Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Wasteline test

I found this awesome writing tool and plan to use it on a regular basis!

Here's a little blurb about it, from the Writer's Diet website:

The Wasteline Test assesses whether your writing is ‘flabby’ or ‘fit’. The test works by counting percentages of words in five categories commonly associated with stodgy sentences: weak verbs, abstract nouns, prepositions, adjectives/adverbs and 'waste words' (it, this, that, there). For every writing sample you submit, you will receive an overall fitness rating ranging from lean to heart attack territory.

If you run the Wasteline Test often and keep its core principles in mind whenever you write something new, you will find your scores gradually improving over time. Please keep in mind, however, that the test offers a diagnosis, not a prescription; a heuristic, not an emetic. Sentences, like people, come in all shapes and sizes, and the world would become a very boring place indeed if we all wrote (or looked) exactly the same way!

Monday, May 10, 2010

We are still active!

Our next meeting is Tuesday 5/11, 7 pm in room 201 of the Methodist church on Harney St.

After growing to almost 10 members last fall, we are back down again to 4 regularly attending members. Part of the curse of a college town - people are always moving on. However, that also means new people are arriving, too. So we are hoping for more newcomers to the group!