My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel–it is, before all, to make you see.
Joseph Conrad
Author: Susan Uhlig
The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand (Wise Wolf Books, 2025) by John V. Madormo was a fun time travel western! (Another MMGM blogger recently shared this book and it sounded so interesting I had to read it. Thanks, Rosi Hollinbeck!)
Twelve-year-old Dominick is obsessed with the Old West. So much so that when he writes about “The Most Influential Person in His Life” he chooses “Lone Wolf” Malone, a sheriff from the time period. His teacher is not amused.
Then a book in the library transports Dominick to 1888 Abilene, Kansas and he gets to see what it’s really like living there. Under the name, Pete Moss, he becomes an apprentice to the local sheriff, Lone Wolf himself, and wants to warn him about his upcoming death, but the sheriff won’t listen.
This is the first book in a four volume series. The Abilene Kid: The Boot Hill Curse and The Abilene Kid: Sacred Relics are already out. But the fourth book is only available for preorder.
Read about the author here and read log lines about some of his books here. (This might be helpful for writers writing their own.)
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A goal without a plan
Got Grammar?
I was reading about a writer struggling with “was” and “were.” I’m guessing she wasn’t having trouble with simple singular and plural:
I was there.
He was there.
We were there.
They were there.
Of course, it gets tricky when we look at the exception of:
You were there.
These all would be the same when phrased as a question versus a statement. (Was I there?)
Perhaps her trouble was with the more complex versions, such as:
A flock of crows was on my lawn. (Ignore the “of crows,” notice the use of “a” before “flock” which implies singular.)
Crows were on my lawn. (If we cut flock.)
But it gets more complicated when we are speculating:
If I were rich, I’d buy you a car. (This is called the subjunctive mood.)
So where do we go when we need help with grammatical issues like this?
One of my go to sources is the book Errors in English and Ways to Correct Them by Harry Shaw. It has a great index to find what you need and is easy to understand. I remember catching one of my elementary age daughters simply reading sections of the book for fun.
But when my cat is in my lap and I can’t reach my bookshelf, I go to the Internet.
One of my favorite sites is Grammar Girl. Check out what Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, has to say about subjunctive verbs. She also has several books out: Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing and The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl.
Colleges and universities often have writing help too. Here’s one I like from University of Minnesota.
This is an interesting post on how to improve your grammar: “Grammar Skills: 10 Tips to Improve” by Hannah Yang. She comments about using grammar checkers—just remember they are not 100% accurate.
I’ll end with a quote: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” – Dorothy Parker
What are your favorite grammar resources?
It’s like stories are artifacts we’re unburying, and some are fairly clean and close to the surface, and for some you have to dig for miles and clean off a lot of dirt before you even know what you’re looking at.
Julie Falatko