I can’t recall where I found this link – it may have been on Twitter or it may have been in the news. Either way, it seems as if the current estimates for the number of English words is 1,000,000. I think that’s pretty awesome, even if it’s not an exact measurement. We have a lot of words we can use to communicate! Writers take note! You have a lot of words at your disposal, so get busy!
Here’s the article in its entirety. English getting its millionth word Wednesday?
Today in homeschool, one of my son’s assignments was to fill in the blank. He had a list of words, and a string of sentences, each missing one of the words from the list. As he went through them, he came to one and seemed to ponder it for a while.
His list was: hand, at, plant, thank, grass.
The sentence that made him pause was:
We will be ___ home soon.
Finally he spoke. "I know that ‘at’ is the right word to put in the blank here, but it actually reads best without it, just as it is."
Can you tell he’s his daddy’s boy? My heart actually swelled with pride, because he was absolutely correct, the sentence didn’t require the addition of ‘at’ to make it complete. He’s just 7, and he recognized this. Think maybe he’s developing some writerly habits already? 
On another note, it seems my Live Writer has blown up again. I don’t know what the problem is, but as I write this, it’s too late for me to try to deal with it. Time enough for that tomorrow. Damn, I don’t want to go through this again! Wahhhhhh!
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I got a book today! Woo! It’s a re-release of a book that had a big impact on my life more than 25 years ago. I wrote about it here, if you wanted to read about it. What book, you ask? The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule. It’s an updated version with new pictures and all that, I haven’t read it yet but I’m looking forward to it. And I remembered a conversation I had with my husband a few days ago.
We were talking about the genre of horror fiction, because that’s what he’s aiming to do. (You can check out some of his fiction stuff over on his fiction blog – hurry, before he takes it down!) I have always maintained that I never read horror, refuse to watch horror movies, am not in the least interested in horror in general, period. Yes, I’ve been pretty snooty about it. I admit it. However, I love the stuff my husband writes. I think part of me hasn’t really considered it to be horror, since it’s not the slash ‘em up gory kind of horror – which I absolutely will not watch or read. He writes more scary, psychological kind of stuff, the kind of stories that make you look under the bed before you go to sleep. The horror genre is much broader than I realized. Anyway, at some point during our conversation, I had sort of an epiphany. I realized that I am a horror addict of a different stripe, and addicted big time.
I love true crime stories.
I read true crime books a lot, I watch true crime shows on TV, until I’ve seen the same episodes so many times I can almost recite them. I remember weird facts about true crime events that have taken place. I’ve always been particularly fascinated with serial killers, which is what that post is about that I linked to above. It was during that conversation with my husband, when I made the offhand remark that I didn’t think werewolf and vampire type stories were scary, because they aren’t real, like serial killers are. I’ll never encounter a werewolf, no matter how many English moors I traipse across, but a serial killer could conceivably live across the street. Now that’s scary. That’s when I realized I’ve been a horror fan for years, because what’s more horrifying than the real killer who stalks and kills you? The one you never suspect, like a deacon in your church, or the cable guy who comes to fix your cable, or the guy with the broken arm who asks if you can help him load the groceries into his car. Real life is scary, and despite the fact that we tell our children that there aren’t any monsters under the bed, it doesn’t mean they don’t live down the street. The real monsters out there aren’t hairy beasts or aliens; they are our neighbors and sometimes friends and family members, those we least suspect and most trust. That, to me, is true horror. And I’ve been fascinated with it for years. Matter of fact, I know when it started.
cross-posted at The “Ness” in DarcNess
I’m all about the shameless promotion when I feel it’s appropriate, and I do now. My friend, Bryce Beattie, has published his first novel, Oasis. Here’s the link over to Amazon, where you can pick up a copy. If you hurry, you can get it in time for Christmas! Oasis (Paperback)
Here’s a description of the book:
One night after a marathon shift in the emergency room, Corbin St. Laurent sees a Red Cross trailer offering free vaccinations. He quickly discovers something is terribly wrong, but it’s too late. Terrorists have used the trailer as a front to inject dozens of people with a deadly virus that takes over the mind and controls the body. The next morning the power goes out and the the government quarantines the entire city. Corbin finds himself trapped in a city of no hope. Infected men and women roam the streets in mindless packs, seeking only to spread their infection. Being stuck in cramped quarters and extreme conditions, tempers flare and fear paralyzes the rational mind of all but the toughest of survivors. Corbin struggles to find safety–evading the infected, finding refuge through sleepless nights, fighting exhaustion, fending off heat stroke, and coping with treachery and betrayal. It’ll take everything Corbin’s got just to survive the outbreak in Oasis.
I know my husband enjoyed reading through the rough-cut of this story, and a reviewer on Amazon described it this way:
What a great book! A wonderful new twist in the zombie world. This book is so much more than your run of the mill zombie story. The main character is well written and is a testament to what people will go through and deal with in order to survive. Mr. Beattie takes the reader on a truly fun and at times heart pounding ride. I wish I could have given it 10 stars!
Looking for Christmas gifts? Looking for a good read? Here’s your chance! Pick up my friend Bryce’s book. You’ll be glad you did!
It was a dark and stormy night when I was made aware of the fact that I would never be a writer.
Uh, no.
The night was stormy, rain pelting my window like my tears, as I realized I would never be a writer.
Nope.
Lightning rent the night sky, the wind hissed, “You will never be a writer.”
Yes! Okay, not perfect, but better.
You see my point, though, right? It’s about the words and how you use them. Seriously, I am not a writer, but once, I really wanted to be. Somewhere along the way I realized I was missing what I believe is the most important element – I’m not a storyteller. I can’t even tell jokes well, let alone get a whole story down in type. It’s just not in me, and I’m okay with that, just as I’m okay with the fact that I will never be a great painter. I have other gifts. But I love to read good stories, just as I love to view great paintings. The difference is, I’ve studied the writing craft a little, and I’m sure I won’t ever study art. Knowing how to write well is applicable in our daily lives; and for probably all of us, it starts in kindergarten. We learn how to form the letters, then string them into words, our words into sentences, then paragraphs, then essays and compositions … . Ideally, we learn how to spell along the way, and punctuate and use proper grammar.
Writing a story uses all of those tools, plus something more. In my mind, I think of writing like construction, and the very heart of writing stories, the concrete foundation, is being a storyteller. If you have that in you, you can work on the rest. Spelling, punctuation, grammar – those things are like the studs, they hold everything up. The plot would be your walls and floors. Those are the necessary basics. Everything else is like decorating to taste. Horror, romance, science-fiction – that’s like choosing brick or vinyl siding. You see where I’m going.
I’ve read a lot in my life, and unfortunately, a lot of what I’ve read has been a complete waste of time. I don’t know how it even got into print, let alone past an agent and editor. I’ve read some stuff online that I’m certain will never make it into print, and you probably have, too. Maybe it sounds arrogant to say that bad spelling hurts my eyes, but it’s true. I think if you want to be a good writer, let alone a great one, you have to know your language and how to use it. Words are your building blocks and a good house-builder would no more use sub-par studs than you should use sub-par spelling and punctuation. I’m not talking typos – we all makes make those and they can be easily corrected. (See? 
) I’m talking about things like using “should of, could of, would of” and “her greif effected me.” Hurt your eyes, too? It should. Should have, could have, would have, and her grief affected me to a great degree. Feel better? Me, too. 
Now, some people paid more attention in English class than others. The great news is that for those of us who didn’t, there is hope and there are resources. Yay! That is one of my goals with this blog. I hope to post things to help writers not only with some inspiration here and there, but also with the craft as well. Not in a judgmental way, but in an encouraging way. If you have a story to tell, let’s find the right way to tell it. Don’t have a story yet? Let’s see if we can pull one of the muses out of the air and capture it.
You want to be a great writer. I want to read great stories. We can work together on this. Need a good place to start? I recommend Strunk and White. Get your basics down. Once you have the right building materials and tools at your disposal, you’ll be ready to build something wonderful.
- Image by janusz l via Flickr
Just making some changes to the Nesst. Nothing’s been deleted, I just put all the previous posts to private, so if there’s something you need, just let me know and I can copy and paste it to you in an email. See you in January.
Have a very blessed Christmas and New Year!
