Wednesday Writing

Wednesday Writing

Although it is an editor’s job to catch all of your mistakes and omissions, editors are still human. The more overwhelmed they are with all the little things that you could have fixed yourself, the less energy they will have for the things you wouldn’t have caught. Help them to help you by making your manuscript as clean as possible.

A red pen against a white page with this caption: The Value of Self-Editing The cleaner you can make your manuscript before sending it to an editor, the better job your editor will do for you, and the less money it will cost.

Tuesday Two

Tuesday Two

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

Photo by Pavel Kalenik on Unsplash.

A young man doing a handstand, but his head and feet are pointing in the same direction, perpendicular to his arms.

Monday Muddle: forth, fourth

Monday Muddle

In preparation for National Grammar Day, I thought it would be good to address the muddle of forth and fourth. March fourth was chosen as National Grammar Day because it is the only date that is also a complete sentence—if you make a minor adjustment to the spelling.

Monday Muddle: forth: (adv) forward or outward from a starting point fourth: (adj, n) ordinal number; number four in a series; 25% of the whole

Wednesday Writing

Wednesday Writing

How do you run a marathon? One step at a time. Any major project takes time, commitment, and consistent effort. You can’t just snap your fingers and have a completed project. But you can create big things one small piece at a time.

A winding pathway of open books on leaf-covered ground. Caption: How do you write a whole book? You don’t have to write a complete book. Write a part of a book—any part you want—and then another and another. Eventually you can put them all together, and a complete book will have happened. If you can write a paragraph, you can write a complete book. You just have to keep doing it.

Tuesday Two

Tuesday Two

Tuesday Two: Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish. #TueTwo

Photo by Sunyu on Unsplash.

A fox peering directly into the camera that is photographing him from a low angle.

Monday Muddle: duck, duct

Monday Muddle
Monday Muddle: duck: (n) a type of waterbird; meat from that waterbird; a heavy cotton or linen fabric used to make sails and duck tape duct: an enclosed channel that allows the passage of a substance, for example heating duct, tear duct

Duck Tape is now a brand name of adhesive, plastic-coated, fabric tape, but it was originally the generic name of strips of duck material. The original was not adhesive, but was useful in applications from shoemaking to preventing the corrosion of steel. Neither the original nor the current is suitable for using on heating ductwork. 

Duct tape is now the more common, generic name of adhesive, plastic-coated, fabric tape. It also is not suitable for use on heating ductwork. 

If you need tape to seal your heating ducts, be sure that it specifies that it is made for that purpose. It will be more like foil than cloth tape. 

If you are interested in making clothing from duct tape, as mentioned in last week’s Muddle, and you are a senior in high school in the United States or Canada (with some regional restrictions), check out the Duck brand contest. Each year they provide scholarships to the creators of the best prom dress and best tux. If you are interested in knowing more about it or seeing winners from previous years, you can do that here: https://www.duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom

(I am in no way affiliated with Duck Tape.)