Katharine's Writer's Block

Think about the tools of a trade. Those in culinary professions have cookware. Construction works with machines and material specially for building projects. Many scientific fields use equipment that supports their research. Actors often have props, sets, and scripts. Meanwhile, many writers produce their work with a word processor. A word processor is simply a device or program that supports the act--and sometimes even the art--of writing, often on a computer or similar me

Given how books are available virtually everywhere and in every way, easy access to them is likely taken for granted in most democratic, developed countries. Many of us probably aren’t far from a library, bookstore, or Free Little Library setup--perhaps several are nearby the places we frequent. Barring that, many retail establishments from drug stores to dollar stores provide at least a small section of reading material. On a less formal level, all quality of books turn up i

I’m a casual, low-key sports fan at best, but I can appreciate the cultural magnitude and impact that the 2026 World Cup is having! FIFA’s data shows that through forty-four matches, “attendance topped 2.85 million and stadiums were 99.6% full”! Reuters additionally reflects that it's possible that political travel restrictions and negative sentiments have not slowed many down. And while we Americans may not be the biggest fans of soccer--be it for our own teams or the sport

Those who know me well know I love the Peanuts comics and specials! I’m most familiar with the holiday episodes so I’m expanding my horizons by delving into the other features; one of which is the 1969 film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. The premise of this story is that Charlie Brown surprises everyone by progressing through some major spelling bee competitions. During his preparatory studies, Charlie, Linus, and Snoopy break out into a song, aptly titled “I Before E Except afte

An illustrated example of an idiom; definition and more are given below So, my husband created this spicy rub for chicken wings using black pepper, red pepper, chili and garlic powder. I discovered at some point that most of his blend also concocts taco seasoning--just in more measured helpings or it kicks as hard as the wings can! Much like with cooking, writing/communication can be “spiced up” with good helpings of word choice and detail development. This idea was previous

English class stock photo from Google Back in the early years of Facebook, the platform offered a notes feature. As one could imagine, the feature was a text processor that allowed space for expression beyond the status update and comment sections. I'm sure you could also easily imagine me spending a lot of time with this element. Unfortunately, the feature was discontinued in 2020, but the platform is kind enough to "remind" me of my old publishings from time to time with it

I’ve decided to honor the fourth anniversary of my marriage with some poetry! I know the what of it was discussed at length a few years ago. So this post is going to follow up with the how to do it. And as I walk through the process, I’ll create a piece to share with my husband! Let’s get into how to write poetry! Some foundational or refresher ideas A professor writing for the Poetry Foundation explains most poetry contains these elements: an arrangement of language that c

I find it difficult to think of March twenty-third as an ok day...for one thing it's my birthday! But even before me, plenty of significant matters occurred on this day too, like Patrick Henry claiming, “Give me liberty or give me death!” in 1775, shortly before the thirteen colonies’ war with Great Britain. Also, on this day in 1806, Lewis and Clark began their return to Missouri after their two-year exploration of the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The first

How often do we play? I remember from my fundamental education classes a theory that promotes learning through play. The gist of it is that the learner drives their own learning experience and ultimately gains rich benefits in personal skills as well as academic knowledge. Montessori schools/education utilize elements of this approach. Play-based learning is easy to imagine and facilitate in young grade levels. The education experience becomes more formalized for older or adv

While looking back over some of my writing, I’ve noticed I get a little “slash-happy” every once in a while. Perhaps I incorporate the slash mark ( / ) without a lot of thought, so I looked for some official guidance to help me rethink my usage. Here’s what I find that may help you too. In English writing, the mark is called either a forward slash or simply a slash . Less common names for it include stroke, solidus, diagonal, or oblique. The punctuation has roots in Roman c