WTF you say? I visited the Vancouver Airport this weekend with a friend. He took me around to see the heritage buildings that my Grandmother would have worked in during WWII. It was an amazing experience. I had only ever seen the buildings from a distance, and they had already impressed me. But up close they really brought the history alive. I could almost see the men and women busy at work on PBYs and B17s. I was especially happy to see that what I wrote from imagination and photographs really felt true after experiencing the setting in person. I’m jazzed to write more now.
But what does that have to do with a Beaver you say? Well… after the tour we went to a local restaurant called the Flying Beaver and they gave me a Frequent Beaver card. I normally turn down frequent customer cards. I just can’t commit. But how could I pass up the opportunity to be a Frequent Beaver?
Writing Exercise:
I always thought I had great grammar skills. However, it was recently pointed out that when I write something I am passionate about the ideas come out too quickly for me to be a good technical writer. Then when I edit my own work, my brain corrects all the mistakes as I read, preventing me from correcting them on the page. Arrrghh. My mistakes come out most frequently when using gerunds to begin a sentence.
Choose a least favourite grammar rule, and use it hard. Spend ten minutes researching the rule on your favourite grammar site, then another ten composing five sentences using that rule. The sentences could be practical or silly. The repetition should help you commit the proper use of that bit of grammar. Once you have your five sentences, choose one and use it as a jump-off point for a story. Aim to write an additional ten minutes being inspired by your grammatically perfect sentence. (I’m off to write five sentences using verbs that end in “ing”.) Happy Writing.
composeconceivecreate 