The Word Cloud - Writing Community - Help and advice for writers

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  A Kink in my Grammar
  - 6 replies in total
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  What is a complete sentence?
  - 2 replies in total
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  When to use a hyphen in a sentence
  - 5 replies in total
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  It's a question of speech
  - 3 replies in total
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  Commas - To Use Or Not Too Use, That Is My Question!
  - 12 replies in total

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66 Members...

128 Wall Posts

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  by Green polka 28 days ago

  Thanks Spangles, thanks, his name is Livingston and he is my writing companion, although he normally does more typing as he stretches over my laptop!
  
  I am still busy with my manuscript, in the 'polishing' department, it's taking way longer than I expected. I am actually not keen to publish in SA, because everything automatically becomes political. I am really not sure where to take it. It basically a womens discovery of herself at mid-life with the obligatory love interest, not a political debate between the left and right wing South Africans. I hate reading SA Fiction, there is always and an under current. I am going to post this on the my first book wall, to see if anyone has views on this.
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  by Spangles 29 days ago

  Hi Green polka, and welcome to the Cloud. I like your name, especially as I'm wearing a green polka dot shirt this morning!
  
  Your choice of spelling depends on which market you're aiming for. If you want to sell your manuscript to a UK publisher, that's the spelling to choose. Or choose US spelling if you're aiming for that market. There can be a big difference in the sort of books they take, according to the genre you're writing in, so it might help to do some research first if you aren't sure.
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  by Green polka 29 days ago

  Hi there, I am an excited new member of the Writing Cloud, yippee! I fall exactly in this bracket. Can you clarify for me: I am an english speaking South African, what spelling is best to use? Hopefully one day I will be published and would like to know whether to use UK or USA spelling?
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  by Persia 2 months ago

  Years ago I was at school with a man from the French part of Switzerland (oddly enough, long before I had any other connection with this, my country of residence!). He always mixed up words ending in -ing and -ed, so he would come out with gems like, "I'm so exciting!" or "I'm so confusing..." with complete sincerity!
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  by Persia 2 months ago

  Hi everyone! Welcome to the new members! I've been out of the Clouds with guests camping out at our place since May. Summer holidays are coming up too, so I'm sure many of you will check in occasionally, because what else have you got to do on hols, right???
  Kate, thanks for the anecdote! It's a great idea to dust off our grey cells, and I'm sure many of us have come across such things - so why not share them here? Kate's started us off, so I guess I'll be next...
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  by Kate.J 3 months ago

  I remember many years ago someone who was not a native speaker of English describing an incident when he was being hassled by officials of some sort, and finishing with "so I just ignorised them". It stuck in my mind as a very apt word.
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  by Persia 5 months ago

  I seem to be missing the original question to the ignorant subject. :o) I prefer Catherine's colourful version of the etymology... Had a good laugh! I say, ignore the ignorant ignoramus who ignores his or her own ignorance. ;-)
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  by Wrathnar the Unreasonable 5 months ago

  Doesn't it come from the latin 'ignoramus' meaning 'I don't know'?
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  by Catherine 5 months ago

  Whisks - in French the verb "ignorer" means to be unaware of something which makes it one of those false friends for the translator into English. Somehow the same meaning has been carried over into the noun but not the verb.
  
  I think at some point around 1067 some Frenchie pretended not to recognise an Englishman he had already seen down the pub on numerous occasions and whom he owed a pint. Je vous ignore! he said (I don't know you) and the Englishman boffed him on the head with the mace he carried with him for such moments: That will teach you to ignore me! he said...
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  by Tony 5 months ago

  I expect it's because ignorance results from ignoring the facts, or failing to take the trouble to gain knowledge. We say 'He was ignorant of the fact that the rail strike had been called off.' This doesn't mean he was uninteligent, only that he had not become aware of this information. But by progression, people who don't know much of anything have come to be reffered to as ignorant.