WORDING: CANNOT

Do or do not, there is no CANNOT.

I don’t like the word CANNOT. Not because of its connotations of being unable to do something/anything/whatever. I just don’t like the look of the word.

I’ve always been more of a CAN’T kind of guy.

CAN’T is the contraction of CANNOT. It’s supposed to be informal, but maybe I just didn’t grow up all hoity toity. CANNOT has always looked like a rotten carrot to me.

I tend to use CANNOT when I have an angry character, someone being stern.

YOU CANNOT HAVE DESERT. HAVE A ROTTEN CARROT INSTEAD.

vs.

I’M SORRY YOU CAN’T HAVE DESSERT BECAUSE OF YOUR TOOTH ACHE.

But there are times where you should use CAN NOT, with the space between. It’s when it comes before a phrase that begins with NOT.

YOU CAN NOT ONLY HAVE DESSERT, BUT A BIG HUG, TOO.

(Sometimes you need a big hug).

FREE SHORT STORY: THE WEAPON OF SURVIVAL

Dear Potential Reader,

I’d like to share with you my fantasy short story THE WEAPON OF SURVIVAL, about a young woman under the apprenticeship of a man who protects the town from dangerous beasts.

CLICK HERE TO READ

I intend to post one free short story every month. Check back every First Friday of the Month for a Free-to-read short story.

The young woman in this story is Selma, a character I’ve written quite a few tales about and plan to write quite a few more. This will mark the first publication of one of her short stories, though it is not the first I wrote, nor the first of her many adventures. So, I will apologize if it seems like you’re missing something.

Hope you enjoy.

All the best,

DAN JIRE

WRITING TIPS: DELETE THE LAST WORDS

We have a need to finish what we started. But sometimes, finishing that sentence before the end of a writing session is a death sentence to a story.

Why?

Because when we come back the next day, we’re no longer in synch with the story. Our mood has changed, our energy is different.

We were in it the day before, what happened?

We closed a thought.

Leaving a thought open by not completing the last sentence in a writing session is a great way to trigger the synch the following day.

Becuase you’ll read: Then Jeff left the house, slamming

And you’ll remember what he was slamming . . .the door.

I don’t know where I first heard this tip, but it is one I forget too often. If you can’t finish a story or a chapter, but have to get back into that world, deleting the last few words has helped me a lot in a pinch. I just have to remember to do it.

Want more writing tips? Check back every last Wednesday of Every Month.

WORDING: MOIST

Do you know someone that hates the word MOIST?

You’re not alone.

But it’s not me. I will always equate the word MOIST with fresh brownies or a delicious cake. Moist is the opposite of dry and stale. But other people think of gross bodily fluids being moist or hate the way it sounds ‘M-OY-STUH’.

So, it’s a word I’ve tried to learn to be careful with, mostly around my wife. She shudders when I say things like, it was perfectly moist!

It’s good to know if there is a word that triggers people, especially readers, because you wouldn’t want to put them off because of word choice. But now knowing the reaction most people have to the word MOIST, I like to throw it in to the scenes I want to be disgusting. It brings out the sadist in me.

WORDING is an ongoing series of posts on Words I love, misuse, overuse, and/or hate.

FREE SHORT STORY: THE BONES

Dear Potential Reader,

You are about to stumble upon one of the tales of THE LADY aka THE HATCHBACK WOMAN. It is not the first of her stories but one of many. This particular one has an old man stumble upon the strange opportunity to get around, after years of being confined to his lonely home.

CLICK HERE TO READ

THE BONES is one of many short stories that are featured in the upcoming short story collection DEADLY WISHES due out sometime in 2022. More on that as details become available.

I intend to post one free short story every month. Check back every First Friday of the Month for a Free-to-read short story.

Of the forty or so HATCHBACK WOMAN stories, this one has always resonated with family and friends, and I hope you all will enjoy it as well.

All the best,

DAN JIRE