Pearl Harbor Day

Letter Writing Day

National Cotton Candy Day

National Aviation Day

Well, I probably could make something up for one or two of these but I’m going to pass on it this time and just go for the meat and taters.

National Aviation Day

The National Aviation Day is a United States national observation that celebrates the development of aviation. The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday to be National Aviation Day.

Okay, I get it but, what about his brother, Wilbur? He had just as much to do with aviation as Orville (and when I hear that name, I think of popcorn).

National Cotton Candy Day

National Cotton Candy Day celebrates the spun sugar treat that delights candy fans of all ages. On December 7th get your favorite flavor of this sweet delight that dates back to the 1400’s.

Originally called spun sugar, cotton candy is still a staple at carnivals, fairs, and the circus. While it may be reminiscent of childhood days, fairy floss also reminds us of fluffy clouds. Since the heated sugar gets spun into thin strands of fine sugar and blown into fat puffs twirled onto paper sticks, it’s a bit like magic.

We associate it with other magical occasions, too. Carnivals and fairs, the zoo, and the circus delight us. We associate a bit of joy and magic with cotton candy. Nostalgic memories of bustling crowds and the music of the calliope bring a smile to our faces.

Cotton candy is also called candy floss or fairy floss.

During the 18th century, cotton candy (spun sugar) was first recorded in Europe. At that time, it was very expensive and labor-intensive. Generally, the average person could not afford to purchase cotton candy.

Then in 1897, Dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton invented machine-spun cotton candy. Their invention introduced cotton candy to a wider audience at the 1904 World’s Fair as Fairy Floss. Fairgoers loved it and bought over 68,000 boxes for a quarter a box.

Letter Writing Day

Ah, those golden days of yesterday, when pen touched paper and the mind commanded the hand to write words. Will that ever happen again?

World Letter Writing Day was established by Richard Simpkin, as a tribute to the joy and excitement he felt when a hand-written letter would arrive in his mailbox. His appreciation of the hand-written word came about as a result of a project he was working on called “Australian Legends”, he would send out letters to everyone he considered to be an Australian Legend with the interest of arranging a personal interview and photography session. There was just something amazing about receiving a letter with the legends own personal touch to it, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that while hand-written letters are collectible, digital communication certainly is not.

Letter Writing Day is all about paying tribute to the age-old form of communication; letter writing. Letter Writing Day presents you with a great opportunity to reconnect with people that you may not have spoken to for quite some time now. It also helps you to think before you write. With modern connection forms, we don’t tend to reflect and think before we communicate with someone. However, a letter gives you the perfect opportunity to do this.

When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter to a friend, a grandparent, or to someone super special? That means handwritten, paper folded, put in an envelope, attach a stamp, and put it in a thing called a mail box.

Pearl Harbor Day

This is a day, according to then president, FDR, on December 8th, before Congress, “December 7th, is a day that will live in infamy.”

Most of us, myself included, weren’t born when this day in 1941 happened, but history has recounted the story each year. In Hawaii, there is a memorial there, which, if you haven’t, you should pay a visit. It will leave you with a sobering moment.

During the attack on Pearl, 2,400 servicemen and 68 civilians lost their lives, and five of the eight battleships were sunk or sinking, and each ship was damaged where it crippled our Navy fleet.

If you not seen my posting, regarding this, here is the link:

https://theprose.com/post/398797/a-day-that-will-live-in-infamy

More strange holidays are coming!

Gasping like you can't get enough air

Your cheeks aflame, you wish you were somewhere, not here

But you can't disappear

You never go anywhere

It's straight out of your worst nightmare

Though you try your best

Your heart feels like it might beat out of your chest

And you mumble a prayer as you stand up ungracefully from your chair

The whole class will be in for a treat

As you walk to the board

Your boodstained pants surely can't be ignored

Your teacher waits patiently, hand ready

You hand in the test and return to your seat

With your stomach churning unsteadily.

Dear Former Self,

It seems that you held high expectations for me, and have come to the realization that I am not the person you dreamed up so many years ago. I have evolved in ways you can't imagine, experienced pain beyond you, and lost so much in so little time. Despite all of these challenges, I finally have crested this steep mountain I have struggled to climb my whole life. Now, I am ready to start the life that I always wanted to live, not the life you carefully planned based on the judgments and assumptions of those around you. I am ready to behold in my glorious future and achievements I alone dare to pursue. You may be worried about my sanity, perhaps packing your bags to come and visit me. Please, I beg you, my dear, don't worry. My path ahead may be messy, but it will be mine alone, full of my dreams and my accomplishments. I ask that you please take the time to consider the possibilities that lay ahead of you. Untie yourself from your heavy shackles and go see the world! I am, and always will be, extremely sorry for all the time I wasted sitting at home and not being who I am, instead of who they want me to be.

Forever and always,

Just Me

This next part will or may be boring for some of you, but it is very important you understand at least the basics of grammar and punctuation (if you don’t). If you do, it never hurts to refresh the mind from time to time.

This is also a two-part section with the next portion coming next week.

And, keep in mind, the words to follow are what is, and isn’t acceptable to some reader’s, editor’s, and publisher’s when writing/submitting; but the choice to use these words are yours as long as you understand the word you are using fits the sentence, the description, and the dialogue you have in mind.

The words are there for your personal use to fall back on when you are uncertain of how you wish to use these words.

… let us begin.

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Grammar and Punctuation

As an example:

When she looked at me with her piercing blue eyes, the affect I had, created such an illusion of mind-controlling passion, that I had to force myself to presume this entire escapade was a dream.

Another look:

When she looked at me with her piercing blue eyes, the effect I had, created such an allusion of mind-controlling passion; I had to force myself to assume this entire escapade was a dream.

Another example:

“You are such a cynic to distrust everything you hear.”

“You are such a skeptic to doubt everything you hear.”

Two different distinctions, with two different meanings, used in the same sentence. The major difference are the words “doubt” and “distrust”. Both are modifiers that help get your point across and allow the reader to see, as well as “hear” the difference.

Here are words you should easily know when writing:

Shall – will

That – which

Who – whom

Eight mistakes never to make when writing: (know and learn the difference)

Affect – effect

Bad – badly

Fewer – less

Farther – further

Important – importantly

It’s – its

Like – as

Principal – principle

Problematic Prepositional Phrases

Different from – different than

Due to – owing to or because of

Half – half off or off of

On behalf of – in behalf of

On the street – in the street/on line or in line (substitute for street as another example)

On to – into/in to/into

15 Difficult Distinctions

Allude – elude

Allusion – elusion/illusion/delusion

Among – between

Assume – presume

Assure – ensure/insure

Bring – take

Capital – capitol

Compliment – complement

Convince – persuade

Discreet – discrete

Disinterested – uninterested

Flaunt – flout

Immigrate – emigrate

Precede – proceed

Stationary – stationery (to see if you have read and paid attention, in the comment box please tell me how each of these words, though spelled the same means two different things … humor an old man, why don’t you.)

Two slippery suffixes

-able : -ible

-ic : -ical

Two unwitting Briticisms

A – an

ward: wards

Five nonwords (used often)

Alright

Double entendre

Momento

Preventative

’till

(Although the last four are used, there common use is very rare. ‘till is used more in poetry or the poetic sense but more as ’til. Momento is never used by itself, making it a true nonword but when used with Uno – Uno Momento, then it is allowable and proper speech or vocabulary. In normal speech or in any form of description, alright should be all right. Alright is fine when used as a form of slang.)

15 points editors and proof readers are picky about – know the difference

Awhile, instead of a while

Any, instead of every

Awhile, instead of a while

Bimonthly, instead of semimonthly

Blonde, instead of blond

Depreciate, instead of deprecate

Flounder, instead of founder

Forgo, instead of forego

Get, instead of got or gotten

Glimpse, instead of glance

Imply, instead of infer

Nauseous, instead of nauseated

Purposely, instead of purposefully

Shrink, instead of shrunk

Whether, instead of ‘whether or not’

Wrack, instead of rack, wreck and wreak

31 words readers actually spot differences in novels

Burglary – robbery

Callous – callus

Canvas – canvass

Casket – coffin

Catsup – ketchup

Continually – continuously

Cynic – skeptic

Defective – deficient

Forward – foreword

Gourmet – gourmand and glutton

Graduated – graduated from/ was graduated from

Gratified – grateful

Hang – hung

Lend – loan

Lighted – lit

Luxuriant – luxurious

Oral – aural/verbal

Pair of – pairs of

Partially – partly

Percent – percentage

Pitiful – pitiable/piteous

Prescribe – proscribe/prescription

Prophecy – prophesy

Ravish – ravage

Sensuous – sensual

Spoonsful – spoonful’s

Stanch – staunch

Try and – try to

Whiskey – whisky

Xerox – photocopy

Use your dictionary/thesaurus for these words and you will see the specific meaning. All of these words can be used, but only in the right way that is readily understood.

I do want to reference one other book that can be of good use to you. The Chicago Manual of Style. It is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its seventeen editions have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publishing. Slightly expensive but worth every dollar paid.

Next time around … the terrible reference guide on parts of speech, and explanation of the uses of punctuation.

I know, I know, but without their uses, your novel (and poetry) would look like one garbled mass of words.

Over the course of the next 13 chapter phases,There will be writing points for new writers, and those experienced ones looking for any additional helping points. I will provide some tips and information to help hone your work even better and hopefully, everyone will gain something from this.

I will cover not just basic grammar and punctuation, but different styles of poetry and prose, short story and novel writing, non-fiction, autobiography and biographies, essays, memoirs, reviews, and screenplays. I will show examples on every area I possibly can.

I will have material here to talk about plot setting, suspension of disbelief, elements of fiction.

I have a section on the who-what-where-when-why and how. Tips on your beginning, middle and end to what you write. Also, the one part no writer enjoys …editing and revision.

I will have a series of what I call Side-Bar Notes – knowing your fiction/non-fiction/poetry market. Why rejections happen.

There will be more I haven’t mentioned.

But to be clear, I have read many pieces of work on Prose, and all of it is and has been very good. This is a guide for you to use when you are not on Prose and are looking to heighten your muse, get you past a rough patch in thinking or writing.

With that said, I want to mention, and recommend a very good book to read: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. written in 1918, and published by Harcourt, in 1920, comprising eight “elementary rules of usage”, ten “elementary principles of composition”, “a few matters of form”, a list of 49 “words and expressions commonly misused”, and a list of 57 “words often misspelled”. E. B. White greatly enlarged and revised the book for publication by Macmillan in 1959. That was the first edition of the so-called “Strunk & White”, which Time named in 2011 as one of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923. This tiny book will do more for your writing than a four-year college degree in my humble opinion.

On one last note: I am debating on whether to put up an article I have saved since 2012 about the joys and hazards of self-publishing on the web. What do you think? Should I? or should I not? You won’t see it anytime soon, but if you want to see and read this, it will be available.

Now, for those of you already published, there still may be things put here you find you can use somewhere down the line. So, for the time being, I will begin this with something I always said to my students.

… and we begin.

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First, Webster’s American English Thesaurus defines the word Poet as: a writer of verses, versifier, rhymer, rhymester, poetaster, bard, minstrel, troubadour, maker, creator, author, composer, writer.

Call it what you will, one could add to the definitions: emotional, thinker, doer, active, skilled, talented, and designer.

As for yourself, what words would you add to the mix?

Regardless of what you do in life, whether you decide to become that published author, brick-layer, carpenter, doctor, mechanic, a CEO, or a ditch-digger, for your own sense of self-worth and importance as a person, as a human being, take the attitude of these six words, and carry them with you as your personal mantra.

I Can. I Must. I Will.

Don’t say: I can’t, if, doubt, I don’t think, I don’t have the time, maybe, I’m afraid of, I don’t believe, (minimize) I, and, it’s impossible.

What you can say: I can, I will expect the best, I know, I will make the time positive, I am confident, I do/will believe, (promote) you, and, It can be done.

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“For all things are possible. Without possibilities, we have nothing. With possibilities, we have everything.” - Me

“Honesty’s the best policy – Miguel de Cervantes

“Liar’s prosper” – unknown.

These quotes worth remembering.

The first, is that good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals such as vocabulary, grammar, and the elements of style.

The other, is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is just as impossible to make a great writer out of a good one; it is possible, with hard work, dedication, and more work, to make a good writer out of a competent one.

And let’s face facts, when writing fiction, every writer out there known to us is a paid professional liar entertaining the hell out of us!

Here is an interesting true story.

What is the difference between you, and Stephen King?

He can command well over $1,000,000 in advance for a novel today, even if it had but a single word on a page (slight exaggeration). Why is that? Because he honed and polished his craft to become one of the most read writer’s around the globe. He didn’t start off making that kind of money overnight.

But what makes you and Stephen King the same?

Simple: you both start with a blank page. You both stare at a sheet of white pureness until the first word is put down.

Any story you write, should have, must have, a strong and captivating opening to catch the reader’s attention. It is well known that a single line opener, or a four-line paragraph will further a writer’s career or destroy it.

I am a firm believer that as a writer you should:

1) Already know your ending before you begin Chapter One

2) Already have it written

3) Fill in the middle that holds the start and finish together.

Those who take on a writing career (profession), take on a task that can be done in a month, or a year; some may take years, before that that all-important novel you know sleeps, eats, and breathes inside you, wants to be wakened, written and feel very much alive. Some of you now are already published author’s, but there are always tips of the trade that can help you even more. Within all that will appear here over the weeks, there will be a line or two that will trip your writing light fantastic.

As new writer’s, being recognized by the marketing industry is difficult, but it can be done.

Sorry, I side-tracked myself. Let me get back to that true story.

Stephen King started in a single-wide trailer writing short stories he would sell to skin magazines back in the 60’s and early 70’s, of which he sold them under the name, Richard Bachman. His first major release in 1974 was ‘Carrie’ (He wrote under his own name), practically sent him soaring to Number One on the Best-Seller’s List, and later became a movie with the same name in 1976 that helped his career even more. His works today are printed in 26 different languages, and he has written both screenplays and non-fiction as well.

So, I think, if a small-time guy in a single-wide, working as a short-order cook making $150 a week can make it … why can’t you.

The only way you won’t make it in this business is one thing: you don’t give it your very best and treat it like it is your best friend or lover.

Know this: breaking into the business isn’t easy, but it is doable.

Most new writers begin with small press publications/magazines. They may or may not pay you, but moist will send you 1-5 copies of your work in print. If they don’t pay you, then see the published story or poem as part of your resume. The more you get published this way, the sooner you will be able to take the next step and begin submitting to publishers. Once you can convince them by an already proven record of accomplishment; there will be a publisher that will offer you a contract. That means it becomes official: you are a published, not writer, but a novelist, an author! That has a much better sound, doesn’t it? And much later into this course, I will go into more detail.

But here I want to make one very necessary point. If your intent is to write to make a ton of money, large or small … forget it. It will never happen. That attitude can and will show up in a hurried write and often, overkill. As a writer, or novelist, your writing should be because it is something you love doing and that you want to entertain your audience. Just keep that in mind. If you do that, the money will come.

I have often said to my students: if one person who reads what I write, gets something from it, then I have done my job as a writer.

Next, I will have a section on the one area we all need help with at some point or another. Grammar and punctuation. (Yeah, I know ... you hate it ... so sue me.)

This will be the only “class” you attend you will never have to pay for. And I don’t know about you, but I love free stuff, especially when it really is free!

And for the final kicker this week, I leave you with a few fun things to ponder over.

Palindromes (which a word or series of word is spelled the same backward as well as forward) and Homophones (where these words, though spelled differently have the same exact sound.)

Perhaps there may be a poem or short story from these words. Hmmm … now there’s a scary thought.

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Palindromes

A Toyota—civic—deer breed—don’t nod—eye—level—madam, I’m Adam—never odd or even—Otto—pop—bob—radar—see referees—step on no pets—top spot—a nut for a jar of tuna—bird rib—borrow or rob—I did, I did—live not on evil—ma has a ham—no lemon, no melon—not so, Boston—pa’s a sap—pupils slip up—rise to vote, sir—rotator—Roy, am I mayor—tenet—was it a rat I saw.

Homophones

Aid/aide—air/heir/err—ant/aunt—allowed/aloud—arc/ark—aural/oral—away/aweigh—ball/bawl—band/banned—baron/barren—be/be—beach/beech—bite/byte—fir/fur—flour/flower—foreward/forward—gait/gate—gilt/guilt—grease/Greece—great/grate—groan/grown—hall/haul—hire/higher—peace/piece—pleas/please—pole/poll—pray/prey—real/reel—rows/rose—to/too/two—sea/see.