The Girdle of Melian

appy New Year! Today is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day! January 6 question - Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books? The awesome co-hosts for the January 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren , J Lenni Dorner, Gwen Gardner Sandra Cox, and Louise - Fundy Blue! A good question! It's difficult to describe the answer, though. There's just something about the flow of words that needs to be just right. Not too fast, not too slow, not too much tell, no grammatical errors (I keep seeing way too many misplaced modifiers (e.g. "Holding the ball, his thoughts wandered to the last goal he'd scored" -- as if his thoughts are holding the ball!)), and so on. Part of the trouble is also reading on the Kindle app compared with reading a paperback or hardcover: I can skim more easily with a "real...

appy New Year! Today is Tolkien's Birthday! "To celebrate Tolkien’s twelfty-ninth (129th) birthday on 3 January 2021, The Tolkien Society invites all Tolkien fans to raise a toast to the Professor. Let everyone know what you’ll be drinking and where in the comments below, and share your pictures on social media using #TolkienBirthdayToast. The Toast After Bilbo left the Shire on his eleventy-first birthday in The Lord of the Rings, Frodo toasted his uncle’s birthday each year on 22 September. J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein on 3 January 1892, and we invite you to celebrate the birthday of this much loved author by raising a glass at 9pm your local time. The toast is simply: The Professor! All you need to do is stand, raise a glass of your choice of drink (not necessarily alcoholic), and say the words “The Professor” before taking a sip (or swig, if that’s more appropriate for your drink). Sit and enjoy the rest of your drink. Note that we do not condon...

  ere is this year’s  Annual Books Read Statistics and Thoughts Post ! Here are the statistics for 2019 ,    2018 ,  2017 ,  2016 ,  2015 ,  2014 ,  2013 ,  2012 ,  2011  (and the  list ),  2010 ,  2009  (and the  list ). Books Read :  323 , including the following: 81  novels 37  MG and YA 60  board books 87  essays and non-fiction and comics 30  short stories, plays, and sample chapters 28  poems I can see the differences already: Having finished school in July, and having more time to read at night as the kids grow older, means I’ve had more time to read novels, even while keeping up with my own writing! 2019: 36 novels, 181 board books, MG, and YA (plus ongoing rereads), 31 essays and non-fiction and comics, 14 short stories and scripts and plays, 16 poems 2018: 66 novels, 133 board books (plus ongoing rereads), 27 essays and non-fiction and ...