About Writing on Wednesdays: I’m Confused, Where’s That Comma Go Again?
30 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in About Writing on Wednesdays, Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows Tags: Arts, asterisk, Ben Yagoda, comma, grammar, Independent clause, Margaret Shertzer, publisher, punctuation, Semicolon, story, Strunk and White, The Elements of Grammar, The Elements of Style, World English Dictionary, writer
Grammar, I understand, is an important tool in a writer’s arsenal. I haven’t seen anyone ‘taste’ grammar as I have seen them do with a word, but still I’m sure it’s at least as important as the words used to write a story. It is up to the writer to set the mood, rhythm and voice of their work with the grammar they use.
During the course of my self-education I have learned commas are important, and complicated. According to Margaret Shertzer, author of The Elements of Grammar, there are thirty-one different ways to use a comma. Strunk and White devotes six and a half pages to them in their book, The Elements of Style. *Shudder* No need to cringe, I have no intention of going over them. If you’re in to self-torture go ahead.
I ran across this definition of commas from World English Dictionary:
the punctuation mark(,) indicating a slight pause in the spoken sentence and used where there is a listing of items or to separate a nonrestrictive clause or phrase from a main clause
I like that description. Short, sweet and to the point. Me, being me, can’t leave it alone. No, I need more description. Back I go to Shertzer, Strunk and White; my eyes cross and I get a bit of a buzz in my head while I work out all the intricacies of what you can and can’t do with commas. Commas, I’m pretty sure, are the invention of some little minor demon in hell to give even the devil a headache.
Commas are misused, according to an article I read about them not too long ago. I’m pretty sure that’s true. I know I abuse them in a gleeful manner on a regular basis, and no wonder. Who wouldn’t want to abuse such prudish, uptight punctuation? Besides it’s so easy to do. Evidently.
According to another article I read the use of a comma is up to the writer. What?! I’ve stressed over my commas, colons and semi-colons for nothing? But wait, according to this same writer they’re misused. I’m scratching my head.
My conclusion is there are basic rules for commas as indicated in the dictionary’s definition. The how of using a comma seems to depend on who you talk to or read, what you’re writing, who you’re writing for (as in your publisher, etc.), your audience and if you’re willing to say kiss my asterisk, I’m putting that dang comma here, so there.
Do you use commas correctly? Or do you enjoy to abusing those suckers? Do you stress over commas? Are you a comma-phobe, like me? Did you know you can italicize a comma? You sure can, here it is:
The articles I’ve referenced:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/fanfare-for-the-comma-man/
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/the-most-comma-mistakes/?src=tp
Peace.
Remember
28 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows, Holidays & Special Occasions Tags: American Flag, Blowing in the Wind, Memorial Day, Peter Paul and Mary, Statue of Liberty
And say, ‘Thank you,’ to those who have died in service to our country.
Have a great and safe Memorial Day.
Peace.
Friday Photos: A Froggy Shower
25 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows, Family & Friends, Friday's Photos Tags: baby shower, camera, corsage, diaper cake, envelopes, frogs, gifts, Mimis Cafe, photos, roses, thank you cards
The baby shower continued our theme of frogs and roses. We also decided to invite women and men to come. My brother kept saying, “I’ve never been to one of these before.” I think he was in shock but I also don’t think it was too hard on him.
All the guys seemed to enjoy themselves and it was fun to have them there. Men should go to baby showers, especially the dad; if it weren’t for dad there wouldn’t be a baby. Besides that, who doesn’t like to open gifts? John got a kick out of it as much as Holly did.
Baby showers, weddings and other events of this nature are great because you get to see family and friends you haven’t seen in a while. The drawback is there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do everything you want. It was wonderful to meet new friends and see old ones.
I just wish I could have visited more with everyone on an individual basis. For instance my friend, Ruth, I haven’t seen in months and my friend, Marion, in over a year. I tried to sit with them and visit a little bit but there definitely wasn’t enough time.
Photos help preserve those memories even when the people you love can’t be around. Fortunately for me I do have a camera and I didn’t hesitate to use it. Come see.
Holly’s corsage reflected her rose and frog theme.
John and Paul in front of our venue, Mimis Cafe.
Friday’s Photos: Some Pictures Are Worth Not Just A Thousand Words But Instead Are Priceless
18 May 2012 3 Comments
in Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows, Family & Friends, Friday's Photos Tags: April 15th, Facebook, Faith, granddaughter, grandparent, hospital, IRS, labor, labor nurse, maternity ward, New baby, tax
To quote Holly, “It was horrible.” The labor she means. That being said she also says, “Faith was worth it but no more.” Lol. Faith Alexandria was born 4/15/2012 @ 4:01pm. Tax day. John wanted to figure out how to get her initials to be IRS but Holly said, “No.”
For those of you keeping up, this was two weeks early. More to come about that later on. Faith weighed in @ 6lbs, 10 oz and 19 ” long. She was and is a tiny little girl.
Not quite an hour old:
View of Faith over Holly’s shoulder. Look at all that hair. Holly said it better not fall out because she earned it with all the indigestion she had.
Me, Holly and John with Faith
Holly, Faith, John, Tracey, Gail (John’s mom) and Kathy the labor nurse Holly still likes in spite of the fact Kathy confessed to yelling at her. Holly says Kathy did a good job.
Proud papa
Proud grandpas Paul and J.R., John and Faith
All cleaned up about two or so hours later:
Faith is wearing an alarm bracelet on her leg. If someone gets to close to an exit it goes off. She’s my granddaughter alright. Before she left the hospital she managed to shut down the maternity ward because the bracelet got too loose. Thank God that’s all it was, a false alarm.
Same day but not sure how much later:
Proud but exhausted mom
Me holding Faith
Proud Aunty Tracey
Holly says she prayed for a healthy, happy baby. Her prayers were answered because Faith is that and more. She’s sweet and beautiful even if I say so myself. And I do.
There are more pictures on Facebook and I will put up more, too.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=25012240
http://www.facebook.com/tracey.mcgill.7
Peace.
Friday’s Photos: The Diaper Cake
06 Apr 2012 10 Comments
in Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows, Friday's Photos Tags: baby shower, diaper cake, frogs, Huggy Diapers, pizza, Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice
Hey. Let’s get started on this cake.
Ingredients:
In case you’re wondering, yes that is a pizza pan.
Making the cake:
I tied a slip knot in a string of yarn to hold the diapers in place as I added more of them. This was a three layer cake.
Decorations:
Once all the layers were in place I added some ribbon using a glue gun to hold it together then added some froggy toys.
This of course is not a froggy toy but a rose.
A froggy rattle.
Tracey donated these frog socks to the cause.
I saw the mommy and baby frogs on my way out of Wal-Mart. In an instant my cake design focused and changed.
First try:
I didn’t like this but couldn’t figure out why. I was trying to give the feeling of the frogs being in a pond.
Final look:
About two o’clock in the morning I figured it out what was bothering me. I started pulling the leaves and stuff apart, praying I wasn’t making a mistake.
Here is the final result:
Peace.
About Writing on Wednesdays: News and Buzzy Mag
28 Mar 2012 4 Comments
in About Writing on Wednesdays, Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows Tags: Allen Wold, baby shower, Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair, Buzzy Mag, diaper cake, Facebook, Griminelli's Lament, Hero, Ian Anderson, Maryland, Merlin, Native American, Rex, Song of the Wolf, Stellarcon, stray cat, Wye Oak
Happy Writing Everyone!
Long Pause while I think how to start.
Ok. Let me start with the baby shower stuff. I made the diaper cake for this Saturday. I think it came out ok for a first try, there’s a couple of things I would do different but overall I’m pleased. Tracey said it was cute and that’s high praise indeed coming from her. Pictures were taken and I will share if not this Friday then the next depending on how I’m feeling. I may just wait until after the shower because I’ll be taking even more pictures so I might as well do it all together. Right?
What else? Oh, y’all remember me talking last year about how much I admired Allen Wold? Well, I got up the courage to friend him on Facebook. Oh yes, I did. I wanted to thank him for the help he gave me during the workshop last year. I really tried to make the workshop this year but I was running late, there was a car accident (I was not involved with that) and well, it just didn’t seem meant to be. Next year, maybe.
Remember how gracious I said he was? He still is. I’m such a fan. Anyway, he friended me back. Ahhhhh! Just a little scream. Lol. He sent me a very nice message saying he was glad to help. **Sigh** So nice. I think I read in the Stellarcon paperwork that he’s working on some stuff and may have some new work coming out. Yay! Can’t wait.
The other piece of writing news I’d like to share is Buzzy Mag made its debut on Monday. Double yay! Please go take a look around. There are all kind of interviews, the short stories (under the heading for Fiction) and other things to enjoy. I still don’t know when To Touch A Unicorn will be out but you can be sure I will let y’all know.
I’m a bit behind on everything including my email. I’ve well over 2,000 emails right now in my box. If you’ve emailed me or if I’m on your blog and haven’t been in a while it’s probably going to get worse. **Wincing** Sorry about that. I will answer or get there eventually. I have a lot to do between now and when Faith’s born so I hope you’ll forgive me. I’ll catch up as soon as I can.
Oh, let me also update you on Merlin. He is eating like a toothless ole pig and has gained some weight back. Lol. His fur looks really good, he still has a bit of a snotty nose but otherwise he is doing a-okay.
Next on the agenda is Hero, the little stray cat that has been running around here for a little over a year. I am not sorry to report his bachelor ways are soon to be ended. He has an appointment with the vet for a makeover next week. Shhh! Don’t tell him.
Rex will also be with me by the end of the week when Holly and John come in. He’ll be with me for about ten days before Paul and I take him back to Maryland. We’ll help Holly with a few things, come home for about a week or so then I’ll be heading back up there, somehow, to wait out Faith’s arrival. Can’t wait.
That’ s all the writing and otherwise news for today.
Here’s some music cause, dang, I just realized I need to relax.
I’m a little more relaxed how about you? Are you waiting in anticipation for something to happen? Do you keep secrets from your animals or kids? When have you gotten the courage to do something new or different? What was it?
Peace.
Friday’s Freak Out & Photos: Baby Shower Invites, Merlin & Other Stuff
23 Mar 2012 4 Comments
in Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows, Family & Friends, Freaky on Fridays, Friday's Photos, Pets, Animals & Plants Tags: A2, abscessed teeh, baby shower, beta read, Buzzy Mag, cards, Cool Cat, diaper cake, fantasy, frogs, invitations, Print Shop, roses, sci-fi, T.Glenn Bane, Theresa Bane
Hello,
I’ve been trying to get this post up for two weeks now. Instead of finishing the post I ended up taking one of our black kitties (we have two in the ten we’ve got), Merlin, to the vet. He has chronic sinus trouble and he’d been steadily getting worse for a couple of weeks. When he started to lose weight I got worried and took him to get checked.
Well, bless his heart. Not only did Merp (my nickname for him) have a sinus infection but he also had two abscessed teeth. He was put on antibiotics with a shot that lasts two weeks (thank goodness cause Merlin is not a cat who takes his meds tamely) and surgery was scheduled for last Friday. The vet did not have to surgically remove his teeth because they were loose enough to be pulled. When I called to check on him they advised me they had removed every tooth in his head because they were all in bad shape.
Good lord! To say the least I was stunned and honestly? A little freaked out. So now I have my toothless kitty at home and he is doing fine. He is eating canned food and a bowl of milk every day, gaining back the weight he lost. He’s still a bit snotty but that is nothing new. I really do not know how old he is, he was a stray I took in. He is such a laid back cat we call him ‘Cool Cat’. He’s one cool customer, nothing seems to phase him including very large dogs guarding their food. Nothing except taking his meds, of course. Lol.
The rest of this and next week I’m working on things for the baby shower. I’m making a diaper cake, something I have never done before so I’m crossing my fingers it comes out ok. You know, not lopsided or burnt of anything. There’s a lot of information out there about making them and I’m combining the information from two posts I came across. Here and here if you’re interested. Lots going on.
On the writing front I’m beta reading some things for my friend Theresa Bane. She and her husband, Glenn, have a short story coming out March 26 in buzzymag.com called “Prince of Lies, Marko Jaks: Balancing Act”. I have not read it but Terry has an interesting way of looking at things and it will be interesting.
So here’s the post:
I thought I would share some of what I’ve been doing for the last two months. I decided to make the invitations for the baby shower myself to save money. Holly, Tracey and Gayle (Holly’s mother-in-law) all gave their input and we came up with a pretty darn good design even if I say so myself.
Designing my own invitations for the first time was a labor of love. I lost hours at a time as I went through looking for clip art (making sure it’s free) to match our theme, roses and frogs. Yes, you heard me right. Holly loves frogs and we both love our roses so we combined the two. The results are rather pleasing, I think.
Using an older version of Print Shop wasn’t that bad, just frustrating. For instance, I kept designing the card and the clip art kept disappearing. I thought I had my design saved only to go back and find it was gone. Gahhhhh! After many Braxton-Hicks tries I finally figured out I had to save the clip art as a jpeg before Print Shop would recognize and save it.
The real labor began when Tracey, Gayle and I met and reviewed some of the designs I came up with along with deciding what information we wanted in the invitation. The end design didn’t match any of the original designs except in information. When I got home and went to work I came up with something totally different. After a final approval from my coaches I was ready to push print.
Except I couldn’t find paper to match my envelopes or envelopes to match my paper. Grrrrrr! All that grunting and sweating and I still wasn’t done. I was ready to pull my hair out. You don’t have to ask my husband, my kids or my mother because I’ll tell you up front by this time I was a total crank. I even told my mother I couldn’t talk to her right then because I was too dang cranky. I wasn’t lying, it was all too true.
Finally as I was talking to Gayle about my frustration she was like, oh so casually, well I have A2 envelopes here you can use. What?! I heard the angels singing. I went to her house to check them out praying all the way. Yes! They were perfect. I found some white cardstock to match and I was in business. For some reason I thought they had to be fancy envelopes or paper from the wedding or baby shower invitation section. I learned the teeth grinding way this is not the case.
If you can’t read them, just click on the photo and it will enlarge for you:
It doesn’t look like it here but I did make sure the clip art was the same size and was aligned on the pages the same along with the text on each page. Fortunately print shop had an appropriate font so that wasn’t hard at all, it was the easiest in fact. Last I made sure that frame around Faith was even; in several early versions of the card it was easy to miss how lopsided that frame was. I have a whole new appreciation for card designers.
The poem on the front was a combination of a couple of different poems I found on-line. What I kept was changed to include names, etc. So I guess in the end the poem is sorta mine but not, if that makes sense. I found the quote under Faith’s picture when I googled quotes about babies. The invitation information was pretty basic and didn’t take long to work out.
There you have my story of one of the longest labors I have endured, having my daughters was shorter. It was a little messy. I’m bald now and no one is speaking to me but I have my babies, my invitations born and I do like them. What they say is true, you do bond in the first few minutes of birth.
So when’s the last time you snatched yourself bald in frustration? Or alienated everyone within speaking or phone calling distance? Do you like to do projects like this?
Peace.
About Writing On Wednesdays: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
07 Mar 2012 8 Comments
in About Writing on Wednesdays, Aren't You Curious?, Curio's Meows
It’s been a while since I’ve written. Sorry about that but I’m here now. In the time I’ve been gone a lot has been happening, some of it good. Really good.
I had a great visit with Rex in January/February here in my home. Rex is the only dog I know who can tell time. He knows exactly when it’s ten minutes to five. Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing he finds you, staring expectantly, waiting. He surely does love his kibbles and expects them five o’clock on the dot. If not, he doesn’t mind giving a gentle whine or two as a reminder. Lol. He’s a wonderful dog.
Paul and I went to Maryland in February. Holly and I took a tour of the birthing unit in the hospital where Faith will be born. They have labor rooms with beds in them that do the Transformer movies justice. The postpartum rooms are big enough for just one occupant, her husband and baby. Overall a very nice maternity wing. We briefly saw a tiny baby being cleaned up after just being born with his dad hovering over, filming the event. There was lots of hair on that kid; he reminded of Ernie from Sesame Street.
The beginning of March I did go to Stellarcon36. I made it through Friday and most of Saturday. I met fantasy artist Mark Poole who also tells funny stories including one about a woman and a dragon on a car. Sorry, that’s all I can tell you but use your imagination. He signed the print I bought of a falcon flying above a pink castle on a misty morning. It’s for Faith’s room if Holly wants it.
One more thing. If you like fantasy art but the big bosomed (is that a word?), naked women offend you then Mark Poole is the artist for you. His artwork is PG (at least the stuff I saw) and awesome. Really, go look and buy what you can afford. We need more artists like him in the fantasy world.
Michael Stackpole was also there. I’ve never read his books but I do read his blogs. I found a used book of his in the vendor’s area for an outrageous price, bought it and got him to sign it. Yay. He was fun to listen to and I definitely will read that book I bought.
The owners of Buzzymag.com were there. I got to see their wonderful new site, very exciting. We started discussing our health and swimming and I promptly burst into tears. They were kind and I enjoyed meeting them but you know when you start crying all over people you’ve just met there’s a problem.
Once I realized I was tired and in more pain than I realized I called it a day and went home early on Saturday. Not the impression I wanted to make but they’re nice people and told me we’ll get together again soon. I’m to go swimming with them if I can get up the courage.
This brings me to why you’ve probably been wondering about those phantom screams you’ve been hearing. In fact, my friend Damian told me I was hurting his ear drums plum over in Canada. Sorry Damian. The screams are mostly in my head now but…
I sold my short story, To Touch A Unicorn, to the Buzzy folks. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Ah, ahhhhhhhhhh! I had to get a few more screams in there, lol. I still can’t believe it’s true. It will be awhile, six to eight months is what I’ve been told. I’ll let everyone know as soon as I can when it goes up.
I have to thank Paul because he has always believed in me. Enough to help pay for a writing course there was never any guarantee he would see any return on (there still isn’t but this is a start) even when we really couldn’t afford it. Thanks to my girls, Tracey and Holly, who listen to my ideas. They give me feedback and in Tracey’s case: yells at me to write.
Thanks to Diane and Josh who are my writing buddies and read through the many rewrites of this story, you all rock. Next thanks goes to Theresa Bane who said I’ll beta read it for you but then you have to promise to send it in to Buzzy or someone. I did then she did and then I did, now here we are.
It sounds like I won an award, doesn’t it? Well in a way I did. There is nothing more rewarding to a writer than to know you’ve told a story good enough to be retold. I hope I have few more in me that are worthy of the retelling. I have started a sequel per Diane’s request. I’m also working on a short story involving a toothfairy and a little girl named Colleen.
So what have you wanted to scream about here lately?
Peace.
