Just playing around with words today…
But how do you find a ruler small enough to…
slap a bee’s wrist?
Bees are better at math when they’re punished for the wrong answer, a new study finds
Guys weekend!! My latest eCard
Passing this along from my other blog, retirerenew.com…
After completing a five-day ‘showing up’ challenge, I’m focusing these next four days just on my Incomplete Book of Retirement Wisdom**.
More on the challenge later…
**The book doubles as a collection of eCards.
Suggestions:
— Save/download the image above and send it to a retired/soon-to-retire friend.
— Better yet…
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call it up in an image editing program [even a presentation program like PowerPoint will work]
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slap an even better caption on top of mine or add a personal comment
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export it as a JPG or PNG, and email/text message it to that friend.
Writers: Looking to suck some valuable time from your already busy day? Launch an all-out investigation into whether or not you should add an apostrophe between the ‘y’ and the ‘s’ in ‘guys weekend’. I skipped that annoying grammatical gnat–I figured ‘guys’ answers the question ‘what kind of weekend?’, which makes it an adjective, not a possessive. I’ve also been sticking to the ‘better done than perfect’ guideline. Now I can sleep peacefully…until the dog digs his shoulder into my solar plexus. [A writer’s day isn’t complete until he shoehorns ‘solar plexus’ somewhere into his digital blather.]
Writing Wisdom from Stephen King and Ray Bradbury
Three posters I’ve added to my teacher project and to ednotions.com…
Rants and Riffs Installment #12: Greeting cards, too-early calendars, and cable companies
Greeting card makers…since when did your product need that glued-down third ‘page’? The minute I pull a card from the case and feel that extra heft, I know that baby’s going to cost an extra buck.
Moving on…
A curious question from a snail mail donation plea…”How are you enjoying our 2020 calendar?” It’s September of 2019! Why would I have a calendar out three months ahead of time? And really, enjoying a calendar?
And finally…
Cable companies forcing you into ‘bundles’. All I want is fast Internet access! No, I do not want Keeping Up with the Kardashians, meaningless statistics spewed by sports networks, or some poor mosquito-bitten shlub relying on a palm frond [if we’re lucky] for warmth.
My kind of writing coach…
However, if you prefer someone who’s a bit more locked in…
Take a look at this post from daily writing tips.com
Or…be your own writing coach.
Some good writing quotes…
While I’m sure these first two quotes exist elsewhere, I found them courtesy of Jon Winokur. By the way, one of my favorite books? W.O.W. [Writers on Writing] by Jon Winokur.
As far as I’m concerned, “whom” is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler.
Calvin Trillin
You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you’re on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.
Margaret Atwood
No matter how grand or ordinary your idea, you must take it through an alchemical process that transforms it into a story.
Jordan Rosenfeld
Teaming up to write
Sometimes you need a team to nudge you forward in your writing endeavors.
Consider these ten possible reasons…
https://thinkwritten.com/10-resons-why-you-should-join-a-local-writing-group/
(note—if you want to drive yourself crazy, try posting in WordPress from an iPhone)
I should be writing. Instead, a new app.
Above is a screenshot from the thisissand app, billed as an app that merges art, creativity, and relaxation. Hey, if the creators can justify my procrastination for me, I’m all for it.
Plus, the price was right.
If you’re in the mood to kill 40+ seconds, here is a short demo.
I should be writing. Instead, poring over the newspaper…
Word Inventions 