I confess to being a puzzle addict. I started with codeword-type logic puzzles until I discovered sudoku and its variants. Since I retired, I tackle anything that looks interesting: puzzles I would previously have dismissed as too challenging and time-wasting. Guess what? They weren’t as demanding as I’d thought. Learning to write … Continue reading Puzzling It Out
Together
Of all the burrows in all the riverbanks in all the world, she had come to his. Another quick flash on Commaful A self-indulgence - I enjoy playing with layout and pictures for these. This story was another challenge from our writing group - all explained in a comment at the end of the … Continue reading Together
Now for Something Completely Different
After a blog full of commas, here’s another Commaful diversion. Commaful website is running a fantasy story contest; you can find details at https://commaful.com/contests/fantasy2018/ Judging is by readers’ votes, and there’s no monetary prize – just postings on Commaful’s social media channels. I’ve posted a story-verse about the Mirlings (little scaled people with gills who live … Continue reading Now for Something Completely Different
Where Commas Fear to Tread
What a comma CAN’T do ‘Not commas again’, I hear you groan. Well... yes, because I promised (or threatened) a post about semicolons. Semicolons step in where commas (should) fear to tread. Editors frown when two independent clauses (or complete sentences, if you prefer) are joined by a comma. They call this a comma splice... WRONG … Continue reading Where Commas Fear to Tread
A Diversion
Challenges from Chris Fielden and Friends I’ve been following Chris Fielden’s website for many moons, at https://www.christopherfielden.com/ and have twice entered short stories in his annual To Hull and Back competitions. It’s a lighthearted and responsive website. Chris is generous with advice, offering listings of current competitions and advice about entering them, among other things. Since I first … Continue reading A Diversion
Life of a Lady magazine
I enjoyed this post from Ernestine Marsh at https://alwaysalaugh.com/
I know my writing group will too – looking forward to more.
Dear Aunty Jean,
I am writing to ask if you believe in curses. I know that seems like a strange question, but I have had such a run of bad luck, that you wouldn’t believe it.
I was a very wealthy window of 76 before meeting my new husband while on holiday in the Bahamas. I couldn’t believe that he was attracted to me, being an Adonis of 23. He was a waiter at the hotel I was staying at and could have had any girl he wanted, but he took one look at me and said it was love at first sight for him!
We had a whirlwind romance and were married before my holiday was over. We went straight on to Paris for our honeymoon, briefly stopping in London so I could change my will with my solicitor.
It was in Paris that this bad luck began. My…
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Commaful
Just a quickie... I found a new site yesterday - new to me, anyway. It's called commaful. You post stories or poems or just random thoughts and add pictures (supplied by the site). It's best used for shortish works - I added a twenty-line verse I haven't looked at for ages (but it's the shortest … Continue reading Commaful
Roome Bay
It’s too hot for thinking up blog posts. Summer is for reading… on the beach. Well, maybe not the beach – not this year anyway. This year our motorhome trips have given way to hospital appointments as my husband awaits a major operation. We daren’t stray for too long in case another appointment arrives, requiring … Continue reading Roome Bay
Comma Conclusion, Part 4
I thought I knew about commas before I started looking into them. It’s been a learning curve. I’ve recently revisited some of my short stories, and there have been a lot of changes. This concluding article in the series tidies up some odds and ends in situations where commas confuse. But, and other little words that … Continue reading Comma Conclusion, Part 4
Comma Conventions, Part 3
How are you managing with my comma compilation so far? Needless to say, there is more. Some words, such as who, which, and whose, bring comma-plications of their own. Essential or nonessential information? Whether you use a comma or not often depends on whether the clause is essential to the sentence, or nonessential. For instance… … Continue reading Comma Conventions, Part 3
