Michael had long since stopped waiting for something special. He had spent a good portion of his early life with the unrealized expectation that something incredible was in store for him at the very next moment. It was not that he felt himself to be special. He simply went through life feeling as if something was about to happen.[1]
Some Thoughts About My Writing Style
I will admit to being rather particular about the technical aspects of my writing. Some thoughts:
I often place punctuation after the quotation marks. For some thoughts on this, check this website. I like the sentence, “In the United Kingdom, Canada, and islands under the influence of British education, punctuation around quotation marks is more apt to follow logic.” Clearly, I must have been influenced by some of my favorite British authors- Michael Moorcock, Douglas Adams, J.R.R. Tolkien, et al. The British style seems a little more logical to me.
I prefer the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma).
Finally, I’m a fan of mythbusting in general. (Also, the TV show of the similar name and Snopes.) In that vein, please enjoy some grammar myths that I enjoy breaking. Check them out here. The article is written on a Legal Writing website but the arguments made are not limited to legal writing. Go ahead- break these “rules”. Live a little! 🙂
When I write, I hear myself telling a story. I think language should serve our message, not the other way around. Hopefully my writing style reads well by you, my dear audience!
Enjoy- and good writing!
Filed under Open Notebook
Checking In
Just a quick update- I did some writing today. Technically it was notes and thoughts for Story Orange. I’m going to count it though.
As I pointed out in my last post, I think I’m pretty solid at coming up with interesting and creative premises. I’d say that I rock the “elevator speech”. (In an alternate world, I’m a movie producer now sending someone to go write the story that I just created.)
I am OK with this. (For now.) In my mind, I have the gross mechanics down. I have a embraced the vulnerability inherent in creativity. I have a method of tracking my progress (you’re reading it). I am building the habit of this new activity. This all seems to be progressing nicely.
So, if I happen to be at a point that requires the consideration of nuances, I’ll take that as progress. I would assume that the learning curve for this self-transformation must appear differently at various points in the curve. This must be how it looks at this point.
I’m curious- if anyone is in a similar process of self-transformation or has been through such a transformation in the past, how did you recognize changes in the process? Did your strategy change? Please- read and SHARE!
Filed under Open Notebook
Houston, We Have a Problem…
I’m stuck working on Story Blue. I figured out why I’m stuck, though.
I have what I think is an interesting and potentially entertaining idea for the story. I have established the tone that I want. I have an outline roughed out. But- the story is stuck at a little under 2000 words. It has failed to progress. Until now I wasn’t quite sure why.
Filed under Open Notebook
OK Dad- Live Your Convictions
My boy likes dolls.
This warrants some kind of intro. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you may know that I’m a dad with 3 boys- ages 13, 5, and 3. I’m very close to my dad. He is definitely a standard against which I measure myself as a man, a husband, and a father. I’ve had some missteps and false starts but the one consistent driver in my life has been this- “I want to be a good dad.” This is something that matters to me.
I love all 3 of my boys- nothing special there. That [should be] the basic expectation for any dad- love your kids. That is an important motivator for me. I make the best decision that I can then worry whether it’s good enough.
Filed under Essays
TMPinSYR 