© S.J. Carver

Originally published as ‘1888’ in VETO III (2009).

This is another relatively old piece that kicked around quite a while before someone published it, supposedly because of the colourful language. (I remember one editor telling me it was her policy never to publish anything she wouldn’t want her grandmother to read.) I’m pretty sure it was originally written sometime in 1999. It’s interesting to me as an ancestor of Shark Alley, because it was my first attempt at writing a ‘Victorian’ scene, while you can also already see the preoccupation with nested narration and ghoulish storytelling, the profession of Jack Vincent, the ‘Death Hunter’ hero of the novel.

The nights were drawing in now, and dead leaves were mingling with the shit and the sludge on the streets. The year drew towards a merciful end, marred only by the certain knowledge that 1889 would just be…

This week I am going to be focusing on Articles of speech.

What is an Article? Or a Article?

Well, All the following are articles: the, a, an.

Articles are words that define nouns. What does it mean to define a noun?

Take the following sentences:

At the park, I kicked the football

At a park, I kicked a football.

The use of the and a here give specificity to the situation. ‘The park’ is a specific park whereas

‘a park’ is any park.

There are technical terms for the differences in the two types of article. Definite and Indefinite.

The is the definite article as it makes the noun specific, and yep, you guessed it, a and an are indefinite articles.

‘Which indefinite article do I use? I hear you ask’.

Well, there is a general rule for this, and yes there are exceptions. The rule…

Writing is not an easy endeavor. It requires practicing a skill in order to hone the ability. The key to mastering any art is not to give up! Our brains are in a constant state of learning and gaining experience. It takes time.

Everyone seems to have their own unique style of reading, so I thought it would be fun to compile a list of some of the different ‘types’ of readers I know!

The Hermit

Once this readers starts a book they will retreat into their reading cave. You will not see this reader again until the book has been finished. Although in rare instances this reader might be spotted while darting out of their cave to gather food.

The Commuter

This type of reader thinks ahead and they are always prepared with reading material. They are ready to fill their daily commutes with their current book obsession. Free time is reading time.

A Book for Every Room

While some of us might balk at the thought of reading multiple books at once, some readers embrace the challenge. So much so that the more veracious readers of this type will have a…