An insightful short video tip.
Via the "Ill Doc".

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     Adjectives are words that qualify or limit the meaning of nouns or pronouns by adding distinct
descriptions about them. In describing nouns or pronouns, adjectives are likely to answer the following
questions: What kind of...?; Which one of...?; and How many of...? Consider the two sentences below:

          Tall people experience a bit of difficulty getting through small doors.

          The red Honda is the car I recently purchased.

          (In the first sentence, the adjectives Tall and small describe the nouns people and door respectively: Tall answers the question, “What kind of people...?”; and small answers the question, “What kind of door...?” In the second sentence, the adjective red gives a distinct description about a particular Honda: red answers the question “Which one of the cars...?”)

     Adjectives can be common or proper. Common adjectives are created from common nouns and are
not capitalized – unless they begin a sentence. Proper adjectives are created from proper nouns and
are capitalized. Examples of proper adjectives in use:

          Libyan doctor
          Renaissance era
          Lutheran followers

     Most adjectives come in three (comparison) forms called the positive, the comparative, and the
superlative. The positive form adjective describes a noun or a pronoun without making comparisons:

          Here is the wonderful art studio.

          “That is one quick runner,” noted the journalist.


To read more about Adjectives, click here.

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     Be sure to consult a dictionary as some of the words below have other meanings not described here.

     1. to, too, two: As a preposition, to means “in the direction of”; “reaching as distant as”; “toward a
given condition.” Too is an adverb that means “as well”; “exorbitantly.” Two is a number.

          It makes the two of us going to the Cayman Islands for a deserved break. Are your
children coming along too?

     2. try and: Nonstandard for try to.

          We try to [not try and] be understanding of his past, but it does not seem to matter to
him.

     3. vain, vane, vein: As an adjective, vain means “excessively holding one's self in high regard”;
“fruitless or not yielding the desired result.” When used in the phrase in vain, as an idiom, it
means “to no success.” Vane is a noun that means “an instrument set on an elevated object to
show the direction of the wind.” Vein is also a noun meaning “a blood vessel”; “one of the ribs
that support the wings of an insect.”

          For someone with considerable financial wealth, he was not the least vain.

          The vane always makes that creaky noise even with the slightest breeze.

          It is my body's symptom for stress whenever veins bulge out of my forehead.

  For the rest of the words, click here.

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     A preposition is a word that connects its object (a noun, a noun clause, or a pronoun that follows the
preposition) to another word in the sentence. A preposition is positioned before its object, typically
indicating a relationship based on time, space/location, or direction between the object and the rest of
the sentence:

          To garner more attention, Pauline placed the dead dog on her head.

          “I need to get to the finish line before Sanchez,” gasped Juan.

          (In the first sentence, on expresses a relationship of location: It tells where Pauline placed the
dead dog. In the second sentence, before describes a relationship based on time: It tells when
Juan would like to reach the finish line. The object of on is head; the object of before is
Sanchez.) 

     Prepositions can also express other relationships as well. For instance, a preposition such as
concerning shows a relationship of logic. Prepositions such as without and except show a relationship
of exclusion.

Read more here.

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  Be sure to consult a dictionary as some of the words below have other meanings not described here.

     1. seam, seem: Seam is a noun meaning “a line of joinder formed by sewing two separate pieces of
material together”; “a thin layer, as of rock”. Seem is a verb that means “to appear to exist”; “to
appear to one's own mind or judgment”.

          The seams on her dress need to be restitched.

          The President's arrival seems earlier than usual.

     2. set, sit: As a noun, the word set means “a group (of people, of places, or of things) of the same
kind that belong together”. As a transitive verb, set means “to place in a specified position or
state”; “to adjust (an instrument) to a particular calibration, as of a clock”. Its principal parts are
set, set, and set. Sit is a verb meaning “to rest with the upper body vertical, and supported on the
buttocks”; “to be seated”; “to cause to sit”. Its principal parts are sit, sat, and sat.

          Kindly set that set of cutlery at the bottom of the drawer.

          You just need to sit and think it for yourself; its plausibility is quite evident.

     3. sole, soul: The noun sole means “the bottom surface of the foot or the shoe”; “the part on which
something rests while standing”. As an adjective, sole means “single”; “being the only one”.
Soul is a noun meaning “the spiritual aspect of a human considered separable from the body and
everlasting”.

          Jasper disliked the soles of his new work boots.

          The pastor reminded those present at the sermon not to despair, as the soul of the flesh
remained immortal.

Click here for the rest of the words.

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Be sure to consult a dictionary as some of the words below have other meanings not described here.

     1. plain, plane: As an adjective, the word plain means “clearly understood”; “uncomplicated”; “free from impediments.” As a noun, plain means “a region of land that is flat and without trees, such as a plateau.” The word plane is a noun that means “a flat, level, or even surface.” Plane also means “a carpenter's tool used for smoothing and leveling wood.”

                It is plain to see how unlikely your explanation is. Where can a gang of thieves hide on a treeless plain?

               The apprenticeship taught me how to properly use a plane to make smooth wooden surfaces.
 
     2. poor, pore, pour: Pour is a verb meaning “to make stream or flow continuously or profusely”; “to rain hard or heavily.” Pore is a noun that means “a minute orifice such as the ones on the skin of humans”; “a miniscule opening or passageway.” As a verb, pore means “to study carefully and attentively”; “to ponder.” Poor is an adjective that means “having little or no wealth”; “having few or no possessions”; “inferior or inadequate.”

               The poor cannot afford to bathe their pores with the addictive pours of luxury.

    3. precede, proceed: Precede is a transitive verb that means “to come before in time, order, or rank.” Proceed is an intransitive verb meaning “to go forward or onward”; “to move in an orderly fashion”; “to undertake and carry on an action.”

               The preceding match between Venezuela and Uruguay determined which team would proceed to the finals to duel with Mexico.


For the rest of the words, click here...

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This article gives a writer a few ideas to overcome writer's block.

Via The Creative Penn

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The full quote is “Mediocre writers borrow. Great writers steal.“ T.S.Eliot

There is also a version for visual artists, attributed to Picasso (or Banksy!)

I was asked on a teleconference the other day, “What do I do if I am stuck in writing my book?” and I referred to this quote. I am also making my way to the mid-point of NaNoWriMo and the well is getting a bit dry for my first fiction novel. So what does it actually mean?