use caution when removing

from the oven

and if the oven mitt slips

despite your best effort

immerse in colder waters

it will still be painful

it will still take time

before the redness fades

and even the slightest mark

of your slight error in judgement

is no longer visible

I read a lot of blogs about writing.

Something I’ve grown really tired of is the “how to be a writer” blog - as if this is something that can be conveyed in a few paragraphs. It isn’t that I don’t think there are aspects of writing that can be taught. I’ve taken writing classes and found them beneficial. But a one-size-fits-all list of dos and don’ts that you stumble across on the internet is something to be skeptical of.

If there are rules, they apply to everyone differently, depending on your audience and your specific writing goals.

How many times have you been warned not to use adverbs?

Tell that to JK Rowling. Or better: don’t. Adverbs have their place as does every other bit of language. A better suggestion would be to use all your words consciously, to understand where the rule came from and break it with that knowledge.

But even that makes me uncomfortable. It ignores the fact that there are writers with natural talent who don’t need to know the why of it.

...

For the complete article by author and blogger Katie O'Rourke, tune in later today to The Official Prose. Blog at: blog.theprose.com/blog.

tender bark touchers,

tromp past and

introspectively investigate,

all the highest branches.

they lean on,then go by,

others stand around,

still like trees considering silent,

their surroundings...

these ones are made like me.

deep in primal perceptions

soft mews interrupt

but the dragon barely moves

only raising an eyelid slightly

the creature is too insignificant

to make a decent meal

he continues

considering the power of flame

and all the cautionary uses thereof

then again,mew

mew mewl

a fuzzy face looks up

to the scaly toothy maw

that yawns long

and lets out a deep breath

the kitten makes a face

and sneezes

the bemused beast chortles

stretching claws

to pick it up high

the kitten has no fear

responding with an indignant

MEW!

the aged dragon considers

and places it by his sinewy tail

wrapping around the soft fur

then finishing considerations

he falls asleep to a subtle purr

Tuesday night

friendly faces

colors and flowers fill the room

and there i stand

black from head to toe,

bruised purple and blue on the inside

'are you okay?'

inside i'm screaming

begging them to search my eyes

oh god, please

show them the window to my soul,

how it has been stained with acid

and shattered by harbored hate

but there he stands

watching over me

'i'm fine' leaves my lips

before i know what has happened

and he smiles

knowing he won again

and they walk away because they heard

what they wanted to hear

i stand alone

wearing a smile

that disintegrates my soul

I was face down on the table.

My cheek pressed against

cold wood.

I could smell the cleaner used

to wipe it down.

Feet curled under my chair.

Butt in seat.

I could hear the ticking

of a clock.

The sound of someone

mowing the lawn a

couple houses down

wiggled in

through the cracked window

and mingled with the

light hrrm of the refrigerator.

Puppy feet tap danced

across the floor.

I was breathing.

I got up.

Dad

You told me

"Daughter,

If you put your mind to it,

You can do anything."

And somewhere between the training wheels

And training bras

And hair dyes and boys

And lies and The Virgin Suicides

You forgot you said that to me

Your young woman daughter

And today

You saw that my room was not military clean

Not pristine

The way you insist all women should keep their rooms

You threw the broom

At my face again

Screamed so loud the neighbor's dogs stopped barking

To listen to you the way I always have to

And I

I held in the tears like I always do

Letting the bile build and burn in my throat

Smoldering just under my head

Letting you bask in my eternal defeat

As you threw yet another fit

"You Fathers

Do not be irritating your children"

Never applied to you I guess

Not when you threw me across a room

Not when a wine glass collided with my floor

For me to walk on in the middle of the night

No

Mother knows best? No

Father knows all

Knows everything

But he forgot that I

I am his daughter

And today when he told me

"Just go"

He knew I couldn't.

So I did.

I ackshully hayte all speling and gramer airors.

Heer iz a gud exampel.

PHONICS ARE GREAT BUT ‘SOUND IT OUT’ DOESN’T ALWAYS WORK.

There is a difference between there, their, and there, its and it’s, and other words too. Life is not a word buffet or a one-for-all situation, people. Use the one that works grammatically and you don’t get easy points on essays knocked off or scowls from editors and/or bosses. Gosh.

Basically, pay attention in school and everyone wins; I, and other grammar-nazis like me, am not frustrated with your lack of intellect, and you are blessed with fantastic diction and ability to communicate. People that make a difference in this world do not spell like Jaden Smith and other twitter-happy dimwits.