Going Inkless

     Many writers are quick to point out an error when they see one in the written form.  Even those who are too polite to say anything are likely to be seething inwardly as they read a mistake in grammar or spelling.  They can't help it.  In the course of embracing their craft, they have fallen in love with the language, and although that means they may take liberties with it themselves, trying risky or adventurous things, they also bristle at others' abuses.  In addition, good writers develop a knack for ferreting out problems with their own work, constantly honing their writing with each reading.  That habit doesn't stop just because they're looking at someone else's work.  Even when there is no real error, a writer may be thinking of some way it could have been said better.      This almost unconscious editing can be subjective.  Everyone has their own set of rules that are inviolable and others they may forgive bei...

     We had a big dictionary when I was a child.  It was a magnificent book full of words I hadn't learned yet, with a glossy section in the centre that displayed various bits of interesting categorical information - planets, birthstones, zodiac signs.  This hefty tome was just one of a small reference library we kept.  My parents loved books as much as I do.  The ones I remember best were the mythology, the series on plant, animal and mineral identification, and a heavily illustrated book of World War I airplanes (Snoopy's Sopwith Camel and the Red Baron's Fokker were in there.)  And of course, the set of encyclopedias was a particular treasure.  Everything you wanted to know about was in there, at least to some degree, and we used them often.  Whenever we asked Mom a question she couldn't answer, she'd take us to the encyclopedia and look it up with us.  It was like Mom's spare brain.  I suppose that habit empowered us to bec...