Month: December 2014

Key Words, Emphasize Them You Must

Yoda
Creative power, write with it you must.

I bet if I give you a sentence, you will immediately be able to identify its speaker. Ready?

“Dark the night is.”

Did you guess that 900-year-old pointy-eared creature, Yoda, from Star Wars? He never uttered those words in any of the movies, so what made you guess him?

Ah, his use of inversion. (Or maybe the huge photo above gave him away.)

Inversion is the reversal of normal word order in a sentence. Used to emphasize key points, it is one of the power techniques that adds intensity to writing.  Continue reading Key Words, Emphasize Them You Must

Deck the Hall with Action Verbs

In action...
In action…

With the Polar Express bearing down, there is someone who will look beautiful and calm (she finished her shopping in October) with a box of homemade, decorated cookies; presents in paper with lots of of ribbon and bows; handsome sons and pretty daughters all dressed up; and no money worries.

Then there is that woman who will trudge through Toys ’R’ Us sans makeup to find that last Frozen gift; burn her one and only batch of chocolate chip cookies; stab the air with the scissors, Psycho-style, as the gift bags run out before the pile of presents, threaten to take back the kids’ gifts when they peek in the closet, and beg the post office to lose the bills in January.

Why am I always that second woman?  Continue reading Deck the Hall with Action Verbs

Some ‘Splainin’ About Colons (the Punctuation Kind)

I Love Lucy

Did you catch the I Love Lucy Christmas Special on December 7? The one-hour show comprised “The Christmas Episode” and “Job Switching.” In the latter, Lucy and Ethel tried, but ultimately—and hilariously—failed to keep up with the chocolate factory’s conveyor belt. A poll by the Paley Center for Media named the scene the “funniest TV moment of all time.” Indeed, one of the funniest shows of all time.

One of the unfunniest things writers deal with is punctuation. No one wants to interrupt a good idea wondering whether to insert a comma. But punctuation isn’t meant to make life miserable. It’s meant to clarify meaning. Consider the following:

  • “Let’s eat, Grandma!”
  • “Let’s eat Grandma!”

For lack of a comma, the second Grandma succumbs to a cannibal cabal of grandkids.  Continue reading Some ‘Splainin’ About Colons (the Punctuation Kind)

10 Tips on Writing a Holiday Letter People Might Actually Want to Read

Reindeer Kids
Hey, Rudolph!

Happy Holidays!

How many December holidays can you name? Christmas and Chanukah, for sure. I found a page on the Internet that lists 23 monthly, 16 weekly, and 127 daily December holidays and observances. Just a few—

  • Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month
  • Human Rights Week (10-17)
  • Chanukah (16-24)
  • Kwanzaa (26-1/1)
  • Day of the Ninja (5)
  • Microwave Oven Day (6)
  • International Children’s Day (14)
  • National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day (16)
  • Winter Solstice! (21)
  • Christmas (25)
  • Make Cutout Snowflakes Day (27)
  • No Interruptions Day (31)

So are you sending cards? There’s an app (or 50) for that.  Continue reading 10 Tips on Writing a Holiday Letter People Might Actually Want to Read

A Blog Means Having to Say You’re Sorry: The Synergy of Creative Power Writing

Sorry
Sorry

No blog post last week.

WowPow blog is still a baby, and I haven’t developed a routine about when to write it. One week I wrote it early, on Thursday. Another week, I wrote it last minute, late Sunday night. Last week, I just forgot.

I thought about how to tell you, dear readers. Should I apologize profusely? Or act like it’s no big deal, like I don’t have to write on a particular schedule? I don’t have to keep a schedule, but I should, if I want to keep you following WowPow. And I did intend to write every week.  Continue reading A Blog Means Having to Say You’re Sorry: The Synergy of Creative Power Writing