What's the most interesting writing or writing related job you've ever held? What's the worst or the least interesting writing or writing related job you've ever held?

I ask those questions because I want a better idea of the experiences and interests of you, my good readers. I originally started this little gathering on the Internet hoping to share some of the writing experiences and writing knowledge I have with people interested in knowing it. I can only do that effectively as I get feedback from all of you out there.

My most interesting writing job was as "news editor" of the weekly denominational magazine of a major Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in the town we currently live in. (No accident we live here; we came to go to school here and work at their headquarters. That was many years ago.) I put quotation marks around "news editor" for a reason -- to set it off as a phrase with a unique or different meaning than expected. That has to do with job descriptions and how those jobs work out in the "real world."

My title was "news editor," but the job was actually more "PR" than it was "news." Understandably, the editorial policies and decisions at the magazine were ultimately made a couple of levels above me by the leaders of that particular religious denomination or church. Those church leaders were vary wary of me doing anything that would "hurt" their church efforts. They also were very eager to have me say good things or report positive developments within the church. Hence, I actually did a sort of mix of news and PR for the church -- with heavy emphasis on the "PR" part.

But knowing and working within those restrictions, I really enjoyed the job. I got to do basic news writing and reporting (mostly telephone interviews when I did interviews), and I got to do basic copy editing. I was given the power to make decisions about what would or would not go into the news section of the magazine -- within those denominational restrictions again. My favorite part of the job, actually, was the occasional travel I did to various conferences and religious events -- and the interesting and even the not-so-interesting religious leaders and other people I got to meet.

So what's the most interesting writing job you've ever had? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Awhile ago, I wrote a post about some words in the English language that strike me as sounding "funny," or just bring a smile to my face when I say or hear them. I was looking around the Internet for a decent pair of Nikon binoculars -- and I chuckled. "Nikon" wasn't the word that did it. "Binocular" triggered my chuckle. Something about "binocular" or "binoculars" just sounds funny to me.

Which brings me back to that earlier post here about funny sounding words: How about your candidates for funny sounding words in the English language? What good is a blog about language, words, and writing tips without a little fun with words, I always say.

Leave a comment and share those words that make you chuckle -- or at least smile -- when you hear them.

Remember waaaaay back there in the distant past when writers used such tools as paper, pens, and pencils? (No matter what you may have heard, I am NOT old enough to remember working with a quill or stylus and wax tablet.)

Even today there are serious, successful professional writers who prefer writing their manuscripts longhand. I saw something like that about a recent Pulitzer winner on "CBS Sunday Morning" just a few weeks ago.

Nothing wrong with writing longhand with pen or pencil and paper, if that's what you prefer. Unfortunately, most of my writing presently is blogging -- and it's hard to blog on paper. So I've become accustomed to using a keyboard and computer to write. That make's it seem sort of awkward or "unnatural" for me to use a pen and paper. Besides, I've spent so many DECADES typing on a typewriter or computer keyboard that my penmanship is horrible. I can almost no longer read my own handwriting.

So, my "writing tip" for you today: Schedule some writing time at least once or twice this week to work with pen or pencil (or crayon?) on paper. You may find that simpler, more "intimate" writing practice resonates for you and increases your productivity. If not, it'll probably make you more appreciative of your computer and keyboard.

Maybe the weather this beautiful autumn day is prompting me to make lame analogies (see the last post regarding copy editors), or maybe not. But this seems to be the day for such efforts, so bear with me.

Just as writers need good editors and copy editors to help them into print, so too they need good reference tools for their work. With that in mind, here's my latest lame analogy for today: A good dictionary is the term life insurance policy every writer must own. Do you have one -- a dictionary, that is?

I confess I've gotten lazy and rely on the Merriam-Webster online tools, but really they are just an Internet extension of the company's faithful printed dictionaries. So let's talk about a good PRINTED dictionary a moment.

A good dictionary is like "term" life insurance because it is great when you need it, but it does expire or become outdated eventually. I used to try to buy each new edition of the "Collegiate Dictionary" that M-W publishes periodically. Then I found myself simply keeping the 9th edition a few years. More of an oversight than anything else. My wife the proofreader then got an ongoing freelance gig that required her to have the 10th edition, so we have one of those around the house.

If you lack a good dictionary, you need to get one as soon as you can. If you see no need for a good printed dictionary, you at least ought to find a good online dictionary site, bookmark it, and visit each time you write something.

How about you? Do you have a dictionary you prefer? Why? Which one is it? Online or printed copy? Leave a comment and let us know.

If you think of bad writing, sloppy writing, careless writing -- whatever -- as the blemish on the face of the publishing world, then copy editors would be the "acne treatments" that try to heal or at least "pretty up" that blemish.

Pretty lame analogy, I guess. You might also consider the copy editor to be the "second line of defense" against writing chaos, just behind the proofreader, as it moves toward publication. Point of fact: I have seen the term spelled as either "copyeditor" or "copy editor," and I do not know which (if either) is "correct." Odd, when you consider that copy editors obsess about just such details.

In the typical publishing process -- this is a very general, very broad look at the steps in the sequence -- a manuscript goes from the author to a proofreader, then a copy editor, then a technical editor. At that point it is deemed perfect and ready to get into the pre-press process. Well, as I said, that's a very generalized, very rough description of the sequence. Most probably, large book publishing houses as well as most magazines don't employ proofreaders any more. They leave the proofreading up to the copy editor. (My wife, Shirley, earns a good share of our income as a freelance proofreader, filling the gap that many editors realize exists even when publishers have lost the vision.)

As you can see, then, the copy editor is the person who does much of the fact checking, obsesses over spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, typos, and all the rest of the mechanics. In addition, a good copy editor will either suggest or do small amounts of rewriting to "clean up" obvious problems in a manuscript. This is sacred ground on the part of writers and technical editors, but it is done in some situations. For example, when I was a newspaper copy editor, there would be times on deadline when I would very discreetly rewrite a sentence or paragraph, flagging it for the news editor's attention to discuss with the reporter if there was time.

So -- I no longer keep in close touch with the publishing industry, so I have no idea of the prevalence of copy editing jobs out there. As a writer and a reader, I cringe at published typos and outright factual errors I see sometimes in newspapers, magazines, and books. If publishers are no longer hiring good copy editors and proofreaders, it is a great loss for the reading public.

Anyone out there a copy editor? Proofreader? Leave a comment and inform us.

It's always good to remember that language was probably SPOKEN before it was WRITTEN. Storytellers gathered around campfires in the evenings and told stories long before they developed writing.

I once interviewed some people doing an English translation of the Bible which was designed specifically to be read in public. In addition to working on accurate translations of the biblical books from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, etc., into English, they were trying to "listen" to the words they used and think about how people would hear the translation.

I found that an interesting idea because I've long thought about how words sound. Some words, according to some old comedic "bits," sound inherently funny. Any word that starts with a "Z," according to some of the vaudeville comics of yesteryear, is inherently funny to say. Maybe there's something to that?

I've always thought the word "sconce" has an intriguing sound to it. When I hear "sconce" I think of mystery and fog shrouded castle walls and moors. I know it's just a light mounted on a wall, and generally it's an electric light, not a candle. But I still see mysterious, dramatic images when I hear the word "sconce" said aloud.

What are English some words you react to in a distinct way when you hear them? I'm talking about any word that puzzles you, angers you, cheers you, etc., based solely or mostly on the way it sounds when read or spoken aloud. Leave a comment and let us know your favorite sounding and/or least favorite sounding English words.

Idioms are fun for writers but they make language learning a real challenge for everyone.

I love learning about language, words, and all that relates to writing and speaking. I took two years of Spanish in high school and seriously considered majoring in Spanish in college. When I started college, I found the school's Spanish instructor was a native of Venezuela, and more than half the Spanish class were Basques -- those mysterious and wonderful people who are natives of a mountainous region on the border of Spain and France (I think). One week of understanding nothing beyond the rapidly spoken phrase, "Senor Speer," quickly discouraged my Spanish language pursuit.

I've always been intrigued, though, about linguistics and languages. One of the things I did learn from my rudimentary Spanish studies, and my rudimentary English skills -- as well as two years of Greek in college -- is the importance of idioms: Phrase or expressions that mean something different from what the words actually say. If you aren't a native speaker of a language (in my case that language is English), it is sometimes bewildering to understand the radical differences in meaning a word or phrase has when used idiomatically. For example:

"Yeah, it was a second marriage for him. He brought a lot of baggage into it."

Means something entirely different than:

"Yeah, it was a second marriage for him. He brought a lot of luggage into it."

The words "luggage" and "baggage" are synonyms. But in this idiom, you cannot use them interchangeably. In the first sentence, the guy is carrying a lot of emotional problems, entanglements, any number of difficulties into his second marriage. In the second sentence, he apparently owns a lot of suitcases, briefcases, etc., that he can share with his new wife.

One of the real difficulties for anyone learning a language is learning the abundance of idioms in that language. As a writer, if you are writing in a language you're learning, you would do well to run your writing (see -- another idiom) past a native speaker to check out (another idiom) your idioms to be sure they ring true (one last idiom).

Some months ago, I wrote of a site called ThereTheir.com -- DON'T WRITE LIKE AN IDIOT. I had forgotten about that site until one of my readers came here searching for it and left a comment discussing the site.

When I say this is a language site that opens by berating "idiots" and language misuse, that's just what I mean. Go look for yourself. If you can't get there right how, allow me to quote the site's opening paragraph:

"You may not notice it yourself, but if you don't know the difference between YOUR and YOU'RE, you come across as an idiot whenever you use them. That's right, the difference is obvious, and everyone sees it but you (and the other idiots). They are not interchangeable, and neither are THERE, THEIR, and THEY'RE, nor any of the examples explained below."

I confess I probably am not QUITE that straightforward or "harsh" about grammar and language errors, but I've often felt that way. In a world where "political correctness" seems to reign, perhaps we need to be more direct and call an idiocy an idiocy. When I wrote about the site the first time (that was here), I see the site owner has added my all-time language pet peeve: "THEN#THAN."

Go back to the site when you have time and look around. It'll help you sharpen your language skills, and it offers a degree of solace to those of us battling for correct word usage, grammar, and all the other matters which SHOULD be important to writers.

I've written a few parodies in my day, usually something short as in a blog post. Parodies can be fun and they can be very effective.

A well-written parody can be an extremely effective way of making a point in a way that moves people to action, brings them to tears, fills them with anger. A column in our local newspaper last February used Valentine's Day to poke fun at those ultra-conservative religious folks who see "satanic attacks" and other forms of deviltry in celebrating such widely accepted holidays as Christmas. In this case, the writer made up and elaborate history of St. Valentine, of the original intent of the holiday being one of honoring God, but condemning modern Valentine's Day observers for "taking St. Valentine out of St. Valentine's Day," a broad shot at all who sound the alarm over "taking Christ out of Christmas."

Whatever your "beliefs" about St. Valentine or Christmas, the parody was written well and did an effective job. In fact, over a three week period following that publication, the newspaper carried a couple of letters from angry readers who were passionately angry at the mockery the column made of Valentine's Day -- they never "got it" that the whole thing was a parody.

Any subject that generates widespread interest, especially if it engenders strong emotion, is fair game for a good parody. You can poke fun at social institutions, such as religion and politics. You can poke fun at self-help gurus, self-help programs, AA, drug treatment centers or any sort of drug rehab, AAA, colleges, customs, sports -- the list of targets is endless.

Have any of you written successful parodies you'd like to share with us? Leave a comment and tell us about it. What are some of your tips for writing parody?

You cannot watch television, read a magazine, do ANYTHING on the Internet, or even just take a walk around most towns without being bombarded by words and their meanings -- words and meanings that shape the way we actually see and regard the world we live in.

Take the city of Las Vegas as an example. The concept of Vegas vacations have changed over the last few decades, largely because of the decisions Las Vegas merchants and the business community there make to reinvent the city. People think about Las Vegas in a certain way, whether they live there or simply travel there for vacations or business. And that perception has been consciously changed regarding the entire city and surrounding area throughout the life of the city.

In the 1950s and '60s, Las Vegas changed from a sleepy desert town to an entertainment/gambling destination. In the 1960s especially, glamorous entertainers and big-name acts were in vogue, i.e., Frank Sinatra and his "Rat Pack" were hot.

But during the 1970s and '80s, as I understand it, the mega hotels with games and a family resort-like atmosphere began to grow. Gambling and casinos never stopped, of course, because that's where the real money is in Vegas. Yet business interests in Vegas changed their advertising and turned (tried to turn) the city into a family fun destination.

Then came the 1990s and recent efforts in the early 2000s -- "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" was the slogan that took over, and it was suddenly a fun Sin City again. Currently, most of the advertising I've seen for Las Vegas seems not really clearly defined. They want to keep the "sin city" draw, but they want to appeal to a broader group of tourists, too. The most recent television ads I've seen for Las Vegas show a rather bizarre, screwy bunch of people self-destructing in a beauty salon, with so little identification to Las Vegas that I almost always forget what the ad is for until near the end. (In my opinion, it's a very lame ad campaign, but they never asked for my opinion.)

What's the point of all this? The point is that millions of dollars in revenue and the entire perception of this city of several million people rises and falls on the words used and the way those words are used to portray them. Is that good or bad? Good or bad, it illustrates the reality that words and the way those words are used actually shape reality, or at least our perception of reality.

Be thoughtful about using words today. As a writer, you have great power at your fingertips as they dance across the keyboard. Use that power for good, not evil.

In my last post I made reference to the sad plight our language and our nation may be in if we permit politicians and others in prominence or leadership in the country ignore or arbitrarily change the meaning of our language. I don't want you to think I mean language never, or never should, change the meaning of words and phrases.

The English language, as with all "living," i.e., currently spoken, read, and/or written, languages is constantly changing. But that change only happens as people USE the language, try out changes in meaning or spelling or whatever, and then spread that change. Language meaning or usage does not change "overnight," it changes over time.

For example, look at the word "Hoover." During the early part of the 20th century, the manufacturing company that created and builds Hoover vacuum cleaners became so successful in Great Britain that the word "Hoover" became a British idiom for vacuum cleaners and for vacuuming, and even for doing something quickly and thoroughly. It is still an accepted expression in Britain to say something like: "Hoover the upstairs hallway, would you dear?" or "Wow. He really Hoovered that plate full of pasta didn't he?"

(I have personally heard the term "Hoover" used this way as a noun or verb in the United States.)

Would anyone in Britain or the U.S., however, understand you if you were to use "Oreck" or "Electrolux" or "Eureka" or "Dyson," etc., this way? Of course not.

Language has meaning. Words have meaning. That meaning may or may not change, but such change when it comes generally happens slowly as many speakers of the language accept or reject a particular change.

I have another blog, Just a Guy Who Reads the Papers, where I sound off loudly about various politicians and political foibles. I have tried to keep this site very "apolitical." I think I have succeeded pretty well.

But when I heard the latest idiocy concerning Republican leadership and their "truth squad" attacking Sen. Barack Obama for using the expression "lipstick on a pig" -- they accused him of making a sexist remark aimed at Gov. Sarah Palin -- I was aghast. The account I read said the accusation was being made by a woman who is a former GOP governor of Massachusetts. It appears something was lacking in her education regarding language usage and idioms. The phrase "lipstick on a pig" is a commonly used phrase referring to trying to make something appear different than it actually is. It has NO sexist references to it. Which brings me to the point of this post/"rant": Have we truly lost all touch with reality when it comes to language meaning and usage??

Some years ago, I decided I had found a great way to invest some extra money and make my fortune. (It didn't work.) I took $3,000 I had saved up, went to a futures broker, and opened an account to trade in wheat futures. In the course of this misadventure, two things happened: I learned enough insider "lingo" about futures and commodity trading that I could have written a convincing story about it, and I not only lost my money, I ended up several thousand dollars in the hole.

A great deal of the problems I had with futures investing stemmed from my ignorance of basic terminology. I had read some books about the futures markets, I knew enough to buy and sell contracts, I knew supposedly how to protect myself from sudden market ups and downs. At least I THOUGHT I knew all these things. When the markets actually began to shift rapidly, I was just slow enough to react as I fumbled around and tried to figure out what was going on that I lost my shirt. (See? Another common expression in the English language. I still have my shirt, but metaphorically I "lost" it, along with several thousand dollars.)

If our political leadership in this country, for whatever political party, has become so totally ignorant that "lipstick on a pig" is lambasted as a sexist remark, with apparently no understanding of the idiom itself, then I fear for the Republic.

Language has meaning. When we or our leaders choose to ignore that meaning and make it whatever we or they wish it to be, then we all suffer the consequences.

Whether you're writing fiction or trying to keep the attention of college freshman physics students, take a word of advice my son once gave me: "Blow something up or set something on fire."

In my son's case, he found promising or even implying that good, attentive little students would be allowed to burn something down or blow something up ALWAYS kept their interest. He was a graduate assistant at the time working on his M.S. degree and could get away with it.

In Janet Evanovich's case, it's just almost a trademark move you'll find in her series novels. I've never met Ms. Evanovich, but I would love to. She seems to be a really fun person. Her books are extremely well written and the five or six I've read are funny beyond belief. I challenge you to read one of her Stephanie Plum novels through without literally "laughing out loud" at least two or three times.

In every book of hers that I've read, any time the action slows or the characters seem to be standing around talking -- WHAM! A building blows up, or a car explodes and burns into a charred cinder. I'm not kidding. I cannot recall having read a more hilarious, fun opening for a novel than the first 7-10 pages of her novel "Ten Big Ones." I would highly recommend you read any of her novels in the Stephanie Plum series you can get your hands on. (Caution: They are absolutely "Mature Content" stuff. But we're all big boys and girls here, aren't we?)

If I wore a hat, I'd tip it to the lady. Okay, I do wear an occasional ball cap to keep the rain off my balding head. I'll tip that to Janet Evanovich.

So if you're writing fiction and you feel your characters are getting boring, if the action is just about gone and you need an extra little "spark" to stir the story line up a bit -- burn something down or blow something up. I guarantee you, you'll surprise yourself even. It's a great cure for writer's block.

I haven't posted as often as I would like in recent weeks. I've been preoccupied with a flurry of luxurious European cruises, when I haven't been too busy enjoying my hobbies of snowboarding down Mt. Everest and skydiving over the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Yeah, this adventurous writing lifestyle is so wonderful I can barely keep up with myself.

In reality, I've been keyboarding my stubby fingers down to the first knuckle and acquiring permanent repetitive motion damage to the right side of my body trying to generate some ongoing Internet income through blogging, article writing, and affiliate marketing. (I'm serious about the damage to my right wrist, forearm, bicep, and shoulder. I'm not sure if the "permanent" part is accurate.)

If you want drama and excitement, try marriage and family rearing in today's economy. Thankfully, the family part of that is behind me. The young'uns are well into their 30s and self-sustaining now. In fact, both are doing well. It won't be too many years until their mother and I rely on them to find us a nice "home."

Writing may be one of the most boring, humdrum parts of my life. Most of the writing I do involves cranking out large numbers of words in blog posts or articles focused on products I am trying to sell online via affiliate marketing.

If you are one of the fortunate few among my regular readers who have successfully written books, I congratulate you. I know, too, that the excitement of creating characters and telling stories is only a small part of the just-plain-dogged-determination-and-hard-work you put in to write, sell, and market those books. Good for you.

And good for any of you reading my words who make the job of writing your own. Even at it's most mundane, it still beats W*RK, doesn't it?

Certainly the first "writers" were storytellers who "spoke" their stories. From there, written language developed, and practically since the very birth of writing we have had ad copy writers around, haven't we? That's probably an exaggeration. I don't honestly know when the first recorded ad copy was created, but I know from studying history that every civilization from which we have any sort of written records has left behind ad copy.

That alone should convince you that written words have power. They can produce everything from invention to emotion. Written words inform us and persuade us. They help us share our thoughts, hopes, and dreams with others. We can use them to manipulate the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of others. Written words, combined with carefully spoken words, can sell Fenphedra diet pills and they can elect presidents. Ancient kingdoms and modern pharmaceutical companies alike have risen and have fallen based on written words.

Think carefully, as a writer, about words and the power of written words. Use that power for good and not for evil. Or, if you choose to use it for evil, hey, at least sharpen your basic grammar skills and do it right!

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