Stamps Collection #01 (famous/infamous)

Hi Subscriber First Name!

Welcome to my first newsletter. I’ll be sharing grammar tips and other notes with you from time to time. (Does that mean on a regular basis or randomly? Hmm…)

I’ve been a writer since first grade and a professional freelance writer of magazine articles since 2001. I love, love, love shoptalk about style guides, grammar, vocabulary, synonyms, pronunciations, portmanteaus, all that good stuff.

Words and more words. I like saying them, hearing them, writing them, learning new ones and ancient ones, even making one up words from time to time.

Communicating
with yourself and others.

Communication is when what you say and what I hear are the same thing; when what I write and what you read are the same thing. When we are on the same page, we are communicating.

Collections

Grammar Tip

Famous or infamous?
Famous and infamous are not synonyms. These words are more like antonyms. Opposites.

Famous: popular; well-known.
Infamous: having a bad reputation; disgraceful.

Vocabulary is important.

Book Recs

DUSK NIGHT DAWN by Anne Lamott. This beautiful (and pretty) book was released on March 2, 2021. You don’t need to look at a calendar to know it was a Tuesday, because publication dates are always on Tuesdays. Anne is as pithy as she is witty in this collection of essays “on revival and courage.”

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig. Released in August 2020 (on a Thursday, don’t get me started, I obviously know nothing about Europe), this novel is quirky and delightful. Matt takes on a profound message with a light hand.

Reading is fundamental. And you can’t spell fundamental without fun.

Life Tip

Breathing is a pretty good thing. Aren’t you glad it’s involuntary? Breathing is also a skill with its own name: breath work. Who knew there were so many ways to breathe?

In those moments—or months—when it’s hard to catch your breath, exhale first. Just blow it out.

Do you have a grammar question? Do you love words? Do you have a love/hate relationship with writing? Do you have a breathing tip? Do you have a synonym for “life hack” or are we still using this term, and if so, do you have one to share?

Hit reply to this email. I’d be so happy to hear from you!

Kathie Stamps
kathie@stampscommunications.com

Stamps Communications