The Writer's Mailbag: Installment 287

Bill

So sorry to hear about your friend Frank. I had thought that I'd read this hub before, but checking just now I realised that I hadn't.

Regarding grammar software. Grammarly is a good basic tool, but the free version, I wouldn't bother with the paid or 'premium' version as there are better types of paid-for software out there.

I use the free version of Grammarly because it runs on any device and I can even use it with Google docs (I use that a lot).

I think I'm one of those who constantly struggle with trying to keep up with all the writers here on HP, I've tried culling my lists to only those who comment on my own hubs, but even that still doesn't give a huge amount of time, so I add the extra bit in, that I only comment on hubs that spark an interest.

Blessings

Lawrence

Bill, my condolences to you for the loss of Frank. I know you knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm sure the memories the two of you created will continuously play in your mind. And you heart will always be full.

Sorry to hear about your friend. A high school buddy of mine recently died with brain cancer at the age of 48. A sad reminder that any of us can go, any minute, and I guess we have to make hay while the sun shines.

My writing limit is about four hours too. After that I get brain cramps, and I have to get up and do something physical.

Great work as usual. Merry Christmas!

Daniel Craig has the right build and the cool, uncertain demeanour. Uncertain in that he can give the impression that anything could set him off, so tread carefully. I've heard him do an American accent. It needs work, lots of work. If he can sort that out, I think he'll fill the bill nicely.

I think Jason Statham can definitely pull off quietly menacing. We know he can do action but I've always felt that Striker isn't the showy type. He does what he needs to get done efficiently with little wasted effort.

The key thing for any actor to play Striker is to show he isn't one-dimensional. We know he's a remorseless killing machine when he needs to be, but he is also capable of fierce loyalty to those who've earned it and can show his softer, caring side to those he feels safe in doing so.

You've done an excellent job in creating such a well-written, nuanced character, Bill. I can't wait to find out more about him and see how he takes on Old Blighty.

Have a great weekend, Bill.

Oh, yes, definitely a young Sam Eliot. Matt Damon, though. A fine actor, to be sure, but don't you think he's too good looking for the part?

I feel for you about the loss of your friend, Frank. About Devika's question: I use Grammarly, the free version, but it has given me added confidence that I am contemplating the upgrade. I am looking forward to reading your memoir.

Oh! I see Venkat is here. Hi Venkat! (Venkatachari M). Thanks Bill for keeping the writing community together on one page :)

This mailbag is rich with good questions and great answers. Thanks to you Bill, and to those who ask the questioners. Thanks also for your regular comments on my articles.

Aww, thanks Bill. That's really kind of you to say. I feel the same.

Bradley Cooper, good choice. What about Striker? In my head, he always shows up as Lee Marvin or James Coburn. Since neither are available, who would you choose? It should be someone who comes across as stone-cold yet caring.

That reminds me. I've been meaning to ask if when your writing, do you see your characters acting out the scenes as you write or do you wait until your editing to see how it plays out?

Have a great day, Bill.

Well, what happened to my comments...hub pages, what did you do? (probably deleted my comments just because I wrote "I want to buy all your books, Bill" :)

Losing a friend like Frank leaves a big void and I'm sorry. It's especially hard when it's unexpected.

If I had to choose my favorite mailbag it would be this one. The questions are so good and your answers, as always, so helpful.

We're a blessed bunch of writers, here in our community, for knowing you; for your willingness to guide us on the path to writing.

Enjoy the spirit of Christmas, dear Bill.

Love,

Audrey

I'm sort of retired too. You didn,t say that the work can increase. Lol

I feel for your emotive state as covered in your blog. Worth reading guys. My Spirit is with you ... the inner Master is with you. Keep smiling.

I think your title is awesome! Peace!

Sorry to hear about your friend. It is so hard to accept, isn't it, even when we think we're prepared.

Thank you for your answer. I think I would have the same reaction, not that anything so exciting is ever going to happen to me! I think I'd be scared actually!

The mailbag goes on and is always up-to-date, informative and helpful. How do you manage to keep coming up with such great answers? I bow to your perseverance, loyalty and commitment, standards that are hard to maintain - but you do it in spades, bill.

Ann

Again, my sympathies on Frank's passing. Glad you have wonderful memories of your years of friendship.

Re: Grammar Check. I do think the likes of Grammarly are helpful. The grammar check in MS Word is okay, just okay. But what I find with all these tools is that they often cannot interpret context. Dialogue is the worst for them to check. So do use them for additional editing help, but don't blindly rely on them.

Well, got a lot going on here and gotta run. Have a great week!

Sorry to hear of the loss of your friend that many years to have a friend is just priceless. Thank you for the helping about the grammar check tool. I appreciate the useful hub you put forward.

What? No video of The Youngbloods doing 'Get Together'? You're slipping, Bill. lol

Since you won't be approaching Tarantino it's a good thing I have a mental movie running through my head when I read you 'Shadow' series. For some reason, it's always in black and white similar to classic noir films like 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The Big Sleep'. Was that, perhaps, subconsciously intentional?

Just want to say, I absolutely sweat by Grammarly. It not only checks spelling and grammar errors but also explains why they are errors, suggests alternative words if you're using the same repeatedly and you can use it to check for plagarism issues. The only thing I should emphasize is that Grammarly is there to help you and you shouldn't take its suggestions as gospel. For example, it highlights errors when I write a character's dialogue. I know they are mistakes, but that is how the character speaks so I don't change it. It's your writings and the author should always have the final say.

Hope your week is a good one.

A very interesting mailbag and with more unique questions, this time.

For grammar cheque, I use Grammarly and it is very good. It always suggests mistakes and recommends correct words. If there is a unique word that you want to use even after Grammarly points it that it is a mistake, you can add it to your dictionary by clicking the add to the Dictionary option in its suggestions.

Regarding your title for memoirs, I already understood your intention and purpose of choosing that Title much earlier, when I heard that title from you. It is an excellent title for it.

Here I have to confess that I am unable to view and read all the articles published by people whomever I am following or being followed. I simply get to some of them randomly. So, I request all my friends to forgive me for my inability.

I wish you and all my hubber friends a Happy season and a Merry Christmas.

Great hub again, as usual. I bet ebay will be flooded with people looking for a copy of that book. I know I will be taking a look at it. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Bill. Thanks for answering my question, I look forward to reading your memoir. I’m sure it will be a very uplifting read, something I could certainly use right now. It’s been a difficult end of 2019 with elderly in-laws who have faced a number of health issues as well as my mother.

My condolences on your friend, Frank, it’s never easy.

Bill, I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your friend of so many years. I think I'm just now reading about it because I haven't kept up with HP much in the last couple of weeks. I know it's difficult to say goodbye to a loved one, but just remember that it's only temporary.

I don't use any grammar programs simply because being an editor for 33 years, with the last 30 as a legal editor, I find that the little blue or red squiggly lines in Word are enough alert for me to go back and reread the sentence in question to decide if a correction is needed. Usually not. Legalese is written in such a manner as to drive a grammar program crazy, therefore we couldn't use one at work. I was forced to learn grammar past the 8th grade point where the average reader is proficient. That's not my opinion, it came out of one of my textbooks, so I hope nobody takes offense at that. (Note: Most writers are avid readers, therefore they are exceptions to that statement, so I'm certainly not aiming it at this crowd. I would bet most of HP writers read on the college level or postgrad.)

It's cold, ugly and rainy here. I hope you're having better weather in WA. Here's wishing youa better week this week, my friend.

Bill, I'm sorry to hear of the passing of your old friend Frank. Fifty-seven years is a long time. And a long time to stay good friends.

This mailbag is full of writing resources (as usual). Thanks for all you do. Oh by the way I haven't seen Venkat around for awhile, have you?

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Frank.

I hope that, as you're not looking for fame through movies, maybe it will find you by someone picking up your books and seeing an opportunity.

The recommendation of a book about self publishing is definitely a tip to bookmark.

I'm a Grammarly fan. Mary recommended the free version when I started out on Hub Pages and now my American English is coming along okay.

I always feel reassured that I'm on the right lines when you confirm my thoughts. I have a similar approach to following and commenting. Now I don't have to feel guilty about stopping to make a coffee while I'm writing either!

I think your title 'And The Blind Shall See' is very clever and works so well.

Fifty-seven years, I doubt most people have had a friendship last that long. I'm sure he will be missed.

Regarding followers on HP, I feel bad for new people just starting out on the site. It must be difficult to gain followers that are committed. I think the site has changed and has less of a community atmosphere.

Have a wonderful week.

I like your frankness about your memoir being for you and you don't care if it makes money. That's confidence.

Blessings,

Denise

I am sorry you lost your friend Frank. I lost a friend of mine a few months back. Her name was Mary. We worked at the same hospital many moons ago. We loved to dance, and we danced together when no one thought we were lovers. My how times have changed! Keep on doing what you do best. It is my hope that you will soon be a contributing factor on HP. They couldn't hire anyone better. Good luck.

Another fabulous mailbag! I'll be keeping that suggestion for self-publishing in my back pocket. One of these days, I'll get over my fear and commit to writing a full book, instead of starting one and turning it into an article. haha! I hope you have a wonderful week!

I’m sorry to hear about the death of your dear friend. Losing someone that close is really difficult.

It certainly was full mailbag, Bill. First of all, let me say I'm sorry for your loss and I'll leave it at that. Words don't always bring comfort, but I'm thinking of you and praying for you. Thanks for taking my question, and your answer makes perfect sense. I just wanted to add for Devika that ProWritingAid.com seems to work well for me. It does a lot more than just check grammar, and it's free to use online. I used to use Grammarly, but I've found PWA does the same and more. Thanks again for taking my question.

Bill, I'm looking forward to that memoir; put me down for a copy, OK? The holidays are always difficult after you've lost a loved one. Know that you and Bev are in my thoughts and prayers.

Happy Monday Bill! I was sorry to hear about your friend's passing...but thankful that you got to visit him recently, right? It's always hard to lose someone special and for some reason it seems even more sad when it happens during the holidays...but as you said, life moves on.

I really like your title for the memoir, that sounds perfect!

Hope as always that you have a great and productive week! :)

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your lifelong friend. We have been visiting family in TX for the past week, so I somehow missed the news, but I know while we try to prepare for that loss, it is still difficult.

On a brighter note I like the title of your memoir. As for grammar. I found grammerly was taking up too much memory on my overloaded computer. So, I write on Google.docs. It highlightes misspelled words. Since I have some arthrtis in my fingers my typing is not good and a little help is good. I also try to read my articles out loud before publishing.

Have a better week, my friend.

Bill, I am so sorry for your loss. It is tough losing old friends. I lost 4 in one month a few years ago. I discovered that they had all died, when I was trying to tell them my husband died. I finally reached the widow of one that had died a few years earlier, and she told me. Some weeks are really rough.

Bill, it was sad to hear of Frank’s passing. It doesn’t seem long ago that you wrote about him coming to visit. In regard to Devika’s question...I use the free version of Grammarly and find it is quite efficient as a grammar check tool. I may try to get a copy of that book by Chris Mullen too.

I was up and waiting for this installment. I don't give a damn about any of these subjectst but I give a good goddamn about you and love your writing no matter the subject.

I figure I just don't like people passing on so early, especially when it touches my buddy. My words mean nothing but I understand just maybe my prayers and good intentions might mean something.

Of this time of Bill's loss we send love that is truly love

We call upon others but maybe more from above

Look at as a man who does serve

Stop that heart of love reserve

Take up the mantle of what we can

And give our souls and heart to a good man

We do n ot know of who he grieves

But of our love we know what he leaves.