LET'S SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

 by Judy Ann Davis                                                

Hello Fall!

Someone said not to sweat the small stuff. But as a writer, I think we have an obligation to sweat the small stuff. I believe all the little things we do—from editing a chapter for the fifteenth time to standing at the kitchen sink and thinking to ourselves that a conversation we’ve already created won’t work for a particular character—is part of our desire to strive for excellence and perfection in our work. We owe it to our audience.

 Everyone is aware the ease of self-publishing has caused an explosion of poorly written fiction being dumped into the marketplace. We’ve all downloaded a digital book to our Kindle, Nook, phone, or tablet that was filled with bad grammar, misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and was horrendously embarrassing and painful to read.  And we’ve all hit the “remove from device” link and sent these books to a junkyard in cyberspace far, far away.

But recently, I’ve been amazed with the amount of poorly written copy coming from not only fiction writers, but also writers in newspapers and magazines and (oh, my) writers on the internet. Put aside the fact that they are not checking facts, more and more people are just content to spit out their opinion or construct lazy gibberish on websites and in comment boxes with little regard to how they are shredding the English language.

 “So what?” you ask. “Everyone makes mistakes, right?”

 Do you want your accountant to make a mistake by a few decimal points or a few hundred dollars? How about if your doctor wrote (heaven forbid) a prescription for the wrong drug—or maybe the right drug, but the wrong dosage? Or what if your lawyer sent out a letter on your behalf filled with spelling errors? Even better yet, your plumber decided the joint he connected and sealed in one of your drain pipes is just good enough. Would you be pleased with any of these behaviors?

I believe writers have the same obligation as any other worker in any other occupation. It’s time we take the time to strive for excellence as we string words together for our readers.

James Michener said, “I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” And that’s the secret of good writing. So, I am going to sweat the small stuff. I’m going to take the time to do the best job I can even if it I have to write and rewrite, and rewrite again and again—even if it takes longer than I planned or hoped.

 Now tell me, what bugs you as a writer reading the written word in print or digital? 

MY NEWEST RELEASE: COURTING BETSY  

A Historical Western Romantic Mystery!

COURTING BETSY – Ashmore Brothers Book 3  

 Kindle version and print now available on AMAZON:  https://www.amazon.com/Courting-Betsy-Ashmore-Brothers-Romantic-ebook/dp/B0CFSXKH6L/ 

FAMILIAR SAYINGS

By Caroline Clemmons

Do you ever wonder where some of the little rhymes about life originated? This is the sort of thought that pops into my head when I’m trying to go to sleep at night. Yeah, it’s annoying. 

Sure, this is how I look.

Here are some of those I recall:

"Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.

Red sky at morning, sailor take warning." 

Although she knew nothing about sailing, my mother-in-law used that saying to predict storms.

 

There is so much good in the worst of us

and so much bad in the best of us,

that it should remind all of us,

not to criticize the rest of us.

 

Another one my mother-in-law must have heard. In all the time I knew her (since I was 12) I only heard her criticize someone once, and come close to criticizing three other times. 

"Red and black, friend of Jack.

Red and yellow, kill a fellow."

We had to learn this in Girl Scouts, even though I never heard of a coral snake in West Texas. However, this is important to remember if you live where there are coral snakes! Though rare in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (favoring farther east), they’re here—and have red and yellow bands touching. The scarlet king snake, red rat snake, and others have red and black bands touching. 

Coral Snake
 

"If you can’t fight, flee

If you can’t flee,

Go with the flow."

 

When Hero was having too much stress at work, our youngest daughter made him a little sign of this and told him to flow. He thanked her and told her it wasn't at home he needed the sign, but at work. She made him another sign.

"Early to bed and early to rise

Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

Now, wait a minute! Hero has followed this lifestyle when working conditions permitted. He is the most intelligent person I've ever met, but he is neither healthy nor wealthy. What's wrong with this picture?

George Bernard Shaw is credited with this saying, which I've heard many times:

"We don't stop playing because we grow old.

We grow old because we stop playing."

Benjamin Franklin said, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."

Fishing photo by Tom Fisk

"Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." Lao Tzu

What are some sayings you've hears?

If you're hankering for a great sweet historical western romance to read, let me entice you to get the first two of my new Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides Series. 

Book 1 is GENTRY AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE. Gentry's late partner willed his mail order bride to Gentry.

https://www.amazon.com/Gentry-Texas-Country-Order-Brides-ebook/dp/B0B6YN6QHK

Book 2 is JESSE AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE. Rosalin Arnold risks a daring escape from evil by becoming a mail order bride to a Texas sheriff.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD64JC1D?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

Stay safe and keep reading!