2015, I mean 2016

This will be my first post for the new year. DUH!

I have been writing a few short length stories, micro, flash, and the short story or two while tearing down and rebuilding the current novel. All of these are less than 5k words. Some as low as 100 words. I do like to write this type of fiction. Sometimes, the idea starts as a simple vignette and blooms into a full story arc. It is like watching a plant grow in time-lapse photography-quick and to the point, with all of the beauty. I hope to have a few of these published. Finding the market for my stories is harder than writing them at times.

The list below are a few posts from bloggers/authors that I think you should take a look at this week.

Hannah Heath : 10 Reasons Why Writers Aren’t the Weird Ones
http://hannahheath-writer.blogspot.com/2016/01/10-reasons-why-writers-arent-weird-ones.html
Not sure if I agree with number #2. I think I have seen quite a few folks walking around in their PJ’s. Maybe it is more normal than it is conventional.

Jess Alter : Novel Update: Man and Brother
http://indieimprint.com/alteredstates/2016/01/novel-update-man-and-brother/
If you haven’t read ”Til Undeath Do Us Part,’ you should. <- That’s a period.

John P. Schultz: Quotes and Daily Notes
http://johnschulzauthor.com/author/johntheplantman/
John writes an uplifting post almost every day of the year. The are quick and true. Check out his books ‘Requiem for a Redneck’, ‘Redemption for a Redneck,’ and he has ‘Sweet Drives on Chemo Days’ a cancer survivorship autobiography.

Have a great new year.

Grammar reminders

Sometimes, I get stalled when I hit certain words while drafting. I know that I shouldn’t, but these two get me every time. Blond(e) and the various conjugations of Lay/Lie. “They” say that you can practice these words and get comfortable with them. So comfortable, that those issues will slink away into some dark place where they grow into little gremlins, like abstruse language. Well, “they” can be right sometimes. I decided that I should write a quick blog entry to pacify “they” and hopefully decrease my stalled attempts at usage. Little gremlins, I have my eye on you.

Blond vs. Blonde

This French origin word can give me such a hard time. The rules to remember are as a noun the ‘e’ version of the word indicates a female. i.e. The woman is a blonde. Drop the ‘e’ for the male noun. The masculine version of the word can be used with indefinite gender or generalization. We can get away with using the non-e version of the word as an adjective to either a male or female noun that it describes. However, the general rule should follow the same usage as the noun.

  • Blonde = Fair-haired female
  • Blond = Fair-haired male or when we are really not sure of the gender

The Lay/Lie Fiasco

The really hard part with lay and lie, I think, can be attributed to the fact that they share words across different conjugations. Take a look at what I mean.
Lay – Transitive verb (that means it needs an object)
Conjugations : Lay, Laid, Have Laid, Laying
I lay the gun down.
Lie – Intransitive (something or someone moving on their own or already in position)
Conjugations : Lie, Lay, Have Lain, Lying
The gun lies on the ground.

And to just mix it up a bit:
Lie – To tell an untruth
Conjugations : Lie, Lied, Have Lied, Lying

Grammar Police

IMAG0137

I love this. I was filling up the tank and noticed this signage in the window of the fuel station. Have you noticed anything like this around? Let me know via the comments below.

“Little Old Lady” Flash Published

printpress

The awesome folks at Every Day Fiction have purchased “Little Old Lady” a flash fiction story written by me.

Every Day Fiction is a flash fiction magazine that publishes a new story every day of the year. A maximum of one thousand words per story without any specific genre restrictions gives you something different and always fresh every day. Give them a read.

I will post a link to my story when it goes live on Monday. Below are some of my favorites in the last month or so.

  • by Peter Wood
  • by Sandy Parsons
  • by Nicole C Ford