I am unsure why this spelling error is so difficult, but it is one of the most common that I have seen.
I wish I had a quick cheat to remember which one is which (Maybe you do?) but I really don’t.
Desert is a noun, and a verb. You can desert someone (verb), or you can leave a person in the desert (noun).
Dessert is just something sweet that we all wish we could eat in excess and never pay the consequences.
Although this is not the first book in the Lucky Marks Mystery series, it is the first one I have read. (I now have the “first” book in my possession, and will be starting it soon!)
Lucky Marks is your classic detective: smart, funny, and a devil-may-care attitude. Lucky finds himself working for a film studio where he is responsible for looking for the skeletons in the actors and actresses closets before the journalists find them. While working there, he gets put on the trail of a director who seems to be a little too interested in his younger actresses. Under-age and no-way-legal actresses, that is.
It does not take long for a dead body to appear on set, and then it gets even more interesting. With a studio full of actors and actresses who could all be suspects, it is time for Lucky to put his skills to the test and find the guilty person, before anyone else gets killed.
And this, my friends, is your lesson for the day…how not to spell anything.
Literally. There is not one single word on this sign 🙂
The lovely English language has several words that can be written two ways, and mean two different things, when used properly, in two different ways. (Yes; more comma-abuse by yours-truly!)
Anymore, or any more? Awhile, or a while?
Anymore is considered a misspelling by many readers, writers, and editors. Most feel that any more is only interchangeable with any longer, and that anymore is an adjective that should never be used. Because they feel it is not a real word. As a note, when I am reading something and see this, it doesn’t make me cringe. When I am editing and see it, I change it to any more.
Awhile should only be used when it can be substituted with ‘for a while’, and still make sense.
“We waited awhile before getting our table.” or “We waited for a while before getting our table.”
This is considered an adverb.
The word ‘while’ can be used as a noun, and in this case you need to say ‘a while’, and not ‘awhile’.
“I just talked to him a while ago.” Saying “I just talked to him for a while ago,” does not make sense. This lets you know it is a noun in this sentence, and not an adverb.
I think most difficult English language situations can be figured out by substituting the word/phrase that is in question, and see if it still makes sense.
What ones trip you up?
Thank you for all of the friend requests, and the friend accepts, and the likes on my page. I have been trying for days to get into my account, but Facebook has locked me out. Because No, my name is not Angelas Opinions, but my website is booksandopinions.com, and my name is indeed Angela.
So they are demanding Proof of my name, which after having my bank account hacked last Tuesday night, and being locked out of all of my money when I was leaving for vacation in less than 36 hours, I gave them my real name, and now they will not let me prove it. They will also not let me submit a picture of my drivers license, but are blocking me because I won’t.
WHAT????
So anyhow….I am working on it, and can still at least accept your friend requests, although I cannot do anything else with my page. Which is really putting a crimp in my business-side of it.
I will get it fixed.
Or I will be creating another account, and asking you all to be my friends again…I am so very sorry…
I want to tell you I loved it; but I can’t. I am not ready to tell you I hated it, either. I tried my best to ignore all of the spoilers and media-hype as I was reading this story, and I think I was fairly successful.
But; life goes on as it always goes on, and I was well beyond distracted with work, daughters, school-things, editing, and oh, yeah: I have not been feeling well for 6+ days now.
So, I will absolutely cut Ms. Harper Lee some slack here. But I do feel that even in my most focused state of mind, I would have found this a bit difficult to read.
When I first started it, it was like a breath of fresh air: someone who wrote because they had to, and it all came natural and nothing sounded forced. But then the point-of-view was changing faster than my teenage daughters change their clothes, or minds, or attitudes; truth-be-told.
At this point I am looking forward to hearing what you thought of it. One passage that I absolutely have to share:
‘Why doesn’t their flesh creep? How can they devoutly believe everything they hear in church and then say the things they do and listen to the things they hear without throwing up? I thought I was a Christian but I’m not. I’m something else and I don’t know what. Everything I have ever taken for right or wrong these people have taught me – these same, these very people. So it’s me, it’s not them. Something has happened to me.’ (Ms. Jean Louise Finch, pg 167, Go Set a Watchman).
Did you love it, or did you hate it?
How difficult is that to say? Try writing it. Possessive nouns, adjectives, and verbs will drive you mad.
They’re is means they are…. But how did we get won’t from will not? How did we make that leap?
The English language is the most difficult language to learn. And now try writing a story in it.
While dealing with your crazy-nutcase-editor who tells you I-before-E and pay attention.
I have 4 pages full of these instances and how to learn them fast, so you can write your book and let your editor do the hard work.
More to come tomorrow!
The third book in the Darkness Trilogy was fantastic! AJ Spencer once again delivered a great book that I could not read fast enough.
Natasha Stoltz has learned the identity of the Serial Killer known as Grimm. What she does with that information will change her life forever.
The first two books were like a game of cat-and-mouse, with Grimm always one step ahead of her. Always taunting, and always getting away.
Natasha will go from FBI agent to living in a world much different than she could have ever expected.
Thought about? Yes. Expected? Never.
This book will have you in its grip right through to the very last page. I personally think it is a wonderful trilogy, but also feel there is an opportunity for some of the characters in these stories to weave their own new stories for us to read.
(The violence in this book is kept to a bare minimum compared to the first two books in the series. It does contain graphic sexual content, so enter at your own risk. But you really want to enter!)
booksandopinions.com 