Say Hi to Hiatus

It's that time of year again!

HIATUS

Dictionary.com defines HIATUS like this:
hi·a·tus/hīˈātəs/

Noun: A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

And that's precisely what will be happening with this blog. It will be on HIATUS until mid-September.

To carry you through (because you will miss me, right?), I want you to do something entirely old-fashioned.
1. Get a print dictionary. (Remember those? If you don't have one, they sell them at the dollar store.)
2. Every day at breakfast, open it to a random page and blindly point at a word.
3. Say the word out loud.
4. Read the definition.
5. Try to use it in a sentence.

Then, tuck it in your brain and GO OUT AND PLAY! Come back in September will fresh words, ideas, and experiences that will make your writing shine.

BYE for now!
: )
Nancy
P.S. If I get an update on my forthcoming picture books, I'll let you know.

The King of All Grammar Errors

Any clue as to what people goof up on more than anything else?
It's everywhere, believe me.
It's almost as if the rule has a brain of its own and it takes over our writing.

It's the old It's vs Its rule!

It's means it is or it has.
Its shows possession, as in it belongs to someone or something.

I check myself this way:
If I write it's, I make sure that when I substitute it is or it has (in my mind), it still makes sense.
If I write its because I think it should show possession, I still double check by substituting it is or it has. It shouldn't make sense.
Ready for a quiz? It's used by those who speak a language other than English. Can you imagine how hard this rule is for them?
But for you, it's easy, right? I expect that you'll get 100% or pretty close. Make me proud.
: )

CLICK HERE FOR QUIZ

If you doubt how important this is, the Mean Ol' School Marm will make it clear.
CLICK HERE to read a Mean Ol' Schoolmarm Moment of the Day post about our topic.
(She scares me... just a bit.)