Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Rising From The Ruins Of Turkey Day Chaos And Full Toilets
I typically spend Thanksgiving in Mexico. I call it “work,” and I actually do take a few photos and make a few notes--- sometimes. Mostly I go, though, because I enjoy being with friends in a laid-back atmosphere that is so much a contrast to the gluttony and shopping frenzy that accompany the...
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Saturday, November 25, 2006
One Of The Blessings Of Being Self-Employed: An Understanding Boss
Life is what happens while you are making plans. I was reminded of that truism today. For the past week, I’ve been traveling for business, arriving home late last night. I planned to finish all of the writing related to that business by late Tuesday and then spend the rest of the week playing---...
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Thursday, November 23, 2006
A Story Shouldn't Always Start With The Beginning
Students: Please read the following post and then I’ll provide today’s writing lesson. Some of you already might have read it in another of my blogs. If so, please be assured that I have a point to this and am not just soliciting clicks. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “mad as an ol’ wet hen.”...
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Monday, November 20, 2006
Oh, The Horror! But What Should You Call It?
Probably this little nugget never will be of benefit to you unless you write horror novels. Still, knowledge is better than ignorance. Right? “Frankenstein” was not the monster. He was the scientist who created the monster. So, in that horror novel, do not say, “With her square head and facial...
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Friday, November 17, 2006
Quality Control For Writing Lost On Internet
In my previous post, I talked about how the internet might be facilitating communication, but it also is contributing to the decline and fall of the written language. Ultimately, this will lead to more and more miscommunication--- not a good thing. Here’s what Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun...
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Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The Decline And Fall Of The Written Language--- Courtesy Of The Internet
As a professional writer and teacher of writing, I believe that the internet--- and all that accompanies it, such as e-mail--- has greatly facilitated communication. But it has not improved communication. In fact, I believe that just the opposite is occurring. Communication is becoming more and more...
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The Secret Of My Million-Dollar Success
Nearly 20 years ago, I sold my first article to a major magazine. It wasn’t easy. I submitted it “across the transom” (in other words, unsolicited) to more than a dozen publications before I struck gold. And I mean that literally, as you soon will learn. In his acceptance letter (hooray!), the...
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Saturday, November 11, 2006
Are You Possessed By This Error? Many At Blogit Are
I’m not even sure that I should try to explain about use of the apostrophe to show possession. I’m trying to keep these tips as short as possible and I could write a dissertation on this. But I won’t Let’s just say that the apostrophe is our most misused piece of punctuation. It outranks even the...
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Thursday, November 9, 2006
If I Hold A Meeting Will My Arms Get Tired?
What’s wrong with the following sentence? The Rotary Club held its monthly meeting. Don’t know? Then consider this one: The Rotary Club will hold its monthly meeting. Even if you don’t know why, you’ve probably figured out that the problem lies with the verb. And you are correct. The Rotary can’t...
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Sunday, November 5, 2006
Only You Know What You Really Mean; So Use This Word Carefully
“Only” is another one of those words that is diminished by frequent misplacement. Mostly that’s because it can be used as an adjective or an adverb and can be inserted just about anywhere in a sentence and still “sound” correct to the casual listener. To understand what I mean, take a look at the...
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