Writing

Grammatical Errors

/ LKWeir

by LK Weir

The art of grammar was never my forte. I would vaguely participate in the general laughter of a grammar related joke (strained, guilty laughter with a hint of imposter syndrome). I was scarred by grammar at an early age. The spelling tests in elementary school where we would raise our hand to show our score (I averaged about 2 out of 10). The time my teacher wrote Too much detail on my short story about midnight snacking. The time my social studies teacher read my first paragraph out loud in front of the entire class, pointing out each extra comma as if it were a punch line (the class certainly thought it was!). And then a barely passable grade on my English diploma exam, though I swore it was the best essay I’d ever written. 

Early on, I decided that words were too much trouble. The rules never made any sense, even when I’d spent extra time learning phonetics, syntax, and structure. In the end, it always bothered me that fone was incorrect, but fan was not. Mouse and mice, but house and houses. ‘I’ before ‘e’ except, of course, after c or in words such as weigh, sleigh, neigh, or my own last name (though Weir didn’t fit into the rhyme). And please, let’s not get started on the silent spelling killers—‘ch’ that sounded like ‘sh’, or added r’s in February (which happens to be my birth month that I’d spelled incorrectly for the majority of my life). Etc., etc., etc.… fill in your own version of irritation (their, they’re, there—don’t feel too bad!). 

Nope. Not me. Grammar was a burden and certainly not worth my time. 

Except that…after a few years of deciding words were not my friend, I realized there was alchemy in them. Yes, there had been ridicule. Yes, I had a smidgen of social trauma. But goodness—words in the right order could send shivers through the body, empower the imagination, and make real something that didn’t exist before. They are MAGICAL.

Out of all the things I thought I would love, words had not been one of them. Somehow though, they became one of my greatest loves because of what they could do. 

So, I spent my first writing years learning the difference between tenses and then points-of-view. The next few years were allocated to tone and voice. The years after that, the intricate ways in which to use a comma in relation to dialogue quotations. And I’ve just started to understand when to use a semicolon vs. a full colon (I had to check the spelling of colon to make sure I hadn’t spelled colon. As it turns out, the body part has exactly the same spelling).

Whew! 

Even after all that googling of how to use then vs. than or properly tag dialogue, I still rely heavily on spell check and the eyes of my favorite editors. 

So! What is the point of this post other than to (in good humour) ridicule the English language?

Simply this:

  1. First, you don’t have to have all your skills honed prior to starting something new. The sharpening of your abilities will happen once you start. 
  2. Second, please don’t let your past impressions stop you from learning and growing. We have the tendency to tell ourselves something is not worth doing if it has hurt us in the past.
  3. Finally, if I had been born in the United States of America, I would never have spelled color incorrectly. 

The Art of Storytelling

/ LKWeir

During a recent conversation with a friend, I gained a new insight about storytelling. She’d been observing a conversation between me and another writer where we’d discussed the childlike joy in creating worlds through words. At the end of the night, my friend told me, “This is why you are a writer, because I have never felt that way about writing.” And she was right, words are my favourite medium but this didn’t negate her as a storyteller. In fact, she has told me some of the BEST stories over the years. Stories that made me laugh, cry, or even motivated me into action. She is an excellent storyteller.

Collage of photos - artistic mediums of expression

It struck me that storytelling is something everyone does, just in different mediums. The painter paints a story, the musician composes a story, the screenwriter writes a story, and even the not-so-artsy person tells a story through conversation. 

We are all storytellers.

It starts with the stories we tell ourselves. As children we create imagined worlds in which to move our toys through, diving into scenarios that only we can see. Beautiful, exciting, and adventurous plotlines that are fueled by our natural storytelling ability. 

“A child can take leaves and sticks and create a village, conquer a foreign land in her own backyard, climb a tree and touch the clouds, or set sail through a puddle.“

Storytelling does not die out with childhood, it evolves. Where once we saw pictures in our minds and relayed them through imagined worlds, we grew into telling stories of experiences. Some of us share experiences through a good conversation over a glass of wine or the retelling of events that occurred after a long day at work. We regale moments of experienced sadness, seeing a hero in action, or undeniably funny situations we got ourselves into—laughing at our own embarrassment. Storytelling is as natural as breathing, it is how we communicate. We love to tell them, and we love to hear them. 

Writing is my medium, it brings out an inner creative voice that would otherwise get ignored in my daily grind. It allows me to tap back into the childlike me. For me, writing is a freedom that is not always allowed in the adult world. It allows me to balance work with play, a break from spreadsheets and emails.

Whether you tell stories through speaking, dancing, painting, writing, or any other beautiful medium, you too are a storyteller. So, embrace your inner storyteller. Break out your medium and allow your storytelling-self to explore the art in any way it sees fit.

Photo collage of artistic mediums

New Year, New Me

/ LKWeir

by LK Weir

At least once a year we make a resolution to improve; to fulfill some deep-down desire to be better. Eat healthier, exercise more, learn a language, write that book—all with good intentions. We hit the new year running. We get a gym membership, plan out a week’s worth of healthy eating, sit in front of our laptops and write everyday…until, one day we forget. 

Then days pass, weeks pass, months pass, and suddenly a little thought pops into our mind… did I forget something? 

We all have a longing to be something bigger and better than we currently are. It is part of the human condition. The problem is, when that day comes and we remember what we forgot, it’s devastatingly discouraging. It can make us feel unaccomplished, stuck in a cycle and unable to fulfill our life’s desires. 

It simply feels rotten.

This happened to me in 2020. Early in the year, I published my book and felt like the queen of my life. Once it was out there, I was certain I would promote it with raw intensity. I would write Part II within six months and launch my second novel. Then, at that point, I would finally arrive at my destination.

But life got in the way. 

I started writing Part II. I set up marketing on Amazon. I posted about it for a couple of months. Until, one day, I forgot. A month went by, then six, and now I am sitting at the cusp of 2021 wondering, what happened? I feel the full weight of how much time I wasted. I think to myself, “How will I ever become the person I am meant to be if I can’t even do this one small thing?”

And with this thought, I am deflated. As if I’ve lost the point of it all. Why should I try again if I know I am just going to fail?

This cycle needs to stop. But not in the way you are thinking. 

We all have goals and dreams. We plan how we will accomplish them, and we try our best to achieve them. But our dreams and our goals should not be limited to the one day a year when we tell ourselves it’s time to change. 

“Our dreams and goals roll on, year after year, as we pluck away at the to-do list. We are not bound to a timeline.” – LK Weir

If we don’t finish right away it doesn’t mean we failed. 

So instead, this year, I propose we take stock of all the things we have accomplished. List all the lessons we have learned, compare a snapshot of who we were and who we have become. Finally give ourselves credit for all we have gone through to emerge on the other side. 

I want you to do this. Please follow along, I promise it is worth it.

  • Write five things you have accomplished. (Nothing is too small…did you plant a garden in the spring? Did you spend time giving joy to your loved ones? Did you hike to a place you’ve never been before?)
  • Write five things you love about yourself. (No self-deflating talk here, just good thoughts please! Are you an encourager? Do you love fine dining? Do you put family first?)
  • Write five ways you have changed in the past year. (Did you learn a lesson? Learn a meditation? Watch a seminar? Even if you think you haven’t, you have.)
And then, with the list of all the things that make you unique, special, accomplished, and brave. Take a glass of your finest bubbly, lift it high in the air, and give cheers to yourself. 

Say, “2020 was a New Year, and Now I am a New Me!”