Natasha Deen's Blog, page 95
June 27, 2011
Mechanical Monday: Difference Between Colons & Semi-Colons
Colons follow independent clauses, semi-colons link two independent clauses.
Now, right or wrong, the way I remember this is that a semi-colon can be used in place of a period
(i.e., Jeff got fired from work; they said he was absent too often.
Jeff got fired from work. They said he was absent too often.).
Colons are my guardians of the list, and they cannot take the place of a period.
(i.e., The factory produces baked goods: donuts, buns, and rolls.
The factory produces baked...
June 26, 2011
June 24, 2011
Friday Furry: War of the Roses
3 months ago: Milo starts sleeping in between my pillow & the headboard.
2 month ago: Milo starts sleeping with his head on the pillow.
1 month ago: Milo starts fully sleeping on the pillow, he gets half, I get half.
2 nights ago: A coup d'etat –he decides to shove me off the pillow…for an HOUR we go back and forth, I push him to his side, he slides over to mine. Finally, I realize I'm bigger and stronger, pull the pillow out and readjust it…I get half, he gets half…wake up and realize...
June 23, 2011
Thursday Time: The Silver Bullet
Every author is looking for the magic pill, the fail-safe solution for ensuring their success—especially right now, when trying to carve out a career is like trying to hang a picture in the middle of an earthquake.
But here it is, the magic solution: Write.
Yeah, it's not glamorous or sexy, but I think if we all keep writing, keep trying, success will come our way.
June 22, 2011
The Strut
Was at the school and got into a discussion on strutting/swaggering. I told them, hands down, the king of the strut was George Jefferson. Courtesy of Nick at Nite:
The Dance:
Wednesday Whoa: Dogwalker by Karen Spafford-Fitz
4 Stars – This is a great summer read: easy, light, and quick. The general premise: Turk, the kid who's allergic to his own sweat, comes up with a scheme to meet girls: walking dogs. Though written as current time, the book had a '40s kind of feel to it, mostly because of KSF's writing style, which is to give you enough description and information for the moment. I'm a detail kind of reader, but I didn't find her style jarring or hard to read. Rather, it matched the main character, which w...
June 21, 2011
So…
If one rabbit's foot is considered lucky, and you come across four—and they're still attached to the rabbit—are you considered four times as lucky?
Tuesday Technique: It's not the 'what' it's the 'how'
The thing I'm learning as I progress as a writer is that it's not the "what" in writing, it's the "how," by which I mean: we writers tend to freak out over things like passive tense or adverbs, but I've read a lot of great books that drop PV/adverbs like sand. I once went through one of the Harry Potter books and counted how many times Rowling used "was" in a sentence. In three pages, well let's just say there was a goodly amount, but her writing wasn't stagnant or boring. Quite to the...
June 20, 2011
Monday Mechanics: Commas
**Squeak**
Monday's almost over and I forgot to post! Can you tell what kind of day it's been?
From the desk of Strunk & White, I give you the uses of the comma:
In a list (except for the last item): cats, dogs, kangaroos, and donkeys. To enclose parenthetic statements: I met my teacher, Mrs. Dullan, at the beach yesterday. Before a conjunction (if, and, or, but) that introduces an independent clause (a statement that could almost stand on its own as a sentence): I hear what...June 17, 2011
Friday Furry: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Gussy?
Situation: Gus loves treats in bags (like Temptations)
Problem: He figured out, if he puts one paw on the edge and then tears open theother end with his teeth, he can gnosh at will.
Solution: Put treats in pantry
Gusolution: Lie on your back, curl your paw under the closet, yank open the door, and help yourself to the treats.
New Solution: Put treats in container.
Gusolution:
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