WriterByNature.com

February 26, 2008 5:45 am

Style, like DNA or fingerprints, is what identifies a writer.

Here are some techniques you can use to create the appropriate style for your written work: (more…)

February 5, 2008 6:29 am

A reader contacted me recently and asked:

Do I walk into, or in to the building? Do I go into the bedroom to get dressed, or do I go in to the bedroom to get dressed. I believe ‘into’ in both cases. Right, or wrong? I sometimes have problem with this. Is there a rule?

I had to meditate on this for a while. But there is a clear distinction between into and in to.

Use the word into, when you mean enter or transform.
Use the phrase in to, when you mean anything else.

The best example I found when searching for an illustration of the difference comes from writer George Roupe. Consider the following two sentences:

Turn the assignment in to the teacher.
Turn the assignment into the teacher. (more…)

January 5, 2008 8:27 am

The Hawk Circle advertisement reads:

Two Feet of Fresh Snow
17 Degrees Below Zero
No Tent
No Electricity
No Problem.

The reason: a quinzee - an Inuit word for a snow shelter made from compressed snow, which is then hollowed out.

(more…)

November 16, 2007 5:57 pm

Besides the very clever play on words of her name, writer Janet Riehl’s site, Riehl Life, is filled with art and music rich in cultural heritage. I’m crazy about her 92-year-old dad, who is still making music.

Janet and I participated in a recent blog chain. I had no clue how to make the best use of a blog chain or guest blogging, so I turned to my marketing maven, Angela Parker of Wicked WordCraft, who answered my questions.

Janet has posted my article Exploring Inwood Hill Park - An Old Growth Forest in New York City. So, please visit Riehl Life for a rich helping of Janet’s Village Wisdom for the 21st Century.

November 15, 2007 5:33 am

I can’t claim credit for this poem; I heard it from an entertaining nature educator - an “edutainer.” It’s an effective tool for engaging school-age children in studying tracks.

It begins with an “s” and it ends with a “t”.
It comes out of you and it comes out of me.
I know what you’re thinking. You could call it that.
But, let’s be scientific and call it “scat.”

Thanks, Carl.

Now, what can you tell about the coyote scat and the deer track from the above photo?

September 10, 2007 9:29 am

I love watching flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) on a warm summer night.

They really should be called gliding squirrels, because what allows them to be airborne is a loose flap of skin called the PATAGIUM. (more…)

August 24, 2007 5:52 pm

One of the COMA activities, beyond finding and identifying mushrooms is the experience of eating mushrooms. The act of consuming mushrooms is known as mycophagy.

I’m not sure if the term includes eating all mushrooms, or if it applies specifically to eating wild mushrooms. What I do know is that I’ve just experienced my first mycophagy event. I took the opportunity to observe master chefs preparing shitake, maitaki, chicken mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles and black trumpets.

(more…)

May 1, 2007 11:58 pm

I’m always on the lookout for writing exercises, crossword puzzles, hidden picture puzzles or any system that will jump start my writing.

Here are a few ideas for filling the page without the pressure of producing a final draft:

1. Write a one-sentence description of ten friends or family members.
2. Write your obituary in 500 words or less.
3. Describe your favorite place to relax in 300 words.
4. Select an essay that you wrote and rewrite it in third person.
5. Choose a chapter written by you or another author and in third person and rewrite it in first person.
6. Sit in a cafe or public place and transcribe a conversation between two people. Now create characters based on the conversation.
7. Freewrite for ten minutes, then stop and read what you wrote. Write down the central theme or issue and begin another 10-minute freewrite. Stop and read that freewrite, find the central theme and begin another 10-minute freewrite.
8. List ten activities that you love. Now write down the last time you did each activity.
9. Take a walk and list every smell or every sound you notice. Use that to write from a dog’s point of view or a cat’s point of view.
10. Find a passage from a favorite book and rewrite it in another genre. If the passage is science fiction, try writing it as a romance or a comedy.

3:28 am

I see as much wildlife outside my window as I do on a hike.

Life is an oxymoron.

Backyard wildlife or the suburban wilderness - little bits of open space still provide food and shelter for many species.

Here’s what I see when I’m not on a hike:

This squirrel is happy to pose for a photo.

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April 25, 2007 1:02 am

Three days of balmy weather has gone to my brain.

Here are a few thoughts to stimulate nature writing: (more…)