During this week of Thanksgiving 2021, I am sure that all over, there have been people giving thanks for the many blessings in their lives. Family and loved ones top most lists, along with health and home. While everyone’s list is decidedly unique, there are also many common threads.
What is on a Writer’s list of things for which they are grateful? I don’t know about other writers, but here are my top ones:
- A Thesaurus
o Writers love words. We also love to share our thoughts, idea, and stories. This requires lots of words. A thesaurus allows us to make sure we use, employ, and apply the right words when we write, jot, share, or communicate our thoughts.
- Spellcheck
o While there may be writers out there who have a talent and skill for spelling, I am not one of them. I have no idea why. I am, of course, relieved by the research that says there is no connection between a lack of spelling ability and a lack of intelligence. Whew! But regardless, standard spelling is expected when doing any kind of writing, so I am eternally grateful for spellcheck.
- The Cloud
o The ability to safely store our manuscripts and works-in-progress, while at the same time being able to access them from anywhere, is amazing. The young writers of today have no idea what it was like prior to this tool. Flash drives. Floppy discs. Back-up copies. And back-up copies for those copies. Stories of authors whose computer crashed or house burned down haunted us.
- Shrunk and White
o The Elements of Style and Elements of Grammar books were some of the first I read when I was just a teen and trying to hone my writing, and they are still on my desk where I can easily reach or refer to them when needed more than 50 years later. I am so grateful for the guidance they provide and the confirmation they give when I am unsure of some obscure grammar rule.
I am sure there are other things, but these are the first to pop into my mind.
Wishing all my fellow writers, endless things for which to be thankful.
