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Kidlit Life Blog

Kidlit isn't just about children's literature. It's about life and how we can live when we remember the child that lives in our own heart and honor the child that lives in each other's. It's about a willingness to learn, to grow, to once again be filled with wonder and awe at the world around us. 

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The Clause Comma

1/15/2019

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To continue my punctuation parade (if you missed the first installment, see this post on The Classic Comma - absolutely fascinating reading (or at least, it might be if you're a punctuation purist), today I'd like to chat about one of my  pet peeve commas: The Clause Comma. There are many clauses around town, but I believe that the clause comma is the only one of its kind - one in which "clause" is the adjective rather than the noun.  Please don't confuse it with The Santa Clause (or THE Santa Claus), a raven's claws, or the clause in your homeowners' insurance policy that denies payment if the company isn't in the mood to pay on your claim because Sid the Salesman had diarrhea last week.

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Clauses are more common than fleas on your beloved dog. A"clause" is basically a string of words that, when placed in a certain order, mean something. There are dependent clauses that merely introduce an idea but don't form a complete thought, and there are independent clauses that can stroll around all on their own.

One of my favorite uses for the clause comma (and there are many) is to separate an introductory dependent clause from the independent clause that follows it. The problem, as I see it, is that not every writer understands the importance of the clause comma.

​I'm a big Louise Penny fan. My brother introduced me to her last summer, and I began to devour the books in her Armand Gamache series. 

But alas, Ms. Penny (or her editor/proofreader) does not believe in the clause comma. When I come across one of her sentences with an introductory dependent (usually adverbial) clause without a comma that separates it from the independent clause, I'm thrown off a bit. I misinterpret the sentence. Most of the time, my interpretation doesn't make sense, so I have to read the sentence again (sometimes more than once) in order to understand. When I mentally place the comma in its appropriate place, the meaning is clear, I am at peace, and I can go on with the story. 


Without the comma after an introductory dependent clause, I keep on reading without pause 'cause there's no comma to tell me it's the end of a clause! With a well-placed comma, I know that I'm at the end of a thought, there's more coming. My thinking shifts just a tad, which enables me to comprehend the full meaning of the sentence without re-reading it.


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Remember the Sweet

1/7/2019

4 Comments

 
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My husband has taken up a new hobby: cooking. A couple of months ago, he spent a day in the kitchen with Nick Miller, the executive chef for 23 City Blocks in St. Louis (who also happens to be our nephew PERK!). One of the many things Marc (said husband) learned is that a balanced meal (flavorly speaking) consists of five major flavors: bitter, sour, salty, sweet, and umami (earthy). A balanced meal is one that offers the diner the most fulfillment and enjoyment.

Most of us common, everyday, get-a-meal-on-the-table-as-fast-as-possible cooks don't give much thought to a balance of flavors on the plate. We're more about protein and veggies and filling hungry stomachs on a budget. And most of us common, every day, get-my-list-of-to-do's-done people don't think about the ingredients that make up our lives. 

Like it or not (and who does?), we need the bitter. It keep us grounded; teaches us compassion, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. It offers us opportunity to grow and mature; become better people.
Sour happens. If not every day, most days. Your sour might be hearing that alarm at 5:30. Ugh. But if getting up at 5:30 gives you time to go for that run or pray and meditate or do yoga before the day gets crazy, it's well worth it.
Salty adds pizzazz to your every day life - laughing with your co-workers or creating a colorful spreadsheet (if you have to build a spreadsheet, why not be creative about it?)
Umami is that place where we all live most of the time: getting done what has to be done. Checking the have-to's off the list.

These are the flavors that make up most of my life and probably yours too; but I was recently reminded of the one thing I tend to forget over and over and over. I'm such a do-er, such a list-checker-off-er, so goal-oriented that I forget to balance my life with the sweet. 

For me, the sweet of life includes writing kidlit. Sadly, I get sucked into the (not) all-important goal of being published, of gaining fans who will make me the next J.K. Rowling (haha), and of dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" that conventional writing wisdom says you must do to be a success. I lose sight of the sweetness of writing, and it becomes a chore.

So as you plan the menu for your 2019 life, remember to add the sweet. It doesn't have to be every day. It just has to be. What do you love to do? Make it happen. Your soul needs it.

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