Sam's Blog of Learning

I chose Grammar Girl's podcast " How to use 'who' vs. 'whom' ." The focus of this podcast is to help new writers recognize the difference between "who" and "whom," and when to use them. The first thing the Grammar Girl makes clear is that "who" is used for subjects, and "whom" is used for objects. The word "objects" didn't initially make sense to me, but as she went on, I realized that they are used for direct objects. To help remember this, she relates the M in "him", a direct object, to the M in "whom." She also mentions that if the who/whom in question can be replaced with "him," use "whom." This works since they are both direct objects. When asking a question, think of how it will be answered. For example, if the question is, "Who/Whom at dinner?" the answer would be, "He ate dinner." Therefore, who should be used. If a question like,

Today Anne Lamott writes about writer's block in her blog ¨ Bird by Bird .¨ Writers block is when someone is writing, and they struggle to think of the next step in their story. Anyone that has written anything has experienced writers block. Lamott explains the best way to combat this, and continue writing. Lamott describes writer's block as simply looking at the problem from the wrong angle, and says that this is caused by being, "empty." After long terms of writing, you will slowly use up your creative writing abilities until you refill them. Lamott writes that the best way to do this, is by taking some time to write about memories, dreams, etc. This will help get the creative juices flowing, and clear up the block. This passage is written for experienced and inexperienced writers alike. A lot of people struggle with writer's block, and professionals are no exception. This will personally help me, because there are many times where I'm writing, and sudde

Today in Anne Lamott's ¨ Bird by Bird ¨, she talks about publication. Lamott mentions that many people believe publication is a very relieving time for a writer, but she argues differently. Publication is a very stressful process, and it is important that new writers know this. To Lamott, publishing is the most stressful part of her job, and she wants to make sure that no one gets discouraged when the part of writing their most excited about becomes the part they hate. She can't stress enough that the process of publication is filled with anxiety. Anne recognizes that there are some authors out there that, as soon as they send their paper to an editor, are able to hop right back in to writing their next story, but this is not the majority of writers. According to Lamott, it is important to stay as relaxed as possible during all of the steps of publication. Anne is an example of what not to do. She worries that her paper didn't get to the editor during shipping, worries

Today in ¨ Bird by Bird ¨, Anne Lamott writes about writing with a voice. Voice can add a lot of personal touches in text that attract the readers attention. This will help keep a reader entertained, and stop them from putting your book down. For instance, a writer can express their words with a silly personality, and this will make the reading more fun. However, there are different voices for different scenarios. Anne Lamott really emphasizes on how a writer can learn their voice. She asks her students what drives them to become better writers. This makes her students think about why they want to write, and what they wish to achieve out of it. I believe that she does this so her students can realize that, for example, if one of her students wishes to write to make people laugh, they should use a very comedic personality. However, if someone wants to write to help people learn a topic, they may want to use a more serious voice. Anne Lamott writes this to help writing enthusias

Bella Pope’s blog “How to Write a Blog Post People Actually Want to Read” teaches the reader about certain ways to improve a blog and things to avoid. Although it isn’t important for my blog, Pope also emphasizes what can draw readers in to read their blog. One of the topics she mentions is about jokes. Jokes can be very helpful to keep the reader entertained and wish to continue reading. If the blog is too bland, many times the reader will lose interest, and a decent joke can readers to a blog like flies to a hot dog. She also mentions that pictures help for a similar effect. If a picture shows something interesting or eye catching, then it will bring more readers in to click on the blog. Be sure to use a high quality picture though, as a low quality one will reduce credibility. Once more, voice/personality is highlighted as an important part of writing blogs. Writing with a personality can give the reader a more genuine feeling as if they’re reading what a person has to say,

    In this week of Bird by Bird , Anne Lamott writes about her last class for teaching her students. One major topic that she talks about is consciousness. This type of consciousness is not literal, but instead refers to how vivid writing should be. This type of writing allows for the text to be more personal to the reader. For an example, if a story has a part involving a kid it is important to reflect on some of the joys that the reader likely had as a child. This will add nostalgia to the piece, making them feel emotionally attached to the writing.     This is important to me because I struggle with making a piece of writing be more personal to the reader. Whenever I am struggling to find a way to do so, I will think about Anne Lamott’s last lesson she teaches in Bird by Bird.     I like how Lamott says that if what a writer types is real, then the audience will enjoy it. This got me thinking, and I realized that she’s right. Many people will join a cause if it is presented to