Make Me Think Monday Archives - Page 21 of 36

12 06, 2017

Five Phases of a Major Move

By judythemorgan|2017-06-04T21:31:37-05:00June 12th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|5 Comments

We said we’d retired when we moved to our little corner of the Rio Grande Forest seven years ago. That was then.

This is now. I’m loading moving boxes for our seventeenth move.

After that many moves, I can relate to certain phases of any move. There are at least five phases.

1. Waiting

When in the military, there’s was little control over where or when. In the civilian world, you can often choose whether to relocate. With either scenario, there’s always the WAIT.

You wait on the written orders. You wait for the official offer. You wait to share your news. Then the orders arrive. The offer comes. And, wham the enormity of what you face hits square between the eyes. You slip into Phase 2:

2. Feeling Overwhelmed

You question your decision … what have we done?

There are literally a thousand things to do. You must find a new house. Get your current house ready to list. Then there’s the packing. How will you ever get everything all done?

You may be thrown into a state of doubt for a while, but this phase is relatively short-lived. You put on your big girl panties and Just. Do. It.

Taking a bold forward step, you move into Phase 3.

3. Determination

You’re a professional, after all. You’re organized. You can handle this. You straighten your shoulders and begin sorting items by “need immediately,” “next season,” “garage sale” and/or “donate.” You pack – individually wrapping and labeling in bubble and newsprint layer upon layer of promise and hope.

Cabinets are looking empty. Treasures are boxed away. All is going well. Until your listing agent calls to say she/he wants to show your house to a potential buyer.

Yep, the same house where boxes litter every room, packing material is piled on the every available flat surface, and stacks of stuff are tossed to and fro awaiting the big garage sale or space in a moving box. Suddenly you’re into Phase 4:

4. Panic

You cram stuff into once empty drawers, you move boxes to the garage, you plug in a zillion air fresheners to kill the cardboard box scent permeating the entire house, you load the puppy into the car, and wave with a big smile at the agent and prospective buyer as you pass them on the street.

Unfortunately, this Phase 4 repeats often until the last box is sealed and loaded on the moving van, or there’s a contract on your house, or you’re finally at your new location.

With each recurrence of frantic moments, the tears diminish. You reach a tipping point and accept that the move will happen, your stuff will get packed one way or the other, and you chill until you reach the final phase.

5. It’s Over

The moving van door slams shut. The driver pulls away. Your heart jumps into your throat. You’re are really and truly leaving. You did it.

You refuse to consider what waits at your destination – those boxes to unload, the doctors and dentist to locate, the quest to find a new church and meet new friends.

Unfortunately, if you’re military, your arrival at your new location is never permanent. You’ll face these phases again and again. If you’re a civilian, your arrival at your destination may or may not be permanent.

Me, I’ve given up on ever saying this is the LAST move.

5 06, 2017

Commas, commas everywhere but are they needed?

By judythemorgan|2017-05-13T10:31:45-05:00June 5th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

The use of commas can be a major issue for writers. Copy editors and/or the publisher style choice usually become the final authority before publication.

My personal opinion is that the Oxford comma is necessary. Thanks to Daniel Neep’s recent tweet for pointing out some excellent examples to reinforce my opinion.

The clarity of these sentences is lost without the Oxford comma and leaves the reader some very weird meanings. Wouldn’t you agree?

Grammarcheck.com also offers this infographic with further explanations about the comma dilemma.

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

I doubt the question of comma usage will ever have a definitive answer. When I’m in a quandary, I simply figure out a way to rewrite. ;-)

What’s your opinion on comma use? Too many commas or not enough?

29 05, 2017

Remembering on Memorial Day

By judythemorgan|2017-05-07T15:46:22-05:00May 29th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Memorial Day is a sad day for so many. Far too many of us have been touched by the loss of a loved one or friend who “gave their tomorrow for our today.”

As you enjoy a hot dog or a hamburger with family and friends to usher in the unofficial start of summer, pause and remember why the day was originally established.

Celebrate Memorial Day but
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET.

22 05, 2017

Are you a Master or a Captain of your writing?

By judythemorgan|2017-05-07T15:31:43-05:00May 22nd, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

We use the two terms interchangeably in common use while each has a distinctive nuance and historically the titles represent unique roles in nautical vocabulary.

Before standing navies were established, armies used civilian ships to transport soldiers and their supplies. When the captain of a company of soldiers came aboard with troops for transport, he assumed military command of the ship. He determined its destination and, if the ship engaged in hostilities at sea, directed the battle.

A captain had overall authority, but the master maintained responsibility for sailing operations. The rise of steam-powered vessels phased out the need for sailing masters and the demise of the term ship’s master.

On civilian ships such as cruise vessels, the one in charge is officially the captain though sometimes called master. In popular usage, captain or skipper prevails over the term master for pleasure craft owners.

You’ll find the term captain employed in fire or police department hierarchies and on sports teams, but not master.

Simply put, the difference between the terms is that a master is someone who has control over something or someone while the captain is a chief or leader.

If we think about our writing as our ship, I prefer the term master of writing.

Why? Because a writer who controls her writing skill and, at the same time, understands the business aspects of publishing is more likely to be successful.

That doesn’t mean a writer can’t be a captain of writing and be successful too.

Being a leader (aka captain) in a genre or professional writing organization is not a bad thing as long as the leadership responsibility doesn’t hinder writing time.There are those rare individuals who can be both master and captain of their writing.

What do you think? Would you prefer to be a master or a captain of your writing?

15 05, 2017

Writing Mistakes on Social Media

By judythemorgan|2017-05-04T16:11:15-05:00May 15th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Copy editing is hard. That’s why I use a professional for my novels, but when I write blogs, FB posts, and tweets, I proofread myself.

Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes not so good.

Recently I ran across this GrammarCheck infographic to use as a fantastic guide for checking for writing errors when writing for social media.

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

Do any of these common writing mistakes pop up in your social media posts?

8 05, 2017

MOTHER – A Word Study

By judythemorgan|2017-05-05T12:51:46-05:00May 8th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Mother’s Day, the day set aside to honor mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society, is fast approaching. This coming Sunday, May 14 to be exact.

Knowing Mother’s Day was so soon, I did a word search on the word Mother and learned some interesting facts.

Mother derives from the Old English term modor and can be used as a noun, a verb, and an adjective. Dictionary.com offered some interesting samples.

How many of these adjective examples do you recognize?

mother love – displaying the characteristics of a mother

mother hen – an overly protective person

mother wit – natural intelligence or wit

mother ship – a ship that serves smaller vessels

And these expressions (idioms) using mother?

a face only a mother could love – an unattractive person

at mother’s knee – learning something as a child

everybody/everyone and their mother – a hyperbole referring to a crowd

the mother of all _______ – the best or greatest of a type of thing

swear/swore on mother’s grave – a solemn confirmation that one is telling the truth because of the association with the sanctity of a parent’s gravesite

tied to mother’s apron strings – someone who has not asserted his independence from his mother

The informal variant of Mother is Mom. The Urban Dictionary provides various meanings for its use. Some like soccer mom I’m sure you’ve used.

Of all my research finds, this poem by Chirag Kapoor best sums up the meaning of mother for Mother’s Day. You might want to recite it for your Mom on Sunday.

1 05, 2017

Six Ways to Be a Better Wordsmith

By judythemorgan|2017-04-30T14:50:05-05:00May 1st, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

Our ability to “create meaning from words” –– wordsmithing–– is such a wonderful gift. (In case, you’re unfamiliar with the word, it means skilled in using words.)

I agree with J.K. Rowling. Words are magic and that magic is found in how we choose to use words.

When I write, I seek not just any word but the perfect word to convey my meaning. For example, when describing a character’s departure, I could say

He left.

He stormed out.

He ambled away.

He darted away.

He wandered away.

Each sentence suggests a different departure. I select the most appropriate one based upon the contextual meaning I want to convey to my reader.

Too often, such care is not given. If you spent much time on social media, I’m sure you’ve noticed this.There’s definitely not much wordsmithing happening in some of the FB posts on my feed. Evidently, others feel the same way. Many of my FB friends have deserted because of all the negativity.

Unfortunately, being a good wordsmith is a choice. And, we can only control our choices, not the choices others make.

We do need to remember what Yehuda Berg saysPoor or careless word choices can inflict damage both physically and emotionally. Using the wrong words can be construed as bullying, harassment, and/or slander and there are laws against bullying, harassment, and slander.

We need to make our word selections carefully. How? Try these six things.

Filter your thoughts before you speak them. Thoughts that might bring negative feelings or trouble—eliminate those. Choose instead to use words that create serenity.
Commit to no complaints and no gossip about anything or anyone, including yourself. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel.
If a complaint is unavoidable, find words to express appreciation first, no matter how small that thing may seem. Positive words have the power to change a situation.
Communicate with constructive and affirmative words. When your speech contains optimistic phrasing, you’ll discover others are more likely to respond the same way.
Make a concerted effort to say thank you more often. Kind words generate happy feelings in you and those to whom you are speaking.
Share happy stories and good news often. When you come from a place of gratitude, others will be joyful with you.

Can you add anything else to the list?

24 04, 2017

Sometimes English Isn’t English

By judythemorgan|2017-04-23T21:52:10-05:00April 24th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

English isn’t always English.

I learned that many years ago from my British partner in our antiques business. With his King’s English and my Texas-English, communication was frequently a bit of a challenge.

As we traveled the English countryside on our quest for merchandise for our shop in Houston, I quickly learned his bobbles and bits were my smalls. My chest of drawers was his bureau. What he thought rubbish, I thought garage sale.

Chip Butty

The first time we circled a round-about to catch a chip butty truck I wasn’t sure what I was getting. By the third day, I was searching for the trucks myself. (If you’re not familiar with the English treat, it’s french fries on buttered white bread. Add a splash of ketchup and it truly isn’t bad. Carb overload, but who’s counting?)

This GrammarChek infographic highlights some of the other U.S.-British English differences we worked our way through while in business together.

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

What about you? Have you ever had English-speaking differences with someone?

17 04, 2017

A Writer’s Dilemma – Drama and Suffering

By judythemorgan|2022-10-22T06:24:32-05:00April 17th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

We all dislike negative, unhappy things aka drama.

Who wants to suffer and be unhappy? I sure don’t.

But – reality is drama, though unwelcomed most of the time, is what life is all about.

Our puppy’s reaction to hearing thunder for the first time.

Happy drama is a very different thing.

I love the drama our new Old English Sheepdog added to our world. If you’ve ever had a puppy, you can relate. He changed our lives dramatically while adding so much laughter and love.

As a writer, I have such a difficult time being hard on my characters. I don’t want them to suffer or be unhappy. Unfortunately, that makes for a dull, uninteresting story. Drama is an integral part of real life so fictional characters must suffer.

After attending the BONI Intensive Seminars where Donald Maass stresses Tension (drama) on every page to engage readers fully, I finally understood the need to create more suffering for my fictional characters.

Readers expect drama and want to become emotionally involved with our characters. When drama and suffering are absent, readers fail to connect with our characters. They won’t read our books.

If you need a nudge to add drama to your writing (as I did), let me suggest:

1. Read The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
2. Attend a Breakout Novel Intensive Seminar
3. Visit One Stop for Writers website where you’ll find loads of resources like The Emotion Thesaurus

Or you can watch the news or read news blogs. There’s always drama there!

10 04, 2017

Do April showers bring May flowers?

By judythemorgan|2017-03-06T14:46:40-06:00April 10th, 2017|Make Me Think Monday|1 Comment

It wouldn’t be right to blog in April without referencing the old saying, “April showers bring May flowers.”

The phrase probably came from the General Prologue found in The Canterbury Tales:

“Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote.”

These words – March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers – can be found in The Dictionary of Proverbs by George Latimer Apperson and Martin H. Manser

Another version can be traced to the 1557 collection of writings by Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry. For April, he wrote:

Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers

Tusser’s rhyme is a short poem, which fits nicely since in 1996 the month of April became National Poetry Month. For ways to celebrate poetry this month, check here.

The writer in me can’t resist sharing the poetic meaning behind “April showers bring May flowers” – even the most unpleasant of things (in this case the heavy rains of April) can bring about very enjoyable things, i.e.an abundance of flowers in May. A lesson in patience that remains valid to this day.

But, do April rains truly bring May Flowers?

Not according to botany and biology research that says, for most species, first flowering is more closely tied to temperature than to rain.

According to Libby Ellwood, “The plants may not be aware of this proverb, but they rarely have to worry about having enough water in the spring to start growing and producing flowers. … But the water itself isn’t dictating flowering times the way that temperature is.”

David W. Inouye, a biology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, studied bloom times in the Rocky Mountains. He concluded the Alpine flower blooming season, which used to run from late May to early September, now lasts from late April to late September because temperatures in the Rockies are becoming warmer. That means a longer wildflower viewing season for mountain hikers.

Perhaps, if climate warming more closely controls flowering, the proverb should be re-written to read “Warm temperatures in March bring April flowers.”

Somehow, that doesn’t have the same ring, does it?

Make Me Think Monday

Celebrate Memorial Day but PLEASE DO NOT FORGET.

Celebrate Memorial Day but
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET.