Weird English Language Quirks What is another word for “thesaurus”? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly, or peccable? If a book about failure doesn’t sell, is it a success? Did you know that “verb” is a noun? If there are typos in a dictionary, how would you know? A novelist once wrote, “He sat with his head in his hands and his eyes on the floor.” …

You are the canine in this story. You’ve spent years working to master your genre only to find three newbies, who aren’t even trained, setting up residence in YOUR genre! What do you do? Protest. Demonstrate your displeasure to your writing community. Huff and puff. Realize there is plenty of room and you don’t own the genre. It’s okay to share. Anybody relate?

In a movie, after endless rehearsals and multiple takes, you see the perfect scene. Today’s video contrasts that with reality. Hilarious results! Writing lesson? Enough reality in your writing so the reader doesn’t end their suspension of disbelief with a “Huh? That can’t happen that way.” Enjoy!

This fellow has close to a billion views of his various piano videos! Goes by the name of Lord Vinheteiro. He does have an eerie look when staring at the camera; but it’s on purpose. Today he does bits from what he claims are the top ten most difficult piano pieces to play. The liner notes say: “They are hard to play because they are fast songs, with left-handed jumps, polyrhythms, …

Today’s video just has to put a smile on your face. Good Mornin’!

You may not enjoy this video as much as I do. The reason is that I played basketball in high school and was able to dunk. In addition, I had the fun of going to State as a high jumper. But this video is highest-level stuff (pun intended). When I see things like this I’m stunned at the sheer athleticism. Metaphor? You may be good, but there will always be someone better based on certain …

When professionals take a moment to have fun, we can enjoy the spectacle. See what I mean with today’s video of a doubles match held at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Is there a writing metaphor here somewhere? Add your ideas in the comments below. (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)

World’s fastest typist. Watch this lady type 185 words a minute and the awe of the students. Put it this way. Stella Pajunas in 1946 set, and still holds, the world record for typing at 216 words per minute. The average person types around 40 words per minute. (See the infographic on this page.) My high-school typing teacher could do 80 wpm on a manual typewriter, the kind I learned on. If …