Grammatical Errors

/ LKWeir

by LK Weir

The art of grammar was never my forte. I would vaguely participate in the general laughter of a grammar related joke (strained, guilty laughter with a hint of imposter syndrome). I was scarred by grammar at an early age. The spelling tests in elementary school where we would raise our hand to show our score (I averaged about 2 out of 10). The time my teacher wrote Too much detail on my short story about midnight snacking. The time my social studies teacher read my first paragraph out loud in front of the entire class, pointing out each extra comma as if it were a punch line (the class certainly thought it was!). And then a barely passable grade on my English diploma exam, though I swore it was the best essay I’d ever written. 

Early on, I decided that words were too much trouble. The rules never made any sense, even when I’d spent extra time learning phonetics, syntax, and structure. In the end, it always bothered me that fone was incorrect, but fan was not. Mouse and mice, but house and houses. ‘I’ before ‘e’ except, of course, after c or in words such as weigh, sleigh, neigh, or my own last name (though Weir didn’t fit into the rhyme). And please, let’s not get started on the silent spelling killers—‘ch’ that sounded like ‘sh’, or added r’s in February (which happens to be my birth month that I’d spelled incorrectly for the majority of my life). Etc., etc., etc.… fill in your own version of irritation (their, they’re, there—don’t feel too bad!). 

Nope. Not me. Grammar was a burden and certainly not worth my time. 

Except that…after a few years of deciding words were not my friend, I realized there was alchemy in them. Yes, there had been ridicule. Yes, I had a smidgen of social trauma. But goodness—words in the right order could send shivers through the body, empower the imagination, and make real something that didn’t exist before. They are MAGICAL.

Out of all the things I thought I would love, words had not been one of them. Somehow though, they became one of my greatest loves because of what they could do. 

So, I spent my first writing years learning the difference between tenses and then points-of-view. The next few years were allocated to tone and voice. The years after that, the intricate ways in which to use a comma in relation to dialogue quotations. And I’ve just started to understand when to use a semicolon vs. a full colon (I had to check the spelling of colon to make sure I hadn’t spelled colon. As it turns out, the body part has exactly the same spelling).

Whew! 

Even after all that googling of how to use then vs. than or properly tag dialogue, I still rely heavily on spell check and the eyes of my favorite editors. 

So! What is the point of this post other than to (in good humour) ridicule the English language?

Simply this:

  1. First, you don’t have to have all your skills honed prior to starting something new. The sharpening of your abilities will happen once you start. 
  2. Second, please don’t let your past impressions stop you from learning and growing. We have the tendency to tell ourselves something is not worth doing if it has hurt us in the past.
  3. Finally, if I had been born in the United States of America, I would never have spelled color incorrectly. 

Think. Speak. Act.

/ LKWeir

by LK Weir

I’ve been reading a book on manifestation and it’s not the first one I’ve entertained. I love the concept of believing in something enough that it actually comes true. And, I’m embarrassed to say, I tried it out with the lottery. I’d convinced myself that if I believed completely and entirely without a single doubt, I would win the jackpot. With this belief came dreams of grandeur. I dreamt of a future full of freedom: starting a publishing company, helping out my friends and family, invoking my inner philanthropist, and travelling the world free of any restrictions. My head was high in the clouds, planning out how I would spend my money in my perfect future.

 To win, I picked my numbers carefully and methodically and paid too much for a lottery ticket. I held firm to the belief that my ticket would be the winning one. From picking the numbers, to buying the ticket, to driving home. The thought of winning was never in doubt.

As soon as the numbers were released online my heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through my veins. In that moment, checking the numbers on the slip in my hand against the winning ones, I realized I’d been duped. It wasn’t a winning ticket. In fact, only 2 of the numbers matched, not even enough for the measly $2 prize. I felt like a fool, believing that I had any control over my future and my destiny. Afterall, I had completed the perfect test by believing with every ounce of my being that it would happen, and I was wrong. 

I told myself to get my head out of the clouds and that just believing wasn’t enough. Because after all, it’s easier to assume that we’re not in control, that the world is pure chaos, and that our only job is to duck out of the way of flying debris. I was completely at the mercy of shifting winds and stormy weather. And, at least with this way of thinking, I didn’t need to feel disappointed when things didn’t work out.

Then the clouds parted, and the debris settled. 

Manifestation isn’t about picking the right lottery numbers. That’s like standing at the bottom of the lowest valley, protected by a stone roof, surrounded by super tall trees, and hoping to get hit by lightning when there isn’t a cloud in the sky. Manifestation is about taking what you have, using who you are, and turning it into who you will be.  

The only proof I needed that manifestation was real, was that I’d already done it in my life. As I reflected on my experiences, I realized that they were things I believed in, things I poured effort into (winning and loosing), and things I knew deep inside myself that I wanted to complete. I’d manifested finishing a novel, travelling over the ocean, and creating a better place for my family. I’d done these things because somewhere along the lines, I’d decided that these goals were worth fighting for. This realization led me to understand that manifestation is a three-step process (combined with a little patience and an open mind). I must also point out that these are not my ideas, I have read about it many times but it FINALLY sunk in. The three basic steps are: 

  • Think what you want to achieve and hold that thought because manifestation takes time. 
  • Speak what you will be and believe you can achieve it because honestly you can.
  • Act on those moments of opportunity that come your way, they are the path to manifestation.

It is not simply enough to want something. Wanting something keeps it as just a want and nothing more. To make it into reality we must believe that it is who we will become. We have to speak it out loud to ourselves and to others. And, when that whisper of opportunity comes, we must act on it.  

I have started repeating daily mantras to myself. Things that I will become. I didn’t realize it until recently, but this is something I have always done unconsciously. I would fumble something at work and say to myself, “I’m so dumb.” Or I would see a beautiful vacation spot and think, “I want to go there but I’ll never be able to afford it.” Now, when I tell myself something negative or self-belittling, I immediately correct it. “I am smart, I am capable.” And if there is a future that I want, I say it out loud. “I am an entrepreneur, I am a novelist, I am a leader.” I repeat these daily because manifestation only works if we believe it will work.  

Think it, speak it, act it. 

The Art of Storytelling

/ LKWeir

During a recent conversation with a friend, I gained a new insight about storytelling. She’d been observing a conversation between me and another writer where we’d discussed the childlike joy in creating worlds through words. At the end of the night, my friend told me, “This is why you are a writer, because I have never felt that way about writing.” And she was right, words are my favourite medium but this didn’t negate her as a storyteller. In fact, she has told me some of the BEST stories over the years. Stories that made me laugh, cry, or even motivated me into action. She is an excellent storyteller.

Collage of photos - artistic mediums of expression

It struck me that storytelling is something everyone does, just in different mediums. The painter paints a story, the musician composes a story, the screenwriter writes a story, and even the not-so-artsy person tells a story through conversation. 

We are all storytellers.

It starts with the stories we tell ourselves. As children we create imagined worlds in which to move our toys through, diving into scenarios that only we can see. Beautiful, exciting, and adventurous plotlines that are fueled by our natural storytelling ability. 

“A child can take leaves and sticks and create a village, conquer a foreign land in her own backyard, climb a tree and touch the clouds, or set sail through a puddle.“

Storytelling does not die out with childhood, it evolves. Where once we saw pictures in our minds and relayed them through imagined worlds, we grew into telling stories of experiences. Some of us share experiences through a good conversation over a glass of wine or the retelling of events that occurred after a long day at work. We regale moments of experienced sadness, seeing a hero in action, or undeniably funny situations we got ourselves into—laughing at our own embarrassment. Storytelling is as natural as breathing, it is how we communicate. We love to tell them, and we love to hear them. 

Writing is my medium, it brings out an inner creative voice that would otherwise get ignored in my daily grind. It allows me to tap back into the childlike me. For me, writing is a freedom that is not always allowed in the adult world. It allows me to balance work with play, a break from spreadsheets and emails.

Whether you tell stories through speaking, dancing, painting, writing, or any other beautiful medium, you too are a storyteller. So, embrace your inner storyteller. Break out your medium and allow your storytelling-self to explore the art in any way it sees fit.

Photo collage of artistic mediums