Reciprocity

I first heard this word a couple of years ago when I was talking to a colleague about Australian Aboriginal culture and philosophy. The word can be a bit of a tongue-twister (though perhaps that's just me) but the meaning behind it fascinated me. I also found out, after some research, that although I hadn't heard this particular term before, the concept was not new (to me) and is often the backbone behind most religions. It seems that, at times, our major religions and their followers have forgotten this fundamental tenet.

What it means, in a most basic sense, is "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "pay it back". That is, if someone does you a service or gives you a gift - tangible or intangible, then that "giving" should be returned. It makes perfect sense and I try to follow this philosophy to my utmost.

You may find the thought rather simple. The best ones often are. But imagine if everyone paid back a kindness with a kindness, respect with respect, service with service, how much happier we would be as a whole society. Levels of bitterness would drop and caring would rise. Ignorance would recede and learning come forth. The world's population needs reciprocity. You, dear Reader, need it. I need it.

Here are a few quotes from various religions (and via Wikipedia) that express their philosophy of reciprocity.

 "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." — Torah Leviticus 19:18
 "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Jesus (c. 5 B.C.E. - C.E. 32 ) in the Gospels, Matthew 7:12, Matthew 22:39, Luke 6:31, Luke 10:27
 "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." — Torah Leviticus 19:33-34
 "This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you." — Mahabharata (5:15:17) (c. 500 B.C.E.)
 "What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." — Confucius (ca. 551 - 479 B.C.E.)
 "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." — Hillel (ca. 50 B.C.E. - C.E. 10)
 "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." — Muhammad (c. C.E. 571 - 632), Hadith 13 of al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith.

I'm not sure I like the wording of all the above, but I'm not a big fan of dogma at any time. I came to my understanding of reciprocity without the benefit of religious learning as I'm sure many of us do. After all, it's so simple and I think it's simple because it's a human instinct - too often warped by ignorance and wrong-learning - but an instinct nevertheless. Perhaps I'm naïve - nothing wrong with a little bit of naivety.

Yes, there are varying interpretations of this concept, but let's not over-analyse it. That's a cop-out. If someone does something for you then you should do something for them. Not exactly the same thing, but something, even if it's as easy as a well-meant and sincere thank-you.

TrishA

PS: If you're interested in performing some random acts of kindness then the Dare To Be An Angel website has lots of links for just this sort of thing.

PPS. The boomerang image is from the cover of a book entitled, Boomerang. For more information visit the Singapore Institute of Management.

I've already written an article on my dyslexic fingers. If you've read it, you may have thought I was joking. I've decided to write this entire article without editing any of it.

1. this will show you how bad my "condition" can be. I am a trained touch-typist capable of around 80 - 90 words per minute on a good day and used to be able to attain that level without a single eorror.

2. I hope to also show readers, especially beginner writers, that the good published work you read, you know the stuff you compare your own work to, starts in a fairly similar way to this article - in dire need of editing

now. You may be thinking that I'm not doing too bad so far. And okay, I haven't mucked anything major up, but I'm still warming up and a certain part of me is e… oops, I just edited out a word without thinking. As I was saying part of me is editing ias I go and it's very hard to stop it. For instance I tend to slow down when to think about what I want to say. That's good too, in every other article except this one. Also, Word keeps turning my - oops, did it again. I was going gto say little letter I's and then thought how immature, it should be lowercase i. Look at that, didn't do it.

Another thing you may notice is that I tend to ramble even more than usual. I find that in order to stop editing myself atuomatically I must attempt to free write. In other words sjust top thinking. It must be working notice the increase of typographical errors.

Critics might like to suggest that I just couldn't think of anything else to write about. They could be write I suppose but I have been thinking about this exericse of a couple of days now which suggests at least some forward planning on my part… I hope.

The point of this readers is that while you should read as much as you can on lots of topics, especially anything in your preferred writing genere, you really shouldn't be comparing your rought draft [no matter how many times you've rewritten it] to an already published piece. The difference between your work and ther published is, oc course, the services of an editor. At some time between when you've finished reading, I mean writing your great novel, and the time it gets put on the bookshelves and selling out over night t in order to make you a billionaire and household name, an editor has been employed. The editor [this was going to be one really long sentence but I just couldn't do it to you] picks up all the spelling mistakes, grammatical and punctuational errors and any other necessary fixer-uppers, and, well, fixes them so that you have a lovely polished work of art to present to your admising public.

Until the day you an actually afford a top-notch editor, you will need to do a bit of editing yourself. The better you get at this, the better your work will be. Do note one little detail though, sneaky little typos nearly always get in somewhere. If editing isn't your strong point, there a re plenty of books around on the subject. Read ca couple. Pay attention to what they say and take the time to read over your work. Use a ruler as aguide under each line, follow each word with a pen. Some people read th elines backward. I've tried this but only succeeded in making myself confused.

Make use of spellcheck but don't rely on them completely. After all, the y are computer progarms not reading humans and what makes sense to them will bmaboozle the rest of us. Bambaoozled yet? I'm actually a very good speller too. Where were we… ah, yes - also pay attention to cadence which will be altered quite quickly if the punctuationis in the wrong spot or missing entirely. Repetitions are a real story-stopper and anything that stops the flow of story is bad, bad, bad. If you say the same word more than twice in once sentence or even in one paragraph there had better be an excellent reason. If the word is unuusual and you say it in more than one chapter, tehre had also better be a good reason. And it's not just word repetition - phrases and terms used over and over bog good stories down.

Sentence length is another important point. Variable is best. Too many long sentences and thes tory gets boring. Too many short and the story gets lost and then boring. Paragarphs are best varied too. Readers can only take so much solid blocks of text at one time before their eyes get sore, eyelids droop and before htye know it they've closed the book and gone off for a nana-nap.

These a re just a few tips to get you started. The rest is up to you!

========
One little reminder, the article above has been deliberately left (mostly) unedited and while I would dearly love to tidy it up and cut a lot of it out, that would destroy the point of the exercise.

If you need drastic help tidying up your words, contact me at trish.anders@gmail.com with a description of your work and what sort of editing or critique you need. I'll get back to you with a quote post haste!

cheers - TrishA

The Apple Branch: a path to celtic ritual

I'm researching for a new novel and thought I'd share a few notes on the books I'm using. So, if you're interested in Celtic culture & history, this one's for you:

The Apple Branch: a path to celtic ritual
written by Alexei Kondratiev and published by The Collins Press, Ireland - 1998
ISBN: 1-898256-420X

This is a serious book for people really interested in bringing celtic ritual into their lives. It is not a new-age, self-help, "pop" publication.

The book starts off with a detailed and well-researched history of the Celts, including their movement around Europe, their evolving society and the flexible, family-oriented laws they lived by. Social connections were judged by who a person was related to rather than how much they owned or their position within the society. Family groups were often self-ruling, separated by fields from the other families in their tribe. This self-reliance encouraged strong individualism in the warrior class and was the opposite of the centralised "states" they would later fight against. Even if you're not that into Celtic ritual, the historical chapters alone are worth the read.

I am truly bothered about cultural borrowings: take the good bits, ignore the bad bits and don't bother to make a deep commitment to the culture you're borrowing from. I do not display Native American dreamcatchers on my walls or any other "borrowed" paraphenalia. It's not my culture, though I am deeply fascinated by it, and I have no intention of changing religions or lifestyles, so I won't use their symbols in my life. The writer of "The Apple Branch", seems to feel the same way.

He talks about the need to study language when involving oneself in another's culture because only through a knowledge of the language can one truly understand, appreciate and interpret the culture. Learning about celtic culture but not learning the language is like paying shallow lip-service to the depth and meaning of being celtic.

When it comes to ritual, "The Apple Branch" goes first into history and meaning, and then into procedure and words.

"Every activity of the Tribe involves, in the end an interaction with the Land." And this world view is interlaced with every ritual, step and song. The relationship with the Land is all important in Celtic culture. Each ritual is connected to a cycle - between Earth and Sun, the Moon, Events and the Tribe - and fits into the seasonal pattern of life. All outlined and explained to great affect.

The passages on the Druids were very informative and cut right through fable and myth to give the reader a realistic picture of their purpose within Celtic life.

If you are researching or studying this culture, or the history of the six modern-day Celtic nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Mann) then I recommend this book to help you along. It will be worth the search at your local library.

If you'd like to add "The Apple Branch" to your personal library, then Amazon currently have two copies available.

For more information on things Celtic and for articles written by Mr Kondratiev, stroll along to The Celtic League and The Celtic League, America. To find out more on Alexei Kondratieve, just enter his name into your favourite search engine and you will find entries from Wikipedia as well as several other websites.

Oh, and I found it quite helpful for my research purposes. The symbolism of the apple tree and the cycle of the moon, in particular.

Regards
TrishA

I wish...

that I had the time (and peace and quiet) to read every book on my "To Read" list

that I had the patience to sit down and teach myself to play a musical instrument

that I could know for sure that everything I am teaching my children is the right stuff to be teaching them

that I could put 100% effort into everything instead of divvying it all up

that wine didn't make me tipsy after the second glass

that I could understand what I'm doing at places like MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, StumbleUpon, etc instead of just muddling on through a bit at a time

that I could spend hours wandering around art galleries and museums, and not think about anything else apart from art and history

that I could write and read and write and read... and someone would pay me for that

that a literary agent or publisher would discover my work without my having to "pound the pavement" to get their attention

that I could paint, draw, knit, watch old movies, and read books, and still have time to write and have the family I aim to have

that I still sang and danced around the house the way I used to.

I wish...

We all have lots of wishes, for more time, for some recognition, for knowledge, but those wishes won't and cannot come true without some planning and effort on our part. We can through ourselves to the Universe as much as we like, but opening ourselves to possibility, planning how we can achieve our goals and working toward them one step at a time has much more chance at success than passively wishing on a star.

Lisa Gates, over at Design Your Writing Life, has some wonderful words to help set you on the right path, and you don't have to be a writer to benefit. What she has to share can be used for whichever path you're aiming for. Go and take a look. It's worth it.

TrishA

Editing your work

When I wrote this piece, I was aiming it at high school students. However, the information can help anyone whether they're still at school, at university or (like me) are well and truly out of the education system.

Remember, that if you'd like to borrow any of my articles for your own web-site or simply to pass along to a friend, take my bio as well. My name and the url to Beginnings, Middles, Ends is fine. If you want more, grab a full bio from my profile.
cheers all
TrishA


Editing your work.

You've done the research. You have pages full of writing. The next step is to edit all your words into a manageable, easy to read work that not only covers all the requirements of the assignment, it leaves the teacher smiling.

You'll need two things: highlighter pens in different colours and the ability to be ruthless.

1. Print your work out and then read through the whole piece.

2. Read through it again, but this time highlight the points that directly relate to the assignment question.

3. Read again and, with a different colour pen, highlight the paragraphs that support your answers or arguments. Hopefully, this will include an introduction and conclusion, but don't worry too much if it doesn't. You can add them in later.

4. Go back to your computer, open up your workfile and click "save as". Change the name of the file slightly by calling it "edit1" or "draft1" - whatever works for you really - but keep the original title in the new name.

5. In your newly named copy, delete all the sections that are not highlighted on your print out.

6. Start again with your new streamlined piece and this time, correct any clunky sentances, repetitions, overly passive statements, weak sentance beginnings, etc

7. Make sure your arguments are strong.

8. Polish off the intro and conclusion, or write them now if they didn't survive the first cut. Your intro should answer the questions and show how you plan to support your answers. The conclusions should show how you answered and supported your answers.

9. Print it out and read through again. Highlight anything that still needs adjusting.

10. With any luck this is your final draft. Make adjustments according to your last brush with the highlighters. Read it. Yes, again! Make sure it says what the teacher wants it to say. If it does and you're happy with it, add your name to the top, print it out and take it to the teacher.

You're done!

Writing in temperatures...

If you're in the southern hemisphere of planet Earth, I hope you enjoyed a reasonably happy winter solstice and Yule. For those north of the equator, greetings on the recent summer solstice is in order. Hope the warm weather is treating you well. If you're not on the planet earth, thanks for reading and I hope the weather's great wherever you are.

As I alternate typing with keeping my fingers warm by wrapping them around a hot cup of tea, I contemplate the difference that weather, and temperature, make to writing. Specifically, the ideas created for articles.

Does a writer whose fingers are shaking in time to their chattering teeth, prefer to tackle warm weather topics? Perhaps they might wander off to sunnier climes, at least in their imagination anyway. Does the pounding of wind on the windows effect or affect the writer's mood enough to shape the words that flow from the keyboard?

I find that when it's cold [like right now if you're in Sydney, Australia] I tend to let my mind hover on deserts and tropical islands. Sweaty, high temperature days seem much more appealing in the middle of winter than they are when you're sweltering through them. In summer, if I can bear to be at my computer at all, I write about flash floods and snow storms and can bring them to mind clear enough that I almost shiver. Almost! Summer in Sydney is a bit hard to shiver through.

That's in fiction. Articles seem to be a different matter. I guess that would be because the goals are different, outlines are more specific. And quite possibly, at least for me, because I'm writing from a list of ideas that has been developed over a period of time. This time covering all seasons and the ideas covering experiences and knowledge that I've gathered along the way.

Getting my fingers to move properly and hit the right keys is another story.

Regards
TrishA

3. Non-fiction

Third and final part of Being a Writer

Articles, books, essays, letter-writing [presumably] may be your interest. That's great! Start with articles and develop a list of things that interest you and/or that you know a lot about. Stop right there if you're thinking you know nothing! My first article idea list ever garnered me over 30 possible projects from childcare and women's health to travel and writing. Mridu Khullar's website has some good articles on article writing. A simple web search will find you hundreds of helpful articles, tips and ebooks. As a starting point for a relaxed and friendly writing style, edit everything you produce for mistakes and ensure your facts are facts not fiction. If you would like to publish there are plenty of free article directories on the web. You don't get paid but you do have the pleasure of seeing your name and work in "print" so to speak and you can track your articles to see where they end up.

All writing requires some level of research. Non-fiction books especially. Readers expect to be reading the truth backed up with reliable resources. You will need things like bibliographies, expert's quotes, possibly some images, diagrams and tables. Don't be put off, non-fiction writing is just as creative as fiction and equally satisfying for the writer. Read up on things like developing outlines that will help you plan your work and how to research and keep records. You don't want to lose any scrap of information in the process through sloppy files or note-taking.

You don't have to be an "expert" to write non-fiction, but be prepared to have become one by the time you are finished. Good research skills and dedication will get you most of the way there. Good writing will carry you through the rest.

It doesn't really matter whether you're published and earning money from writing, whether you blog or keep a journal, write letters or that no one other than you reads your work. If at the end of the day, writing makes you happy in some way and you do it regardless of other outside outcomes, then you are a writer. Whether you take your craft out of the hobby arena and into the semi or full professional is up to you and other interests/ambitions you may have. Being a writer is something you are born with. Writing well and being able to craft a piece that is interesting and has an impact on its audience is something you learn along the way. You don't have to sign up for university. You do have to be prepared to work at it, learn, and keep practicing.

The way to better writing is to keep writing.


My ebook - Plan to Write, Plan to Succeed - has some articles in it you may find of interest to further you along your writing path. It's available free by emailing me at - trish.anders@gmail.com - and putting "plan to write" in the subject line.

Feedback for Plan to Write, Plan to Succeed

I've received some great feedback for my first ever ebook and wanted to share it with you. Writing takes more than talent and knowledge, it takes "butt in seat" work and a fair bit of determination. I'm so happy that I finally have something to show for the hours of typing and researching and planning...

Hi Trish,

I've just finished your e-book. Very informative and thanks for the mention! It must have taken you ages. Well done. It does tend to make me realise what a sloppy writer I am in terms of organisation.... Anyway, enjoyed the read and hope plenty of people get to read it and benefit from your experience.

Jo

and this one,

Hi Trish
Had to let you know I found your e-book interesting and informative,
espec for me in the Keeping Records section. My bete-noire!
Thanks for the chance to read it.
Cheers
Sheryl

Thanks Jo and Sheryl. I appreciate the time you've taken to share your thoughts.

If anyone else would like a) a copy of Plan to Write, Plan to Succeed or b) to leave some feedback, just drop me a line at trish.anders@gmail.com

2. Fiction

Pretty much the same goes for stories as it does for poetry. Pick up a pen or open a word processing document and write. Your first draft will form the basis from which you can add bits, take away other bits and work on things like plot, characters and dialogue. Everything we write needs a beginning, middle and an end so get an idea of what yours will be and write it down. This is your outline and will give you some direction and act as a reminder for where you want your story to go.

I can't suggest strongly enough how useful it will be to pick up a few books on writing fiction. Plot development, characters and dialogue takes planning. Books on writing abound so start at your local library until you get a feel for what you want. Stephen King's "On Writing" is popular, easy to read and understand, and inspiring. There are hundreds, if not thousands, to choose from.

Join a writing group; online if you're a bit nervous about real live people. Check as many out as you can first and go with the groups that sound the friendliest and helpful. Another form of writing group to consider is via fan fiction. Fan fiction is fiction written by fans of television shows and movies. The stories in these groups go where the screen versions don't go. You can usually pick up a few beta-readers or editors connected to the group that will help you develop your story or, at least, point out grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors.

If you're worried about spelling, word-use or any technical aspect of writing, there are books to cover that as well. Start with a dictionary and thesaurus. Next consider a book or two on word usage. That is, something that explains the difference between words such as "lay" and "lie", when to use them, etc. Bill Bryson's "Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words" is a good start.

If you have a growing pile of short stories that have been polished as close to perfection as you can manage try submitting them off to a few competitions. You can find lists of competition information through various writing newsletters and groups, or join your local writing centre. Writing centre's provide access to groups, courses, competitions and information for writers of all abilities. To find the one closest to you either do a web search or inquire at your local library.

You will go through stages of thinking that your writing is not good enough. You will compare it to the work of other writers and consider it lacking. We all do this at some point or another. Welcome to the world of the creative artist! Mull over your apparent lack of talent for a bit, then get over it and get back to writing. If you seriously feel you need extra help in a specific area, ask for it via a critique or writing group. Work on your weak areas and they will grow stronger.

This post has just come up at Modern Matriarch. Go visit her blog for some samples of spoken poetry. This is a great idea and I hope it really catches on.

Modern Matriarch

Poetry: the Spoken Word
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 in reading, audio clips, literature, poetry, writing, blogging

Poetry is an artform ment to be spoken; ment to be heard with the ear not scanned with the eyes. Hearing the words roll off the lips of the poet gives the poetry a new dimension. There is a texture in the emphasis, in the rhythm, in the pregnant pause that can not be duplicated on paper.

A fellow poet from Editred recorded some of her poetry on a my music page. A myspace service originally intended for indie musicians, my music has been co-opted by poets seeking an outlet for their spoken word. It’s a fascinating trend that I hope will gain ground, perhaps even inspire a dedicated service (please let me know if there is already one I don’t know about).

1. Poetry

Does the urge to write poetry sometimes hit you when you least expect it? Don't worry about whether you produce good, bad or somewhere in between poetry. Pick up a pencil, grab a notebook and just write it. For the first draft, write whatever comes to you. You can polish it when the words are all out. Keep all your masterpieces in one notebook, something special if you can manage it and add favourite quotes and other poems. Make sure you sign and date your own work so you can look back over it later on and know exactly which words are yours.

Polishing your poetry can be as technical as you like it. If you really want to delve into the murky depths, obtain a copy of a book like Stephen Fry's "The Ode Less Travelled" and learn as much as you can. A step down from that is to simply read lots of poetry and copy the styles that you like best. On an even simpler level, go over your poem and, if it reads fine to you, leave it. If, on re-reading, you can think of better words or lines to use, use them and leave it.

If you want to publish your poetry, but don't feel skilled enough at writing, try either attending a poetry writing course or workshop, or search the web for online groups. You'll want one that welcomes beginners and offers critiques. Strict critiquing guidelines are okay as long as they also offer help with how to critique. If you're not sure of your ability to crit work, let the group moderator know and ask for help and/or flexibility in requirements.

Do I write poetry? Yes. I call it "bad poetry". I think it's fine, mainly because each piece reflects something about me at the time I wrote it. An inspiration, an idea, or just a feeling I absolutely had to get out. I call it "bad" because 1. I have no intention of ever publishing it and 2. On the off-chance that someone actually reads it, they can't say I didn't warn them. I have no pretensions. The poetry is written for me and me only. Of course, my "bad" is in comparison to people who I think write great poetry...

Somewhere, in all my writings about writing, I've said - don't compare yourself and your work to other writers, it's not good for you - or something along that line. I obviously have work to do on my poetry-writing confidence levels.

In the meantime, I keep it to myself.

Being a writer

If you have a secret desire to write stories or poems, if you feel the need to voice an opinion or share knowledge through the written medium, then that is enough to make you a writer. But, if you didn't go past highschool education, did not excel in English at school and aren't familiar with a lot of the technical aspects of writing, then you may be wondering where to start.

The World Wide Web is a wonderful tool for writers and prospective writers alike. Where else can you tap into writing groups full of like-minded people willing to help you out, for free, without leaving the comfort of your computer monitor and keyboard. Following are a bunch of tips on how to get started as a writer and a few pointers about what being a writer means.

Being a writer does not only mean being published in print. Writers are people that use the written word to express themselves either in journals, through poetry, stories, articles, essays or letter-writing. There are as many different forms of written expression as there are ways to paint a picture.

Coming up will be some posts that take a quick look at what the "really new to writing" writer can do to help themselves proceed down their chosen path.

Unite to Write

Unite to Write is a collection of reprintable articles on a variety of topics such as:

• Herbs and plants


• Grief and widowhood


• Writing for Children


• Coping with Insomnia


• Freelance writing


• business know-how


• Do it yourself Home Repair


• Dealing with Coworkers


• Medical Articles


• Marketing and Networking

and I'm in it! I had completely forgotten about this, but one of the outcomes of the Article Challenge I participated in last year was the ebook Unite to Write. I was wandering around the web earlier and reading some of the articles on Yvonne Perry's blog when I rediscovered it.

Hop on over to Writers in the Sky and pick up a free copy. All the articles are free to be used as web content so long as the individual author's bio/resource box is used as well.

Thanks for the help

It seems the subscription link is indeed working. Thank you for all those that responded. I'll have to resubscribe myself... perhaps it was all the bad weather we'd been having. Speaking of bad weather, it's batten down the hatches time here in Sydney. The latest weather reports have gale force winds, lots and lots of rain and even some hail expected later on tonight. The day started off quite pleasant, some sunshine making it through the rainclouds [it rained heavily all night last night] and not too cold. It all went down hill from there. By mid-morning the temperatures had dropped and the sun had snuck back behind the cloud cover. Lunchtime saw the return of the rain and now, dinnertime, it's raining and quite cold.

I am happy to report that some rain is at last falling over our dam catchment area. Warragamba Dam reported a 53mm fall over the past 24 hours. Sydney has not gone completely dry just yet! Just a few million more millilitres to go and I can finally go back to the long hot showers I prefer.

My neurotic dog is loving the weather. She spent last night on the lounge with "dad" who, grumbling true, vacated his snug warm bed so she would settle [and the rest of the family could sleep]. What a man! He didn't get much sleep though so it will be my turn tonight, I'm sure. Our pooch doesn't like the rain, or the wind, or thunder, or any sort of loud noise really, and has mastered the "pathetic" look to perfection. Imagine a skinny-looking whippet with her tail tickling her ribcage, shivering violently and one front paw lifted... it works nearly everytime.

I have just had a number of articles published at ezinearticles.com and am almost 1/2 way through the LK Spring Article Challenge. My daughter had a look at my article list and said, "Loofahing? You're writing about loofahing?"

"Yes," I replied. "I'll write about anything." [and I do love a good loofah, so why not share it with the world!]

I also have a couple of articles about PowerPoint presentations. As I'm immersed in producing advertising for big screen presentations [I'm talking big, big screen here] for work, why not share some of the ins and outs?

Enjoy your reading and why not drop a line or two in the comments section. I love to see who's been around...

TrishA

subscriptions

I've just added a subscription button to my blog [over there on the left]. I'm not sure if it's working. Either I've done something wrong or my free subscription to Feedburner doesn't allow for blog subscriptions.

I would greatly appreciate someone other than myself clicking on the icon and letting me know what happens after they've filled in the form. I especially want to know if the form is the last you hear of the whole subscribe to Beginnings, Middles Ends blog thing.

Many thanks
TrishA

Another word or two on common errors

I just wanted to add a few more words on the subject of misused words; pet peeves, if you will.

lose/loose

These are two different words with two different meanings. "Loose" refers to things like, "loose change" or, "the cows are loose in the back paddock again, Ma!". That sort of thing.

"Lose" is related to "lost", like when you lose an aeroplane full of hapless people somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and then later decide to make a neverending television series about it. Though that may refer more to "losing the plot" - or it could just be me.

A couple of others, which are more a change in style yet to catch on than peeves, are:

Adding "st" to the end of words, such as whilst, amongst, amidst. The "st" is on its way to meet the dinasaurs. Modern useage is to leave the words intact. Eg. while, among and amid.

Double quotation marks instead of single. That is, "dialogue" rather than 'dialogue'. Doubles are out. Singles are in. Why? Singles save space and, therefore, save paper. Kind of like using one space after a fullstop/period or colon, instead of two. Note that the whole single versus double rule does not include quotes.

By the same reasoning, you could also change useage of words such as, towards and backwards, to, toward and backward.

What do you think? Have any pet peeves?

Trisha

Winter has finally hit!

It has been raining for almost two days solid, wild winds to go with it. North of Sydney serious damage and deaths have occurred. Now, I'm told the real storm, as if what we've been experiencing isn't enough, is coming our way.

My in-laws lost their verandah roof at 1am this morning. My brother-in-law and family have been without electricity for nearly 24-hours. I'm just thankful that I live where I do in a relatively safe part of Sydney.

I drove down to the beach today. The beachside roads are buried under golden sand. The wind was too strong to allow a stroll over the dunes and to the beach, but surely the giant waves have cut a swathe along their lengths.

Take a look at the picture. Where the white sign is should be a wide bitumen path. Right next to that is the road. It's all still there, of course, just buried under a few inches of mushy sand.

I think I'll stay home the rest of this long weekend and enjoy the opportunity to catch up on critiques, articles and a bit of marketing. I've had enough of weather for now.

TrishA

Misused and Abused

Here's a great article by freelance writer, Kendy Sproul. Drop in and visit her blog. She has some great words of advice and many other articles.

TrishA


Misused and Abused

As a freelance writer and editor, the more I read, the greater my awareness of the confusion most of us experience over the correct use of English. And understandably so. You don't have to be uneducated to make mistakes that might make you seem less than the literate person you are.

In an attempt to clear up a small portion of this confusion, I have made a list of commonly abused words. Don't be ashamed if you see words on this list that you often misuse yourself, the abuse of these words can be commonly found in the correspondence of even the most prestigious offices in our country.

Learn their correct uses and you will hold your head high the next time you are asked to write a report or letter, knowing that no words will be abused in the process.

accept/except

accept:to receive willingly.except: to exclude or leave out.I accepted payment from everyone there, except Ryan.

affect/effect

affect: when used as a noun it means to influence or stir the emotions of. It can only be applied to subjects that have emotions and can be influenced.effect: to bring about by a cause; result (hence the phrase; cause and effect).What we say as parents, greatly affects our children. The effect can be disastrous.

aggravate/irritate

aggravate: to make worse; to annoy.irritate: to provoke to anger; to make inflamed or sore.Brian tried to irritate his little sister. The situation was aggravated by the barking dog.

anxious/eager

anxious: worried or uneasy.eager: keenly desiring or impatient.I was eager to go, but anxious about the slick roads.

continually/continuously

continually: repeated often.continuously: without interruption, unbroken.Ted has to put fuel in the generator continually to keep it running continuously.

i.e./e.g.

i.e.: short for the Latin, id est, meaning, "that is."e.g.: short for the Latin, exempli gratia, meaning, "for example."I prefer neutral colors; i.e. beige, sand, brown, etc.The twins have several differences; e.g. Ellen is taller than Susan.

imply/infer

imply: to indicate indirectly; to suggest.infer: to conclude by reasoning; to draw meaning from something known or assumed."Wow, that's some hair color," she said, implying that my hair looked unnatural. "Your hair is Red!" he said, inferring to the color.

into/in to

into: to enter (Go into the kitchen.); to change form (He turned into a frog.); continue in the midst of (We danced into the night.); to make contact with or strike (She ran into the door. or, I ran into an old friend.).in to: used in most other instances.Patricia T. O'Conner simplifies things in her book, Woe is I, where she advises; If you can drop the in without losing the meaning, the term you want is in to. Bring the guests (in) to me, then we'll all go (in) to dinner.

it's/its

it's: the contraction of "it is."its: the possessive form of "it."These two are commonly confused but not interchangeable.It’s so warm outside that the yard is beginning to lose its winter look.

lay/lie

lay: always applies to an object; to place an object somewhere.lie: to rest in a horizontal or reclined position.First, I will lay my book on the shelf, then I will lie down on the bed.

nauseated/nauseous

nauseated: caused to feel nausea; to be make sick.nauseous: an adjective referring to something causing nausea; something sickening.I’m nauseated by that nauseous odor.Got it? Good! Far too many of us go through life mistakenly (or not) admitting that we are sickening (nauseous).

sit/set

sit: to rest oneself upon the buttocks; to be seated.set: always applies to an object; something is being placed.Set your cup on the counter, then sit in the chair.

than/then

than: use when comparing elements.One is bigger than the other.then: use when signifying a sequence of events or regarding time.We will go for a walk, then have lunch. I was younger then.

This is only a portion of my list of commonly misused words. But, by spreading the knowledge of their proper use, there just may be fewer cases of word abuse in the world.

by Kendy Sproul

http://www.inkjourney.blogspot.com/

Free Ebook finally ready!

I have put the final touches to my first free e-book - Plan to Write, Plan to Succeed. It's taken months to battle through the trenches of real life and all its demands. Now, I just have to figure out how to get it attached to this website!

Plan to Write is a collection of articles, some already published, some written exclusively for the ebook focussing on the importance of planning. Whether you're planning school or university writing assignments or the next great novel, you'll find a little something to give you reason to stop and think first.

Contents:
Planning a Student Writing Assignment
Writing What You Know: Figuring Out What You Know
Turning Ideas Into Stories
Researching on the World Wide Web
Keeping Records I: Papertrails & Bibliographies
Keeping Records II: Using Excel to Keep Track of Your Work
What is Copyright?
Bio/Resource Boxes

If the e-book is not up yet, please email me at: trish.anders@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy by return. Just put "Plan to Write" in the subject line.

Anosmia: Ten Handy Links

Anosmia is the inability to smell and is more common than widely believed. If you suspect someone you know, or even yourself, is anosmic, you'll find some great info in the Ten Handy Links below. They include scientific, anecdotal and support information and contacts.

Happy linking!

1. http://www.anosmiafoundation.org/index.shtml

2. http://www.maxuk.net/fascin.html out of date but some interesting stuff in the archived content

3. http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/anosmia.htm

4. http://www.golgotha.org.uk/useful/anosmia.html

5. http://md1.csa.com/crw/web/web-smell.html

6. http://www.hhmi.org/senses/

7. http://hubel.sfasu.edu/courseinfo/SL99/anosmia.html

8. http://www.simplykristi.com/me/my_life/conditions/anosmia/

9. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1334975,00.html

10. http://www.leffingwell.com/links5.htm


bonus link! http://www.anosmia.net/index.php online support group for congenital anosmics. That is, if you haven't smelled anything ever you'll find like affected people right here.