This past week, I’ve been editing my latest book. Being an Indie Author, I don’t have the budget at this time to afford an editor. And, as much as I’d love to hand over the task to a professional while I move on to my next project, I think I’ve done a pretty darn good job editing my own books, both the grammar and the content. I have learned how to “kill my darlings.” And that’s not easy! I haven’t received a single book review that complained about poor writing and/or grammar. And that’s thanks, in part, to Catholic school. Of course, I didn’t think so during the time I was attending Catholic school. I’d much rather have been at the public school because they had cool classes like Drama and Band. My little school couldn’t afford those luxuries. I think a good portion of the tuition money was funding the monsignor’s drinking habits, but I digress.

Anyway, as I was editing my new book, I had visions of diagramming sentences on a green chalkboard in fifth grade. And sixth grade. And seventh grade. I recall spending a week or so on sentence diagrams in my Freshman English class. At that time, I didn’t know that the practice of sentence diagramming had been virtually eliminated from the public school system. Today, there’s not one mention of it in the Common Core.

Do YOU know what sentence diagramming is? Were you taught this in school?

I guess some kids found the process frustrating. Not me. I LOVED it. Maybe that’s because I love WORDS in general. Reading them. Writing them. As soon as I learned how to write, I spent hours putting words together on paper in a way that told a story that made my mom smile.  (Diagram that sentence). How lucky I was to attend a school that taught ‘old school.’

So, thank you Sister Rose, Sister Muriel, Sister Julie and Sister Pat. I bet you’re all living it up in heaven, those golden rulers at the ready to smack some wayward angel-in-training on the back of the hand.

Oh, and I DO believe in the Oxford Comma. Thanks for that, too!

Happy Reading!

P.S. If you enjoy my writing style, you might enjoy my books. Sweet (not treacly!), Clean, Old-Fashioned Romance with endearing characters and a good dose of humor.