Victor Wishna

Victor Wishna's work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Baltimore Sun, the New York Post, NPR, KCMetropolis.org, and others. His writing and editing services firm, The Vital Word helps find the right words for nonprofit, corporate, and individual clients. Follow him on Twitter: @vwishna.

Why Computers Can’t Write Novels…Yet

Computers can calculate millions of equations in nanoseconds (I’m assuming) and allow us to communicate instantly with people on the ...

Best of Book Riot: On “Bad” Words in Good Literature

To celebrate the end of the year, we’re running some of our favorite posts from the last six months. We’ll ...

Best of Book Riot: A Dictionary Whodunit Worthy of Encyclopedia Brown

To celebrate the end of the year, we’re running some of our favorite posts from the last six months. We’ll ...

A Dictionary Whodunit Worthy of Encyclopedia Brown

It’s like a murder mystery for word dorks. A new book by a prominent linguist and lexicographer alleges that one ...

Not Running? Try Some Reading

I’m a reader, not a runner. The most I’ve ever run in my life is about four miles, and that ...

More New Words for Life, the Universe, and Everything

I am of the opinion that, with some exceptions, it’s a wonderful thing when new words enter the lexicon—all the ...

Quiz Time: Who Named My Battleship?

If you’re a fan of fantasy/adventure literature, American history, or advances in underwater warfare,* then you might know that last ...

THE BOOK RIOT 50: #15 At Least Speak Like You’re Well-Read

To celebrate Book Riot’s  first birthday on Monday, we’re running our best 50 posts from our first year this week. ...

THE BOOK RIOT 50: #39 How Many Words Have You Killed Today?

To celebrate Book Riot’s  first birthday on Monday, we’re running our best 50 posts from our first year this week. ...

Downright Demotic: Words Are Better Than Pictures

As one who loves (and makes a living, such as it is, with) words, I have always been subconsciously offended ...