If you’re as old as I am (which is pretty dang old) you might remember a simple book of games called Madlibs. The object was simple: the “writer” would taunt the players into blindly supplying nouns, adjectives, names of famous people, etc. with no idea how they were going to be used. The writer would plug them into blanks in…
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From Lackluster Student to Medical School What happens when a reluctant college student is pushed into applying to medical school
Five minutes after ChatGPT flooded the masses in November of 2022, college administrators grew concerned about students submitting fraudulent medical school application essays generated by artificial intelligence. It brought up a plethora of ethical concerns, questions about essay quality, the impact on admissions decisions, and the potential for deception in the ultra-competitive application process. Except for the case of Wesley…
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Can ChatGPT Make You a Better Writer? Understanding and Embracing the Promise of Artificial Intelligence in Your Work
These days, technological marvels seem to pop up faster than you can say “Abracadabra!” Standing at the edge of innovation, even our smartphones become outdated before we even finish setting up our voicemail. And guess who’s leading the charge? None other than artificial intelligence, or AI, a digital wiz that’s both the apple of your eye and the monster under…
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Before a Night of Fripping Spittlestoat, catenaliggette and other secrets behind mastering the new age of contemporary writing
Five minutes after signing the contract, I dropped to the floor, gasping for air. Next to being waterboarded as a Vietnam POW, I could tell that editing this manuscript was going to be the most horrendous experience of my life: Inquiring my well-wishers, which is the deadliest mistake as inherently scheduled to jealousy or hawk eyesight on your wardrobe waiting…
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Where’s Your Sense of Humor? An award-winning author shares how to find humor in everything you write
Every year after winning the Pulitzer Prize for humor, I’m besieged with questions from new writers about how I went about writing my award-winning humor pieces. They run the gamut from “What in the world were you thinking?” to “Were you drunk when you wrote that?” So, to clear up the confusion, I thought I’d take a moment to offer…
