Words & Deeds

October 17, 2015

Weebly vs. WordPress.com

So. Weebly vs. WordPress.com: a comparison I could have used (but couldn’t really find) several months ago. While many reading this probably are WordPress fans (especially those reading it through WordPress Reader), you may also have seen alluring ads for Weebly on facebook or other social media sites that make it seem awfully tempting. A convenient drag-and-drop interface? Customization without...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Writer Resources Comments: 0

October 16, 2015

A Big Problem for Playwrights

One of the biggest problems the modern playwright faces is the way we imagine and envision scenes. More and more of us have grown up with cartoons, television, and now the internet and computer games. We’re used to CGI and other technological tricks that allow characters to fly or scenes to change in an instant. So when we get great...

Categories Theatre & Film Comments: 0

October 15, 2015

Be True to You

Categories Creative Process/Inspiration/Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comment: 1

October 14, 2015

A Little Allusion Never Hurt Anybody

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve mentioned allusions a couple times (“A Book Review: Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves” and “I’m Going To Be Doing This All Day“), but I never really explained what they were (sorry!). An allusion is basically a reference to something else. It could be a reference to a famous work of literature, a...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Humor & Wordplay/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comment: 1

October 13, 2015

Personality Tests: An Exercise in Characterization

Want to test how well you know your character? Russ’s comment on Deathwalker 3.6 made me think of a great characterization exercise: Take a personality test from your character’s perspective. Answer the questions the way your character would and see whether the results agree with how you think of your character (or at least, if they agree as much as you...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Creative Process/General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 0

October 12, 2015

I’d Love to Know the Origin of “Sitting with the Bathtub”

I first heard this phrase when playing euchre with my grandma, grandpa, and aunt. My aunt and I were playing against the octogenarians, and my grandparents were beating us pretty badly (In that first game, I think they were up at least 4-6 points before we scored any). My grandma said she guessed they were “sitting with the bathtub.” I...

Categories Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0

October 11, 2015

Possessive Adjectives Shouldn’t Exist – At Least Not in High School.

Ok, Grammar Nazis, calm down and let me explain. First, for those of you who don’t know, school systems in the U.S. now teach that certain words are called possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. When you learned about them growing up, they probably called them possessive pronouns. That makes sense to me. A pronoun takes the...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Grammar & Editing Comments: 0

October 10, 2015

A Book Review: Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves

When I bought the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, all I knew about it was that it was about grammar (via punctuation) and that I find the joke of the title hilarious. As the back says, “A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in...

Categories Humor & Wordplay/Reviews & Recommended Reading Comments: 0

October 9, 2015

A Little Play-time: Malapropism & Robert Frost Poetry Readings!

Categories Humor & Wordplay Comments: 0

October 8, 2015

Coming from Hitchcock, This Quote Makes Ideas Seem Scary!

The first time I heard someone ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” I was baffled. The concept behind the question confused me. What do you mean where do I get them? Ideas are everywhere! I get them at the grocery when I see someone trying to climb the shelves, I get them in traffic when I catch a glimpse of...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Inspiration/Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0