Why Do You Keep Telling Me That?

              While listening to last week's sermon, my pastor made an illustration that raised an interesting question.

              We've been discussing Philippians 3:15-4:1, where Paul is telling the church at Philippi to reject self-indulgence (or libertinism) because following Jesus is so much better. Better than the internet, better than riches, even better than raspberry dark chocolate.

              Isn't it true that Christians hear this a lot? Shouldn't we move on to other aspects of the Christian life? Do we need to constantly be told the same thing over and over? Not just that Jesus is better than chocolate, but that we are sinners, that we need to repent, etc. Can't we learn that and move on to something else?

             I would argue that it is helpful to be reminded for a couple of reasons.

This Post is About . . .

. . .

. . . when three periods are lined up in this way (. . .), this is known as an ellipsis. When placed at the end of a sentence, a period is added afterwards, making (. . . .). After the semicolon, the comma, and the exclamation point, the ellipsis is probably the most misunderstood punctuation mark in English. Here's a basic breakdown of when and where to use an ellipsis.


     1. When shortening a quotation

          For example, in an earlier post , I quoted Gail Carson Levine's saying "The best way to write better is to write more. The best way to write more is to write whenever you have five minutes and wherever you find a chair and a pen and paper or your computer." For simplicity's sake, I easily could have written "The best way to write better is to write . . . whenever you have five minutes and wherever you find a chair and a pen and paper or your computer." This is perfectly fine as long as my omission does not change the original meaning of the quotation. That would be dishonest.

     2. When indicating a pause in dialogue

         "I couldn't give it to her . . . what I mean is . . . oh I don't know what I'm saying!" something like that. Be warned that readers tire of this kind of construction very quickly, so make sure you know what you're doing when you use an ellipsis this way.

     3. When something is left out of speech

        In the title of this post, I did not finish the sentence. Instead, I used an ellipsis. This is grammatically allowable, but carries the same caution as rule number two. If every sentence ends with an ellipsis, it'll look like the writer is trying to be funny, which isn't something one should try. While humor in books is great, it won't be if it seems like the humor is forced.

     As mentioned, the biggest issue you face with using the ellipsis is that one gets used to it quickly, and it starts to look/sound boring. Also, even though people do have pauses in their speech, that doesn't mean a writer should try and use an ellipsis in place of every other comma. The trick is to use the right punctuation over the stuff that "looks good."


Source here

That's Not What I Heard It Meant

              Before I give the definition of this word, I thought I'd try something new in this post category. Instead of defining a completely new word, I'm going to take a word that many people assume they know the meaning of and give the actual definition. What do I mean by this? Allow me to demonstrate.



Genre (pronounced sh-on-rah)

             According to Merriam-Webster, a genre is "a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content."

             What would you reply if I were to ask you what your favorite literary genre was?

Would it be Science Fiction? 

 Fantasy?

 Romance? 

 Mystery? 

Thriller? 

All of the above? Interestingly enough, none of the above would be an appropriate answer.

            In terms of literature, there are four main genres that emerge:

1. Fiction
2. Nonfiction
3. Poetry
4. Drama

          The reason being that you can divide literature into these categories which will have certain styles and content, which is essentially what a genre is. Mysteries, Thrillers, and the like are all actually sub-genres of fiction, since no one who heard of a romantic poem would ever call it a Romance.

          Still, since the common understanding of the word genre is "a sub-genre of fiction," make sure your audience knows what you're talking about when you use it.

No Easy Way Around It

         For my loyal readers, I have decided to reveal the ultimate, (practically) guaranteed way to improve your skills with the art of writing, be it fiction, poetry, or non-fiction.

        Ready?

I'm ready Master!

        Brace yourselves . . . .

"The best way to write better is to write more. The best way to write more is to write whenever you have five minutes and wherever you find a chair and a pen and paper or your computer."

(Writing Magic, Gail Carson Levine)


       That's right, practice is the only guarantee you can give yourself of success. According to one of my creative writing professors, everyone experiences those times when putting down your daily five hundred words (or whatever your goal is) is inconvenient because of exhaustion, work, or school. Still, writing is an art, and any art can only be perfected by repeatedly doing it until excerpts from your work flutter around your eyes in your sleep.

        A tip. If it seems impossible for you to write in your work-in-progress, try practicing with a different form. If you don't feel like working on your novel, try working on a short story. If you don't want to write that poem, try an essay. Don't feel like posting on your blog? Do it anyway, otherwise you'll lose readers.

       Just kidding, but you get the idea. Variety can kill a rut, but even missing one to three days of writing time can seriously hurt your writing.

In Case You Didn't know My Man Matt (Part 1)

             Had I the ability to see the future, I might've considered making a Biographies Abounding label instead of Bible Reading and Reasoning, since biographies are a special kind of history. Instead, I find myself posting my first biography and ashamedly sticking it under the label of History For the Wondering Wordsmith. For size reasons, I'll have to break this biography up into parts. To avoid copyright infringement, I will include a bibliography at the end.


             Some of my readers who enjoyed the Bible Reading and Reasoning might've noticed that under Reasoning I've always included the comments of someone named Matthew Henry. Naturally, those not so savvy with church history might be wondering who Matthew Henry is.

            I'm glad you asked.

Matthew Henry (1662 - 1714)

              Matthew Henry was born on October 18, 1662, in a little farmhouse named Broad Oak in-between Flintshire and Shropshire to the happy Reverend Philip Henry and his wife Katherine. At a young age, Henry showed signs of developing intelligence as he is reported to have been able to read sections of the Bible at age three. Henry's desire to learn and his passion for books grew so much that his parents, concerned for his health, often had to drag him outside to get his necessary exercise. (As a side note, can you imagine that happening 348 years later, where a little boy would rather read and study indoors rather than play freeze tag with his brother?)

             Anyway, Matthew Henry's father Philip taught his son at their home in Broad oak (yes, Matthew Henry was home schooled), but had to hire a private tutor for his later home education. Because of the Reverend's influence--noted theologians Francis Tallonts and William Cook were said to have dined at Broad Oak--he was able to employ a man named Turner who would later write "Remarkable Providences." To this day we are not sure how much of an influence Turner had on his student's developing mind.

             What we do know about Henry's early Christian walk is that he was influenced greatly by his father, who would go off in secret to pray, hold daily family worship services, and showed his children that a godly walk was enviable. Several times, Henry was so moved by his father's preaching and examples that he would sit in his room, crying and praying, even to the point of skipping meals. Matthew Henry is reported to have become a Christian on a walk with his father, right after hearing a sermon by Philip Henry about the kingdom of Heaven and the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-2). Though no one knows what his father said to him that day, Henry later told his older sister that he " had received a 'grain of grace,' and that in time it might come to something."

             Upon receiving his gift of salvation, Henry grew to enjoy sitting in on the conversations his father had with the various scholars and Christian thinkers who came to their house. Eventually, driven by these conversations and his love for the Bible, he began writing his own sermons based on his favorite passages. Having transcribed his father's sermons for some time, Henry already knew the form; so adding his own content wasn't hard. Again, can you imagine someone under 18 writing his own sermons?


              Part two of this biography (along with cited sources) will be coming soon. Stay tuned.

Mmm, Tastes Great!

The Text: Psalm 34:8

"O taste and see that the LORD is good ; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him" (New American Standard)

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him" (English Standard Version)

" O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (King James Version)

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him" (New International Version)

"Taste and see how good the LORD is! The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy" (Common English Bible)

Only Few Would Know What That Means

Esoteric (pronounced Ehs-oh-tehr-ick)

           Defined by dictionary.com as private, secret, or something that can only be understood by a specific group of people.

           I'll illustrate with an example.

           Kyle smiled at Myra the same way that Matt Sabre would.

           I don't imagine many people can picture the above sentence in their mind, seeing as how only those who know what Matt Sabre looks like can picture Kyle's smile. This sentence is, therefore, esoteric.

           A quick word of caution. There is a difference between something being esoteric and something being vague. No one can understand something vague, while it is possible for someone to understand something esoteric.

          Again, I'll illustrate with an example. Read the following sentences and see if you can tell which ones are vague and which ones are esoteric.


          I never wanted this life for my daughter, living like Laurie Shannon, only with turkeys.

         Avery Bishop was a rich man, maybe even richer than all the men on the planet Dentin.

         I am a good girl.

         She sipped her drink, imagining it tasted like Apple Jackson root beer.

A New Way to Look at a Ballpoint

The Pen

Take a pen in your uncertain fingers.

Trust, and be assured

That the whole world is a sky-blue butterfly

And words are the nets to capture it.

Muhammad al-Ghuzzi

I Never Said That (How to Quote a True War Hero)

            Happy (delayed) New Year, readers!


            Having found myself no longer needing to labor away at some textbook or out of class assignment, I thought I'd write a post in hopes that there is some reader out there who is waiting on the edge of their seat for my promised series on quoting outside work.

            Here's how I foresee it's going to go. Some of the points I listed in the last post are fairly self-explanatory, so I don't imagine that it will take a full post to go over them. Others are so general that I will probably need to expound upon them. With that said, this first post will cover rule number one.

1. The quotation must come from someone other than you

             While my readers are probably now quoting the Declaration of Independence (We hold these truths to be self-evident), this first rule should not be overlooked by a writer trying to establish credibility with his readers. Even using an expression like, "As I said in a post some months back . . ." makes the reader question the humility of the author. Besides, while it is your work that is being read, that doesn't mean that you cannot include another saying that will help get your message across. Also, while it may seem like you're showing off your knowledge by quoting something you read, it actually appears like you're acknowledging the accomplishments of someone else.


"I have heard that nothing gives an Author so great Pleasure, as to find his Works respectfully quoted by other learned Authors" -- Benjamin Franklin