2026 - January - Celebrations

 

Happy New Year!

The new year 2026 is here and, typically, it's a time to make resolutions to better ourselves, our lives, our jobs, our families, and our writing.

But the individual days of January also offer other reasons to celebrate. As a writer, I'm drawn to the following January days of celebration:

January 1 — Copyright Law Day 

January 2 — National Motivation and Inspiration Day

     — National Science Fiction Day

January 3 — J.R.R. Tolkien Day

January 4 — National CanDo Day 

January 5 — National Screenwriters Day

January 6 — National Take a Poet to Lunch Day

January 7 — I Am a Mentor Day

January 8 — International Typing Day

       — World Literary Day

January 9 — Word Nerd Day

       — Poetry at Work Day

January 10 — National Peculiar People Day

— Quitters Day

January 11 — World Sketchnote Day

January 12 — Stick to Your New Year’s Resolution Day

— Work Harder Day

January 13 — Make Your Dreams Come True Day

— National Clean Your Desk Day

— Poetry Break Day

January 14 — Poetry at Work Day 

— Printing Ink Day

— World Logic Day

January 15 — Wikipedia Day

January 16 — Appreciate a Dragon Day

— Book Publishers Day

— National Nothing Day

January 17 — Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day

— International We Are Not Broken Day

January 18 — National Gourmet Coffee Day 

— National Use Your Gift Card Day 

— Maintenance Day

— Thesaurus Day

— Winnie the Pooh Day

January 19 — Good Memory Day

January 20 — Blue Monday 

— Civil Rights Day 

— Elementary School Teacher Day 

— National Coffee Break Day

— Take A Walk Outdoors Day 

January 21 — One-Liners Day 

— Thank Your Mentor Day

January 22 — Library Shelfie Day

January 23 — National Handwriting Day (which coincides with John Hancock’s Birthday)

January 24 — “Just Do It” Day 

— International Day of Education 

— Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day 

January 25 — National Irish Coffee Day

January 26 — Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement 

January 27 — Better Business Communication Day 

— National Chocolate Cake Day

January 28 — Christa McAuliffe Day

  — National Plan for Vacation Day 

— Speak Up and Succeed Day

January 29 — Curmudgeons Day

— Freethinkers Day

January 30 — National Escape Day

January 31 — Backwards Day 

— Hell is Freezing Over Day

— Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day

— Scotch Tape Day

What day especially intrigues you? 

What days will you check off and celebrate?

Write on!

Catherine E. McLean

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December 2025 - 12 Quotes to Ponder

 

For the past eleven months, this blog focused on writer-author quotes. So it seems only fitting to end the year with twelve  writing quotes. Enjoy or ponder  –  better yet, think and write, write, write! 

● The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. – Sylvia Plath

● A true piece of writing is a dangerous thing, it can change your life. – Tobias Wolff

● Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. – Benjamin Franklin

● You fail only if you stop writing. – Ray Bradbury

● A word after a word after a word is power. – Margaret Atwood

● Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. – George Orwell

● The writing process is very much like being in a dark tunnel, and you don't really know what you will end up with until you have created it. – Emilie Haines

● Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words. – Mark Twain

● Writing is a skill, not a talent, and this difference is important because a skill can be improved by practice. – Robert Stacy McCain

● You can't blame a writer for what the characters say. – Truman Capote

● Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row. – Ray Bradbury 

● There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. – Maya Angelou

If you have a favorite writing quote, please share it in the comments.

I wish you the Happies of Holidays! 

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11 November 2025 - Choices

"For any given idea, there exists a variety of technically and grammatically correct word combinations that can be used to communicate it. But each word combination alters the idea. It is the form the writer chooses, the words he picks out, that determines the content of his work, what he really says, and whether or not the writing works . . . Writing that works is also writing that assigns a job to every word in a sentence. Every word, every sentence, every paragraph must be doing some work or it should be fired." — Gary Provost -  MAKING YOUR WORDS WORK

I chose this long quote because it's important to pay attention to every word written. 

What a lot of writers don't realize is that every word has a precise meaning or imagery, or both. For example, hate is not the same thing as ire. Rage is not the same as pique. Boiling isn't the same thing as tepid.

In other words, there are many shades of meaning in-between.

When drafting a work, it's common to grab the first words that come to mind. In the revision phase, individual words should be scrutinized and more vivid or correct words swapped in.

No doubt about it—creating a story well written and well told depends on word choices. So, strive to get the words right. Your reader will appreciate it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

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October 2025 - Is it okay?

 

Although I was aware of O.K. not being okay, it wasn't until I learned from an editor that O.K. and OK might be fine for a newspaper or newsletter column, but if when writing fiction, and especially in dialogue, spell it out as the word "okay". —William Zinsser 

Fads come and go and undergo mutations, so do acronyms. I was amazed to find O.K. first appeared in a 1839 Boston Morning Post. It's been around a very long time. The abbreviation, O.K., was used as an abbreviation for "oll korrect." 

It is also not surprising to me that such a little word aggravates readers and editors. After all, OK and O.K. jump off the page like buckshot in the eyes and draw undue attention to themselves. 

On the other hand, okay flows with the words in a sentence and doesn't bother the eyes.

I knew about the difference when I was a secretary. When taking dictation the shorthand OK went down but, in the boss's letter, it went in as "okay." 

When did you learn the difference between using the acronym OK or O.K. and spelling out the word "okay?"

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September 2025 - Are You Going?

 

Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.                             — J. K. Rowling

The magic of words comes alive at a writer's conference.

When you attend a writer's conference, you'll gain clarity into what it is about writing that makes a story resonate with a reader. 

When you attend a writer's conference, you'll meet multi-published and award-winning authors who offer insights into the industry as well as the ups and downs, pros and cons, of becoming a selling author.

When you attend a writer's conference, you'll take home knowledge that will inspire, clarify techniques and devices of good storytelling, and network (meet fellow writers all on the same journey).

Make some magic for yourself and your writing by attending the one-day, Writer's Road Trip #13, in Erie PA.

Make your reservations today!

There's lots to learn - check out the speakers and workshops. I will be giving two workshops AND will be available as The Pitch Doctor.

What are you waiting for? Check it out -

https://pennwriters.org/writers_roadtrip

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