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A lament for grammar
It’s not National Grammar Day (that’s March 4), but I can’t wait. When did people stop being able to write properly? My inbox is awash with writing containing misplaced commas, apostrophes and hyphens where they shouldn’t be, and missing where they should appear. Comma splices abound and if I have to explain the subjunctive tense (If I were…) or the difference between ‘that’ and ‘who’ (and ‘whom’ for that matter) one more time, I think I might scream. Don’t get me wrong – I know that language evolves, and situational usage means different rules. There are places where it’s absolutely right… Read more…
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Where it all began
My first published piece! I’ve been writing all my life. As a kid, I scribbled stories in a little notebook I kept hidden under my mattress. I was first published at the age of 12, in my father’s company’s employee publication. I won a contest showcasing my family’s Christmas traditions. Spurred on by that success, the next year I “published” my first book about my dog Frisky – how she came to live with us, the villagers who fed her treats on her daily jaunt and the puppies she birthed (all nine of them!). My mother helped me type out… Read more…
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Painting with words
It’s no secret I’ve always loved the written word but I’m also a bit of a Broadway nerd. Give me a good showtune to belt out when nobody’s listening, and I’m a happy camper. And if I can have a one-person kitchen dance party, well, that’s even better. Occasionally, those two loves come together. I was singing along to the soundtrack from Hamilton in the kitchen this morning when I was struck again by these words from Eliza, Alexander Hamilton’s wife, about the immense volume of writing he did over his life and how the language of his letters affected… Read more…
