Writing – Page 4 – Word Inventions

Curation Corner: Make your writing fit and trim.

I ran across this post from vappingo.com (a valuable new find) that’s all about ridding your work of ‘flabby words and expressions’.

Exact Title: 164 PHRASES AND WORDS YOU SHOULD NEVER USE IN AN ESSAY—AND THE POWERFUL ALTERNATIVES YOU SHOULD

I like the ‘powerful alternatives’ part…

A few examples:

— Use ‘will differ’ instead of ‘will be different’.

— Use ’emphasize’ instead of ‘point out’.

–Use ‘Start by’ instead of ‘The first step is to…’

While I don’t write essays, a quick scan of the list awakened me to lazy expressions I’ve used in my posts and letters.

Note: After reviewing the post, I’m now paranoid about every word I’m writing. Probably a good idea to NOT check out this post…

before your first drafts.

There are 17 more pages of Vappingo posts here.

Curation Corner: Are you a writer who’s stuck? Try freewalking.

Hey, it works for Jessica Lourey!

I’ve enjoyed seven of her Mira James Mysteries (set in Battle Lake, Minnesota–population 927) books, so I looked up Jessica Lourey on Amazon and voilà!

Check out her May 2, 2021 Freewalking post.

Some excerpts:

“Every time I finish these emotionally honest books, I free a piece of Little Jessie…” (herself)

“The Pretender will be my twenty-first novel, so you’d think I’d have things figured out by now, and I do when it comes to the mechanics of it. My experience, though, has been that writing’s always hard, and my fears grow to fit the space I give them.”

“So when I say I have something that works despite, know that I’m not just blowing smoke. I’m coming at you from the trenches.
Here it is, my miracle cure for don’t-writis: freewalking.”

Here also is Jess’s TedX Rapid City talk: Use Fiction to Rewrite Your Life

Hope you enjoy and learn a little something!

An all-over-the-map potpourri of topics

Yep, the more ideas I follow, the more things I start, well, it’s obvious I’m dodging the ultimate challenge of ‘finishing’.

Weak rationalization: But it’s so fun to start stuff.

And ‘continuing’ ain’t half bad either.

New stuff I’m doing:

1. https://retiredguys.net/

2. https://sidehustlecurator.com/ (I’ve just always been interested in what other folks are doing to make a little, or a lot of, side money. I’m actually 250+ posts into this.)

3. The goodwill words project is continuing and, after a more concerted visit to Operation We Are Here, I’ve written my first three letters to folks in the military.

4. Still curating resources for writers, such as:
19 Different Types of Blog Posts That Work For Any Niche

5. A self-paced How to Publish a Book course. See below.

https://bookschool.scribemedia.com/how-to-publish-a-book-course/

Goodwill words: Today’s theme–Seek humor.

Had fun with this one…that poor Love for Our Elders recipient. Hoping they take it in the vein in which it was intended. (Whatever that means.)

So, yes, I really do hope the recipient has a sense of either humor (or at least compassion), as here is a portion of the stationery’s flip side…

Time to get going on my letters for the MLL folks.

Click here if you’re interested in contributing your words to Love For Our Elders. And possibly undoing my literary misadventures…

Here’s a link to their video letters project.

Goodwill Words: April’s More Love Letter requests

Click the graphic above for a quick tour of the four April 2021 letter requests at moreloveletters.com.

It’s interesting…sometimes I dive right into these letters and other times I need the requests’ words and details to seep in. This has been a ‘let seep in’ month.

I do make a point of finishing letters for out-of-country requests first. And over time, I’ve wended my way through the USPS website to figure out the required postage and I have those stamps at the ready.

In James Clear’s words (Atomic Habits)…

“If you want to maximize your odds of success, then you need to operate in an environment that accelerates your results rather than hinders them.”

Goodwill words: Today’s theme–Educated vs. Intelligent

This is the first in a series of three notes I wrote late last week.

The other two are in the ‘queue’. That is the weirdest word to type, I swear. It never feels right.

I’ll also be posting a ‘video-tour’ of this month’s letter requests from More Love Letters.

Click here if you’re interested in contributing your words to Love For Our Elders. And possibly undoing my literary misadventures…

Here’s a link to their video letters project.

Curation Corner: Writing freebies from Scribe Media

Welcome to BooskSchool, with links to:

** four self-directed courses covering the topics highlighted in the word cloud above

** a download link to Scribe Media co-founder Tucker Max’s book, The Scribe Method

** a link to Scribe Media’s YouTube Channel

** a link to their podcast

Other Scribe Media resources can be found here.

Enjoy!

Goodwill words: Today’s theme–Reality? Overrated.

This is the third in a series of three notes I wrote on a recent afternoon.

This one was probably even more fun than the previous two.

Again, the quote was a perfect launching site for some aging-related revelry. Granted, maybe I’m unsettling the poor recipient (“What if this whack-job knows where I live?”), but hey!–those are the risks of ‘publishing’, right? Besides, I’m generally harmless. (Just keep your distance at coffee-and-scone time.)

Click here if you’re interested in contributing your words to Love For Our Elders. And possibly undoing my literary misadventures…

Here’s a link to their video letters project.

Goodwill words: Today’s theme: Communal griping

This is the second in a series of three notes I wrote on a recent afternoon.

In my previous post, I noted that organization can be just so helpful for writers. I know what you’re thinking: Where else can you score such life-changing advice?

Anyway, this day calendar of quotes has been an invaluable springboard for themes to guide my notes. So, yes, for two straight days, it has remained glued to the laptop. Not literally…that would be ridiculous. And a mess..

As for being organized, here’s a nice set of tips from Bryan Collins on Write to Done…

The Zen of More Organized Writing: 5 Steps You Can Take Today

Click here if you’re interested in contributing your words to Love For Our Elders…

Here’s a link to their video letters project.

Goodwill words: Checking in with Love For Our Elders

This is the first in a series of three notes I wrote yesterday.

Whether it’s goodwill words, a novel, or a non-fiction piece, it sure does help to have the tools of the trade out and easily available.

Seems obvious, but there is at least one writer–I wouldn’t dare name names (;-|–who continues to stumble around and scatter his notebooks and supporting materials [in this case, a calendar of quotes] around the house, making the act of writing way more of a chore than it has to be.

Seems he rose above his ineptitude yesterday and, with resources in one location, he happily produced three notes to elders. [A nearby hot meal added inspiration, as well.]

Click here if you’re interested in contributing your words to Love For Our Elders…

Here’s a link to their video letters project.

I ran across this post from vappingo.com (a valuable new find) that’s all about ridding your work of ‘flabby words and expressions’.

Exact Title: 164 PHRASES AND WORDS YOU SHOULD NEVER USE IN AN ESSAY—AND THE POWERFUL ALTERNATIVES YOU SHOULD

I like the ‘powerful alternatives’ part…

A few examples:

— Use ‘will differ’ instead of ‘will be different’.

— Use ’emphasize’ instead of ‘point out’.

–Use ‘Start by’ instead of ‘The first step is to…’

While I don’t write essays, a quick scan of the list awakened me to lazy expressions I’ve used in my posts and letters.

Note: After reviewing the post, I’m now paranoid about every word I’m writing. Probably a good idea to NOT check out this post…

before your first drafts.

There are 17 more pages of Vappingo posts here.

Hey, it works for Jessica Lourey!

I’ve enjoyed seven of her Mira James Mysteries (set in Battle Lake, Minnesota–population 927) books, so I looked up Jessica Lourey on Amazon and voilà!

Some excerpts:

“Every time I finish these emotionally honest books, I free a piece of Little Jessie…” (herself)

“The Pretender will be my twenty-first novel, so you’d think I’d have things figured out by now, and I do when it comes to the mechanics of it. My experience, though, has been that writing’s always hard, and my fears grow to fit the space I give them.”

“So when I say I have something that works despite, know that I’m not just blowing smoke. I’m coming at you from the trenches.Here it is, my miracle cure for don’t-writis: freewalking.”

Here also is Jess’s TedX Rapid City talk: Use Fiction to Rewrite Your Life

Hope you enjoy and learn a little something!

Yep, the more ideas I follow, the more things I start, well, it’s obvious I’m dodging the ultimate challenge of ‘finishing’.

Weak rationalization: But it’s so fun to start stuff.

And ‘continuing’ ain’t half bad either.

New stuff I’m doing:

1. https://retiredguys.net/

2. https://sidehustlecurator.com/ (I’ve just always been interested in what other folks are doing to make a little, or a lot of, side money. I’m actually 250+ posts into this.)

3. The goodwill words project is continuing and, after a more concerted visit to Operation We Are Here, I’ve written my first three letters to folks in the military.

4. Still curating resources for writers, such as:19 Different Types of Blog Posts That Work For Any Niche

5. A self-paced How to Publish a Book course. See below.

“So when I say I have something that works despite, know that I’m not just blowing smoke. I’m coming at you from the trenches.
Here it is, my miracle cure for don’t-writis: freewalking.”

4. Still curating resources for writers, such as:
19 Different Types of Blog Posts That Work For Any Niche