Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

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Episodes

Date Title & Description Contributors
2025-01-23

  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 o... 		  Wendy Dale, Mignon Fogarty author
2025-01-21

  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 b... 		  Karen Lunde, Mignon Fogarty author
2025-01-16

  '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. Migno... 		  Brandt Johnson, Ellen Jovin, Mignon Fogarty author
2025-01-14

  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 i... 		  Susan K. Herman, Mignon Fogarty author
2025-01-09

  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 Anat... 		  Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mignon Fogarty author
2025-01-07

  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 ... 		  Mignon Fogarty, Karen Lunde author
2025-01-02

  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 ... 		  Mignon Fogarty, Natalie Schilling author
2024-12-30

  2024 words of the year, with John Kelly

1043. "Skibidi," "polarization," "brat," "demure," "enshittification," and more. You might get whiplash from the vacillating vibes of all the words the dictionaries chose this year. I joined John Kelly, former vice president of editorial at Dictionary.... 		  John Kelly, Mignon Fogarty author
2024-12-26

  Twee pop, bumbershoot, amongst, and more, with Ben Yagoda

1042. Today, I have the bonus segment from my interview with Ben Yagoda back in September. Ben is the author of the book "Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English," and we talked about the words "twee," "vet," the two spellings of "gray," t... 		  Ben Yagoda, Mignon Fogarty author
2024-12-23

  'Home' for the holidays. False friends. Hello, Dentist.

1041. Today, we talk about the word "home" and its meaning beyond just a structure, and then we talk about false friends — words in different languages that don't mean what you think they mean.The "home" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a profe... 		  Mignon Fogarty, Inc. author