It has been three weeks since I had my hip replaced. All went well but recovery takes time. I finally feel like I can get back to blogging again. Thank you for the many get well wishes. I greatly appreciated them.
The photo today is telling us to have a dream. Don't most writer have a big dream that they will be published someday and then have it happen again and again? They dream that they'll write a bestseller someday. They dream that they will be a household name when they write works no one will forget.
It's fine to have those dreams so we have something to shoot for. Our writing dreams can help us set goals, too.
Recently, I started thinking about writing having two sides--what you have to say and how you say it. Whether you write novels, essays, articles, op-eds, stories for kids or poetry, how you say it is of prime importance. What you have to say ranks very high, as well. No matter how good your story is, or how meaningful your essay, if you don't use good mechanics in your writing, your dream has little chance of being realized.
Mechanics! Yep, those things we were suppose to master in grade school, middle school and high school. Key word here is 'suppose' because many of us worked on the grammar exercises the teachers gave us, listened to what they said and then went merrily on our way not worrying about mundane things like grammar, punctuation, clarity and more.
Those who decided to pursue writing, whether for a career or hobby, suddenly had to deal with those mechanics. There are writers who take a handful of commas, toss them in the air and let them fall on their story. Some have no clue what to do with an apostrophe when writing something possessive. Others write sentences that are so long they can stretch the length of a freight train before the final period is found. How to use quote marks is a merry mess for a few.
Then, we have writers who mix up tenses, flitting from past to present and back to past like a hummingbird seeking nectar in multiple blossoms. Some writers are great fans of adverbs in dialogue to tell their readers how the speaker is talking or feeling. Why not? It''s a whole lot easier to tell the reader than it is to 'show' them. Spelling should not be a problem with today's computer aids, but it often is.
Do all writers make all these mistakes? No. Do some writers make some of them? Yes. Are there any writers who earn an A grade for mechanics? Absolutely! My point here is that all of us can use a review and work on establishing good habits in mechanics.
The next several days, I am going to address the mechanics of writing as a help to those that need it and a review for those who do just fine already. So, do come back and see if there is a particular area that might be of help to you.
Keep in mind that what you have to say is a way to your dream, but how you say it is what will get you there.
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