Tag Archives: #wordsmith

#tbt #tbThursday

This one is from 2017 and still holds true for me to this day…

Title: WORDS THAT MAKE ME SAY “ICK”

I could write a dictionary here, folks. Truly.

Okay. Words have power.

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Anyone who’s ever been bullied or taunted as a child ( or even as an adult) knows this in their soul. Words can spear you straight through the heart, cut you off at the knees, and slice into your gut.

Late comic George Carlin made a million bucks doing a routine called the 7 Dirty Words. In 1972, he said these 7 words in a comedy club, forever immortalizing them:

Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

It is now 2017.  45 years later than when Carlin first spoke those words in public. Since that time, society has shifted in what it deems inappropriate language use. Even just a few years ago you wouldn’t hear commercial television characters uttering anything worse than an occasional “Crap!” as an invective or a curse. In a recent show on NBC, I heard two characters say the second and last words above before the first commercial break.  Cable television has no such restrictions on language and I can tell you truthfully, I have heard every one of the above words – and a few more I hate – said without a flinch by the actors.

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In America, we live by the law of freedom of speech. It’s a good freedom. We can share opinions that differ, dialogues that intrigue us, and books that elevate and entertain us. And while that basic freedom is challenged every single day, it still stands strong.

But…

There are some words, expressions, and phrases that shouldn’t be said aloud. Remember, words have power to hurt, maim, and incite.  As a writer of romantic fiction, there are some words I would never use in a book. You probably think those words are slang ones for things related to the sex act. You would be wrong. I have no problem using words – slang or otherwise – to describe anatomy. What I do have is trouble using words that are mainly pejoratives. Words that do not belong in public speech or on the pages of books.

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So…words that make me go “ick.” In no particular order, here they are:

twat, cunt, retard,  any variation of the “N” word ( I can’t even write it, it’s so hateful). Any word that is derogatory to an ethnic group ( kike, wop, etc. You know the words I mean) I truly hatehatehate the word MOIST. I shudder when I write it.

Every word mentioned above ( except for moist, because that’s just my own particular hatefest word) is a pejorative. A word that makes me quiver and quake with anger, because tit is used in a totally negative way. I see no positive translations in any of those words.

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Words that DON’T make me go ick? Any word that falls into this category:

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‘Nuff said.

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#musingsonamonday 1.15.2024

So it’s the second week of January and I still haven’t finished my upcoming book, LOVE MATCH (HEAVEN’S MATCHMAKER, book 2).

This is the slowest I’ve ever written and today I started wondering why. You all know I plot my books, so it’s not like I’m sitting here, waiting for inspiration to take over and get my fingers tapping on those keys. I know where the story is going and how it will end.

But for some reason, I just haven’t been able to get there as quickly as I have in the past.

And then, today, it came to me.

PLOT HOLE.

Yup. I’m missing something key in the story and just realized what it is, so HOPEFULLY, now that I know this I can continue writing the rest of the story and then go back in edits and change it up so that the beginning and end match.

Sometimes you gotta ruminate on stuff to see why there’s a problem.

I guess I ruminated enough for this one, LOL.

Be well ~ Peg

Oh, and if you haven’t read book one yet, here ya go: MIX AND MATCH

Divorced and lonely, nurse Jasmine Green retains the services of Heaven, NH’s very own successful matchmaker, Olivia Joyner. The bar scene and dating apps give Jasmine hives and Liv’s reputation is stellar. If anyone can help guide her through the quagmire that dating has become, Olivia can.

Architect Donovan Boyd is ready to settle down. He wants the kind of marriage his parents have; long lasting, filled with love, children, and joy. But even after a year of living and working in Heaven, he’s still considered an outsider by many. Finding the type of woman he’s looking for is hard in the tight-knit community. Retaining Olivia Joyner to help him find his forever love is one of the smartest things he’s done, especially after she sets him up with Jasmine Green.

But the red-haired, green-eyed beauty wants a different kind of marriage from the one Donovan considers ideal.

Can these two strong-willed people learn to compromise so they can both find their happily ever after? Or will their relationship forever be relegated to the friend zone?

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Photo of the day, day 29

I only put the top of this trophy up as a pic because the trophy itself is 3.5 feet tall and would have taken over the entire picture.

This is Erin’s trophy from when she won the New Hampshire state spelling bee when she was in middle school. Our entire family traveled to Washington, DC that year to watch her compete in the national Scripps SPelling Bee. While she didn’t win, it was a top five day for our proud family and for me!

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#SaturdaySeven #L&SReviews

As a writer, I never like to give advice on writing because I don’t feel I’ve suffered enough for my art yet. And yes, I know how pretentious that sounds. Hee Hee. But I do listen to the advice of writers who are much better than I am and probably always will be. So, here are my 7 favorite pieces of writing advice from what I consider masters of the written word.

1. “You fail only if you stop writing” ~Ray Bradbury

2. “A writer never finds the time to write. A write makes it. If you don’t have the drive, the discipline, and the desire, then you can have all the talent in the world and you aren’t going to finish a book” ~Nora Roberts

3. “Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself… It’s a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.” ~ Harper Lee

4. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

5. “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ~ Toni Morrison

6. “Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.”  ~William Faulkner

7. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”  ~ Stephen King

This is a weekly blog for writers. Click this link to see 7 other things writers are talking about. Saturday Seven

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