by Jamie Chavez | Jul 3, 2018 | Words & Language
A friend of mine asked this question a few weeks ago when one of her beta readers was looking over a manuscript she and I had worked on a lot and felt we had nailed. The respected friend suggested, “It might be better to change raised to reared. My understanding is...
by Jamie Chavez | May 7, 2018 | Books You Might Like, Words & Language
Gosh, I love a good word. I love one as much now as I did when I was nine and learned the meaning of the word intercourse. (It means the connection or dealings between persons or groups, or an exchange, a discussion, especially of thoughts or feelings. Of course.) I...
by Jamie Chavez | Apr 9, 2018 | Words & Language
Kids, we need to talk. You’ve just got to stop with the locking eyes. They locked eyes. Their eyes locked. It’s cliché, it’s overdone, it’s so stinkin’ melodramatic it makes me want to throw a fit in the middle of your manuscript. So I’m doing it here instead. A...
by Jamie Chavez | Mar 26, 2018 | Words & Language
A friend of mine wrote: I’ve never been able to decide for certain whether it’s “April Fool’s Day” (i.e., a day belonging to a fool or fools) or “April Fools Day” (i.e., a day celebrating all the fools in the world).* What’s your opinion? I confess I’d never really...
by Jamie Chavez | Mar 12, 2018 | Words & Language
The day the Irishman was born, his mother watched the St. Patrick’s Day parade from her room in the Rotunda Hospital overlooking O’Connell Street and the Parnell monument. I’d love to be in Dublin for this parade, although they say some of the best St. Patrick’s Day...