Saturday, May 1, 2021

Write? Right! Write!

Thinking about writing today in May 2021.  I've been writing for a very long time, since I was ... maybe 5?  I was good at writing the alphabet, especially with a red crayon.  

I had an unusual name for a kid in kindergarten -- Halley.  I could write the big "H" and all the other letters quickly and cleanly. But nobody could pronounce my name!  

So I got in the habit of saying "Halley rhymes with Sally" and many years later, "Halley like Silicon Valley" when I worked there.  

Finally Halle Berry came to my aid, as her name and mine were pronounced in the same way. People were finally guessing the right pronunciation, the first time, without me coaching them. 

When I first learned to write my letters, I was not impressed with the alphabet.  I found an alphabet that put a letter with one hump -- "n" after the letter with two humps -- the letter "m" -- just made no sense.  If I were building the alphabet, I would have put "n" first and then "m" obviously.

They did the right thing when they put "v" and "w" in the right order. You start with one "v" and then 2x of that letter  "v v " equals "w" so it should come next, just as "w" does. No complaints there. 

I understood writing early on. It was a courageous army of 26 soldiers, ready to do battle for you any way you desire!  They could change the world for you, if you configured them just right.  They were at your command, if you knew how to best inspire and rally their strength and courage. 

The hardest working soldiers were the famous a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y.  You needed those helpful vowels at every battle, especially "O!"  They did the dirty work in every campaign. They saved the day!

Since age 5, my writing has included stories, poems, essays, theses, marketing copy, PR, social media, white papers, love letters, case studies, shopping lists, editorials, letters to the editor, podcast scripts, novels and many blog posts. My army continues to deliver on all fields of battle in wartime and peacetime.