On March 4, 2023, I had the honor of interviewing Ellen Jovin, author of Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian. In this lively discussion we talked about her adventures with the Grammar Table, her approach to language, and the wonders of the English language.

Upcoming interviews can be joined live by registered members of the Fictionary community, and it’s always free to register.

In addition to hosting the Scene It First series, James Gallagher is the owner of Castle Walls Editing, a Fictionary-Certified StoryCoach Editor, and the copy editor of more than 250 books.

About Ellen

Ellen Jovin is a cofounder of Syntaxis, a communication skills training consultancy, and the author of four books on language, most recently Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian (HarperCollins, July 2022). She is also the creator of a traveling pop-up grammar advice stand called the Grammar Table, whose adventures serve as the basis of this book. Ellen has a B.A. from Harvard College in German studies and an M.A. from UCLA in comparative literature, and has studied twenty-five languages for fun. She lives with her husband, Brandt Johnson, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

About Fictionary

Fictionary is a story-editing software that allows writers and editors to glean insights and perform developmental edits on their works using Fictionary’s 38 story elements for character, plot, and setting.

The software also provides attractive visual reports, including the story arc (showing location of the inciting incident, plot point 1, midpoint, plot point 2, and climax), as well as reports illustrating such items as the story map, character list, and word count per scene.

More information can be found at Fictionary.co.

The Fictionary community can be found here (free to register).