I’m a reader first, a writer second, and an actor last. At no point will I ever claim to be an editor. This is why I’ve never gotten all that hung up on achieving perfect grammar in any of my drafts. There are lots of people who are very talented who I can pay to help. That said, I do like to learn new things, so in the interest of sharing what I’m adding into this melon o’mine I’m starting a series of posts, just for you, called ‘Grammar Is Sexy.’ Whenever I find something useful, I’ll share it here.
Thursdays are my day to visit my folks. My little man is home from day care and we usually pile in the car for a visit. Then I get to work while my mother catches up with her favorite grandson. During our forty minute drive, I listen to podcasts. I hate pop music, and talk radio is usually too depressing. Today, I was listening to the only writer’s podcast that I like, ‘Helping Writers Become Authors.’ I’m sure there are lots of other great writing podcasts out there,( and please do send along your recommendations), but K.M. Weiland is smart, funny, and kind of adorable. Her podcasts are short bursts of great info, and today was no exception.
You can read a transcript of today’s installment of her ‘Most Common Writing Mistakes’ series here. The topic was ‘Too Many Participle Phrases.’ I’ll confess, I had no idea what a participle phrase was until K.M. laid it out for me. Participle phrases have definitely found their way into my writing, but now I know how to weed those suckers out. I hope you enjoy Helping Writers Become Authors. The transcripts all have an audio link at the end, or you can find this podcast with the iTunes podcast app. Just try not to fall so far down the rabbit hole you neglect your daily writing!