Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Write More Good. What book is being added to my summer reading list, Alex?

"Succeeds both as one funny book and also as a crash course in how to get fired from any job requiring you to submit writing for publication…Readers who enjoy humor in the vein of The Onion will love this book, a kind of unholy love child of William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White's The Elements of Style and The Daily Show…For those who like their humor with a little bite."
—Library Journal

Still clinging to your dog-eared dictionary? So attached to The Elements of Style that you named your rabbits Strunk and White? Maybe you're a beleaguered reporter, or a type-A newspaper reader who unwinds by e-mailing the editor about whether “tweet” is a verb?

It's time to face up to reality: Writing clearly, checking facts, and correcting typos are dying arts. Whether you're a jaded producer of media or a nitpicking consumer of it, this book will help you to embrace, not resist, the lowering of standards for the written word!

Part dictionary, part journalism textbook, part grammar and writing manual, Write More Good is a “comprehensive” “guide” to today's “media,” in all its ambulance-chasing, story-fabricating, money-hemorrhaging glory. (LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The authors are not responsible for consequences that may result from actually using this book as a dictionary, textbook, or grammar and writing manual.)

Let The Bureau Chiefs, the ritin' and reportin' geniuses behind the Twitter phenomenon @FakeAPStylebook, teach you about:

* Proper usage!
“World War” should be used only for conflicts involving countries on at least three continents. For large-scale battles against clones, killer tomatoes, or a fifty-foot woman, use “attack” instead.

* Entertainment Journalism!
When writing about a celebrity for an online audience, save your readers time by linking directly to nude photos of him or her.

* Science Reporting!
When writing about those robots that seek out and consume houseflies for energy, the parenthetical aside “(OH GOD, WE'RE DOOMED!)” is implied and is therefore not necessary to include in your story.

And much, much, more!