• Amazing Words Wednesday

    Tips for Talking Texan

    It’s Amaze-ing Words Wednesday again! It’s also conference season, and many writers are busy preparing for their trip, classes, pitches, or table-dancing performance. Since we’ll have some non-Texans attending the DFW Writers’ Conference, I thought it was a good time to…

  • Deep-Fried Friday

    Why Grammar Matters in Your Book

    I’ve been called a Grammar Nazi, a grammar geek, a grammar freak, a grammar nut, the grammar police, and a stickler. What they say behind my back, I don’t know. I’m not that bad. I don’t critique tweets, personal emails,…

  • Amazing Words Wednesday

    Introducing Professor Punctuation

    Welcome, Prof Punc! Today, we are welcoming a newcomer to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday. From our local college faculty, I now introduce Professor Punctuation. I’ll hand over the mic now. Thanks for coming, professor. I know, I know: I don’t look like…

  • Amazing Words Wednesday

    Neologistically Speaking

    Welcome to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday! Some time ago, I wondered if I could make up my own word. And then I did. New words are called neologisms (neo=new, logo=word). Neologisms are added to our language all the time. For instance,…

  • Amazing Words Wednesday

    Word Game: Similes

    A few weeks ago, I blogged about an alphabet game I found in a book published in 1940 called The Fun Encyclopedia. My father passed this book to me, and with it another book (which my grandfather originally owned) called The Complete…

  • Amazing Words Wednesday

    A Lesson with Miss Spelling

    Some time ago, my blog was visited by the well-known language arts teacher, Miss Pronunciation. She helped to clarify proper articulation of commonly mispronounced words, such as library and et cetera. I was recently contacted by her colleague, Miss Spelling,…