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The Write Way 29 April 2005 That Doesn't Look Right ... Greetings, I've always been one of those people who can't spell out loud for nuts, so I'm full of admiration for little kids who stand in front of the class and spell words like 'unconscionable' ... correctly. I'd fail miserably in any Spelling Bee, but give me a piece of paper and a thumbnail dipped in tar, and I'm a whizz. At a tender age, I mastered all the tricky words like 'abattoir, haemorrhage, asphalt' and 'accommodation.' (Remind me to tell you the trick to spelling 'abattoir' later on!) I couldn't tell you how I did this, but I suspect it has something to do with being an avid reader. My theory is that you have to see words written down to be able to spell them ... or at least I do! And this is why it's so hard for me to explain the trouble I sometimes have when I look at a word for too long. Has this ever happened to you? I write a word (or type it, so I can't even blame my dreadful chalk-scrawl here), look at it and think, "Hang on, that's not right ... is it?" Then I delete and write it again and look at it some more and still it doesn't look right. And it's not long and difficult words that cause this confusion in my tiny brain ... it's simple, everyday words such as 'gone' ... Now don't snigger. I bet you've had the same experience. Go on ... try it now. Look at the word 'gone' ... read it over a few times ... gone .... gone ....gone. Say it out loud ... gone .... gone ... gone. Get down on your haunches and squint into its beady little eyes ... gone ... gone ... gone. Then tell me ... is that an odd looking word or what? Hmmm ... or is 'odd looking' also looking a tad odd? When you create compound words and use them as modifiers before nouns or pronouns, they need a hyphen to clarify the meaning.
e.g. The well-known actor is different from the well, known actor ... or the ill, known actor ... or the well, unknown actor The sweet-shop assistant is different from the sweet, shop assistant The 40-odd people at the restaurant are different from the 40 odd people ... So, 'gone' is an odd-looking word! You can read more about hyphens here: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/hyphen.htm and if you thought the image of a 'thumbnail dipped in tar' seemed a bit familiar, you're right. I pinched it from Banjo Paterson: http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/patersonab/poetry/clancy.html After pondering the problem, I started wondering if anyone else felt this way about words or if it really was just me, so I typed in a search for odd-looking words on my mate google ... and look what I found, boys and girls! A ripper of a site that I could have done with last week when looking at puns. ( http://www.write101.com/W.Tips333.htm ) It's Jim Wegryn's Barrel Full of Words site: http://www.jimwegryn.com/Words/Words.htm and here's a sample of some of his clever 'bundle' words: abundance — a bread boogie adamant — the first insect humdrum — odd musical instrument parole — fatherhood restoration — lecture that puts you to sleep thinking — skinny monarch Clever, aren't they? You can have such fun with words ... I'm always amazed when people tell me they hate reading or have better things to do than sit down with a book. Reading, spelling and writing are like most other things in life ... they improve the more you do them. So no more excuses ... out with that notepad, pencil, laptop or dictionary and start practising! These resources will help you on your way ... and there are a couple of special, time-sensitive goodies for you (make sure you read closely to see which you'd like to receive): Spelling The mnemonic I used to remember how to spell 'abattoir' when I was knee-high to a grasshopper was: A Bull And Two Tails On Iron Rails, which is pretty horrific for an animal lover, now I come to think of it. Reading If you have trouble keeping up with all the reading you have to do these days, here's something to help reduce your stress loads: http://www.speedreading.write101.com/ PLUS you get a 15% discount! (This offer is valid until further notice.) Time-sensitive offer ... Writing Our old favourite is Steve Manning's package that contains a complete 200+ page manual that takes you step by step through the process of writing. This manual has been tested, retested and proven so the results you’re looking for are right there. Everything you could ever want to help you write and publish your book in the shortest possible time is contained in this manual. You also get an extensive collection of audiotapes so you can learn while you drive or while you relax. Some people simply learn faster by listening to the information, but as I've already confessed, I'm definitely a visual learner, so the manual is what works for me.A “QuickStart” audiotape that will have you well on your way to producing your book in just 30 minutes. Getting started is always the hardest part and this tape gives you all the incentive and help you need to overcome the first big hurdle on the path to writing your book. Click here for lots more and a free mini-course: http://www.write101.com/letters/writeabook.htm PLUS if you order the full package from here in the next 24 hours and then send me a copy of your receipt, I'll send you my modestly named quiz book, A Word for Everything - a collection of quizzes from the past 6 years of newsletters! PLUS a copy of the ebook, The Easy Way to Write Stories that Sell by author Rob Parnell, which is the perfect complement to Steve's material. Rob's 7-step story generator and 5-point plot structure tips are great! PLUS a copy of an information-packed 299-page ebook called 54 Secrets My Mom Never Told me by writer and entrepreneur, James Maduk. This book covers just about everything you need to know if you're thinking about having your own website, and much of the information is also relevant to any offline business. So what are you waiting for? No more excuses! Remember, this offer is only valid until midnight tonight (Friday 29 April). Click now to make a start on your book and receive all these goodies as well: http://www.write101.com/letters/writeabook.htm Pun Competition Thanks to everyone who entered the Pun Competition ( http://write101.blogspot.com/ )... there are so many clever entries, I just can't choose a winner, so I'm enlisting your help. I've narrowed it down to five finalists and now I'm opening this to a vote. So if you have a minute to spare, drop by and vote for your favourite pun: http://www.write101.com/votepun.htm Why not forward this newsletter (in its entirety) to your friends? If you received this from a friend, click to receive your very own copy, all bright and perky every Friday morning: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This week's quiz: Find the odd word out in each group ... what else? 1. impolite, coarse, genteel, uncultured 2. waste, management, stewardship, husbandry 3. active, inert, vital, moving 4. innate, acquired, native, inherent 5. innocuous, innocent, noxious, inoffensive 6. conformist, maverick, renegade, radical 7. myopia, shortsightedness, foresight, blindness 8. herald, forerunner, follower, precursor 9. prepossess, bias, consider, prejudge 10.exciting, prosaic, mundane, commonplace Last week's newsletter had a number of people scratching their collective heads over a couple of my Aussie expressions ... Katy Brezger wrote, "First, what is a Schmacko? (At first I thought you were giving them each a sharp slap upside the head, but I figured not, in this context). And I am quite sure a pot plant in your part of the world is NOT MARIJUANA. as it is here. I think our phrase here is potted plant, which no doubt conjures a pickled pansy to you." A Schmacko is a dog treat, made from squished up and dehydrated liver, beef, or chicken and The Girls look forward to theirs every night when they come inside to settle in their little beds. Jim Noble shared Katy's bemusement at my plants, "another example of the tragic magic of the English languish [did I really write that?]. Here in the Colonies we'd be more likely to say "potted plant", for fear of being arrested (even if the contraband flora was hidden from view at the rear of the house)." I hate to spoil this image you all have of me, but a potted plant is no more exciting than a plant in a pot. Last week's quiz: Here are some words about words ... match the term with its meaning below: anagram, cryptogram, ad lib, oxymoron, tautology, chiasmus, acronym, mnemonic, cliché, zeugma 1. use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one - ZEUGMA e.g. "Mr Pickwick took his hat and his leave." 2. conjoining contradictory terms - OXYMORON 3. trite or overused expression or idea - CLICHÉ e.g. "till the cows come home" 4. a device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering - MNEMONIC 5. a game whose object is to form words from a group of randomly chosen letters - ANAGRAM 6. a word formed from the initial letters of a multi-word name - ACRONYM 7. useless repetition - TAUTOLOGY e.g. "repeating the same thing twice" 8. a piece of writing in code or cipher - CRYPTOGRAM 9. without advance preparation - AD LIB 10. reverse order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases - CHIASMUS e.g. "It's not the men in my life, it's the life in my men." (Mae West) Don't forget to stop by and see the latest developments as Dr Morgenes struggles to find a plot in the Never-Ending Story: http://write101.blogspot.com (Use the Comments button at the end of the entry to add your contribution.) Have you made your Mark on the World yet? No? Then stop by our Map of the World and read the messages. (Just click List) and add your mark: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 A Little Something Extra This week, Marvin D. Cloud discusses one essential element that will help prevent your writing being "disorganized and downright incoherent" whether it's fiction or non-fiction, and whether you're writing for publication, for business or for pleasure! "In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors, never make it past the "first reader" who for all practical purposes is a gatekeeper of sorts. This person's job is to weed out manuscripts that do not fit certain established submission criteria. However, many never make it to the editor's desk, simply because they are badly disorganized and downright incoherent." Read the rest of the article here: http://www.write101.com/mdcloud.htm Word of the week: Riant (adj) showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness This lovely, happy word comes from the Latin ridere 'to laugh' and it's also the origin of another of our words ... ridicule. Oxymoron of the week: winged feet (this is also from Jim Wegryn's site ... see more here: http://www.jimwegryn.com/Words/Oxymora.htm) Our Latin phrase this week is for this time of the year, wherever you live ... I think spring and autumn are just the best times, don't you? O diem praeclarum! (Oh, what a beautiful day!) [OH DEE-em pri-KLAH-room] Kind regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/affil/pal=jennifer@write101.com OR 2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque (made payable to Jennifer Stewart): http://www.write101.com/fund.htm To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to the web site, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritingTips This menu will also let you change your subscription between digest and normal mode. Copyright 2005 Jennifer Stewart Individual articles copyrighted by
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