“In January of 2006, the Poetry Foundation released a landmark study, “Poetry in America,” outlining trends in reading poetry and characteristics of poetry readers. The number one thematic benefit poetry users cited was “understanding” — of the world, the self, and others. They were even found to be more sociable than their non-poetry-using counterparts. And bevies of new research show that reading fiction and poetry more broadly develops empathy. Raymond Mar, for example, has conducted studies showing fiction reading is essential to developing empathy in young children and empathy and theory of mind in adults. The program in Medical Humanities & Arts even included poetry in their curriculum as a way of enhancing empathy and compassion in doctors, and the intense empathy developed by so many poets is a skill essential to those who occupy executive suites and regularly need to understand the feelings and motivations of board members, colleagues, customers, suppliers, community members, and employees.”

via The Benefits of Poetry for Professionals – John Coleman – Harvard Business Review.

Longridge Editors LLC meets our clients’ needs for editing services in a comprehensive way. This includes selecting and preparing written material through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications.  The result is  a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete product.  Be it a novel manuscript or an annual report, we can help!

Contact us any time at edg@longridgeeditors.com to discuss your project.

From our house to yours, we wish you a splendid holiday season!

Thank you for your support of our small business, and may the coming year bring you good health and much joy.

edg@longridgeeditors.com

]]> http://longridgeeditorsblog.com/2012/11/18/of-feasts-and-evergreens-of-gifts-and-bright-lights-of-love-and-peace/feed/ 0 LE 2012 holiday card edgaucher LE 2012 holiday card http://longridgeeditorsblog.com/2012/10/16/clients-the-education-alliance/ http://longridgeeditorsblog.com/2012/10/16/clients-the-education-alliance/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:49:05 +0000 Elizabeth Gaucher http://longridgeeditorsblog.com/?p=368 Continue reading →]]>

We worked this summer with The Education Alliance , West Virginia’s premier statewide, nonprofit research and K-12 public education fund.

This client wanted to tell compelling stories about two sets of its grantees: 1) the principals creating and conducting innovative plans for student achievement in the SEEDS project, and 2) community members in the Frontline Network answering the question, “What will we do to ensure more of our students complete high school ready for college and careers?”

Longridge Editors LLC developed a simple series of  questions for all interview candidates, responses to which highlight the positive impact of SEEDS and the Frontline Network on their respective communities. We spent the summer gathering information directly from the projects’ key players, and wrote vivid profiles  of each.

Working with The Education Alliance was a pleasure, and one  of the greatest rewards was connecting with the passion and commitment of West Virginia’s public education professionals. These are very busy, hardworking people, and too often we hear about them instead of directly from them.

You can hear from them yourself right now, as the stories of the SEEDS principals are posted currently on The Education Alliance’s website: http://educationalliance.org/?ID=17&SEEDS

Enjoy!

Longridge Editors LLC works with clients to define strategic messages for press releases, website and print content, and media interviews.  We can help you place your story, but most importantly we help you tell your story.

Contact us any time at edg@longridgeeditors.com to discuss your project.

The Kiss of the Muse by Paul Cezanne

Do you have a Muse? Have you met your Muse? Where does your Muse live? Where can you find your Muse? Is thinking stopping you from writing your dream novel?

This is an informal workshop about the organic, right-brain, creative writing process. All writers are welcome, newbies to experienced!

Using visualization writing exercises, you will learn to leave your left-brain (thinking, analytical, linear, logical, editing) comfort zone and access your right-brain (organic, intuitive, visual, subjective, feeling) creativity. As a writer, you need to dive into the deepest well within you and bring back the treasures of inspiration, magic, and art that belong only to you. This is where your writing talent–your Muse–lives. This is where you discover your characters and their story.

We will read our in-class writing aloud and discuss what worked in the exercises. We will then practice the organic writing technique in another exercise, A Day in the Life of your character. We will discuss how the writer’s empathy immersion in your character creates empathy absorption in your readers.

The workshop will include time for a Q&A on writing and publishing. Following the workshop, Linda will be available for 10-minute one-on-one consultations. Up to 5 sample pages may be submitted in advance, by November 1, to lindafayroberts3@gmail.com.

Registration is limited to 12 participants. Call Cathy Pierce at 304.949.2400 to register.

The date is Saturday, November 17, 2012, from 11:00 AM – 3:00  PM.

The one-on-one sessions will follow the workshop at assigned times.

Location: Elk Valley Library, at I-79 and Elk View exit (by the K-mart): http://kanawhalibrary.org/branches/elk_valley/

About Linda Roberts

Linda Roberts is a writing coach for novelists, memoirists, and screenwriters at Jacob Krueger Studio in New York. She has also taught English and Reading in pubic and private schools, including Georgia Military College and Dallas Jesuit. Linda has been a professional editor for more than 15 years, including 10 years as Senior Production Editor at Simon & Schuster. She has edited fiction (literary, thrillers, mysteries, historical, romance, erotica, chick lit, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal) and nonfiction (celebrity biographies and memoirs, current affairs, psychology, health/fitness, self-help,diet/cookbooks, new age, sports, film/entertainment). She has also been a freelance editor for major publishing houses in New York (Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Putnam, Random House, Workman, Newmarket Press), Maxim magazine, advertising companies, private authors, and screenwriters.

Linda’s published articles have appeared in Inside Arts magazine and The Freelancer. She is also a playwright (Dramatists Guild member) and screenwriter. Her plays have been workshopped in New York and Boston. Her first screenplay has been workshopped at A Festival of Play and Screenplay Readings in New York, where her original soundtrack song was performed. Her second and third screenplays have been workshopped at the Jacob Krueger Studio Writers Retreat in Bali and Costa Rica.

Linda has a B.A. (+ graduate school) in English from the University of South Florida and a Shakespeare Workshop Certificate from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She studied Copyediting and Proofreading Fundamentals at New York University. Linda is also a former actress (member of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, and Actors Equity Association), mime, and professional artist.

Leaving aside the whole issue of ‘Top 10…’ blog-posts in general (they’re a lazy and unsophisticated way to write, and serve mostly as lowest-common-denominator click-bait) my main issue with these pieces is that the vast majority of them are not lists of grammar mistakes. Most contain (at best) two or three grammar mistakes, and many do not mention a single genuine point of grammar at all. Take this as an example, titled ‘Top Ten Grammar Peeves’:

None of these points refer to grammar. None of them. Some of them refer to spelling, some to punctuation, some to (points 3 and 10) colloquialisms that are formally incorrect, but not one of them is a point of grammar. There are so many other examples like this that I can’t possibly list them all, but here (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are a few. My absolute favourite one of these is this one from TechRepublic.com that is titled “10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid.” The list contains only one genuine grammar mistake (point 7). How stupid do you feel now then, TechRepublic.com?

Precisely defined, grammar is the system of rules that govern the ways in which words can be combined together to create meaning; a simple and universal example is the general subject-verb-object convention in English (and many other languages). Other examples are the correct placement of subordinate clauses, and agreement of tenses between subject and verb in sentences. Grammar is not spelling, punctuation, or about the correct choice of word for any given sentence. Grammar is about the structure and organisation of words within sentences.

At this point (dear reader) I can almost imagine you sighing, perhaps with a sad shake of the head. “Who is this mindless pedant…” (you may be thinking) “…to criticise these good folk of the internet, who spent their time and effort to compile these lists, simply in order to improve the standard of written English?” I have to admit, you have a point. My objection to these lists is based entirely on a precise definition of ‘grammar’; a word which is often used colloquially in a much broader sense, simply to mean ‘the rules of English’.

However (I would counter), precision matters. It really does. It matters particularly when one is engaging in a necessarily technical discourse on language, which is what most of these posts at least aspire to, if not actually achieve. The purpose of these pieces is noble and righteous (helping others to improve their writing) however the primary responsibility of a pedagogical piece is accuracy. As a teacher, to present misleading, imprecise information is the ultimate failure. To title the piece inaccurately seems to be an admission of failure from the outset. To be clear: I’m not objecting to these lists per se, just the manner in which they’re presented. The horrendous, bloody violence which English is subjected to on the internet is perhaps proof enough of the necessity for lists like these, which generally only attempt to point out and correct very basic errors in spelling and punctuation. However, if the people who are hoping to improve others’ writing by pointing out such errors apparently don’t know the difference between grammar, punctuation, and spelling, what hope is there?

Here then, compiled from the lists linked to above, are my ‘Top ten grammar mistakes that always appear on lists of top ten grammar mistakes but that aren’t really grammar mistakes’:

• Their/They’re/There

If you’re an adult who has completed compulsory education in a Westernised, English-speaking country and you still can’t use these words correctly then your educational system is an abject failure and you badly need to contact your local governmental representative and urge them to enact root-and-branch reform before the economy collapses completely, the population degenerates into mindless, grunting simian creatures, and you end up fighting to the death over the last tin of spaghetti Os in a blighted, post-apocalyptic wasteland. Seriously, do something. Right now. Do it for the children.

• You’re/your

See point 1. above, except even more so. You’re an imbecile, there’s something wrong with your brain.

• Its/it’s

A slightly trickier one I have to admit. Still something one could probably expect the average golden retriever to grasp though, given enough time and effort.

• Loose/lose

These are two different words. I honestly don’t see why there’s a particular problem with these two, compared to any other similar-sounding words. They aren’t even strictly homophones, since the pronunciation is somewhat different. Nobody confuses ‘too’ and ‘two’ – why do they confuse these?

• Affect/Effect

Again, two different words. Why is this a problem? One is a verb, the other a noun. It’s not hard.

• Could of/would of/should of

A deeply regrettable colloquialism that seems to have inexplicably bled over into written English. Utterly ghastly. Never to be used. Ever.

• i.e./e.g.

Two different Latin abbreviations, two different meanings and uses. Learn them. Job done.

• Then/Than

How in the seven blessed hells do people possibly get these confused? You don’t confuse ‘pens’ with ‘pans’ and try and scribble down a quick note with a casserole dish, do you?

• Irregardless

Look, I don’t give a rat’s ass what Grammar Girl says. Irregardless is not a word. End of discussion. Anyone using it seriously deserves to have something agonising and downright medieval done to them.

• Comma splices/misuse of semi-colons

Punctuation, not grammar. Some people seem to write without ever using semi-colons; a real shame, as comma-splices are a festering blight that must be eliminated at all costs.

In an effort to salvage at least a scintilla of something constructive from this pursed-mouthed, joyless diatribe I thought I’d end by highlighting a few genuine common grammar mistakes:

• Subject-verb agreement

This mistake is easy to spot with simple sentences in the present tense (e.g. ‘my hand hurts’ or ‘my hands hurt’, not ‘my hands hurts’) but can be difficult to identify in more complex sentences with subordinate clauses.

• Less/Fewer

Less for quantities, fewer for distinct items. Technically a point of grammar, since the correct word choice depends on the rest of the sentence. The ’10 items or less’ signs make me grind my teeth in impotent rage every time I go to the supermarket.

• Mixed tenses

Pretty common, and sometimes great care is required to sort out which tense is most appropriate, and to make each part of a complex sentence agree. An example with mixed future/present tense: “I would be delighted to read any comments made on this article, however anyone pointing out any inadvertent grammar mistakes in the text is clearly a trouble-maker and their comments will be deleted.”

Matt Wall is a professional neuroscientist and amateur pedant and misanthrope, living in London. Believe it or not, he usually writes even nerdier* articles than this on Computing for Psychologists.

*Yes, I know, it’s a neologism. Get over it. If you know what the rules are, then you can legitimately, and tastefully, start to break them.

On such a day it seems like anything is possible. I am going back to school for a Master’s Degree beginning in January, and I am interested in positioning Longridge Editors with a long-term project this year that will connect us to the right client. While this may sound a bit like Match dot com, I am seeking a unique client with whom to establish a mutually rewarding professional relationship over the next year and maybe even beyond. My senior editor has a new situation that allows her to become more involved with new projects, so the timing is perfect.

The only question is, who is The One?

Longridge Editors is very much still available for smaller-scale writing and editing projects, but you may be our new “big” client if:

• You need a project manager for a grant-funded nonprofit project;
• You require research to support a new website, publication, social media campaign, or report;
• You are trying to assemble any kind of larger-scale written deliverable; or,
• Surprise me! I’m a liberal arts graduate, you know. That means I can do anything except be left alone in a laboratory.

You may review some of our project work over the past year here: http://longridgeeditorsblog.com/category/clients/. I am happy to talk about new work in person, by email (edg@longridgeeditors.com), or on the telephone (304-552-3344). Please feel free to share this email with anyone in your network who you think might be interested, and thanks!

Just for Fun

Join our meme!

After a long stretch of fairly heavy blogging material, it was time for some fun on Esse Diem. I discovered that “fun” is now spelled “Tumblr” and that this micro-blog platform is perfect to showcase the self-portraits with a favorite book images requested for this little dalliance. Come on over and see what we have so far: http://essediem.tumblr.com/ I’d love to have you join us with your own version of “self-portrait with favorite book.” See the Esse Diem link above for details!

Peace and books,

Elizabeth Gaucher
Managing Partner
Longridge Editors LLC

Reblogged from THE LITERARY MAN:

Thx, Novel Matters.

“The thing is that, okay, you write a story. But from the moment someone buys that story, it’s theirs. And they can understand as much or as little as they want/can. They can love it or hate it. But your job’s done. You can’t possibly expect to be there when someone reads your story and explain all the bits that they didn’t understand.”

(You can read Mihai’s full set of “Five Ways to Cope with a Bad Review” on his blog.

What do you think? Can you bring yourself to let the reader own your work?

Longridge Editors LLC is pleased to have an ongoing partnership with artist Heidi Richardson Evans, a.k.a. daisybones.

Ms. Evans consults on our  projects, and recently assumed a lead role in redesigning a client’s book cover and text layout (poems).  The book cover landed on the Huffington Post, and you can view it here.

Today, daisybones is in a micro-funding effort for her latest collaboration. She needs just over $100 — today if possible — to support an upcoming art exhibit. A self-described “anatomical nonconformist,” Ms. Evans has a lifelong fascination with the interior structures of the human body. In this exhibit she lends her considerable artistic and intellectual talents to the work of Megan Dailey and Gregg Oxley. You can view more details about the exhibit via its public event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/256261097812441/

It’s easy to give via Pay Pay online (visit the daisybones link here: http://www.daisybones.com/p/body-exhibit-project-fund.html. It’s not every day that your $5 or $10 can make a tangible, lasting difference in support of artists and the arts. Please consider making a small — or large! — contribution to this inspired and unique collaboration today. Karma will thank you.

From the artist:

“The money raised will help with my prints and framing, as well as incidental costs for the reception night. I’m offering incentives, modeling this after a Kickstarter.com project, though I’m taking gifts directly because I need to move fast. My goal is $200. I’m estimating $60-$70 for framing, $80-$100 for prints, and the rest is my share of reception costs.”

$25+ Supporters will receive a signed, open edition 8X10 digital print from the exhibition.
$10 Supporters will receive a signed 5X7 digital print from the exhibition.
$5 Supporters will receive a digitally printed, signed ACEO from the exhibit.
All Supporters will receive a 20% discount code to redeem at my Etsy shop. 

“Pinterest,” my friend Beth said, “ is like The Secret for people who are too lazy to read The Secret.”

I apparently am too lazy to even know what The Secret is, so I Googled it.

The Secret is, basically, a book about believing that anything is possible.

Then I looked up how Wikipedia describes Pinterest: “a visionboard-styled social photosharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections.”

In essence you can pretend anything is possible,visually, with Pinterest. My friend was correct!

I wanted to know what someone who works with words thinks about all this, so I interviewed Jennifer Waggener; Jennifer is the former manager/buyer for the independent bookstore Taylor Books in Charleston, West Virginia. She is an avid Pinterest-er, as well as a writer and book lover.

K: I won’t own a Kindle because I just like touching books so much. You’ve referred to Pinterest as a “global muse.”  Talk about how using a computer to assemble images compares to sitting down and cutting things out of magazines, books or any other tangible media.

J: I refuse to own a Kindle (for now). I have been living “live on the internet” for nearly a decade now, and it took a long time to find the right balance for me. I tend to keep my social media “profiles” separate, with very little overlap.

There are very few people who “know” me on Twitter, my blog, AND Facebook. Typically, they know me on only one social media platform. I like it that way. I keep Facebook for real life friends and family. Twitter is primarily my political and activist outlet, and my “relationships” there are with similar sorts of people. Most of my Twitter connections I’ve never met in real life. And then there’s my blog. For most of its life, nobody who knew me in real life had any clue I even had a blog, and I wanted it that way. I didn’t want their presence there to alter or impact what I might write. For the most part, with very limited exception, I’ve managed to maintain those separations, even now.

Pinterest is different. For me, the social aspect of Pinterest is less about interaction with others one-on-one and more about tapping into the expressions of ideas across the masses. It’s a resource, a sounding board, a “why didn’t I think of that!” sharing of ingenuity that never ceases to amaze me. I never think of the site as a form of social media when I’m using it, or being part of it; on the other hand, I’m acutely aware of the social aspects of the other services (Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

K: I started a Pinterest “board” and now all of these people are following me. One of them is this awful acquaintance from college and now I’m sort of self-conscious about what I post. Do you ever feel like the on-line part inhibits you?

J: You can certainly learn a lot about someone by really looking at their boards. It occurred to me just yesterday that my Pinterest boards tell more of my story and about who I am than you would likely learn in many years of knowing me in person. Even so, it has a less intimate feel. Does that make sense? It’s a communal bulletin board composed of millions of individual minds, and you can read deep in between its images or skim as superficially as lack of time allows and fully enjoy your Pinterest experience, either way.

K: So it doesn’t necessarily make you think about what you pin in terms of who’s following it?

J:  No. There’s zero personal info on there. Lots of personALITY info, but nothing personal. It’s as innocuous as them looking over my shoulder at what magazines I read.

K: Any additional thoughts?

J: People use it in all sorts of different ways, whether it’s as a time killer, an amusement, a creative tool, a marketing push, or as a way to meet new people. I think that’s true with most forms of social media, but the beauty of Pinterest lies in the ability to actually use time spent there for the greater good. I started a board called “So I was Pin-spired to try…” and I re-pin or post my end results of some Pinterest-inspired endeavor as a way to hold me accountable to all this creative energy I’m collecting. It makes me feel like I’m a Pinterest user with a Purpose – and yes, I know that sound ridiculous. But work with me here. It’s a psychological advantage. I’ll use this board to post my experience with craft projects and recipes, DIY and decorating, books and random ideas (I have a ton more to add) that I tried because I found them on the site.

Kathryn Johnston graduated from Hollins College with  B.A. degrees in Art History and French. After attending Washington & Lee University School of Law, she practiced corporate law in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kathryn focused on corporate advertising and marketing with the occasional foray into corporate formation and acquisitions. Her clients included McKee Foods Corporation (maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, which she consumed strictly for professional reasons).

Kathryn blogs for Longridge Editors LLC, writes book reviews, and advises on general legal issues such as copyright.