Category Archives: Writing

Progress on my fantasy themed novel.

Writing

Write your novel with US words and spelling, they said.

I had no idea that so many word variations existed between Australia and the U.S. Just lately, I’ve been thinking about this subject and, while I was willing to drop the odd ‘u’ and swap ‘s’ and ‘z’, I know I couldn’t adopt all the other words. If there should be complaints in the reviews (assuming I get that far), then I will simply issue an American version. Thanks Susan, for making me think about this some more!

Susan Lattwein's avatarSusan Lattwein

So I tried, I really did.

After all, Australian television has so many American shows and sit-coms, right?

All I needed to do was make a few adjustments –  no ‘u’ in ardour, behaviour, colour, honour, glamour, flavour, labour, neighbour, odour, valour, vapour, favourite  …

I’d change words like centre, litre, theatre to center, liter, and theater; and replace the odd ‘s’ with a ‘z’.

American and Australian language has a LOT of similarities. However, I ended up changing more words than I expected –

thongs Poor thongs…

Gravel became road metal

Car park  > parking lot

Windscreen > windshield

Boot > trunk

Bonnet  > hood

Lift (building) > elevator

Toilet > washroom, restroom (so much nicer!)

Chips > french fries

Serviette > napkin

Restaurant bill > restaurant check

Bucket > pail

Verandah > porch or deck

Wardrobe > cupboard

Door frame > door jam

Jumper > sweater

Singlet > talk top…

View original post 178 more words

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Writing

Whom v Who.

This is hilarious! I love Rowan Atkinson, especially as Mr Bean.

[uploaded to YouTube by fammka, who says ‘I am not the author of this film. The sketch comes from “Not The Nine o’Clock News” show and stars Rowan Atkinson.’]

And an interesting article announcing the impending death of whom – since no-one wants to sound like a pompous twerp. For Whom the Bell Tolls The inexorable decline of America’s least favorite pronoun.

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Book Review

A Children’s Book: Lily’s Wish

Cover image from the publisher's website

Cover image from the publisher’s website

My copies of Barbara’s wonderful children’s book, Lily’s Wish, arrived in todays mail. Naturally, I read it but it caught me out  because I read it like an adult. I didn’t take the time to drink in the delightful pencil and watercolour drawings on that first pass, as a child would.  Reaching the last sentence, I realised I had missed something important and I had. I had overlooked the very thing that makes this book so special – Lily’s gift to her grandma.

This is what Barbara’s publisher, New Frontier Publishing, has to say about Lily’s Wish.

 

Lily’s Wish
Written by Barbara Pyett and illustrated by Serena Geddes
Paperback
ISBN: 9781921042829
32 pages
Reading Age: 4 – 8
Release Date: January 31, 2012

Lily has a special Christmas wish, but only one person can make her wish come trye [sic: that’s a worry!]. She writes him a letter and another and another. He writes back, but will he grant her wish? Do you believe he can? Barbara Pyett’s magical Christmas tale about a selfless young girl and her inspirational wish is brought to life by Serena Geddes’ delightful illustrations.

Here is a peek inside – I think I’m allowed to do this for the purposes of reviewing, even in my poor fashion.

lilyIgnore all the shadows on the page – that’s just me – and I didn’t want to squash the book flat, and risk spoiling the brand new look. But you get the idea, the illustrations are gorgeous, all pink and pretty.lily2
Lily’s Wish can be purchased from the publisher ($9.99 plus postage) or online book stores such as Fishpond ($14.95, free postage Australia)

I love Barbara’s dedication to her grandchildren, and to all grandchildren separated by distance from their grandmothers. If you have children in the reading age range (4 – 8) then you can’t go past this as the perfect Christmas present, either in its own right or as a stocking-filler.

[Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in Lily’s Wish, its publisher, or Fishpond.]

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