Category Archives: Blogging Community

Silver Threading Writer’s Quote Wednesday

“Think before you speak is criticism’s motto; speak before you think, creation’s.”

–E. M. Forster

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) a well known and acclaimed English author who wrote A Room With a View, A Passage to India, and Howard’s End. All were made into films. I have seen all these films but not read the books. His books dealt with the class system in England, their values, and the shifting of power that was occurring in the early 20th century.

|SilverThreading|

Stream of Consciousness Saturday-Opposite Emotions

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Battery Low, Need to Plug into Energy Source to Recharge

When things get to me

It is a kind of draining

Like when you see the battery indicator on your cell phone

Showing the charge is getting low

My energy level goes down along with my spirits

Feeling low

Have to allow time to recover and get recharged.

The Opposite of Low is Elation or Passion

I wrote this on a prior post:

Too Passionate

I think there is a passionate temperament. A person that can feel so strongly. There have been many times when I have been standing upon my soapbox and declaring my opinion about something I found wrong in the world.

During those times of strong emotion I have noted others looking on calmly, almost disinterested. I have thought to myself how can they not feel anything about this? How can anyone not feel strongly about this ? How can people feel so dispassionately about things? It is like they are already dead.

I realized that I was different.

It is not just passionate indignation that I feel. When you have the capacity for strong feelings you can feel great joy and elation as well. Like when you see something you find beautiful or hear music that you love.

I am glad I am different if it means to feel deeply and be more aware in the world. Maybe this is why I always wanted to stand up for people’s right to be different. To be who they truly are.

Have you ever felt different or been told you are different?

Some people are sensitive.

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:

A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.

To him…a touch is a blow,

a sound is a noise,

a misfortune is a tragedy,

a joy is an ecstasy,

a friend is a lover,

a lover is a god,

and failure is death.”–Pearl S. Buck

Beautiful Voice: Renee Fleming sings Song to the Moon by Dvorak via Mr.Frais on You Tube:

|Lindaghill|

|Loveisindablog|

Stream of Consciousness Saturday on Monday-Grammar Pedant Disorder The Warning Signs as Seen on Some Blogs

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Some fun and hopefully humorous writing as part of my Making Blogging More Enjoyable for Me Project. My posts may not follow a regular schedule. Just when I feel inspired to do so.

I have seen some evidence in the comment section of my blog and from accounts given by fellow bloggers of a certain condition called Grammar Pedant Disorder (GPD). I will attempt to give a description of this disorder. Or at least traits I have identified so far and how I imagine that they develop. This is not a scientific study but based on anecdotal evidence and accounts. I do not claim to be an expert.

Signs of Beginning Grammar Pedant Disorder (GPD) or Stage I:

You find yourself feeling a certain smugness and slight superiority when spotting small errors in others writing. Things like word omissions, typos, and accidentally using the wrong word like their for there.
You would never think of pointing this out to the person in public.
The errors will not stop you from continuing to read the person’s writing.

Signs of Moderate GPD or Stage II:

You are noticing more grammar errors in others writing.
You can easily understand the errors, and know what the author meant to say, but you find yourself tsk tsk-ing to yourself.
You are starting to feel a bit edgy when you detect the errors.
You may find yourself tempted to point out the error. It is getting harder not to point it out. Your fingers quiver over your computer keyboard as you stare at the writer’s comment section.
You start to question if the caliber of writing is worth your time to read.

Signs of Full Blown GPD or Stage III:

You notice every error, no matter how minor, in others writing and it really irritates you. You are personally affronted by having to be exposed to such noxious things.
There is a whole long list of things that offend your sensibilities. And you find yourself carefully scrutinizing the writing of others to make sure none of these things are found.
You may have your special pet peeves that really get your goat.
You find you must actively avoid reading any samples of writing that contain any of the faults on your list.
There is a real danger at this point that you will develop a more severe form of this condition. This is where you actively point out the errors of other writers in their comment sections in a passive-aggressive way or with full blown nastiness.

This disorder has been in evidence for quite some time and now the medical community is taking note of it. There have been discussions of listing it as a category of mental illness in the DSM. If you feel you may be experiencing some of the signs and symptoms of this condition you should contact your doctor. There are support groups available in some communities for those wanting to recover from GPD.

This post is provided as a public service to new writers who may unknowingly come under the scrutiny of a person suffering with GPD. Having someone with this disorder as your mentor or Imaginary Reader is not recommended. It is also provided as a self-awareness exercise to guard against these traits developing in you.

Additional reading on this topic: I found an essay on Medium.com by a young lady, Mary Rolf, who identifies herself as a former Grammar Snob. She writes very eloquently about all the reasons she decided not be a snob. I have recently had thoughts similar to hers so her writing really resonated with me. If you think you suffer from GPD or think you could be described as a Grammar Snob I recommend you consider some of her arguments against it. https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/why-i-stopped-being-a-grammar-snob-aac6634d79af

I also recommend the book, ” Bad English, A History of Linguistic Aggravation,” by Ammon Shea

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-Labels

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“A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. “Right,” “wrong,” “success,” “failure,” “lucky,” “unlucky,” may be as limiting a way of seeing things as “diabetic,” “epileptic,” “manic-depressive,” or even “invalid.” Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are. This expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented. We are in relationship with our expectations and not with life itself.”

–Rachel Naomi Remen

Rachel Naomi Remen is a doctor and author. I have read both her books several times. Sometimes I like to read them before going to sleep at night because they give me inspiration and peace. The two books I am referring to are “Kitchen Table Wisdom” and My Grandfather’s Blessing.”

Rachel struggled with her own chronic illness and still managed to get through medical school. She became a doctor when women in medicine were not often welcomed and accepted. She started out as a Pediatrician and later counseled people battling cancer. She is a member of the faculty at the University of California San Francisco Medical School. She founded the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Northern California with Dr. Michael Lerner.

|Writer’s QuoteWednesday|

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One Liner Wednesday-Criticism

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“I have already settled it for myself so that flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.”–Georgia O’Keeffe

|OneLinerWednesday| on Thursday.

Soapbox Sound Off-The Grammar Police

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“There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and those that don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.”–Lynn Truss

Unsolicited corrections of others writing is not a helpful thing. I am happy that I have not experienced it very much. But this came home to me when I read another blogger apologizing for his grammar mistakes. He went on to say something like he was learning and to cut him some slack. I interpreted this as telling the grammar police, to back off ,in a nice way. Another blogger referred to these critics as “Grammar Nazis.” I believe it is a type of trolling.

Even though I have not been “corrected” often, I did find the experience caused me to hesitate when writing and wonder if I was making mistakes.

This is wrong. We are not writing essays for an English class. If we are going to be published in a magazine, newspaper or book the editors can advise us.

I have a blogging friend who is a grammar expert and writes a blog criticizing grammar mistakes in well-known publications. I did say to her once, that I felt I could be making grammar mistakes and, as she was one of my readers, was a bit self-conscious. She said I did not have a staff of editors like a big newspaper and therefore should not worry. I hope she meant that in a good way. Not that I was making tons of mistakes but, after all, I do not have an editor. 🙂 She has liked my writing.

Blogging lends itself to a stream of consciousness style of writing. If I am truly writing that way, I am probably making errors. Sometimes I catch them and sometimes I don’t. And sometimes I don’t realize I am making them. If my writing is truly unclear, the reader can ask for clarification.

I read that Jack Kerouac did not use periods, wrote on a long scroll, and did not edit himself. I have read a few quotes from his writing and feel, if I could write as good as he did, I would feel fine about leaving out a few periods

Blogging can be a format for experimentation and play. Bloggers are creating something out of their unique perspectives and engaged in exploration. I don’t think they should be held back and made self-conscious by having their grammar mistakes pointed out on their blogs.

I did a bit of experimentation myself with this verse:

To the Nitpickers

So parsimonious,

sanctimonious,

They claim your grammar is erroneous,

Though they claim to be platonic,

Their effect on you is so kryptonic,

When they say your writing is synonymous,

with everything that is cryptonymous,

In reality their critiques are very pompous,

And it sticks in my esophagus,

Piddly, diddly,

Picayune

And

Small potatoes

And one more thing by College Humor on You Tube:

|JusJoJan|

JJJ 2015

Stream Of Consciousness Saturday-Seabiscuit

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A most inspiring true story. The story of a courageous race horse named Seabiscuit.

Seabiscuit is one of the most famous race horses in America. He was ranked one of the top ten race horses in the 20th century. I first read the whole story about Seabiscuit in Laura Hillenbrand’s book of the same name. It is a wonderfully inspiring story about an unlikely race horse hero and his entrepreneurial owner, horse whisperer trainer, and slightly overweight and partially blind jockey. Seabiscuit captured my imagination when I read his story and that of the American public during the dark times of the Depression. Laura Hillenbrand’s story is pretty inspiring as well. She suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and is often confined to her home. She wrote another book about an unstoppable WWII hero Louis Zamperini called, “Unbroken.” It is the amazing story of his survival as a POW of the Japanese after his plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean. Both books are highly recommended by me.

Here is an interesting documentary about Seabiscuit via Horse Racing on you tube:

|LindaGHill|

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-Faulkner

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“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it.
Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”
― William Faulkner

Well I should be able to write pretty good by now because I do read so much. I agree with this quote because I think you can pick up how to be more articulate in writing by reading others work. I read a bit of Faulkner’s biography and learned he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949. He never graduated from high school. He used some of his Nobel Prize money to help establish the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. I like the part in the quote where he says if the writing is not good you can throw it out the window. He developed his unique style. I think all writers need to develop their own style. Try not to compare yourself to others or copy others.

|SilverThreadingWriter’s QuoteWednesday|

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One Liner Wednesday

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“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.”
― Mark Twain

We can not tell from the outside what a person’s life has been. When we reach out and talk to people we never know what we may find out. So many turn away from the elderly. Just think of all the interesting stories that are missed by not engaging with them. Stories from a long-lived life with lessons learned. Do we think they have nothing worth sharing? What can we learn from them?

|LindaGHill|

Free Time

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“I really think I write about everyday life. I don’t think I’m quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that’s what makes it so boring.”

–Edward Gorey

I really like Edward Gorey’s illustrations. I am most familiar with the ones he did for PBS Mystery. I want to read his books. Reading about him makes me smile. He used funny pen names that were a play on his name like Ogdred Weary and Dogear Wryde. If someone so wonderfully creative could say that he was bored sometimes I think I am in great company.

It has been hard being semi-retired. But I realize, at the least in recent years when I worked full-time, I spent my life doing a lot of work that just kept me distracted and busy. It used up a good part of my life. Now that I have been rudely excluded from that work I am at a loss. With a bit too much free time. What to do with it. The problem is that my prior jobs and parenthood structured my existence for me and I now I have to structure my own.

People can say go get busy. Do volunteer work. Devote yourself to service. A lot of my life has been taken up taking care of other people already. I am doing some volunteer work and tutoring part-time but that is not enough. I think I must find work or an activity that is truly engaging for me not just busy making or a distraction.

“A lot of impulsive mistakes are made by people who simply aren’t willing to stay bored a little longer.”
― Paul Aurandt

Not a good idea just to jump into the first thing that comes along.

I mentioned PBS Mystery. We do not have cable and I do not watch a lot of television. But I do enjoy PBS Mystery. I have written before that I have really enjoyed Endeavor and the Wallander series. Masterpiece is another PBS production I really like. I am still watching Downton Abbey although I think the earlier seasons were the best. I like Call the Midwife as well. It is great learning about Nurses in England who were midwives and made home visits.

I am glad that I do not have regular television service here because I can see how I might end up sitting in front of it watching a bunch of garbage to fill the time. So from what I have seen of Reality TV, I don’t think it is for me. Especially The Housewives of You Fill in the Blank.

|Katgotyourtongue|