Wednesday Writing

Fame, fortune, creating a business, or just sharing your story? How you define success depends on your goals. What does success as a writer mean to you?

What does success as a writer mean to you?

Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Max on Unsplash.

Looking down on a sandy beach with some large rocks in between a green forest and turquoise water.

Monday Muddle; about, a bout

For some reason, when a noun is preceded by the indefinite article “a”, people like to delete the space between them and turn them into adverbs or prepositions, for example. It’s a mistake seen frequently with “a part”, but also with other combinations. The most common example of the space elimination trend is “a lot”, but deleting that space doesn’t actually create a new word.

The same problem doesn’t seem to exist with nouns preceded by the indefinite article “an”.

Monday Muddle: about: (adverb) approximately, almost, in the opposite direction; in no particular direction; all around; (preposition) on the subject of; in the vicinity of; (adjective) nearby bout: (noun) contest, match; period of time, especially to deal with something (e.g. a bout of the flu) Often preceded by the indefinite article "a".

Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Dmitry Dreyer on Unsplash.

A woman with outstretched arms balancing on the back tire of a bicycle in a public square. The setting sun behind her is causing crepuscular rays in a cloudy sky.

Monday Muddle: fell, foul

“Fell” is also a noun, a verb, and the past tense of the verb “to fall”, but that is not what gets mixed up here.

To do something in one fell swoop means to do it all at once. One action can accomplish an entire task. The noun swoop dates from the 1540s, and represents the action that a bird takes when pouncing on its prey. One fell swoop—one deadly pounce—meant that the prey was caught in one shot. No need for further attempts.

Monday Muddle: fell: (adjective) evil, cruel, sinister, deadly Part of the expression "one fell swoop". foul: (adjective) unpleasant or offensive, especially relating to smell or taste; immoral; polluted; stormy, when relating to weather Not part of the expression "one fell swoop".