Category Archives: Writings about Writing

Thoughts and tips about the craft

The Nitty-Gritty of Writing: Good versus Well

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This is a word usage post that I’ve wanted to write for a while, but have hesitated doing so because I felt like a hypocrite. I am very aware that I constantly misuse these words and swap them around, mostly out of sheer laziness. However, in my defense, I attempt to be correct when I’m writing. When I’m talking, laziness prevails.

So what is the difference between these words, you ask?

Good: an adjective or a noun. It means to be proper, right, of high quality, morally excellent, full of worth.

Well: an adjective or adverb. It can also mean right, full of worth, etc; or healthy, thorough, or with positive intentions.

Let’s look at some examples. You meet a friend on the street, and he says: “Hey, Joe, how are you?” You reply with “I’m good.”

To be completely correct, you should say “I’m well.” What you are describing is your state of being, and well is an adverb that modifies the verb of the sentence (which is “am,” the first person form of our “to be” verb). Good is usually an adjective, and in this case would be modifying you as a person, not what you are doing.

“I’m good” in this case actually means that you are proper and right (as opposed to immoral or wrong). Of course, if that’s your intent – to communicate how morally superior you are at that moment – then saying you’re good would be fine.

For another example I’ll use Glinda the Good Witch. (Side note: I’ve seen The Wizard of Oz and Oz the Great and Powerful close to 5,324,658 times. Which has nothing to do with anything, but I’ve been wanting an excuse to say that).

Anyway, Glinda’s title, “The Good,” doesn’t mean that she’s feeling fine that day, or that things are going great in her life. In this case, good describes her as a right and proper person – the opposite of wicked.

If she were Glinda the Well, not only would this sound strange, but it would totally change the meaning. Well in this case could mean the opposite of inept or the opposite of ill. While Glinda is neither ill nor inept, she wants to emphasize her opposition to the Wicked Witches; therefore, she is Good.

So, in daily life – or at least in your daily writing – remember to differentiate between good and well.

Well = not sick, functioning poorly, or otherwise behaving negatively.

Good = not the Wicked Witch of the West.

And that’s good.

End of Summer Update – My Writing Projects

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So here it is, the end of the summer, and what have I accomplished? Well, more than I thought I would, and less than I thought I would.

To be fair, let me explain – I have no kids, and I do not work in the education field. Therefore, summer is no different from the rest of the year as far as my schedule or time commitments. All that changes is that it’s hotter. And humid. I hate humidity. But that’s another topic….

So, back to the current status of my writing projects. Here’s what I’m finding myself doing:

Editing

The current millstone around my neck is book one of my fantasy trilogy The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala. As I (slowly) progress through this editing/rewriting/more editing phase, I’m discovering that I’m very much a first-draft lover. I love cranking out that fine new tale, in all its roughness and over-verbosity, getting to know the characters and their shiny new world.

Editing, revising, and rewriting is a lot like mowing the lawn – an apparently never-ending task, boring, unpleasant in every way. But I like the results. Mowing the lawn is necessary if you don’t want your yard to look like an abandoned property, and editing and revising your story is necessary if you don’t want it to look like it was written by a second-grader with no talent.

But I’m happy to report that I’m past (most) of the parts of book one that needed the heaviest re-writes (I hope). Right now I’m doing more editing and revising that full-out re-writing; it’s a lot more like weed-eating the edges rather than mowing the whole stupid yard.

Writing

This is the stuff I enjoy. I’m working on the first draft of the second Light-Whisperers book, albeit sporadically. I’m trying to focus my time and energies on the revising of book one for the next month or so. I’m also still working out some major plot points of book two, and since I’m a big-time plotter, I’m not in a huge hurry to get to that blank spot in my outline.

I’ve also started working on a short story for a contest. It’s fantasy, of course. The challenge here is to keep it short. I’m one of those odd people who can bang out 100,000 words with (relative) ease, but I struggle when it comes to keeping it under 5,000 words. My “short stories” in my college English classes were usually small novellas.

In the blogging realm, I am feeling very accomplished because as of the time of this writing, I have several future entries done (full or in part). This saves me from that last-minute panic of “ohmygosh I publish every Wednesday morning and it’s now 11pm Tuesday and I have nothing written.” So now I can relax and publish panic-free for the next few weeks until I use up my back-stock and have to start writing again.

More editing

I am now also marketing myself as a freelance copy editor and proof-reader. I figure why not put my inner grammar nazi to good use? I’ve put up a page outlining what I do. Contact me if you’re needing a second pair of eyes for that last-minute polish, and please help spread the word!

So that’s been my summer. Writing, editing, heat, and humidity. And mowing the lawn. How was your summer?

Found Words

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Words are everywhere.

Sometimes they show up unexpectedly. Sometimes they dance, demanding to be noticed.

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Sometimes they’re so common and disguised in the bustle of everyday life that even if they danced, no one would see it.

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Sometimes they’re hiding in plain sight.

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Sometimes they seem like just so much useless clutter. Sometimes they’re artfully arranged, full of hope and meaning.

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Where have you found words lately?

My Superpower

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I am entering this blog entry into a contest by Positive Writer called “You are a Writer.” Check out his blog for links to many other inspiring stories!

 

I’ve always loved stories—the more fantastical, the better. Alien planets, magical worlds, the supernatural living among us—I like it all.

I would wish, sometimes, that I could live in one of those stories. It’s not that I hated my life—I had a wonderful childhood, loving parents, all my basic needs met and a few luxuries on the side. A great environment to grow up in, but nothing special, or so I thought at the time.

I wanted to be special. To be the one who opened the wardrobe door and discovered Narnia. Or woke up in Oz and saved the day.

I wanted to fly with the hidden angel wings on my back. Or wield the magic sword. Or be the holder of the key to the secret land of the unicorns. I played games, and wrote stories, and read stories, and wished I was something special.

Why couldn’t I have a cool superpower like one of the X-Men? How come all the hidden trails in the woods always dead-ended at the edge of the highway instead of taking me to a magical fairy realm? No hole in the ground ever led to Wonderland, no ring I put on ever made me invisible. Nothing special.

Then suddenly one day, not so very long ago, I realized that I was wrong. All these years, daydreaming about things that didn’t exist, were not futile fancies or a waste of time. All this time, I’d been honing my magical talent, my special power.

I could tell stories. I could think of worlds and people that had never existed before, and never ever would if I didn’t think of them and give them life. I could create the places I longed to visit, the amazing creatures I longed to see, and share them with other people.

I’m a writer. That’s my superpower.

I have a mind, and a voice, and a pen. And I can use them to create magic or save the day.

You have a mind, and a voice, and a pen. What’s your superpower?