A good writer knows the difference between a gerund and an appositive.
A great writer knows that knowing that is irrelevant to good writing.
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I didn't know what a gerund was for years. Mrs Blystone (née Emerson) said she taught us in 7th grade at Bethel Christian School, but I must have missed that day.
[2014-02-18]
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It occurred to me that conservatives often think it is as important to know why as it is to know how.
Examples…
* Being a good Christian means not only knowing I am saved, but why.
* Being a good American means knowing the shape of my country and the shapes of other countries and why they are important (or dangerous or irrelevant) to my country.
* Being a good musician means knowing why one note is preferred to another.
* Being a good writer means knowing why one word is preferred to another.
This leads to all sorts of ridiculous maxims because we look for them where they don't belong, eg, "Good writing is good spelling" (or the correct number of paragraphs, topic sentences, etc).
Because we are more comfortable finding something to measure.
I submit that you can be a fine Christian, American, musician or writer and not have the brains God gave a turnip.
People who are uninspired Christians, Americans, musicians or writers often compensate by insisting that why and how are interchangeable.
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Now, maybe my classification of this type of person as “conservative” is unfair, not sure about that, but seems I’m on to something taxonomically helpful. (And I am in some things myself conservative.)
[2014-02-20]
c0
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