12 Thoughts of the Season – #4

Okay, now it’s time for a little comedy. There’s no doubt about it, the holidays are stressful. Whether you’re struggling to make ends meet or have enough green to put on a lavish celebration, there is plenty of pressure to go around: the roads are crowded as traffic increases taking passengers to their holiday celebrations and shopping, accidents go up, line-ups are long, housework has quadrupled since we’ve added all the extra baking, decorating and paraphernalia into our homes. As we stand in a crowd of people caroling, we desperately try to stay on key and fake our way through the unknown lyrics of songs we’ve heard our whole lives. We try to live up to our children’s expectations of the magic and whimsy they’ve been promised and attempt to play the perfect host to all the guests we’ve invited to share in our holiday fun. And to top it all off, we insist on portraying the joy and carefree attitude we may or may not feel. Sound rather dispirited? Is there a Scrooge behind these words? Not at all! My point, if I have one, is that it is important to set aside a moment—some time in your busy, crazy schedule, to stop. Breath. And find a way to laugh. Here is one of my favorite comedy moments that puts a smile on my tired face and reminds me not to take it all too seriously.

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
(A Correspondence)
by
John Julius Norwich

25th December.
My dearest darling,
That partridge, in that lovely little pear tree! What an enchanting, romantic, poetic present! Bless you and thank you.
Your deeply loving Emily.

26th December.
Mr dearest darling Edward,
The two turtle doves arrived this morning and are cooing away in the pear tree as I write. I’m so touched and grateful.
With undying love, as always, Emily.

27th December.
My darling Edward,
You do thinks of the most original presents: whoever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It’s a pity that we have no chicken coops, but I expect we’ll find some. Thank you, anyway, they’re lovely.
Your loving Emily.

28th December.
Dearest Edward,
What a surprise – four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly – they make telephoning impossible. But I expect they’ll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I’m very grateful – of course I am.
Love from Emily.

29th December.
Dearest Edward,
The postman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly. A really lovely present – lovelier in a way than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I’m afraid none of use got much sleep last night. Mummy says she wants us to use the rings to ‘wring’ their necks – she’s only joking, I think; though I know what she means. But I love the rings. Bless you.
Love, Emily.

30th December.
Dear Edward,
Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn’t six socking great geese laying eggs all over the doorstep. Frankly, I rather hoped you had stopped sending me birds – we have no room for them and they have already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but – let’s call a halt, shall we?
Love, Emily.

31st December.
Edward,
I thought I said no more birds; but this morning I woke up to find no less than seven swans all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I’d rather not thinks what happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds – to say nothing of what they leave behind them. Please, please STOP.
Your Emily.

1st January.
Frankly, I think I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids – AND their cows? Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I’m afraid I don’t find it very amusing.
Emily

2nd January.

Look here Edward, this has gone far enough. You say you’re sending me nine ladies dancing; all I can say is that judging from the way they dance, they’re certainly not ladies. The village just isn’t accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless hussies with nothing on but their lipstick cavorting round the green – and it’s Mummy and I who get blamed. If you value our friendship – which I do less and less – kindly stop this ridiculous behaviour at once.
Emily

3rd January.
As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing abour all over what used to be the garden – before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it; and several of them, I notice, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.
Emily

4th January.
This is the last straw. You know I detest bagpipes. The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse and a man from the Council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mummy has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance. I hope you’re satisfied.

5th January.
Sir,
Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises a half-past seven this morning of the entire percussion section of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and several of their friends she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent your importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.

I am, Sir, Yours faithfully,
G.CREEP
Solicitor-at-law

Top 5 Grammar Challenges

Grammar was never my strong area of expertise. The more I write, edit and re-write and edit some more, the better I am at polishing this skill. There are a few things that I’ve encountered that often trip me up or seem to be a bane to writers everywhere. This week’s Top 5 takes a look at the ones that I found most noteworthy.

1. The Semicolon;

   

   • Between speaking with writers, reading many online discussions and my own experience, it is quiet clear that this seemingly harmless punctuation mark causes a lot of problems. Personally I love the semicolon; I like adding additional thoughts onto previous ones. The use of it can be controversial and some people find it too complex and avoid using it all together. For a great explanation on How to use a Semicolon, check out The Oatmeal.

2. However

   • I like this word. I didn’t realize how much I liked it until I started doing a word frequency search on a rough draft of one of my manuscripts. It was used in every chapter at least once. My editor pointed out how this word can really stop the flow of a sentence or idea and I should cut back on the use of it — and this was after I already had. After huffing and puffing about the criticism, I realized she was right. Now I’m much more cautious with how I use this word. But the problems with it it don’t end there. My grammar issue with this world relates back to the dreaded semicolon. I remember distinctively being taught in school that commas surround the word ‘however’, but this is not always the case. My editor made several corrections in my work; however I was still baffled. I scrolled through other well-known novels and saw discrepancies on the punctuation around this useful word.  After researching and trying to determine who was right, I think I’ve finally figured it out. Check out this blog on Daily Writing Tips to put you in the know.

3. Nodded

   • It wasn’t until I started writing a novel that I realized how many times people nod when they talk or think. This reflexive head bobbing only appears as an odd obsession when you start writing out dialogue in a story. If you’re like me and picture a scene as you are writing it, you will see a bunch of nodding, but if you note it down every time your writing becomes repetitive and seems rather pedantic. I thought maybe it was just me and perhaps it spoke of an inept ability to write…then I started pouring over highly acclaimed writing. Guess what? People nodded in their books too! And now my attention has been drawn to it, I think people nod too much (in books and IRL lol). Unfortunately, there’s no quick work around to replace this word. There are other things to write instead of ‘nodded’, but I have yet to find a blog to point you to for advice…I may have to write it myself (gasp!).

4. Accept vs Except

   • I accept that there is a very clear indication when these words are used, except I can still get them completely mixed up. After the red pen has pointed out my predictable confusion of which word to use, you’d think I would learn…alas they can still trip me up. What’s strange is that when they have been used correctly, how to use them makes perfect sense to me—of course that’s how to use that word! However, when I’m in the thick of it, the reasoning is blurred. Thank goodness I have a patient editor to help me with these things!

5. Ellipsis vs Em Dash

   • The more I write the clearer it is to me that some things are more about personal preference than a matter of right or wrong…or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Especially when you are writing dialogue or someone’s thoughts these useful tools can add a much needed pause or addition —interrupting when someone is speaking is another use for the em dash. The Punctuation Guide is a good resource for how to use an em dash. So why, you may ask, is this a challenge? Sometimes I like trailing thoughts when a character speaks. It’s not that they are interrupted, it’s as if they have more to say, but are holding back or expect another character to finish the thought for them.
     • “Where you going to eat that last chocolate or…”
   • The challenge comes in with putting a period after the quotation marks: “Where you going to eat that last chocolate or…”. I just don’t like the way this looks. Another option is to add a forth dot: “Where you going to eat that last chocolate or….” But this example is actually a question so perhaps there should be a ? at the end of that sentence. If this gets your head spinning you may want to refer to the The Punctuation Guide for a full explanation on how the ellipsis can be used.

Please share your own grammar challenges in the comments or add your thoughts to my Top 5!

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Top 5 Youth Book Series

I read many books from a variety of genres. In my Top 5 list I’ve included books that are not only entertaining and enjoyable, but have an educational slant to it.

My own book series draws from our history as far as the architecture, development of language and engineering; however, these things are not directly linked to any person, place or event and therefore, it’s not on my list – but don’t get me wrong, Essence of Galenia is still an epic read 😉

1. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

   • This book was hard to put down. Magnus is a well written character full of wit and sarcasm that he uses to hide his vulnerabilities. The series takes the characters on a thrilling quest adventure all in reference to Norse mythology.
   • It is similar to the Percy Jackson series, which includes Greek mythology and is also great. That series is aimed at readers 8 to 12 and Magnus Chase is a more mature read.
   • I think this is a fun and interesting way to learn about the belief systems of the different people of history. These mythologies are still prevalent in our current society making this a great way to learn valuable stories that are not usually taught in the school systems.

2. 39 Clues by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson

   • In this adventure novel series, the two main characters find themselves on a heroic clue hunt across the world. Their adventures take them to many historical sites and they learn about many important figures from over the ages.
   • The reading level is for 8 – 12 years, but is an enjoyable read for anyone with lots of worthwhile facts revealed throughout. Each book was written by a different author.

3. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

   • Following Anne through the beautiful landscape of Avonlea takes the readers away to a slower pace of life of the early 1900’s.
   • Anne is a bright, imaginative and talkative 11 year old whose love of language has her speaking in a eloquent and advanced sort of way that reflects her extreme passions.
   • Experiencing this moment in time and the beauty of P.E.I through Anne’s eyes will have you longing to visit Canada’s coast and reveal  the charm and elegance words can have.

4. Horrible Histories by Terry Deary, Peter Hepplewhite and Neil Tonge

   • Now onto the weird and wacky, these short books are packed with facts and stories about some of the strangest events, people and places in history.
   • With the addition of comics and jokes, these history books will have your kids groaning and laughing as they learn about our outrageous past. Deary is a writer who wishes to ‘entertain first and inform second’.

5. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

   • In this wilderness survival novel, 13-year old Brian is stranded in the middle of a forest. He must learn how to survive in the vast wilderness with only his hatchet.
   • It is a compelling read and has you asking whether or not you would be as resourceful as young Brian. If you’ve never been in Scouts or taken any survival training this is a must read! It is book 1 in a 5 books series.

That’s the end of my Top 5 educational books, but I’d like to do a shout out to the Rangers Apprentice Series by John Flanagan. This action adventure series follows 12 year old Will who becomes a Ranger (essentially the secret police of the king). Flanagan bases many of the peoples on our own historical cultures. The values, friendships, hard work and relatable characters make this a compelling read, and therefore, there is much to be gained other than facts and figures.

Top 5 Reasons to Read

“The more that you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go!” — Dr. Seuss

This quote was fitting for Read In week.  I will be volunteering at a local Junior High School to read to students about the importance of reading. My favorite top 5 reasons:

1. It improves your verbal abilities
2. It improves your focus and concentration
3. Reading makes you smarter
4. It makes you interesting & more attractive
5. Reduces Stress

Visit whytoread.com for a complete top 10 list with detailed explanations for each reason.