Try these six writing tips to improve your novel immediately

Posted on 02/25/2021 at 03:22 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Some editing and revising tips are like a deep clean of your house, while others are a nice surface-clean. Today’s...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Editing, Language, Louise Harnby

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is back -- with some changes

Posted on 02/23/2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is coming back this year! Organizers announced Monday that a modified version of the nearly...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Just for fun, Language

A history of the word "bookworm" -- and the insects that inspired it

Posted on 02/23/2021 at 08:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

We’re so accustomed to calling ourselves bookworms that we never put much thought into the etymology of the word. Thankfully,...

Tagged As: BookRiot, Language

Merriam-Webster's guide to making foreign words plural

Posted on 02/16/2021 at 10:49 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Forming plurals correctly in your native language can be difficult enough for English speakers. And that isn’t counting the number...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Language

The words that were coined in 1921

Posted on 02/10/2021 at 08:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Tired of looking back in time? What if we do a dramatic rewind, all the way back to 1921, and...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Just for fun, Language

Quick tip: Toward versus towards

Posted on 02/09/2021 at 11:26 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

As former journalists, we have no problem remembering that Associated Press style prefers “toward” versus “towards.” (On the flip side,...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Language, Writer's Digest

Merriam-Webster adds more COVID words (and many others) to dictionary

Posted on 01/28/2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Merriam-Webster has added 520 words to its online dictionary. Unsurprisingly, that includes more coronavirus-related words, such as “long hauler,” in...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: coronavirus / COVID-19, Language

Check out the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

Posted on 01/26/2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

A new dictionary launched online today: Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. The New York Times reports that the project has...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Language, Science fiction, The New York Times

All of the word-of-the-year coverage you could want

Posted on 01/22/2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

We’re squeaking in one last word-of-the-year post while it’s still technically the first month of the new year. The Columbia...

Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Just for fun, Language

Advice for writers after the January 6 riots

Posted on 01/16/2021 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

In terms of the calendar, 2020 and January 6, 2021, are both behind us. There’s no denying that their effects...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Language, Motivational, Writer Unboxed, Writer's Digest