ORGANIZATION - CAN IT REALLY BE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?

I think it is really sad, but I believe one of my competitive advantages is being organized. It seems like organization is out-of-style. People are on their cell phones, texting, tweeting, and multitasking with no real purpose, they are distracted and unorganized.

Teaching, at whatever level, is a profession which requires a high level of organization, in my opinion. The best classes I've taken -- and I've taken my fair share -- have been those where the class has been well-organized. The topic of the class hasn't even mattered that much. One of my best classes was Business Analytics (i.e. Statistics) because the instructor was organized. He laid out everything at the beginning and I knew what to expect. This allowed me to organize my school work to complete everything well and timely.

The worst classes I've taken in my current MBA program were those in which the instructors were unorganized. I'm finishing up one right now and it is driving me absolutely insane. These instructors changed the syllabus several times and didn't do what they said they were going to do. I've even had high hopes because the class topic was very interesting to me - but it was ruined by a poorly organized instructor.

Deadlines and appointment times seem like merely suggestions to a lot of people. To me, a deadline is a deadline; I either meet or exceed it. People complain about being soooo busy -- almost like that is their excuse for being unorganized -- but I'm busy, too. Just because I make better choices about how I spend my time and organize my time better doesn't mean I'm not busy. In my business, I take jobs I can complete and I don't over-extend myself. I organize my time so I can complete projects to the best of my ability, on time, and on budget. In my view, these should be givens, but with what I witness, they are sadly becoming things I offer that many others don't.

Happy Holidays! And here's to an organized 2014!
-The Wordsy Woman

THE WORD OF THE DAY

Whenever I meet with my novel critique partner, I'm always interested to see what my word of the day will be. Usually, it's a small word like "just," "up," or "down," modifiers that don't really mean anything and can be redundant. If one is looking at the sky, how else would it be besides up?

Though the word of the day comes up every time I write a chunk of novel, it can also creep into writing other pieces longer than a couple of pages like articles or web FAQ pages. I'm taking an international marketing class in my MBA program and, in addition to a handful of typos, I've noticed the author is enamored with the word ubiquitous. This word sticks out even more because it's not a word frequently used in conversation. 

I'm not sure of the reason people fall back on the "word of the day." I think I just get it in my head or I get tired. But the fact is, it happens, and should be dealt with in editing because it can make your writing appear redundant or simply boring. 

And if you can't catch them in your own writing (like me), have someone else read your piece and mark repeated words appearing close together. If the words create redundancy such as "just" or "up" do, delete them. If they are important, try to think of a different word to use. For example, sometimes you don't need to repeat the noun subject of a sentence and can use "it" in place of one.

Paying attention to these "words of the day" can keep your writing fresh and interesting for your readers.

Happy editing!

-The Wordsy Woman

OH, HOW TIMES CHANGE - MAGAZINE ADS 40 YEARS AGO

On Saturday, November 16th, I celebrated my 40th birthday with a party complete with birthday cake, singing, and presents. I ended up with ten bottles of wine, gift cards, a handful of gag gifts, and a little book from my aunt about life in 1973. As I read the book, what struck me the most was the changes in the magazine print ads.

So I decided to do a comparison: a magazine ad from 1973 for Maybelline Powder-Twist Eye shadow and a 2013 ad for Maybelline Falsies® Big Eyes® Mascara.

The first thing that stuck out when I read the 1973 nostalgia book was the numerous words in the ad, the copy. Other than the product name and tag lines, the 1973 ad contained approximately ninety-nine words; the 2013 ad, just a third of that. This reflects what many people have said about today: people want bullet-point, quick, easy, text-message sized copy. The chances of anyone seeing this ad today and reading even all of the thirty-five words on the 2013 version is slim. The chance of reading the ninety-nine words on the 1973 ad? Probably almost zero.

The content of the copy also serves as evidence of another trend in marketing: focusing on benefits. Other than listing the so-1970s colors in which the Powder-Twist is available, the copy focuses on how to use the product. I suppose since this was a new invention, they wanted to focus on how easy it was to use the new method. Today, we'd focus on the time-saving and let the package directions teach the consumer how to use it. Today's ad, as you might expect, focuses on benefits: corner to corner volumization and edge to edge bottom lash magnification.

The differences don't end at the written copy. The entire graphics of the 1973 ad consists of photos of the six eye shadow shades and a lady applying it that takes up about 1/4 of the page. The lady on the 2013 ad takes up about half the page with photos of the wand showing the difference between the upper and lower applicators (and presumably how they help the eyelashes), a photo of the product open and closed, a clip art graphic of eyelashes, and the skyline of New York City in the background. All the 1973 ad has for its background is a homely pink to purplish gradient. The 1973 ad uses what appears to be five different fonts while the 2013 uses somewhere around nine.

Seeing these two ads side-by-side is a real "eye-opening" experience and provides a good lesson on how what worked 40 years ago would not work today.

Here's to 40 more years!
-The Wordsy Woman

Sources:

2013, December 13. Maybelline New York full page advertisement. All You. p. 39.

Worthington, Art (Ed.). 2010. The Year was 1973. Chatsworth, CA: Flickback Media Inc.

HEADING TOWARD THE HEART OF DARKNESS

Winter is coming. Daylight saving time has just ended and my extra hour burned from both ends. The sky is dark by just after 5:00 p.m. and getting darker earlier every day.

In some ways, I'm glad. Instead of feeling guilty for not getting out and enjoying nice weather on Sunday afternoons, I can curl under a blanket and read a book or watch a movie. And casserole and soup season is in full swing.

But I find it extremely difficult to stay focused and motivated this time of year. As the weather gets colder and the dark hours longer, I find myself fighting hibernation. It's a cruel trick to have to step out of a warm bed into a cold, dark room and then blind myself with the flip of the light switch. And as the sun starts to set shortly before five, so do I. In the Midwest, it seems that mid-fall and winter are synonymous with cloudy, dreary skies and my throw blanket, couch, and sleep beckon.

But I have words to write, words to read, and words to study. Things that need said. So I fight. Hard. Concentrate on celebrating ticking off the check boxes on my to do list. And there's a lot of tea and coffee involved.

Do you have any tips to help me stay focused and energized during these long, cold, dark days? If so, please, PLEASE, share them in the comments section.

Thanks!
-The Wordsy Woman

NEED HELP WITH MAKING YOUR BUSINESS SAY WHAT YOU WANT IT TO SAY?

As part of my splitting into separate personas: my literary-author persona and my copywriting-business writing-writer persona, I'm launching a new quarterly electronic newsletter on or about November 10th: Wordsy Woman's Business Word News Quarterly.

This electronic newsletter will be designed to help businesses say what they want to say. Each issue will contain a feature story on some aspect of writing or words in the business setting. I plan to cover topics such as social media, legal issues, relationship building, content, and story-telling. Some of them will contain tips on writing headlines, promotions, blog posts, press releases, website copy, and signs. This is just a start and I plan to eventually transition into a bi-monthly or monthly publication.

A business will also be spotlighted in each issue with a focus on how each uses words and writing in providing goods and services. Finally, a quarterly tip and suggested website link or newsletter will be included. Each issue will be short, to the point, and informative.

To subscribe, click here and enter your email address where indicated toward the right of the page. I will start posting editions on that same page to start an archive once I start publishing.

Thank you in advance for allowing me to help your business say what you want it to say!

-The Wordsy Woman

SPLITTING PERSONALITIES

My goal when I started out on my own at the beginning of 2010 was to eventually spend half of my work time on literary endeavors like poetry and fiction and the other half on business writing and editing like writing website copy and e-newsletters and editing dissertations. Three and a half years (thereabouts) and three literary publications in and I'm finally getting ready to morph.

This week, I created my author website: www.jodietoohey.com. I also transformed my Wordsy Woman website to focus on my business writing. I'm also preparing to split my social media presence. People interested in me as an author of fiction and poetry will receive insights, tips, and musings on my Facebook author page and through my author Twitter handle (which I've yet to set up). Wordsy Woman's Facebook page and Twitter account will focus strictly on helping businesses say what they want to say, particularly in marketing settings. I'm up in the air about my Pinterest page and might keep that consolidated as people can just follow the boards which interest them most.

There will be some overlap, of course, but splitting will hopefully help my followers to receive communication from me more suited for their needs. The author "stuff" will be targeted toward readers and other creative writers. Wordsy Woman will be suited for businesses, entrepreneurs, or people in the marketing industry.

This blog will remain but will slowly transition more into the business writing, entrepreneurship, and marketing arenas. For now, my only literary-related blog is my historical fiction reviews blog, but starting a blog chronicling my creative writing ups, downs, and insights is on my list of eventual to-dos.

I hope you'll indulge me with your patience as I make this transition. It's a big project that I've broken into bite sizes pieces I'll feed myself (and, subsequently, you) as time passes.

If you have been in this situation of needing to create two different personas for two different businesses or "hats," please feel free to comment below.

Thanks!
-The Wordsy Woman

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN FOR NOVEL WRITING

When I was a kid, as a way to fall asleep at night, I would picture elaborate "day dreams" in my head. I was always the main character. When I was a teen, these mostly involved imagining how my latest crush would realize his love for me and we would be together. Eventually, I would get to a boring spot and I'd fall asleep.

But, sometimes, if my imagination brought me to somewhere emotional or with a lot of tension or suspense, it would keep me up half the night.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was actually training my brain to write fictional stories. So when I started to write my first novel, I already knew how to imagine the story - the trick was translating it into words on paper. To keep people reading, I just had to imagine the types of things that kept me up at night. And if I find myself getting sleepy, I know the story is going stale.

Now, when I work on my novels, I do the exact same thing but with a keyboard in front of me. I imagine the story in as much detail as possible down to the words used in conversation and I type it.

If you write stories, you may already do this as well, whether you realized it or not. But, if you haven't and you find yourself stuck, give it a try. Just write down what you see in your imagination.

Happy Daydreaming!
-The Wordsy Woman

IT'S GRAMMAR TIME - PREMIER VS. PREMIERE

It's been awhile since I've posted a grammar lesson. I ran across this premier vs. premiere word pair recently in my own writing so I thought I'd share.

According to Dictionary.com, a premier as a noun is the grand pubah or head honcho of an organization. Some countries refer to the heads of their cabinets as premiers or it can simply mean the chief officer in any organization. As an adjective, it means the "first in rank" or "first in time."

This last meaning is what confused me. I was thinking of the word in terms of the first edition or first show of a series, like on TV. At first, I thought, based on the adjective definition, premier was correct. But it didn't look right and I was justified in my suspicion.

The correct word I needed was premiere, which, according to Dictionary.com, means the first time something is performed or presented to the public. This something can be a person or the performance or presentation itself. It can take the form of a noun, verb, or adjective but all have the same meaning.

An easy way to remember the difference is to simply consider the subject of your writing. If it is a play, movie, book, television show, magazine, or any other item written, performed, or presented to the public for viewing, reading, listening, etc., the correct word is premiere. If you're talking about an officer or government person, it's premier.

Click here to view the premiere of grammar blogs by me, the premier of Wordsy Woman Word Sales and Service.

HAPPY BIRTH DAY TO MY NEW BLOG

This past Thursday, September 19th, I posted the first substantive post on my new blog: My Historical Fiction Reviews. I read a lot of historical fiction; not only do I enjoy the genre but I also write in it, currently the mid 1800s for novel set in Camanche, Iowa.

Sometimes, I find it hard to recall what I learned from or what each story was about so I decided I should keep a detailed book-reading journal. And then I thought I'll need to organize these in some way where perhaps I could search them for specific details. I could do that in a Word document, but what if my computer crashes? I'd need to create a back-up plan, etc., etc. Then I thought, why not share my thoughts on the historical fiction I read in a blog?

That way, theoretically anyway, I have people counting on me to post a review once a month so I'll be motivated to do it. And then I'll have a mechanism for searching them and they'll be backed up on the web. Voila! A blog was born.

My first post is about The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini. Click here to check it out.

Thanks for looking!
-The Wordsy Woman

P.S. If you have a historical fiction book you'd like me to consider for a free review, describe it in an email sent to me at jodie@wordsywoman.com and I'll let you know if I'm interested and where to send the review copy (print or digital).

TO DO TODAY: WRITE BLOG POST

According to a personality/character trait test of which I cannot recall the name, I'm an Achiever. One of the qualities of this trait is the affinity for to-do lists. This description is totally accurate.

Most people keep to-do lists to help them avoid forgetting something they need to do. I do that, but I also use them for another reason. I've been making to-do lists since I was in high school and needed to convince myself I actually did have things going on in my life. (The school-mandated planner process wasn't around yet.)

It's true, I enjoy crossing items off my long to-do lists and feel a little frustrated when I have to transfer things I didn't get around to doing to future days or weeks. But I also need them to remind me that I do, in fact, have goals and things I'm working to complete. If I don't, and I'm faced with a blank to-do list, I end up staring at the wall, unable to think of a single thing I need to do. And then, yes, I end up doing NOTHING.

A lot of my projects are big, so I need to break them down into smaller step-by-step pieces. This is not a new concept. I then take it a step further by writing down all of these small pieces, whittled down as tiny as I can get them, on my to-do list on my calendar. I do this because if I start to think about the whole project and all of the options available to me, I get overwhelmed. And then I get stuck.

When I get stuck, I get nothing done and then when something comes up I HAVE to get done, I erroneously think I have much less time than I actually do. Because if I focus and work and move forward on my projects, I actually get a hell of a lot accomplished. The trick is in having the right amount of items on my to-do list. Too many that I can't complete and I feel overwhelmed about that, which makes me anxious. Too few that I have everything crossed out by Wednesday and I end up staring at that wall wasting time.

When you work for yourself, sometimes you're the worst employee you could imagine having. So you need to trick yourself. To-do lists help me do that.

May your to-do lists be full and crossed-out!
-The Wordsy Woman

IT'S GOING TO BE A CRAZY PARTY

I'm a planner - sometimes, I'm a party planner. I enjoy having creative get-togethers and hearing praise for my food and ingenuity. So when it came to planning the launch party for my new book, The Other Side of Crazy (918studio), I knew I could have a lot of fun. Especially because the book itself tends to be dark - I thought it pertinent to lighten the mood a little.

As I usually do when planning a party, I scoured my recipes for ideas fitting my "crazy" theme. I wanted food disguised as other food or things, but more akin to April Fool's Day rather than Halloween. I need the food to taste good and I don't want to gross people out. I decided on Marbled Orange Fudge that I've made before and noticed it looked like Colby-jack cheese cubes, Candy Sushi, and dessert pizzas, one sweet one disguised as pepperoni and a fruit one disguised as veggies and other pizza toppings. For drinks, I'll have Sunday Punch - not all that crazy except the party's on Saturday - and plain water for the non-punch-drinkers.


I also wanted to make the party a little more appealing by giving away door prizes. Most of them, however, are not crazy: ebook stubs for Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters and copies of poetry chapbooks published by my host, Midwest Writing Center. The grand door prize is a brightly-colored snail-adorned bag with a high heel tape dispenser, to-do list napkins, a hamburger cord wrapper, candy, and colorful notebook, pens, and pencils.

Of course, the party will have the typical reading, book signing, and sale. It should be fun. If you're in the neighborhood (3rd floor, Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 E. 2nd Street in Downtown Davenport, Iowa) from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 14th, be sure to stop by.

Have a crazy day!
-the Wordsy Woman

SURPRISE PLACES TO PROMOTE BOOKS (at least to me)

My first book, Crush and Other Love Poems for Girls, came out in 2008. At that time, social media was still relatively new. When I opened my Facebook account, I used the cover of my book as my profile picture. Now, the book has its very own Facebook page.

Last year, I published my second book, Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters, and, by that time, the options for promoting books had grown exponentially. I have the ability to learn a new way to marketing books every day if I want. Other than the classics such as John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Promote your Books, Carolyn Howard-Johnson's The Frugal Book Promoter, Angela and Richard Hoy's 90 Days of Promoting Your Book Online, or one of the other several hard copy book-marketing books, there are dozens of websites, blogs, and enewsletters devoted to the subject.

But some of the ways I've discovered of marketing my books came by chance. For example, on Wednesday, August 28th, Missing Emily was named the Book of the Day by First Chapters. I found that option when an author Facebook friend posted her book as the one of the day. The best part was, it was FREE!

There are dozens of paid outlets for listing books but there are also some good free sites including Goodreads, IndiePENdents, and Author Marketing Club. AMC also has a free widget you can put on your website or blog linking to your Amazon book page and Freebooksy has a free Facebook author app. If you have a YA book, you can list it on YA Books Central for a mere $4. If you are holding a free book promotion, there are may places that will list your book for free. If you are on Pinterest, try to talk everyone you can into pinning your book. Of course, these ideas may be old news to some, but, to me, they were new. If you have any book promotion/marketing ideas that seemed new to you when you heard about them, please share them in the comments section.

Happy Book Marketing!
-the Wordsy Woman

WE'RE FLATTERED BY YOUR FAITH IN US, BUT...

We copywriters don't always have 100% complete information to finish our copy assignments. To address this, we'll leave notes embedded in the copy where we need additional details. We will usually try to point out the existence of these notes so it's important to review the copy to make sure there are no blanks or additional information to fill in. We are glad and flattered that you have so much faith in our abilities that you just send our copy onto the web designer or printer, but checking your copy carefully before sending it to said web designer or printer can help in avoiding embarrassing and potentially costly mistakes.

For example, I recently drafted some web copy for a local start-up business and I didn't know what email address they were going to use so I included a note like this: [Email:_________]. I had offered and expected an editing round so I was delighted they were happy with the first draft. However, when I looked at the website, they still had the blank in the copy. Who knows how many people who wanted to email them couldn't because of the blank that existed between the time they published the copy until I informed them of the oversight, but hopefully there weren't many.

I recently came across another similar mistake while I was on vacation. The note in the picture was included in the caption below a photograph in an interpretive sign at Big Bay Town Park on Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands located in Lake Superior. The note below the photograph's caption, as you can see, says "Keith, if you want to use this image, you need to get permission from MIHPA." I can only speculate that Keith sent this interpretive sign to the printers without reading it closely. Thus, the image was used with or without MIHPA's permission, but, regardless, with this working note from the copywriter to Keith.

The moral of the story: When you hire a copywriter, look over the words carefully before you "carve them in stone."

-The Wordsy Woman

WHO NEEDS A WEBSITE?

It is 2013 and most businesses know how important it is to have a website, but not everyone has caught on. And for certain businesses, it's almost a necessity.

Last week I was on vacation in northern Wisconsin. Where did I go to find things to do and places to dine? Online. I was successful at finding places to visit online because, if they weren't online at least on the local area's tourism or chamber of commerce page, I wouldn't have been able to locate it. I found numerous names of restaurants on the web, but for several, all I could find were yellow page or directory listings and maybe one or two reviews. They didn't have their own websites. They may have been wonderful restaurants with delicious food and impeccable service but with no way to verify hours or view at least the type of dishes they served, they lost my business.

If you own a business - any business, not just a restaurant - in a tourist area, you absolutely must have a website. It doesn't need to be a complex website. Something to show a photo of your establishment, hours of operation, directions for finding you, and other information such as menus or examples of products would suffice. It is relatively easy and cheap nowadays to get a basic website and, unless you are a restaurant and change your menu often, you wouldn't even need to update it frequently.

I want to visit your establishment, I really do. So, please, make it easy for me.

Happy website building!
-The Wordsy Woman

QUICK START GUIDE TO CREATIVE WRITING

You want to start writing, but you’re not sure where to start? You know all of the great reasons to write (for mental health, to express creativity, to inspire or help others, etc.), but you just can’t seem to begin? It’s easier than you think.

Step 1: Get out your Whittler

Carve out the time.

While looking at your calendar and considering all of your other obligations (work, school, kids, chores, etc.), decide on a writing goal for the next week. Think of it like exercise. Start slow and increase your goal each week. Next, PEN it in. View your writing time as an appointment you can’t miss unless you have an emergency. Note: Laundry and dishes are not emergencies.

Carve out the space.

All you really need is a pen or pencil and paper, but you may like a lamp or light, chair, desk or table, computer, and reference books. You can plan to write outside of the home like at a coffee shop, but it is a good idea to have some writing space at home for when you can’t get away.

Be ready.

Keep index cards or notebooks plus pens or pencils everywhere you go (by the bed, by the toilet, in the car) so you can jot down ideas and thoughts when they come (which you know will be when you least expect them). Or carry a digital voice recorder.

Sept 2: Get on the merry-go-round.

Do you already have an idea for a poem, story, creative essay, or other project? Great. Write it down. Write. Write. Write until there is no more. Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc.

Not so lucky? Great. Write. Set the timer and write about anything and everything in your head in no particular order without worrying about writing mechanics. Use prompts from books or websites. Go somewhere and write what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. Make lists and then when you write, pick one and go: places lived, old friends, vacations taken, questions you’ve had, heartbreaks, foods you like/dislike, things you know, teachers you’ve had, jobs you’ve held, or one of hundreds of other topics. Ask yourself, “What if…?” and then answer the question. Start with “I want to write about…” and then go into details. When you think you’re done, set the timer for a few more minutes and keep going.

Eventually, an idea for a poem, story, creative essay, play, or other work will come to you.

Step 3: Get it in shape.

Some projects may require research beyond what you already have in your head. If so, get that done first. Good resources include the library, internet (just be careful of user-generated sites), personal interviews, and observation. Once you have everything you need, put your words in the final form you desire (poem, story, novel, etc.). Leave out stuff from Step 2 you don’t need or want but still don’t worry too much about the nitty-gritty, writing-class type details.

Step 4: Get it good.

This is where you really get down to business. Read through your piece as many times as needed to make it more exciting, interesting, readable, and insightful. If you need help, visit the book store or check out books at the library about whatever form you’re writing in (poetry, fiction, non-fiction) as well as about creative writing in general.

Especially in fiction and creative non-fiction, you can amp up the energy in your writing by using specific but not clichéd words, using dialogue, or by using shorter sentences. You can increase tension by creating a character; giving him or her a big, important problem; putting him or her in danger of not being able to solve the problem; and then solving the problem while creating additional little problems that must also be solved before the story ends. Keep the stakes high; continually ask yourself, “Who cares?” In all forms of creative writing, increase the impact of your images by creating pictures with words, involving all of the reader’s senses, and writing active rather than passive sentences. Deepen insight by showing readers a truth about human behavior or offering a new way to look at something. Keep your point of view consistent unless you have a reason not to, keep your reader in mind as you revise, and show, don’t tell. (Show: “She shuffled her slippered feet across the hardwood floor.” Vs. Tell: “She was tired.”) You’re voice and style in creative writing is uniquely you. The only way to hone it is by practicing and learning by reading other work and writing craft books. The most important thing to keep in mind is your voice is YOU. Find yourself, who you are, what you’re about, how you feel, what you think, and you will find YOUR voice. The most efficient way to do this is to write.

Step 5: Get it in sharing shape.

Read and correct any of the nit-picky mistakes until your eyes glaze over. There are numerous writing reference books available if you need to brush up. Remember to:

• ·        Use correct punctuation and grammar (and if you break the rules, have a reason).
• ·        Read your work out loud and word for word and/or have others read it and give feedback.
• ·        Cut “That” out: Read the sentence without “that”; if it doesn’t belong, chop it.
• ·        Remember the power of said: It is a nearly invisible word so think hard before using something else like shouted or whispered. Try to make the dialogue speak for itself.

Step 6: Get it polished.

Once you think you have your work all edited and ready to go, read through it one more time. If it is a book length piece and you want someone else to publish it, consider professional editing. No matter how good we are, our brains always want to read what we should have written and not what we actually wrote.

Step 7: Get it out there.

If you want your work published in print or electronically, query agents, publishers, and/or magazines as appropriate or publish it yourself. If you’re not interested in publication, you can still share your work with friends and family or start a blog (several are free). Participate in open readings or give your poems and stories as gifts.

Embarking on a creative writing journey can be a rewarding, healthful, and life-changing experience. Following these seven easy steps will get you going.

Happy Writing!

-The Wordsy Woman

WRITING'S DIRTY WORDS: FEEDBACK, CRITIQUE

Does the thought of handing your writing over to a writing group to critique make you sweat with fear? Or maybe you’d like to join a writing group but you are nervous about what to say to your group-mates? If you are serious about your writing, you have surely heard that giving and receiving feedback is an important part of the process. It is true that feedback from others helps you to make your writing stronger. But it can be difficult. Letting others read your work, especially if you are not sure about its quality, can be a nerve-wracking experience. And if that’s not enough, when you join a critique group or attend a feedback session, you will be expected to deliver constructive criticism on others’ work as well. You may wonder what you have to offer others when you are still receiving help on your own work. The answer is a lot.

Unless you are in a writing group with Stephen King, Tom Clancy, or some other multi-national best-selling author, everyone in the group is in the same place (and I suspect even the famous authors receive some degree of working feedback). Whether you’ve written one book or six dozen, it is always valuable to know how readers see your writing and to listen to what works and what could be improved. Similarly, if you are interested enough in books and writing to be participating in a writing group, you have plenty to offer. If you follow the following advice, you can help to ensure a more helpful, fulfilling experience.

Giving Feedback

Writing and critique groups follow varying formats for sharing work. Usually, the number of pages will be decided upon in advance depending on the number of participants and the time allotted for the group meeting. Sometimes, they exchange pages via email or hard copy a certain amount of time in advance of the meeting, and sometimes the authors will read their pages to the group at the beginning of the meeting. Manuscripts may also be exchanged so someone else will read your work aloud, which can also be helpful.

If you receive writing ahead of time, read the pages carefully and make notes. It can also help to read it through the first time as a typical reader and then read it through a second time with a more critical eye. Make notes of things you found interesting, unique descriptions, poignant moments, and other passages or elements you enjoyed. Also note any questions you have, areas which were unclear for you, and if you have a suggestion for changing a word or a phrase, jot down the change. If pages are read at the meeting, listen as closely as possible and make the same notes.

When it is your turn to provide feedback, remember the sandwich method. First, point out at least two or three things you found interesting or enjoyable. Next, point out a couple of areas where you had questions, were confused, or that could be improved. For feedback on hard copies received in advance, you can skip over the small, copyediting changes because the writer will be able to see those when they get their pages back. Finally, end your feedback by naming an additional positive aspect or reiterating what you enjoyed.

Another thing to keep in mind while giving feedback is specificity. Avoid saying “it was good,” or “it was bad.” Include what specifically needs improvement or which particular words worked well. If you think an area needs to be better, try to offer suggestions about how it could be made stronger. Remember to be kind which will be easy if you approach the experience as it should be approached: a group of people with common goals getting together to help each other improve their writing. Keep in mind that just as they are not experts, you are also not an expert. For all you know, what they wrote could be perfect; you are just offering your own opinions and perspectives and they are free to accept the advice or dismiss it.

Getting Feedback

Putting your work out there for others to judge can be a harrowing experience. What if they hate it? As mentioned above, if you cared enough to put it on paper and submit your work for review, there is going to be something good. And if they hate it, that is just that person’s opinion and it doesn’t doom your work for the trashcan; maybe that person just doesn’t know good writing when they see it. Regardless, if you find a caring, positive, help-oriented critique group, even if they did hate it, they will be able to pick some good things out and point out some areas where it may benefit from some changes.

When it’s your turn to get feedback, the most important thing to do is listen and take notes. If your group-mates have specific questions, answer them but don’t elaborate. Plan to have the urge to defend your work, pointing out what you meant, or attempting to correct viewpoints and then plan to bite your tongue, sit on your hands, or do whatever else you have to do to keep yourself from verbalizing those urges. However, while listening, do pay particular attention to passages, phrases, or sentences the readers didn’t understand or misunderstood as well as their questions, because these are like big red flags waving in the air indicating your writing was not clear enough in those areas.

Remember your critique group just wants to help you and, like you (presumably), they are all amateurs. Their opinions count and should be considered, but they are not the final words; If you think about what they say and decide they’re wrong, go with your gut instinct and don’t change it. A caveat, however: if several people say the same thing, consider what they said again a little more carefully before you dismiss them as wrong. And just because everyone says the same thing, it still doesn’t mean they are correct, so, in the end, don’t be afraid to go against the masses if you feel that strongly. Finally, say, “Thank you.” When you get home, read through your notes so they will be clear to you if you won’t be getting around to revisions right away. And then keep writing.

Feedback, giving it and getting it, is an integral part of the writing process. It can be scary, but don’t let that fear stop you from participating. Acknowledge your fear and do it anyway; follow these tips and hopefully doing it anyway will be a little easier.

Happy critiquing!

-The Wordsy Woman

SCARY WORDS ON MY FRIDGE

When my daughter turned 14 about a year and a half ago, we were surprised that she didn't want to take her learner's permit test, but we didn't push it. You see, I think the worst drivers in the entire world live where we live. I literally cannot drive the four or five blocks to the post office without seeing someone do something ... ahem ... incorrectly ... while driving.

There is a two-way stop sign close to my house that people think is a four-way stop. If I'm coming up to it and see cars waiting, I automatically rest my foot lightly on my brake, ready to pounce, because there's probably a 50% chance they will think I'm going to stop and pull out in front of me. My city is also famous for people cutting their left turns way too short. Instead of waiting until they are close to the middle of the intersection before starting their left turns, they start them at the beginning, causing them to partially drive in the wrong lane. How they keep from tearing off bumpers is beyond me.

So - suffice it to say - it is scary to drive in my city even with a few or 20-some years of driving experience. I was not in a hurry to have my daughter out there as well. By the time she turned 15 about 1/2 a year ago, she had started studying for her test but still didn't ask us to take it. We told her we would take her whenever she was ready but we were not about to encourage her. Finally, about a month ago after hearing they were thinking of changing the requirements to having your learner permit for a year instead of 6 months before you can get your license, she decided to take the test.

I took her to the driver's license station after trying to find it where they recently hid it, having to stop at the workforce development office to ask for directions. She passed, only missing two questions. Her dad is now in charge of teaching her to drive and it's gone well the three times they've been out so far. However, after my daughter's creeping turns and chugging about 40 down the highway, we decided some method of advising other drivers on the road - not the most skilled or patient lot of folks - that we had a newbie in their midst was needed. So I turned to the Internet and now, these three signs proclaiming "STUDENT DRIVER" in bold black letters with bright orange backgrounds are on my fridge, waiting for the next driving lesson.

Safe driving. Please, stop texting and put your phone down. The message and conversation can wait.

-The Wordsy Woman

MY UPCOMING NEW PUBLISHED WORDS

I'm so excited that advanced marketing has started for my upcoming poetry collection, The Other Side of Crazy to be released by 918studio this September.The collection explores the craziness of modern life. Reviews are already coming in:

“The trick in The Other Side of Crazy seems to be that it’s a place we cannot access, or perhaps does not exist. These poems are filled with startling images, both strange and commonplace: blood-soaked quilts, burning watches, calendars, thunderstorms, dead skin, pharmaceutical commercials, a bike ride across the emotional terrain of modern life. These poems are littered with interruptions—both internal & external—that are always biting at the heels at this contemporary normalcy & domesticity, and in the end, rather than being resisted or fretted upon or allowed to hold modern life hostage, they are embraced & incorporated into the living and crazy love these poems so deftly reflect.” ~ Ryan Collins      

“In The Other Side of Crazy, Jodie Toohey explores the frailty of relationships and modern life from her own unique perspective. She guides the reader ‘Through the valley/Of vulnerability/…Of agony over/Straits/Of jackets and jars.’ Her poems beat with palpable emotion, fearless and honest, evoking a rich, multi-layered world.” ~ Nancy Ann Schaefer, InSearch of Lode

"In her book, The Other Side of Crazy, poet Jodie Toohey proves to us that still waters do indeed run deep.  Her poetry collection proffers a brilliant disturbance of the intellectual mind that reassembles as creative genius.The poet conjures everyday moments of insanity in her work that gift us sanity, and that join all of us in a very human, very creative, coven of mad genius. These poems are like rare, black pearls, simple, beautiful, darkly iridescent, and a little sinister.  The Reader wears them in her heart and mind like a badge made of rare jewels that entitles her to a tour through The Other Side of Crazy with poet Toohey as the tour guide." ~ Ellen Tsagaris,Sappho,I should have listened

"Poet, author Jodie Toohey exhibits her diverse and creative poetic voice in The Other Side of Crazy. Her poems elicit  raw emotions and draw the reader to think about life from a different angle, from the other side of the proverbial box." ~ Trisha Georgiou, Quartered Enlightenment 

To read some samples, click here.

To craziness!

-The Wordsy Woman

IT'S GRAMMAR TIME - LEAD VS. LED

The pair of words, lead and led, has tripped me up in the past because the word lead, usually pronounced leed can be pronounced led when talking about the metal of lead, defined by Dictionary.com as "a heavy, comparatively soft, malleable, bluish-gray metal, sometimes found in its natural state but usually combined as a sulfide, especially in galena." The proper word is also lead when using the metal in a cliche as in "He has a lead foot," describing a perpetual speeder. Because lead sounds like led and my fingers sometimes fly faster than my brain, they insist on writing lead when I mean led.

The word lead (pronounced leed, not describing the metal), can be used as a present tense verb, noun, or an adjective. According to Dictionary.com, the present tense verb means to go first, show the way, guide, or influence.For example, on my desk is a Isabel Bloom heart I received at a Women's Connection conference that says, "Lead with your heart."

According to Dictionary.com, as a noun, lead (leed) means the position in first place or ahead of others, something that leads (or goes first, shows the way, guides, or influence), or a particular type of leash. As an adjective, Dictionary.com says lead describes the most important thing, that which goes first, or that which leads. As a noun, an example would be, "I got the lead in the school musical." And, as an adjective, "I got the lead role in the school musical."

Led, on the other hand, is simply the past tense and past participle version of the verb, lead, not to be confused with the capitalized version, LED, that Dictionary.com includes which describes a type of light bulb.

Fortunately, just like this lead vs. led mistake can be easy for your fingers to make as you're flying along writing on your keyboard, it's just as easy for your brain to correct it during the editing and proofreading process. Just remember the only time you use the led-pronounced version of lead is when talking about the metal. If you are using the word as the past tense of the leed-pronounced verb of lead, then use led.

May you always be in the lead position after you have led your followers to lead.

-The Wordsy Woman

WRITING'S SURPRISE PARTY

The Midwest Writing Center's
Creative Writing Primer

This post was originally published on June 28, 2013, on the Midwest Writing Center's blog to celebrate the first birthday of Midwest Writing Center's Creative Writing Primer.

In her writing-guide titles, Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, Natalie Goldberg encourages readers to practice timed free writing. The key to timed free writing is not that you write five minutes, or ten minutes, or twenty minutes, but it is what you do when you think you are finished. You set the timer for five or ten minutes more and keep going. The reason? You will often be surprised, even startled, by what your creative brain spits out when it thinks the free writing is over.

I have followed this practice many times during my writing life, and am always amazed at how well it works. Often, in those last few minutes, the meat or the meaning of what I was trying to say falls out onto my paper. This surprise in writing is one of the reasons why I love it so much. But free writing is not the only place where I enjoy surprise in writing.

During the poetry session of a writing workshop I led, I borrowed my daughter’s poetry magnets and gave each participant and myself a small, random handful. The group and I were almost astonished by the beautiful poems our brains produced with these random words. Everyone created pieces with meaning and insight. I’m not a brain scientist and it isn’t important how they do it, but it fascinates me how our brains can take random things and put them together to create something concrete and meaningful.

The best poems I’ve ever written are dripping with surprise. When I free write, many times I merely pay attention to the words flying through my head and I copy them down in my journal. As I’m writing, they seem random, independent, and not connected at all. Often when I’m done, I have an entire poem that I think is just comprised of haphazard words. But then I read it. Sometimes it happens immediately and sometimes it doesn’t happen until I read it maybe months of even years later, but I find meaning. A real, honest-to-goodness poem with insight and meaning my brain created when I was just paying attention to individual words. Usually, I’ll need a few words added to cement the meaning, but frequently it is all there in the original transcription.

Even what I initially fear are mistakes in my writing sometimes end up being my brain actually saying what it meant to say. For example, the title poem of my poetry collection, The Other Side of Crazy, starts off with “Peddle down the street, past salted pines.” When the initial proof came, I thought, Oh no, I made a mistake. Peddle means to sell something and pedal a bicycle is what I actually envisioned. But then I read through the rest of the poem and I remembered when I wrote it. I was in the middle of a prospect-calling campaign for my business and I realized the poems described precisely how I felt about cold calling. And peddle actually fits better. So I kept it.

Surprise in writing practice can manifest in many different ways; the writer just needs to be open to it. And believe. But there’s a catch: you have to be writing to find it.

Hope your writing is filled with pleasant surprises!

-The Wordsy Woman

MY OLD NEW PUBLISHED WORDS ARE FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME

For the first time in the history of the Wordsy Woman blog, I'm posting two days early to give you plenty of time to get The Midwest Writing Center's Creative Writing Primer FREE on Amazon.com from now until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, June 29th (the days of MWC's David R. Collins 2013 Writers' Conference).

Here's my original post marking the release of the Primer a year ago:

The Midwest Writing Center and 918 Studio teamed up to publish MWC Press' first ebook. "The Creative Writing Primer" is a collaboration of essays about various aspects of creative writing, including by yours truly. I have two entries in the work: "Writing as Creative Practice" and "Techniques in Poetry."

Midwest Writing Center is a non-profit organization which is dear to my heart. Its sole mission is "fostering appreciation of the written word, supporting and educating its creators." MWC has helped me immensely as a writer from learning opportunities to helping other writers to organizing events to building my portfolio.


"The Creative Writing Primer" ebook is available in Kindle, iPad,and Nook formats for a steal at $1.99. The entire profit, which amounts to roughly $1.65 after PayPal fees, directly benefits MWC, allowing them to further their mission and provide all of their services and events for writers and readers.


Be sure to get your free copy before time runs out!
-The Wordsy Woman

CONFERENCE PREPARATIONS

Next week is the Midwest Writing Center's annual David R. Collins Writers' Conference held at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. Because of my involvement with MWC, I am intimately involved with this high quality, high value conference offering three-day workshops on a variety of writing topics.

This year, MWC is offering an unprecedented eight total workshops and I had a very hard time choosing which I wanted to take. I know each of them will have something valuable I can immediately apply to my writing; however, at this point in my writing life, I know, deep down, that what will help my writing the most is just sitting my butt down at my computer and doing it. So, what will I do? I'm compromising.

I've signed up for one of the last workshops of the day: The Novel as a Machine of Desire. It is being led by Amy Hassinger who has written several highly acclaimed and award winning novels. Plus, she's written a history textbook. The workshop promises a study of novels from the slant of character desire with work on novels-in-progress. In my current novel, I am having extreme trouble staying true to my characters' natures while also inserting elements of surprise. I'm hoping the workshop will help.

To satisfy my writing practice need, I'm planning to work on my novel at home in the mornings until ten or so. And then to help with the conference, I'm going to volunteer my time from about 11 a.m. until my workshop starts at 3:30 p.m. I'll be filling in at the registration table when MWC's Executive Director is at his workshop, introducing instructors, and just filling in where I'm needed.

It will be like a three-day writing vacation! I'm so excited. Three days of writing, learning, and interaction with some of my favorite types of people - WORD People.

Have you had any awesome writers' conference experiences or insights on how to make the most of one? Please feel free to comment below.

Happy conferencing!
The Wordsy Woman

WHAT'S PASSED IS PAST

Lately I've been having a duel over the past versus passed duo. These two words sound the same and when my writing brain is chugging along, it sometimes forgets which of these different-meaning words is appropriate.

According to Dictionary.com, passed refers to what something has done, such as having passed a slow-moving car in the left lane driving down the interstate or having passed an academic test. In contrast, past, according to Dictionary.com, is an intangible thing or adjective. As in forget the past. However, it can get complicated. When used as a preposition when talking about physically going by or beyond something, past is appropriate, as in I was looking for the library but I drove right past.

To determine whether passed or past is appropriate, evaluate your sentence critically and determine what exactly you wanted to say. If it is something the subject of your sentence did already regarding the verb pass, use passed. If it is not referring to something your subject did, use past. In the final example in the preceding paragraph, drove is the verb and past describes the driving or could be thought of as a thing; it was past, this is here.

Do you have any other tips or tricks for easily deciding if passed or past is correct? If so, please share in the comments below.

Happy passing!
The Wordsy Woman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG!

Today (well, tomorrow to be exact) marks the one year birthday of the Wordsy Woman blog.

Maintaining a blog is an interesting endeavor. For several months, I was sure not a soul was reading it. But then the views started to creep up beyond what I thought would result from people accidentally clicking on the URL in their favorite search engines.Getting views and a few comments definitely motivated me to keep it going week after week, which can be difficult. Fortunately, there's a nearly infinite possibility of things one can say about words and that makes it much easier.

Created on Doodle Buddy for iPad

Not terribly surprising is which of my posts have been most popular: the Comma Sutra posts. Comma Sutra -Position Two is in the number one spot, followed by Position One and Position Four. My post on how I write Social Media and My New Published Words (posted one year ago tomorrow) round out the top five. Comma Sutra - Position Three comes in at sixth place.

Where my blog viewers come from never stops to amaze me either. Most of the viewers come from the United States; the rest hail from Russia, Germany, Romania, France, China, United Kingdom, Ukraine, India, and Mexico. And I don't even have family in any of those countries - so that is awesome! I did have an old friend who lived in India, but I don't know if he's still there...

For me, keeping a weekly blog up for an entire year without breaks is a great accomplishment. So I plan to celebrate. And I'm not done yet; I'm looking forward to celebrating the Wordsy Woman Blog on its second and third birthdays all the way into old age.

To the Wordsy Woman Blog! Happy Birthday.

SUMMER WORDS

August sunset on a farm in Northwest Iowa

Tuesday was my kids' last day of school and now I anticipate all of those words and phrases they will inevitably utter over this summer.

The big one will be Can I? Can I go swimming, go to my friend's house, drink this soda, go to the movies, go miniature golfing, go ice skating, go here or go there. And then the phrase that will follow will be Can you drive me there? And we can't forget Can I have money to pay for it? Because I work at home, I have to be disciplined. I like them to get out and do things and I enjoy an occasional swim or movie myself; however, if I'm not careful, I'll end up spending the summer driving all over town instead of getting my work done.

Of course, the Can I is usually preceded at some point by an I'm bored. My son tried unsuccessfully to get me to let him skip the last day of school because they wouldn't be doing anything, anyway. I refused. My reasoning? If I agreed, the I'm bored would hit much quicker. My suggestions in response to this phrase are always Clean your room or Read a book. Not appetizing to them.

Another classic summer phrase, I'm hot. Can't we turn on the air conditioner? I'm not going to be uncomfortable in my house either, but they usually start asking for the AC when the thermometer outside climbs to just 75°F. I generally need it to be at least the upper 70s in the house before I'll turn it on.

Ah, yes, summer, a time for words you almost exclusively hear in June, July, and August. What are some classic things your kids say over summer break? Share them in the comments section below.

Happy Summer Vacation!
-The Wordsy Woman

FINDING THE WORDS

My relative was recently involved in a motor vehicle crash that left her unconscious and broken. We eventually learned she had head injuries, numerous broken bones, and a collapsed lung. She had to be on a ventilator for almost ten days. I went to visit her this past Sunday after she'd made a dramatic turnaround; she was off the ventilator, sitting up, and talking.

After talking with her about the experience, I got to thinking about how finding our words and communicating are the first things human beings struggle to do. Think about babies; the first thing they do of their own volition is smile when someone talks to them, an attempt to communicate via the only means they know how to use. The next thing they do when someone talks to them is make noises and try to imitate to form words. They understand what people say to them long before they can form the words themselves. They get frustrated when they can't find the correct ones.

As my relative was slowly emerging from her medically induced coma to help with the swelling on her brain, the first thing she tried to do was communicate. The desire was so strong that her daughter created a letter board she could use to spell words when she still had the tube down her throat and couldn't speak. On Sunday, I could tell that her ability to speak, even though it took great concentration and effort to do so, had lifted her spirits and given her hope for her full recovery.

It also amazes me how much other people's words can impact us. Before my relative woke up and her close family members could explain to her what happened, she had no idea why she was in the hospital. One of the first people she remembered visiting her was her eighty-two year old father who drove approximately an hour to get to the hospital where she was admitted, something she knew he wouldn't do without a good reason. She'd had a tooth extraction scheduled so when she saw her father, she said she first thought something went wrong with the extraction. But she ran her tongue over her teeth and they were still there. She knew something had to be seriously wrong for her father to drive all that way to the hospital to see her and talk to her. I don't know what he said to her, but it seems like an uncanny coincidence that right after that visit, immediately after receiving that communication from her father, she began to turn around for the better, getting off the ventilator the next day, getting out of ICU the day after that, and talking about being discharged to a rehab facility just three days after that.

Words. Always amazes me what they can do and how important they are. Just 26 little letters...

Here's to your health and always being able to find your words!

-The Wordsy Woman

DREAM WORDS

Do you ever have writing dreams? I do. I often have dreams that I'm writing a brilliant, eloquent poem, story, novel, or article. I keep a small notebook and a pen next to my bed, but it's mostly blank. I believe in capturing inspiration when it comes to me and whole-heartily agree with people who suggest planting writing materials by our beds so we can capture those writing bits that come when we are trying to fall asleep or that come out of our dreams.

My problem is actually doing it. Once in awhile, I will think about something as I'm falling asleep and actually be awake enough to get up and write about it. More often than not, however, I am too close to sleep and too lazy to drag myself out of bed. Plus, I'm always afraid I'll wake up my husband and he'll think I'm crazy when I tell him I sneaked off to write something down. Which is crazy in itself because he knows I'm a writer and he sleeps like a log. But in those dark hours, I don't think straight.

With regard to dreaming I'm writing something brilliant, one of two things happen. I either wake up and remember I'd dreamed I'd written something exquisite, insightful, and perfect but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Or I go to write down what I dreamed I was writing down and it is anything but brilliant or eloquent; it sucks. It leaves me wondering if what I'd written in my dream really wasn't all that great or if I'm just not remembering it accurately. I choose to believe the former because then the writing I've lost is insignificant anyway.

Happy Dreaming!
-The Wordsy Woman

A RERUN IN HONOR OF MOTHER'S DAY

Here is a post I wrote late last year about those timeless pieces of advice we receive from our mothers. I hope you enjoy it and have a happy Mother's Day tomorrow!!!

“Be careful.” These are the words I’ve heard every time my mother and I have separated every since I can remember. It’s good advice. Short. To the point. Broad and easy to remember. And it works for everything. Driving a car, dating, swimming, having children, taking a bath. 

Recently, I took a shopping trip with my mom, my daughter, and my daughter’s friend. My mom and I were talking about the trip I’m planning to take with my daughter’s choir in the spring to New York City. She wisely advised me to take plenty of underwear because at that time of year, you never know when a nor-easter blizzard will pop up and you will be stuck. Also, you can wear your clothes more than once but you want to change your underwear.

Don’t get me wrong, this is very, very good advice. However, since I’m knocking on the door of that last birthday before forty, I thought it was kind of funny. 

My mom has had great advice for me on many occasions. My all time favorite has to be her advice to make sure my skirt was not stuck in my underwear (or something like that) when I was on my way to accept a financial scholarship for college during the end of my senior year of high school. To others, it may seem like odd advice, but to me who had actually had my skirt stuck in my underwear after using the restroom on a homecoming date and was lucky enough to have my mother see this and rescue me, there could not have been better words for the occasion.

So now I am the mother of a fourteen and a half year old daughter who responds with a dramatic eye roll just about every time I pass on my sage, motherly words of advice. I don’t recall if I rolled my eyes at my mom when I was a teenager – I’m sure I did, though, even if I wasn’t bold enough to do it “out loud” and just in my head. Anyway, I think my daughter would be well advised to not bother with the eye roll because when she’s knocking on forty, I’m sure I’ll still be passing my words on to her.

Thanks, mom, for all of the great words of advice.

-The Wordsy Woman

SOMETIMES WORDS JUST AIN'T ENOUGH

Words can do a lot of things. They can comfort, infuriate, convince, inspire, entertain, or inform, among others. Some people think words can protect them. Sometimes they can, but not always.

Last Sunday I took my niece to a park and discovered this sign next to a high metal curvy slide. It said, "Slide was not designed for elementary aged children or younger." WHAT? First, I know for a fact that is an outright lie. That slide has been there in that park since I was a little girl, a good thirty years ago. At the time, it was at the pinnacle of advanced playground equipment technology, before they worried about such things as safety - back before they installed rubber floors and you took your chances on the concrete. Therefore, I know for a fact when it was "designed," it was designed for elementary and younger aged children.

Second, who do they expect to use this slide? Apparently middle schoolers, high schoolers, college students, and adults. Other than older kids screwing around or adults showing their kids how it's done, I almost never see anyone older than eleven sliding down a slide. As you can see from the photo, nobody else believed it either.

Finally, I know the real purpose behind the sign. I'd be willing to bet a significant sum that its entire intention is to try to insulate the city from a lawsuit should a child in elementary school or younger fall off this steeply-staired rickety apparatus. In my non-lawyer opinion, I don't think it would do the trick. It is a slide, in a park, at a playground, with swings and play equipment that ARE intended for small children. I cannot picture a few words on a sign keeping a jury from concluding anything differently about this particular slide. If it's that dangerous, it shouldn't be there. Otherwise, perhaps some signs stating the entire playground is for use at-your-own-risk and the city won't be responsible for injuries suffered anywhere in the park would be at least a better potential tactic.

I thought the sign was quite amusing, but it also demonstrates how words are good for SO many things, but they only go so far.

Happy Sliding!
-the Wordsy Woman.

CURSIVE OUTLAWED?

I recently attended a meeting wherein one of the people I met with asked me my opinion about typing on a computer versus handwriting. He'd recently been to a school function where they mentioned they were considering (or planning to) not teach writing with a pen and paper any longer, citing the proliferation of communication by email and text message. In my opinion, this is insane. Perhaps we should get rid of whole words all together and just teach acronyms like WTF or LMAO or IKR or JK or BRB. Maybe we should outlaw words and just use capital letters that can mean differing things depending on the reader's imagination.

I am a proponent of both the written word on screen, in type and in a notebook, written out with a pen or pencil, cursive or not. I use both methods for varying applications in my writing life. Of course, some things must go out in type like emails or submissions or books. I believe most everything meant to be shared with the world should end up in typewritten form eventually, but it doesn't necessarily have to start there.

I know several people who write all of their initial drafts out long hand and then type them into the computer. I've read that the physical act of feeling your ink or lead flow over a piece of paper frees creativity and allows one to tap more deeply into his or her self-conscious. Plus in the transition from written long-hand to typed-in, the piece will undergo at least one round of revision. In my own practice, when I'm free writing, whether just stream-of-consciousness, see-what-will-come-out writing or if I'm free writing on a specific topic or planning of a piece, I use a pen and paper, usually my journal. When I have a specific piece I'm working on, like my novel or an article for which I'm using notes, I type it directly into the computer. I may use handwriting to make notes, plan a piece, or write bits of it which I'll then type in directly from my journal, but I almost never write an entire piece out by hand and then type it in.

Clearly, there is a place for typing and handwriting - at least enough of a place where both should still be taught to our children. Sure, with smart phones and tablets, usually we will always have some device available on which to type, but what if our devices die and there isn't an outlet nearby? At least pen, pencil, and paper don't need plugged in...

What do you think? Does this school need a clunk on the head or are they on the write track? Feel free to comment int he comment section below.

Happy Writing - However you do it!
-The Wordsy Woman

COMMA SUTRA - POSITION FOUR

Time to attempt to master another comma position: between adjectives. When using adjectives to describe a noun in sentences, at times you will need commas between them, at times you will not, and at times there will be commas between some of them but not others. Unlike with the intuitive comma use, often you can't tell when a comma should or shouldn't be used just by reading the sentence out loud. Fortunately, however, there is a rule you can use.

When using two or more adjectives, commas should be placed between those that describe the noun independently and separately. No comma is appropriate when the multiple adjectives are dependent upon each other. Diana Hacker (2009) in her A Pocket Style Manual refers to the distinction as coordinating adjectives and cumulative adjectives (p. 59-60). To test whether the adjectives are coordinate or independent, read them with the word "and" between them.

For example, from Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters on page 13:

"I did not think again about the letter until I arrived home from school the first of March to find a thin envelope with a border around the outside like a red, white, and blue candy cane and several cancelled stamps addressed to me on our kitchen counter."

If you use "and" instead of the commas:

"I did not think again about the letter until I arrived home from school the first of March to find a thin envelope with a border around the outside like a red and white and blue candy cane and several cancelled stamps addressed to me on our kitchen counter."

This makes sense so the commas are appropriate. In fact, commas are needed so your words don't read like they were written by a preschooler. In this case, you could also determine the commas are needed by reading it aloud. If you try to read it without, "outside like a red white blue candy cane," you might pass out from loss of breath (especially because it is quite a long sentence anyway).

According to Hacker (2009), cumulative adjectives don't describe the noun separately and reading them with "and" would be cumbersome and nonsensical. For example, from Missing Emily on page 12:

"A passing elbow collided with mine, sending my books flying to the floor in slow motion."

Reading "A passing and elbow collided with mine" doesn't made sense so a comma would not be appropriate. As has been the case with all of the Comma Sutra positions thus far, whether to use a comma or not is still a subjective decision to a certain degree. The "and"s might make sense to some but not to others. The important thing is to consider the use of commas in your sentences and make purposeful choices about whether or not to use them.

Happy Comma-ing,
-The Wordsy Woman

Source:

Hacker, D. (2009). A Pocket Style Manual (5th ed.). Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

KEEP IT BETWEEN THE LINES - PARALLEL PRONOUNS, the basics

The major grammar mistake theme I've seen in the documents I've edited the past few weeks has been matching plural and singular sentence subjects with their respective plural and singular pronouns. These are easy mistakes to make but they are also easy mistakes to correct.

If a subject within a sentence is singular, meaning the sentence is talking only about what one person, place, or thing did, the pronoun must be singular as well. If the subject is gender neutral, use it. If the subject is male, use he or his; if female, use she or her; if it has a gender but you don't know or it doesn't matter if the the subject is male or female, use she or he or his or her. Granted, writing he or she all of the time can make the piece feel cluttered and reading tedious so it is tempting to use they or their. Don't do it. If you are writing he or she too many times, make the subject plural so you can use they, their, or them, etc. properly.

As mentioned, perhaps the easiest way to get around the whole he or she dilemma is to make your sentence's subject plural and use the more easily-read they or its derivative. Sometimes, however, it won't be so clear cut. Perhaps the subject to which your pronoun refers isn't contained in the same sentence. The rule is still the same: if the subject to which you are referring is plural, use the they pronoun. For example, from Missing Emily: Croatian Life Letters on page 20 with highlighting to hopefully make it clearer which pronouns go with which subjects:

"Within a few hours, I knew the whole story. Aunt Shari had taken Emily for a walk in her stroller to the park in her neighborhood. When they left to walk back home, Aunt Shari Buckled Emily into her stroller. When they reached the intersection a block away from the park, Aunt Shari pushed the street light button and waited for the walk signal. The moment she stepped into the intersection, an unlicensed sixteen-year-old girl riding with her friends swerved around the cars stopped at the red light and struck Emily's stroller." ("They" refers to Aunt Shari and Emily.)

It can also get tricky when your sentence has multiple subjects or contains some descriptive words between the subject and verb. The rule is still the same: match the verb to the subject about which you are writing. They, them, and their also applies to inanimate objects or places as well as gender-neutral subjects, which also can make them easier to deal with. But in the interest of interest, change your work up at times. Find a synonym for your subject or use the he or she (properly) occasionally.

Of course, if you are talking about only yourself, use I. If you are including friends in your sentence talking about yourself, use the collective we. The good news is if you are talking directly to someone else (second person), you is proper whether you are addressing one person or a whole crowd.

Even if you know this rule about singular or plural subjects and pronouns, it is easy to slip up when you are cranking out a draft, making it that more important when it comes time for revising to read your work carefully and think through your sentences to ensure your grammar is correct.

Thanks for reading!
-The Wordsy Woman