Schug. I invited him on the show to talk about the indie publishing house he ran, but the conversation shifted to his many other interests and talents and experiences. He’s smart and articulate, and we talked mostly about satire and multimedia art. He’s a man in his 20’s who’s accomplished a lot already, and a name to watch for. Seabass https://www.youtube.com/channel/U...

I talk about this relatively new word in English, which actually has its origin in science fiction. The word follows a common pattern for words that start with a very specific meaning in a field or discipline, and then once they’re in use in standard English they develop their own meanings and history. I wrap up by comparing it to the word schizophrenic , which has behaved similarly, but with a bi...

I talk about these two types of clichés to avoid. I use “verbal cliché” to mean hackneyed phrases and worn-out imagery that may have been imaginative and fresh at some time in the history of the language now, but has since gone stale. I use “narrative cliché” to mean the use of familiar tropes and situations in the story you are telling. This episode mostly is about fiction and film. Garner’s Mode...

Have you ever wondered how kids in elementary school are taught how to write these days? Do they learn the ins and outs of grammar, or do they learn writing through practising? My guest today is directly involved in teaching this important skill as a full-time teacher in rural Vermont. Samantha Bovat is a writing practitioner as well, with a blog called The Life of a Teacher and a book that was pu...

I talk about the figure of speech called paraprosdokian, and how it fits into the universe of rhetorical figures. It includes puns, too, and I provide examples of it in use. LINKS Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian From a Monty Python Sketch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmD8y0PJ2Vo&ab_channel=DougMonthy

My guest today is Nancy Perpall, who is a former nurse as well as a former attorney who used to practice family law. She saw a lot of people from broad and diverse backgrounds experience the same despair when going through divorce. Last year she published a novel with characters looking for a life partner. Now she’s turned to non-fiction, and will soon be releasing her new book, The Malnourished M...

My guest today is Steve Vincent, who talks about self-reflection and examining the issues and characteristics that make you who you are, and has some ideas for how to stay calm in the hectic and stressful world that most of us live in. Steve's Website https://stevevincentonline.com/ Steve's Book https://stevevincentonline.com/finding-you/

I talk about this word, its prefix, and other words that share the same prefix, meta- .

My guest is Edward Miskie, author of a book with the great title, Cancer, Musical Theatre, and Other Chronic Illnesses , published in 2017 but now being adapted into a musical TV series. He was a simple joy to converse with: serious, funny, laid-back, honest and open. LINKS Edward Miskie's Website https://linktr.ee/edwardmiskie Cancer, Musical Theatre, and Other Chronic Illnesses https://www....

My guest is Kristin Johnson, who is a writer, screenwriter, and ghost writer. She is the author of the award-winning and award-nominated book, Ain’t “U” Got No Manners? , a great book about social media etiquette that’s both accessible and well researched. She was a joy to talk to, not only about this book, but about parts of the rest of her writing career as well. LINKS Ain't "U" G...

I discuss the small town in Texas where they considered closing the public library system rather than follow a judge's order to reinstate 20 books of "pornographic filth" to the shelves. Link: "Texas county roiled by book ban considered closing libraries," CTV News , April 13, 2023 https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/texas-county-roiled-by-book-ban-considered-closing-libraries-1....

My guest is Bethany Nicole, who is a writer and relationship expert based in Los Angeles. She uses astrology as part of her work with individuals and couples. She has completed a book called Apologies I Never Got , which literary agents are now considering.  Links: Bethany Nicole’s Site https://www.bethanynicole.com/ Bethany Nicole’s LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanybarton Betha...

I discuss the recent announcement by the Italian government that it is introducing legislation to levy fines on those who use foreign terms, when there is an Italian equivalent, in official documents. I also talk about similar prescriptive tendencies by the governments of France and of the province of Quebec in Canada. Sources: "Italian government seeks to penalize the use of English words&qu...