[WordPlay Word-zine] Top Ten Grammar Myths Exposed (Courtesy of "Grammar Girl")

Published: Wed, 03/05/14


The WordPlay Word-zine

Volume III, Issue 8
March 5, 2014


Word of the Week: grammar
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Dear ,

Happy belated National Grammar Day! March 4th, as you may know, is the date of this great occasion, and I'm celebrating  by sharing one of my favorite online resources, Grammar Girl. Here are her "Ten Grammar Myths Exposed". How many of them have you been believing?

Grammar Girl's Ten Grammar Myths Exposed

Read the explanations before you write to express your outrage.

  1. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
  2. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word "however."
  3. "Irregardless" is not a word.
  4. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in "s."
  5. Passive voice is always wrong.
  6. "I.e." and "e.g." mean the same thing.
  7. You use "a" before words that start with consonants and "an" before words that start with vowels.
  8. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good."
  9. You shouldn't split infinitives.
  10. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.

Check out Grammar Girl's Brief explanations with links to more detailed discussions. Did you learn anything new? 

I learned something new from each of the lovely ladies who participated in the Coastal Project Book Retreat with me this past weekend. (They weren't all present when the photo was taken.) We had a great time, and I am eagerly looking forward to holding their completed books in my hands within the next year or two. They went home with their next steps all spelled out! 

Wish you could have been there? You'll have another chance come November. Meanwhile, there are some other WordPlay offerings to check out if you're interested, as well as a prompt. And don't forget to keep Grammar Girl in mind for whenever you have a grammar question arise.

Love and light,

Maureen

Upcoming WordPlay


SPINNING WORDS INTO GOLD
(Fulfilling Writing Dreams and Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising and Polishing Your Writing)


Does writing fulfill you? Do you wish you were writing more? Jumpstart your writing life and learn to keep your words flowing. Learn specific techniques and exercises to create nonfiction, poetry and/or fiction. Whether you would like to keep a journal for your own personal growth, spin stories for your loved ones, or further a career as a professional writer, experience the satisfaction of developing a writing practice that works for you -- come spin words into gold. 
$159 for 6 sessions.

You'll need a copy of Spinning Words into Gold, available for $23.54 in class. 

WHERE:Queens University, 1900 Selwyn Ave, Charlotte, NC 28207.
WHEN: Wednesdays, 1 - 3 PM. March 19 & 26, April 2, 16, 23, and 30.
TO REGISTER: click the link below:
http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Continuing-Education/Program-Categories/Writing---CE/Writing-%E2%80%93-Spinning-Words-into-Gold-with-Maureen-Ryan-Griffin.html

SPRING WRITING RETREAT
(Writing -- and More -- as Renewal; Creating New Writing) 

Renew and delight yourself. WordPlay's Spring Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they have not failed to elicit beautiful material that can be shaped into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After a communal lunch, you'll have private time which can be used to collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, or play with a number of other writing prompts and methods. You'll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities. $97 includes lunch and supplies.

WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration.
WHEN: Saturday, March 22, 2014,10 am - 5 pm
TO REGISTER: Email info@wordplaynow.com to pay by check. Or click here to register via PayPal/credit card.

POETRY ROCKS: TAP INTO ALL POETRY CAN DO FOR YOU 
(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer of Literary Beauty to Your Life) 
Online classes plus a "Poetry Creation Tool" in written and audio form each weekday in April (22 in all)


Do you wish your writing were more graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating? Or do you enjoy writing and reading it, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a poem good (yours or someone else's)? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you. Begins April 1st for National Poetry Month. Details coming soon!


WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt

This is WordPlay -- so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's "grammar." 

PROMPT: Write about an experience you (or one of your characters) have had with grammar. Did you get your knuckles wrapped by Sister Bertha in seventh grade? Were you the only one in the class who could diagram a sentence correctly? Did you miss out on dangling participles, misplaced modifiers, or pronoun/antecedent agreement altogether because you were writing love letters under your desk during English class? 

And don't forget that Grammar Girl is only a Google search away whenever you're in grammar doubt.

MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."

Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours!

WordPlay
Maureen Ryan Griffin
Email: info@wordplaynow.com
Website: www.wordplaynow.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wordplaynow