In 2010, Haven Caylor fulfilled a lifelong dream of writing for publication, and he hasn’t stopped writing since that time. In his blog, Parenting with Pride (www.parentingwithpride.net) you can find writings on spirituality, family, and nostalgia. Haven had the idea for us to be guest bloggers for each other, and I agreed. You will find my blog on the same subject on his website. Now, with no further delay, Haven has some ideas on “words”…


Mark, you are awesome! Okay, These past few days, I’ve been paddled back and forth by “words” like paddles flipping a pinball on a pinball machine. You may think it strange, but I was enjoying the game; however, the game was suspended when my children, Carter and Ammon (boy and girl twins respectively) were sick with a weird respiratory virus, and we had a pinball “time-out”.  Since the beginning of May, Ammon, Carter, and I have been promoting my latest book, Parenting Strategies on the Go (www.parentingstrategiesonthego.com).  It was a self –publishing project, and I am very proud of it.  If you all are wondering, yes, it does have errors that I didn’t “catch”. However, in close to 200 pages, I’ve only caught about 5 errors ( I should have used Mark and Word Refiner). Errors aside, my children and I were on local programming on our NBC affiliate helping parents choose souvenirs (summer vacation, you know!) as teaching tools (Chapter 4). All three of us had to be succinct and articulate during our interpersonal interview with the television hostess. Next, we had a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Chattanooga. We had a wonderful time. All three of us had to speak to guests while signing books. I thought we did well in our verbal interactions. 

Immediately following the book signing, Carter became ill. Sadly, both children took turns with their viruses, and in between trying to write this blog, a Southeast Tennessee magazine, The Tennessee Valley Parents Magazine wrote to me asking to complete a Question & Answer article regarding fatherhood and our Parenting Strategies on the Go. The columnist’s deadline was quickly approaching, so I answered the questions with haste.  I thought my verbal-linguistic, written answers complemented and completed the answers with great grammar and punctuation. The columnist did not send anything back for me to edit or correct! 

Okay, back to Ammon and Carter after their tummy aches and fevers: the pinball machine of “words” began batting the pinball again. We took a weekend trip to see family in Montgomery, Alabama. As we were speaking with some friends, Carter and I were engaged in conversation with two adults. Carter was speaking with Brian about video games, and he was having a great, adult conversation. Mary Kay, Brian’s mother-in-law, leaned forward and said,  “He is so confident and succinct in what he is saying. He has no problem communicating what he is feeling.” I followed up with, “Thank you, he does have a gift for interpersonal communications.” Less than 24 hours later, we were back home, in our regular homeschooling routine, and doing our spelling. I had been disappointed with myself that I was about 4 days late getting this blog to Mark; however, we had missed so much school the previous week due to the virus and Carter and Ammon needed to settle back into their routine. During their spelling, they had to read several sentences and correct/edit sentences and tell whether the errors were 1) Spelling errors, 2) Capitalization errors, or 3) Punctuation errors.  At the end of her correcting/editing, Ammon exclaimed, “That was great, and kind of easy!” During his spelling corrections, Carter exclaimed, “Well, anyone would know what the sentence is saying even with the errors.” I was stunned by his insightful comment. I tried to quickly gather my wits, and I returned with, “Yes, son, but if a writer wants to be taken seriously as an educated person who can validate or prove his literacy (being able to read and write) they need to spell and punctuate correctly.”  Carter felt satisfied and concretely surrendered to my explanation with, “I agree.” And that was it.  I thought to myself, “I’ve got to convey these word editing conversations with Mark for our blogs.” Folks, being literate, correcting, and editing is not intrinsic or genetic. It is environmental. People may be born with an Intelligence Quotient  (IQ) of 150, but if there is no one to teach them to be literate, they will not be able to communicate 100% effectively.  Editors help people communicate more effectively.

I’ve had my share of writing and editing words. I have an Educational Doctorate in Instructional Leadership, and I have taught for over 27 years: From kindergarten to graduate school. My other degrees include Education Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master of Education in Social Studies Education, and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Studies Education. I am bilingual with Spanish, and I am also a beginning, functional communicator in German. I love words in English, Spanish, and German. I also want to communicate effectively in all three languages.

Now, the pinball game of “words” comes to an end with some inspirational words: 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (a) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

When I was 16 years old, I knew I had a gift for writing, but there was absolutely no one to help me nurture and perfect that gift. All I had on my mind was either being an accountant or an educator. By 1989, the educator career had won. In the autumn of 2008, God blessed me with my beautiful children, Carter and Ammon, and it changed my life forever.  By 2010, God guided me back to a “writing season”, and I was and still am grateful. I know God expects me to communicate effectively as I write, and I know it’s my responsibility to teach my children to communicate effectively as they learn to write. I truly believe that here in the middle of 2016, I’m doing a pretty darn good job on both fronts! Oh, perhaps Mark will allow Carter, Ammon, and me to return this Christmas season to help promote the children’s picture book, Christmas Hawk (www.christmashawk.com), that Carter and Ammon helped me create.  

God bless you all, and until the next time….keep on writing! 

Welcome to this edition of Words For Thought, the blog on wordrefiner.com. Like some of the previous blogs we are exploring typographical errors. Words that look almost the same, but have different spellings and meanings. To find more on Twitter use the hashtag: #TyposHurtYourWriting.
I understand how important it is to have a manuscript free of spelling errors. With over 40 years of experience, I have found that typos give many writers problems. Less than perfect typing can create hidden errors. There are many groups of words that vary by only one letter, such as came, dame, fame and game. The correctly spelled word in the wrong context will not be flagged by most spell-checkers. The Hyper-Speller at Word Refiner is dedicated to exposing all of these hidden errors and providing your document free of spelling errors that you want and deserve. I find these invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books. I find these invisible spelling errors in 95% of published books.

Now, onto today’s episode!
 
We have found a nice even dozen of four letter words that end in –ate. They are so pretty, all lined up. Some are familiar and some are foreign, from a different time or place. Like little treasures in an egg carton, there is something for everyone.
Bate might seem faintly familiar to a lot of people. It has several definitions including to moderate, lessen or restrain. It can refer to a hawk trying to escape, or part of the procedure of tanning leather.
Cate is an archaic word, from Middle English, it refers to dainty or choice morsels of food.
Date is a busy word. We use it to refer to a romantic or social appointment. It is the marking of the day on a calendar indicated by a number. It also refers to a dark brown fruit that has a large pit, it is sweet and usually eaten dried. It is the name of the tree this fruit grows on and is found in the Middle East and Africa. I really enjoy eating dates.
Fate has a rather dark history. It is commonly thought of as the prescribed course of events that are beyond the control of humans. In ancient times there were three goddesses responsible for the birth, life and death of people; their names were Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.
Gate is a hinged barrier used to prevent moving through a wall, fence or hedge. It is also what must be paid as an entry fee for an event or exhibition. It can also be an electrical circuit with an output that depends on the combination of several inputs.
Hate is a very simple and powerful word. It means an intense dislike for someone or something.
Late most of us are very familiar with. Accomplishing something or an event that starts after the appointed or expected time. One day I ran over a fork, the flat tire made me late for a dentist appointment. It can also refer to a specific person no longer living.
Mate has several definitions. It can be part of a pair of items, or animals. It can be a fellow member or joint occupant of a certain thing. It is also commonly used to refer to a best friend in Australia and New Zealand. It is short for the declaration of victory in chess: Checkmate! Mate` is a shrub in South America that the leaves are used to make a bitter tea high in caffeine.
Pate is a person’s head. It is the paste used to make porcelain. It is the highly flavored paste made from finely minced ingredients usually meat or fish.
Rate is a quantity or frequency measured against some other quantity. It is also the fixed price paid for goods or services.
Sate to fill a desire or appetite completely. To be satisfied.
Yate is any of several eucalyptus trees or their wood.
 
There they are, twelve words with similar sounds and the same last three letters.  If you use the wrong word the reader might feel like they stumbled over a hidden object as they walk through the forest of your book. They may feel like leaving your story, because it is too hard to figure out what you are saying.  Do everything in your power to prevent that from happening, do not give your reader a reason to close your book. Use Word Refiner, beta readers, critique partners, proofreaders and editors to ensure that your work is error free and as smooth as possible.
 
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this issue of Typos Hurt Your Writing on Words For Thought.  Follow me on twitter: @wordrefiner; for more Hazardous Homophones and Terrible Typos search for #HomophonesHurtYourWriting or #TyposHurtYourWriting on twitter.
Don’t forget the free offer for writers under the “Learn More” tab on our website. I offer another service at a great value, see the “Review Your Book” tab.
For a free smile or two peek at “Hyper-Speller humor”. 

Remember: Words Have Meaning and Spelling Makes a Difference.​ 
​​Copyright © 2016 Mark L Schultz